Well, this is usually because C++ is not really a beginner friendly language. You need to understand the architecture/fundamentals of a computer system at times to understand certain concepts and are often difficult to understand ex: pointers, dynamic memory allocation etc. and with C++ you never finish learning!

Yes, you are very correct about understanding basics before doing actual game-based programming, C++ Primer is pretty old but it's definitely a golden book alongside it though for someone like you I will suggest some of the books I read a couple years back and some that I believe are better for beginners:

Accelerated C++: Practical Programming by Example

Programming: Principles and Practice Using C++

The C++ Programming Language, 4th Edition- Very big book, read this after you've read the rest.

And a book that I've heard is pretty good for game development with c++: https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Game-Development-professional-realistic/dp/1788629221

"old".. hah.

This is one of the books I own that covers rasterization and raytracing:

https://www.amazon.com/Programming-Dimensions-Graphics-Tracing-Animation/dp/1558512209/

Comes with a 5.25" floppy!

I've started with this book: http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Three-js-JavaScript-Library-WebGL/dp/1782166289
and all the example all freely available here:http://www.smartjava.org/content/all-109-examples-my-book-threejs-threejs-version-r63
I found it very useful.

(These are all (non-fiction) books. If you want research papers I can give you a bibliography of things you might find a few interesting things within.)

Virtual Reality by Howard Rheingold is a very good place to start for a founding in the history of VR (right back to the invention of the HMD by Ivan Sutherland in the 1960's) but was written before the current reignited interest in VR that Oculus has triggered;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Virtual-Reality-Revolutionary-Computer-Generated-Worlds--And/dp/0671778978/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396019470&sr=8-1&keywords=virtual+reality+howard

If you like Rheingold's writing style then The Virtual Community might be of interest to you. Not directly related to VR, but as VR becomes more mainstream (& especially with players such as Facebook expressing interest) it is only a matter of time until VR becomes a popular interface to virtual communities;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0262681218/ref=oh_details_o08_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If such sociological aspects of computers/VR interest you, then Sherry Turkle's books are fascinating;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0262701111/ref=oh_details_o09_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0684833484/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0262012707/ref=oh_details_o08_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

As somebody else already mentioned, Infinite Reality is a nice read, but is very 'light' on science/technical detail;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0061809500/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you like your cyberpunk fiction then Cyberspace: First Steps is great - it even has a foreword written by William Gibson;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0262521776/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

For more of a brain-fuck read, take a look at The Cyborg Experiments;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/082645903X/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

For basic virtual environment/virtual world background I can recommend these two (Richard Bartle is the guy who invented MUD1);

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0131018167/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0631182144/ref=oh_details_o07_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And if by 'the VR experience' you mean 'immersion' or 'the sense of presence' then the first section of Virtual Space is a good start before diving into back issues of MIT Presence;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Virtual-Space-Spatiality-Inhabited-Worlds/dp/1447111001/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396019722&sr=8-1&keywords=virtual+space+spatiality

That Jeremy Blinn book looks great thanks.
Here's one that does similar but for textures, the first half which is simply observing textures in real life blew my mind. Digital Texture Painting - Owen Demers

Yes Sketchup is a mesh modeler, and it absolutely is viable for 3D printing. It gets a lot of flak from people that don't know how to use it, because it works differently from solid modeling programs.

The model needs to be 'manifold' to be considered solid. Sketchup will tell you when the model is solid. See here for an explanation.

All STL's are meshes, which is why a mesh modeler works best for editing them. Solidworks is a solid modeler, but is no good for editing STL files.

BTW, here are a few projects that I've made using Sketchup:

• Tiny Cabin printed in color: http://imgur.com/a/c0Wb0
  
• Tiny cabin printed on my Solidoodle: http://imgur.com/a/HXbI1
  
• Fancy lampshade: http://imgur.com/a/JklMb
  
• Fine jewelry: http://imgur.com/a/nYu49
  
  So you know I'm not talking out of my ass...I wrote a book :) http://amzn.com/1783284579

Get the "Essential Blender" book.

