The Official Blender 2.3 Guide, w. CD-ROM

Blender is the first and only fully-integrated 3D graphics creation suite allowing modeling, animation, rendering, post-production, and realtime interactive 3D with cross-platform compatibility - all for free. Originally developed by Not a Number (NaN) as a commercial product, Blender has since been released as free software, with the sources available under GNU GPL.

The Official Blender 2.3 Guide is an introduction to the sometimes complicated Blender interface and a complete guide to everything that Blender can do. Written by the designers who created and currently maintain Blender, the book covers methods of designing models, materials, and light; rendering 3D scenes; creating 3D animations; as well as advanced topics such as using Blender as a video editor. Includes a 4-color insert and a CD-ROM containing Blender for all platforms.

Why to buy:

- The official Blender guide, written by Blender's developers and maintainers.
- Blender has well over 250,000 registered users, but because it is open source it could have 5 times this number of actual users.
- Covers the most recent product version (version 2.3, scheduled for release November 2003). Blender will most likely remain at version 2.3 for about a year.
- Other 3D tools are prohibitively expensive; Blender allows the average person to dabble in 3D design, including animations.