Book Description

Creating a comic is more than just coming up with a powerful villain or gruesome alien: it requires a lot of thought and planning about the storyline, weapons, props, modes of transportation, and setting (city, outer space, underwater, etc). Pulling all of this together may sound challenging, but with 3D Comic Design everything from how to create the story, characters, and text balloons, to page layout /design, adding special effects, and integrating 3D environments is clearly explained. There's even information on how to market your comic for publication! So if you've ever wanted to learn how to create and design comics using your own computer, this is the resource for you.

Adobe Photoshop 5.5 or higher is needed to complete all of the tutorials in the book.

Key Features
- Teaches you how to create your own comics using Superheroes, Villains, Aliens, and more
- Thoroughly explains how to craft a story from plot ideas to naming your characters
- Details the design and creation of storyboards, page layouts, text balloon designs, font options, and more
- Provides a complete library of ready-to-use graphic elements and characters to use in creating a basic 3D comic without purchasing a lot of software
- Includes hands-on tutorials on how to use 2D image software (e.g. Photoshop) and plug-ins to create graphic effects with an emphasis on Layers, a critical comic design tool
- Explains how to organize and setup your own studio with minimal equipment and software needs and costs
- Includes Watchouts, Hints, Activities, Summaries, and an appendix detailing career possibilities in comic design

On the CD! - CuriousLabs Poser 4 (Win/Mac) (free, limited use version)

- AlienSkin Software Eye Candy 4000 (Win/Mac) Plug-in filters for Photoshop (demo version)
- Packed with all of the images necessary to complete the tutorials in the book, including:
- 50 rendered background images
- Paneled page layouts for use in your comics projects
- 29 "props" to help make your comics come to life: includes cars, planes, tanks and ships
- All of the 2D characters, backgrounds, animals, and props from within the book
- Color insert images from the book that show you what the projects should look like upon completion

- Adobe Photoshop 6 Free "Tryout" Version ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Another failed attempt at the subject by Mortier
Mortier already published one book on the subject. This time, he's given a bit more information on the creation of actual comics (rather than just creating figures) and how to add word balloons and such.

Sadly, he's still done very little that would help someone interested in using a computer to create comics. One peek at the cover should warn anyone off of the book: The art is amateurish in the extreme. The internal comics are of such poor quality that it's unbelievable that a publisher let them pass. And such a simple thing as leaving some white space between a word balloon outline and the letters within seems beyond Mortier (giving him away immediately as someone without any real experience or understanding of making good looking comics).

Again, I wonder why Mortier didn't team with a comics pro (or at least someone who had actually looked at comics with an artist's eye). Instead, he muddles through with his personal idea of what comics should be (thankfully, nothing published today matches this vision of comics... it would be laughed off the shelves).

I'm giving it one star since 1 and a half isn't possibly. It's definitely a step up from his earlier volume on comics, but a very small step. It's also cheaper, so you're not wasting as much money if you really want to give this book a look. ... Read more

Book Description

Jamie's sister Jessica is losing her hearing.Jamie searches the Web for answers, prays for answers… and finds no answers.Although she is predictably upbeat about it,Jess's hearing loss is permanent, in spite of the best efforts of the doctor and her sister to find a solution.Jamie's lesson is that God has His own plan for her sister; she herself cannot change it or make it "better."God is strongest in our lives when we're weak.And we are all handicapped in our own ways.