Professional WebGL Programming: Developing 3D Graphics for the Web

The code is somewhat outdated, but to be honest I learned a lot from just trying to figure it out. If you struggle you can just switch to the version of glMatrix.js that the book uses. You can download the codes used in the book here.

Also Interactive Computer Graphics with WebGL. This one is very math-heavy, where the first one is more practical. Both use the glMatrix library.

The mathematics behind 3D rendering can be quite complicated (it's 3rd year engineering mathematics and physics), but you could look into linear algebra if you want a bit of a deeper understanding. In WebGL it's mostly just matrix transformations, but to in order to understand vector spaces you might have to go deeper. Any calculus or linear algebra book will do. Key words: Linear algebra, matrix transformations, vector spaces. Don't just google for things related to 3d programming (like googling "math for game developers"), because they often leave things out. Just pick up a Calculus book and read and solve problems. That's how you will learn the math, not by reading a book about 3d programming or googling or watching youtube videos.

And I don't know why people are suggesting you look into Three.js when you say you want to learn the math. Stay away from everything Three.js if you actually want to go deeper into WebGL and GLSL. But be warned, it's awful. :')

This is the Bible book I was talking about in the other comment. Supposedly its the recommended for everyone to have, if they are using 3Ds. That one is for 3DS 2013, right now the newest one is 2014, so a new one might be on the way, though to be fair the changes are usually minimal.

When it comes to Blender Id recommend the Master Class book, since it is the most up to date, and I've heard good things about it.

Maya I dunno.

Easiest

Easy.

Sandbox

• shadertoy
  
• shdr
  
• GL SandBox
  
  

  Reference
  

  
  

• OpenGL ES 2.0 Reference Card
  
  

  Books
  

  
  

• OpenGL Insights
  
• Physically Based Rendering: From Theory to Implementation
  
• OpenGL Shaders Language Cookbook
  
• GPU Pro 7
  
• ShaderX7
  

Is there a place you can find this? Yes, there are probably a half dozen books that have all of this covered. Of course, they are not free.

For example, the questions you asked are all covered in

https://www.amazon.com/Illuminated-Pixels-What-Digital-Lighting/dp/1435456351

which is great but not free.

Is there a single curated online resource like this? Not that I've ever seen.

The reality is that the discipline, hours of work, and editing that leads to a comprehensive textbook isn't what you'll see in semi-professional youtube videos. I have a huge respect for those, but they tend to be disconnected and usually software specific.

I'd be happy to provide a few more titles to look for but if you're not looking for books, there really is no point. And no, I don't have free pdfs for them...

Max and Maya, being now owned by the same company, are very similar and do pretty much the same things, with a few differences in little features. The general consensus seems to be that Max is superior for modeling and Maya is superior for animation, but in reality most shops will only use one piece of software if they can, so you're really more constrained by what type of work you want to do. Maya is far more prominent in the vfx/animation/film industry, and Max is used by many if not most game companies. That said, I think this will change in the future. Some game companies have switched to Maya already, and a lot of schools are now only teaching Maya. It may be that Max gets phased out as more people enter the workforce without knowing it.

There is a book that kind of breaks down the basics of both programs. It's decent, wish I could find my copy.
http://www.amazon.com/Autodesk-Maya-3ds-Side-Side/dp/1598632426

> Want to make web apps, games, use it to validate forms, send/get data via ajax, make image sliders on site, win 8 store apps...?

I am very much in the same boat as the OP. I'm working through Eloquent Javascript at the moment but I'd like to start working on some very basic practical exercises other than print statements. My answer to the above question would be "Yes."

The links you provided are helpful, thank you!

EDIT: One thing, I found a book called HTML5 in action but the authors did not include anyone named Manning. Is this it?

First let me say, congratulations on finding this wonderful amazing industry. I casually stumbled into animation by taking a 3D animation class in college on a whim and I loved it ever since, however I have only gotten really serious (like life/educational commitment to it) about six months ago.

