CG 101: A Computer Graphics
Industry Reference

a book review by Paul Younghusband

When this book arrived, my very first statement was, "Gee, that's a small book!" My, my -- how I was wrong. It may only be 6" x 8", about an inch smaller than most other books on my shelf, but contrary to popular belief, I discovered that size really doesn't matter

CG 101 is written by Terrence Masson, a visual effects director working at Industrial Light & Magic -- a man who has more experience producing feature film quality visual effects than I do producing microwave "ready in 9 minutes" meals (and I make those a lot). Over his extraordinary career he has worked on True Lies, Batman Forever, Star Wars Special Edition, Spawn, Small Soldiers and Star Wars: Episode I, to name just a few of his movie credits. As well as that he has founded his own company, Digital Fauxtography, a company specialising in commercial, theatrical and large format film projects. Masson, among his many projects, created the CG tongues in the original Budweiser frogs commercials, and he developed the original CG production methodology for the South Park TV show. What better a man to give us the 101 on CGI?

The book covers a wide range of topics, from visual effects techniques, to terminology, job descriptions and visual effects history. This is not a book of tutorials, nor a book on theory. It is a general, but detailed, overlook of the art, technology and people behind visual effects, as well as an in-depth "glossary" or reference guide to visual effects companies, tools and terminology. Let's take a brief look at what the book covers:

Colour and Light
The first chapter in the book is dedicated to colour and light, and although it is a small chapter, it outlines information of which many professionals working in visual effects are not aware. Colour and light are defined, and their relation to computer graphics is discussed. This is followed by a list of terms one would most likely come across on a daily basis working for a visual effects or design company, and they are certainly terms that will be encountered later on in the book.

Painting and Graphic Design
Chapter 2 is titled "Painting and Graphic Design," however, it is much more a compilation of software packages and companies that have made an impact on the world of 2D computer graphics. This extensive "directory" is quite in-depth, with a short background piece on each company/package, along with company contact information in many cases.

Modeling
Then the book moves onto modeling, where we are presented with yet another huge directory of software packages and companies, and also 3D modeling terminology. As with all of the terminology listings in the book this is exceptionally useful. At no other point have I come across such in-depth listings of computer graphics' frequently used terms.

CG 101: A Computer Graphics Industry Reference

CG 101: A Computer Graphics
Industry Reference