Reviews (1)

Great Book!
Great book! A cool Christian book to do with the Internet - just my kind of read! It'll keep you wanting more by the time you finish! (There are lots more of these to read!) ... Read more

Book Description

When Tatu finds she can do nothing to improve her little brother's hateful behavior and make him happy again, she goes to an old spirit woman for help. The spirit woman tells Tatu that to cure Maulidi, she must pluck three whiskers from a lion! Armed only with a song, Tatu steals out into the moonlit night to undertake her impossible task. Acclaimed storyteller Tololwa M. Mollel sets his satisfying retelling of a traditional folktale in contemporary Tanzania, beautifully depicted in Linda Saport's lush illustrations. An author's note and the music for Tatu's song follow the story. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Terrific
Tololwa Mollel has shared the inner growth of a child through her story and the art of Linda Saport. This story is one way to share with children that they can do anything if they have a willingness to learn from their experiences. Subira Subira is a book that needs to be read many times by both adults and children. Thank you for a book that can only inspire self-growth. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Very informative and easy to understand
This biography of Bill Gates had a lot of interesting facts about his entire life. It explained how he got started and how his company evolved. It also told about his family and his college years at Harvard. Many of his friends and associates are mentioned too. The book gave a little bit too much information at times but for the most part it was well-written. The author made Gates' work easy to understand even for someone who doesn't know much about computers. I believe this book would be great for a younger crowd to read but not for someone over 14 or 15. It is just on too low of a reading level. Since the book was written in 1997, it is somewhat outdated also. Other than that I liked the book a lot.

A great book
[...] but the book was great. It had a lot of interesting info.

A great book for young readers
I enjoyed this book, but would most likely not reccomend it to anyone over the age of ten or eleven. It was interesting but was published in 1997, therefore it is not 100% up to date.

bill gates
No, It's first time. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Good book from a good series
This book introduces its readers to the internet in small "bytes" using humor and simple, direct language. I am a non-techie who enjoyed it; and my early elementary-aged son loved it. I read some parts aloud to my husband (even less of a techie than I am) and we exchanged "aha's" with each other. All four of Art Wolinsky's books in the Internet Library series are winners.

We are homeschoolers, and use these as our guide to computer science. Every other book we've tried on the subject assumed that you knew something about computers or computer jargon. It was very frustrating and even my son, who likes the computer, was becoming turned off to the subject. Then he found the Wolinsky books, and eagerly read them one after the other. Wolinsky assumes that you're reading his books because you want to learn about computers from the keyboard up. He gives clear examples, and even things to try on your own.

The volumes are about 64 pages long, and easily digestible by young people who are good readers. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Everything kids online book
A good overview of the internet written in a straight-forward easy to read manner. The book starts by giving a brief description and history of the internet and includes a chapter of kid-friendly web-site addresses (and descriptions), the basics of determining whether a site is worthwhile or not, email and netiquette basics and some hints for parents. I would recommend this book for children AND adults who are interested in learning to use the Internet. ... Read more

Book Description

Net Force Explorer Megan O'Malley tracks her missing equestrian teammate to a mysterious online courier business-a service to which many runaways are sent out, but few ever return. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Another great NFE book, too bad that it's a bit short...
Net Force Explorer Megan O'Malley and her friend Wilma Christensen become worried when they discover that their equestrian teammate and Wilma's boyfriend, Burt Kamen, disappears. Fortunately they find him at a combined online-offline refuge for 'runaways'. Burt reveals his reason for leaving is that his home life had become more than he could handle. How can he feel at home when his parents can't stand him? But Meg becomes suspicious hearing that Burt has gotten a job. What kind of employer would hire a runaways and troubled kids? And what kind of job? As Meg digs deeper, she finds that things are not exactly what they seem. Calling in reinforcements Leif Anderson and Mark Gridley, it's up to the three Net Force Explorers to discover what is really going on...

I'm a BIG fan of the Net Force Explorers series! The NFE series are a great Young Adult fiction series, especially those with a love for computers and the Internet. Since the Net presented in the books have no boundaries, you will never know what to expect next. But there IS one thing you can come to expect: stories that have plenty of twists and turns, having the whole plot well balanced with mystery, excitement, and adventure. And sometimes, there's a good romance! The Net Force Explorers include Matt Hunter, Megan O'Malley, Leif Anderson, Andy Moore, Mark Gridley, David Gray, Maj Greene, Caitlin Murray, and P.J. Farris. Occasionally other characters are introduced though they show up rarely.

