Introduction Acknowledgements This book would not be possible without the help, support and knowledge of the following individuals. I owe a great deal of gratitude: To Dennis McGonagle, Carlin Reagan and Anne McGee of Focal Press, for their insight, support and the opportunity to author this book. To Anne Powers, for creating a non-technical book series that puts tools to practical uses and has helped spark the imagination of so many 3D enthusiasts and professionals. To Michael Hewes, Rick Barrett and all of the great team at MAXON, for their incredible knowledge and endless supply of answers and support. To Ray Davis of Pixar, who went to infinity and beyond in getting RenderMan up and running and up and running again when I fouled things up. To Ihor Petelycky and Spatial View, for an incredible program and even better support. To Matt Riveccie of e-on, for all of the extraordinary amount of support in keeping me up to date with Vue. To Cormac Slevin and Antonio Manfredi at Digital Video S.p.A, for their insight in combining the 2D