The Texture of Shadows


Book Description

"It is 1989, a high point of hope in South Africa's political history. The nation is abuzz with rumours of Nelson Mandela's imminent release, the dismantling of guerrilla camps and the possibility of peace. A band of exiled People's Army soldiers returns to South Africa. After years in Angola they think the change they have been fighting for is finally about to become a reality. They have been ordered to carry and deliver a sealed trunk to an unspecified destination. It is a mission that makes them a target as different parties set out to separate the men from the trunk and its mysterious contents, setting the stage for several fierce conflicts. The Texture of Shadows explores a world of hardened guerrilla fighters, corrupt police officers, ex-political prisoners and the victims of abuse of a system of bannings and beatings. But there are also cracks in this steel-edged world that hope, love and beauty can fill as the reader is swept up in the story of Chaplain Nerissa Rodrigues and her fellow soldiers." -- Back cover.




Painting Light and Shadow in Watercolor


Book Description

Push your watercolor painting to the next level by mastering the use of color, light, and shadows. Go beyond trying to copy what you see by designing with shapes, shadows, and highlights. Deepen the expressive nature of your paintings as you capture the subject's luminosity. Master painter William B. Lawrence offers hands-on techniques and insights for intermediate to advanced artists. Light and color take the viewer on a journey. Properly harnessed, they can convey emotion, create a mood, or tell a story. Whether your work is realistic, expressive, or abstract, the options are unlimited. Lawrence explores pattern, hue, contrast, and texture in this treasured classic. Using a combination of theory, demonstration, and practical suggestions this new arsenal of tools, will help you grow as an artist. Other techniques covered include: How to design with light and shadow The use of overlapping patterns How light can express movement Learning to use light and dark to add drama and intensity to your work Discover how to guide the viewer's eye through floodlights, spotlights, and other advanced light-manipulation techniques. Painting Light and Shadow in Watercolor will help you create radiant watercolor paintings and give you greater painting pleasure as you develop new skills which bring your imagination to life.




Real-Time Shadows


Book Description

Important elements of games, movies, and other computer-generated content, shadows are crucial for enhancing realism and providing important visual cues. In recent years, there have been notable improvements in visual quality and speed, making high-quality realistic real-time shadows a reachable goal. Real-Time Shadows is a comprehensive guide to t




A Fortress of Grey Ice


Book Description

"Wonderful . . . J. V. Jones is a striking writer." So says Robert Jordan, the author of The Wheel of Time epic fantasy series. And Jones lives up to that praise in the highly charged epic adventure of Ash March and Raif Sevrance, two outcasts whose fate are entwined by ancient prophecies and need, in the cold, dark world that threatens to be torn asunder by a war to end all wars. Isolated by their birthrights, they are but two who fight the dreaded Endlords, and their strength and courage will be needed if the world is to be saved from darkness." Raif, wrongly accused and cut off from his clan by the treachery of their new headsman, has a talent for killing that is part of his curse and his burden. But he bears another burden of greater weight. Ash is a sacred warrior to the Sull, an ancient race whose numbers have declined. Raised as a foundling, never knowing her true history, she must learn to accept the terrible gifts of her heritage. But as Ash learns more of her greater fate, Raif's task looms dark and desperate, for he must journey through the nightmare realm of the Want, a place where even the Sull now fear to tread. For deep within the Want is the Fortress of Grey Ice, and there he must heal the breach in the Blindwall that already threatens the world. Should he fail, not even Ash's powers can save them. . . . At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.




The Visual World of Shadows


Book Description

How the perception of shadows, studied by vision scientists and visual artists, reveals the inner workings of the visual system. In The Visual World of Shadows, Roberto Casati and Patrick Cavanagh examine how the perception of shadows, as studied by vision scientists and visual artists, reveals the inner workings of the visual system. Shadows are at once a massive problem for vision—which must distinguish them from objects or material features of objects—and a resource, signaling the presence, location, shape, and size of objects. Casati and Cavanagh draw up an inventory of information retrievable from shadows, showing their amazing variety. They present an overview of the visual system, distinguishing between measurement and inference. They discuss the shadow mission, the work done by the visual brain to parse, and perhaps discard, the information from shadows; shadow ownership, the association of a shadow with the object that casts it; shadow labeling, the visual system's ability to tell shadows from nonshadows; and the shadow concept, our knowledge about shadows as a category. Casati and Cavanagh then apply the theoretical apparatus they have developed for shadows to other phenomena: illumination, reflection, and transparency. Finally, they examine the art of the shadow, paying tribute to artists' exploration of shadow, analyzing a series of artworks (reproduced in color) from a rich and fascinating art historical corpus.




The Complete Book of Textures for Artists


Book Description

Learning to render a variety of textures is a fundamental skill for any fine artist, no matter the chosen media or subject matter. The Complete Book of Textures for Artists features more than 275 step-by-step lessons, tips, and techniques for rendering a wide range of textures in a variety of media, including graphite pencil, charcoal, colored pencil, oil, and acrylic. Whether you're an experienced artist or just starting out, The Complete Book of Textures for Artists features a wide variety of both traditional and contemporary techniques. After an introduction to the basic tools and materials, discover a variety of drawing and painting techniques, such as hatching, crosshatching, shading, blending, layering, burnishing, and more. Organized into sections based on subject matter and media, each page features easy-to-follow steps demonstrating how to create each specific texture. Not only will you learn a variety of techniques, but you’ll also discover new ideas and inspiration for using the techniques in your own projects. Packed with easy-to-follow instructions and plenty of helpful artist tips, The Complete Book of Textures for Artists is the perfect resource for beginning and established artists who are ready to master the intricacies of rendering realistic texture in their artwork.