It's too bad though that "Runaways" is the last book of the series. I hope they continue to publish more of the series! My only problem with this book is that it's a bit short, only 184 pages. Not only that, I felt that the first chapter was a bit unnecessary to the plot. Otherwise, the plot was interesting. I especially liked it that Leif gets to show-off his language abilities. None of the other books have really shown the extent of his talents in languages.

The series is for Young Adults and I strongly recommend only older kids since at times the computer and Net 'talk' is a bit confusing and hard for younger kids to understand. And there are some minor profanities in the book. I can highly recommend the whole series! ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Good book that kids will love
It was a good book,but I personally think it could've done with the puzzles.Otherwise,this book will keep kids entertained on long car rides or on rainy days.

Digimon digirocks!!!
I have to say digimon rock, because it does teach teamwork, and so does Pokemon(but not as much). I mean, would Tai or any of the others defeat Myotismon or The Dark Lords if they wouldn't of worked together. And that shows kids that if you work together then you can accomplish anything.

Digi-Know?! digimon rocks...
Digi-Know?! digimon rocks who ever thinks digimon is like pokemon is crazy.I'm a girl even I know the difference between pokemon and digimon.The kids in pokemon KNEW what to do.The kids in digimon was force to go to the digiworld.EXCITEMENT is writen all over it.

HOW TRUE
I THINK THAT LAST GUY HAD A GOOD THOUGHT BECUSE DIGIMON IS A GRAET THING I'M 11 AND I LOVE DIGIMON I'V NEVER MISSED ONE SHOW AND THE BOOK IS GOOD TO AND IT MAKE'S ME HAPPY TO SEE PEOPLE TALK ABOUT DIGIMON AND TO SEE PEOPLE READ DIGIMON IT'S EVEN BETER

Listen Up Parents!!!
OK. You might think we are to old for Digimon (or Pokemon) but actully it helps us learn the value of friendship and teamwork. I would recommend digimon for anyone with friend problems (like Matt and Tai) If you think the same e-mail me at digimonfreak3@hotmail.com ... Read more

Book Description

Meet the staff of @café: Natalie, Dylan, Blue, Sam, Tanya, and Jason.They run the hippest coffee shop in San Francisco -- and they have the coolest site on the Internet.

The staff of @café knows the rule about mixing business with love: don't ever do it.But Natalie's dating Sam -- and dreaming about Dylan.Blue and Jason would be the perfect couple...if they were speaking to each other.And Dylan won't be happy until he has Natalie -- even if it means losing his best friend, Sam.After all, rules are made to be broken...aren't they? ... Read more

Reviews (11)

This Book Waz Really Cool!!!!
I thought this book was great! And anyone who loves books about teenage love then this is a book for you! And if anyone knows about a book 5 Please tell me! I cant Find one and there has to be another one to this series!

ONE WORD: AMAZING!!!!!
THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING! PLEASE MRS CRAFT WRITE ANOTHER ONE! YOU CAN'T ABANDON YOUR READERS AND FANS! IF SOMETHING HAPPENED TO MRS CRAFT THEN PLEASE SOMEONE END THIS BOOK..IM SURE IT WOULD MAKE MRS CRAFT AND US FANS HAPPY! THE GUY WHO PLAYS DYLAN AT THE COVER OF EACH BOOK IS TOTALLY HOT!

This was nice......there is a fifth one right?
Before I started reading this book I had the impression that It would sum up all of the incidents and all the drama leading up to it. But, I was greatly disappointed. When the book ended I was thinking, did the real ending of the book fall out? Then I turned to page and saw the epilogue, so I thought, "Okay this should sum things up for me." But, It didn't. All it did was to leave me hanging on a string, and wondering if I misread something about a fifth book. I suggest that you don't read it unless you have prepared yourself for dissatisfation. But really, Is a fifth book coming out? Cause if it is, I'll change my review around completely.

ciriousiy killed the cat...
I've just read all 4 books of @ Cafee for the second time, the first being 4 years ago! I've been searching for the 5th book ever since, everywhere! 4 years is a long time. the book is worth it but the suspence is killing me!
If anyone knows when and if the 5th book and beyond will be availeble do tell! Hope the auther will browse through the reviews and do something!

