I have already commented on how good documentation, both in house and third party books and websites, can have on the success of a graphics product line. Now I would like to say a few kind words about Visual Documentation. This is documentation laden, page after page, with visual illustrations and screenshots throughout the book. The style can be glib and superficial, but when done right its a real winner. I would like to cite two examples.
The people at the Visual division of John Wiley have been putting out a great series of visually rich and easy to understand books. This one takes on the challenge of Autodesk 3ds Max 8 – no small task. I had to come up to speed very very quickly on some key features – and this book with its outstanding layout and structure delivered. Bravo.
The people at PeachPit have realy pioneered the concept of the visually rich reference text. Now I am an OReilly man for many of my Missing Manuals, but I have been using PeachPit for Getting Started and quick, comprehensive intros. Maya 8 by Morgan Robinson and Nat Stein is typical of the boost that visual can give. I needed the visual info on NURBs Surfaces and then Dynamic Deformers. The book provided the graphic screenshots and visual insights that made the difference. So if you are looking for a quick start or a different approach to “book-learning” try the Visual approach.