A Sparrow in Terezin


Book Description

The Nazi regime claimed Terezin was a model camp, but when one London reporter lands behind its walls, she uncovers the horrors of this concentration camp that often served as a stop on the road to Auschwitz. In 1939 Kája Makovsky narrowly escaped Nazi-occupied Prague and was forced to leave behind her half-Jewish family. Three years later and now a reporter for The Daily Telegraph in England, Kája discovers the terror has followed her across the Channel in the shadowy form of the London Blitz. When she learns Jews are being exterminated by the thousands on the continent, she has no choice but to return to her mother city, risking her life to smuggle her family to freedom and peace. In the present day, with the grand opening of her new art gallery and a fairy–tale wedding just around the corner, Sera James feels like she’s stumbled into a charmed life—until a brutal legal battle against fiancé William Hanover threatens to destroy their future before it even begins. Connecting across a century through one little girl, these two women will discover a kinship that springs in even the darkest of times. In this tale of hope and survival, Sera and Kája must cling to the faith that sustains them and fight to protect all they hold dear–even if it means placing their own futures on the line. Praise for A Sparrow in Terezin “Gorgeous and heartrending, a WWII story packed with romance, bravery and sacrifice, interwoven with a modern-day thread.” —Melissa Tagg “Cambron’s detail to history shines as readers are transported seamlessly from the warm, sandy beaches of San Francisco’s coast to the frightening ambience of WWII Europe.” —Kate Breslin “A testament to the past . . . to a time of both unfathomable loss and courageous sacrifice that we should honor in our hearts and minds.” —Beth K. Vogt A follow-up to The Butterfly and the Violin Full-length novel (97,000 words) with two storylines: one set in World War II and the other in the present-day Sweet romance Includes discussion questions for book clubs




Kingdom of Shadows


Book Description

“Kingdom of Shadows must be called a spy novel, but it transcends genre, as did some Graham Greene and Eric Ambler classics.”—The Washington Post Paris, 1938. As Europe edges toward war, Nicholas Morath, an urbane former cavalry officer, spends his days working at the small advertising agency he owns and his nights in the bohemian circles of his Argentine mistress. But Morath has been recruited by his uncle, Count Janos Polanyi, a diplomat in the Hungarian legation, for operations against Hitler’s Germany. It is Morath who does Polanyi’s clandestine work, moving between the beach cafés of Juan-les-Pins and the forests of Ruthenia, from Czech fortresses in the Sudetenland to the private gardens of the déclassé royalty in Budapest. The web Polanyi spins for Morath is deep and complex and pits him against German intelligence officers, NKVD renegades, and Croat assassins in a shadow war of treachery and uncertain loyalties, a war that Hungary cannot afford to lose. Alan Furst is frequently compared with Eric Ambler, Graham Greene, and John le Carré, but Kingdom of Shadows is distinctive and entirely original. It is Furst at his very best. Praise for Kingdom of Shadows “Kingdom of Shadows offers a realm of glamour and peril that are seamlessly intertwined and seem to arise effortlessly from the author’s consciousness.”—Janet Maslin, The New York Times “Subtly spun, sensitive to nuances, generous with contemporary detail and information discreetly conveyed. . . . It’s hard to overestimate Kingdom of Shadows.”—Eugen Weber, Los Angeles Times “A triumph: evocative, heartfelt, knowing and witty.”—Robert J. Hughes, The Wall Street Journal “Imagine discovering an unscreened espionage thriller from the late 1930s, a classic black- and- white movie that captures the murky allegiances and moral ambiguity of Europe on the brink of war. . . . Nothing can be like watching Casablanca for the first time, but Furst comes closer than anyone has in years.”—Walter Shapiro, Time




GPU Pro 360 Guide to Shadows


Book Description

Wolfgang Engel’s GPU Pro 360 Guide to Shadows gathers all the cutting-edge information from his previous seven GPU Pro volumes into a convenient single source anthology that covers various algorithms that are used to generate shadow data. This volume is complete with 15 articles by leading programmers that focus on achieving good visual results in rendering shadows. GPU Pro 360 Guide to Shadows is comprised of ready-to-use ideas and efficient procedures that can help solve many computer graphics programming challenges that may arise. Key Features: Presents tips & tricks on real-time rendering of special effects and visualization data on common consumer software platforms such as PCs, video consoles, mobile devices Covers specific challenges involved in creating games on various platforms Explores the latest developments in rapidly evolving field of real-time rendering Takes practical approach that helps graphics programmers solve their daily challenges




WebGL Programming Guide


Book Description

With this book, students will learn step-by-step, through realistic examples, building their skills as they move from simple to complex solutions for building visually appealing web pages and 3D applications with WebGL. Media, 3D graphics, and WebGL pioneers Dr. Kouichi Matsuda and Dr. Rodger Lea offer easy-to-understand tutorials on key aspects of WebGL, plus 100 downloadable sample programs, each demonstrating a specific WebGL topic. Students will move from basic techniques such as rendering, animating, and texturing triangles, all the way to advanced techniques such as fogging, shadowing, shader switching, and displaying 3D models generated by Blender or other authoring tools. This book won't just teach WebGL best practices, it will give a library of code to jumpstart projects.