Great book.
Just wanted to say that this was an awesome book! Her characters are so realistic, and you can kinda relate to them. Does anyone know if there's a book number 5? I'd be very interested. We are totally left hanging! ... Read more

Book Description

Meet Bren

Bren Mickler has fallen in love at first sight!Bren tries everything to catch her dream date - right down to starting an electronic dating service for her friends.She plugs everyone's vital stats into a program she pulled off the Web, and the trouble begins.

One disasterous and often hilarious match leads to another, and Bren finds that her attempts to win love actually keep her from finding it.

Just when Bren thinks she's ruined everything, the timeless message of I Corinthians 13 envelops her heart.And the verses had been there- literally right in front of her face on the TodaysGirls Web site - the whole time!Bren learns the gifts of Godly love and friendship, discovering that "the greatest of these is love."

Reviews (1)

I liked it
Great book! I really liked it. Loved the plot, characters, front cover --everything! Gripping read for those rainy days when you're totally bored... ... Read more

Reviews (25)

A internet girlfriend comes to town and wierd things happen.
I thought this book was great. In fact I think all the Danger.com books are great. They are my favorite kind of books, Mystery. I spend more than 2 hours reading at night when I read Danger.com books.

This is one of the BEST books I've ever read!
Gemini7 is the first book in a series that's called Danger.com. I LOVE this book. I rented it from the library and I read it that same night in about 4 hours! I loved it so much that I bought it so I could have a copy of my own. This was my first Danger.com book and I plan to read more. I also like romance novels and this was what I would call, a thiller/romance!!! I recommend this book to all internet freaks, like me, who spend about 2 hours a day chatting with people you don't even know!!!! lol. I can't wait to read more of these! When it comes to Jordan Cray, I have to say just two words: TALENTED WRITER!!

Online Killer Mistress
A Review by John

Jonah and Jen are in love but secretly Jonah has an online life were he talks to women and gets to know them. Nicole the one Jonah is most fond of shows up at his house one-day and they hit it off even more. While she is there strange coincidences happen that are unexplainable. Nicole acts very innocent and it is very difficult to think that Nicole is doing all of this. Jonah will go hunting for clues to try to get Nicole off the hook.

This book starts out slow and introduces the characters. I don't like that very much because it is not very interesting. But about ¼ of the way through the book it becomes more interesting. Strange things start to happen like the cottage blows up or Jonah's gets in a hit and run car accident. The author knows how to put you in suspense. The characters in the book are not told about very much. So you don't really know much about them. The only main character Jonah is told about a lot. Most of the words in this book you know what they mean. Hardly any of the words I had to guess on what they meant. This book was not difficult to follow or read. Many of the things they were doing or going to do you already knew what was going to happen. It was pretty obvious. I really liked this book it was very suspenseful and great.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good book, especially to people who like suspenseful and twisted books. Again this is a really good book. If you want to read a not so hard but suspenseful book read this one.

Gemini 7 by Jordan Cray
Do you like a book that gradually reveals a secret, unknown to the reader? Do you like twists, and questioning against the facts? If you do, then "Gemini 7" by Jordan Cray is the book for you! The book starts off in a quiet town in Pennsilvania, when we are introduced to a boy named Jonah..."Gemini 7" is a great book with a good story, fun action sequences, and the ability to keep you on the edge of your seat throughout the entire book. I reccomend this book to teenagers, because it is based on teenage lives, and young readers. It is a book you will not want to put down.

Greatest book ever!
Gemini7 was totaly fantastic! I have read 1-4 of the Danger.com seris. This one was the absoulute best! I recommend this book to every one. Trust me this is a great buy, this book kept me up to 5:00 AM! I can't wait to buy more. This book is for ALL ages, especially if your into computers! ... Read more