If you are a total 100% absolute beginner start with The Animators Survival Guide, and I would also recommend The Illusion of Life. These two books are amazing resources almost every animator should know.

Now I know this sub has a pretty good split of 2D and 3D animators so you gotta decide which you want to be, to most people this is a pretty clear and obvious choice.

Now all of this is specific to 3D animation from hence forth BUT that said much of it translates into a 2D environment.

Here is the next big key question, what kind of animator are you, feature, game, freelance, or just hobbyist? Some might scoff and say "Well whats the difference" and I thought so too so let me break down the difference for you.

Feature:

These are the animators working on the Incredible 2, Moana, Shrek's etc of the world. Feature animation is all about getting real emotions into characters and truly giving them the illusion of life. This educational track focuses heavily on proper posing, staging, and appeal. These animators also almost always "work to the camera" which means that the camera angel of the shot is chosen for you, this is great because it allows us to use the motto "If it looks right it is right." Animating to the camera is a blessing and a curse because you must carefully select your characters motions and think about how limbs will be obstructed in a shot so you need to think around that. However this can be a good thing, one of my mentors worked on the fantastic movie Coco and she worked on one particular shot where the main character is swimming in a big pool. Now during this shot the main characters feet actually clip through the bottom of the pool and go through the object several times, but because she was animating to the camera she did not have to worry about this at all.

Game:

I admit this is the one I have the least experience with, basically a game animator focuses on loops more than anything else. You are working on walk cycles, jump cycles, gun fire cycles, reloads etc. The real trick with game animation is that not only do you have to get the animation looking right you have to get it FEELING right. You have to make your animation have proper timing and appeal through out the whole thing to give the character personality. Game animators also really come into the problem of their animation having to look right from EVERY angle.

Freelancers:

I have personally never freelanced but I know from a few friends that have the work that you do is all over the place. Some have done everything from working on small to mid sized indie games, to making Youtube intro's, to making company advertising materials. You really need to be a well rounded type of animator for this. Many animators do not freelance to start but it is not impossible

Wow so that was kind of lot of information huh..... Well where the hell do you go from here. Well there are a few avenues but some things are set in stone

1. You need to find out what program your section of animation is using and get intimately familiar with it, like I'm talking second life partner familiar. For 3D animation this is going to be Autodesk Maya, for a 2D animator I am not entirly sure.
   
   If you are a student you can get a free license for Maya through Autodesks student site, it really is an amazing program which every 3D animator will probably learn in their course of education.
   
   The book I can personally recommend for this is Introducing: Autodesk Maya 2015, while I know it might seem like the book is all over the place I recommend you have at least a basic understand of all the concepts the book covers. I know there are newer version of this book for the newer versions of Maya that are out but I have no personal experience with them
   
   
2. Read The Animators Survival Guide, cover to cover, and then do it again, and once again for good measure, and then if you are bored maybe browse it again.
   
   This book really is an amazing resource, paired with The Illusion of Life you basically have an animation master class printed in your lap
   
   
3. If you are serious about formal education investigate universities or vocational schools for it. I am personally a bit anti-university but that's due to my old universities film program and art programs being horribly mismanaged to the point of myself dropping out.
   
   I can personally recommend Animation Mentor which is an online vocational school of sort for 3D animators. I am currently int he first class in it and in the first 8 weeks of the class I have learned far more than I ever did over the course of four formal classes at my university (again your university might be UCLA and have great animation programs, your millage might vary)
   
   I am sure there's a million things I didn't cover in this post and if you have any questions at all please feel free to ask them and I will do my best to answer them!

I picked up this book: http://www.amazon.com/ZBrush-Professional-Tips-Techniques-Gaboury/dp/1118066804/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1410063579&sr=1-1&keywords=zbrush

It doesn't specifically cover how to sculpt a car, but it has lots of good info about creating hard surfaces and curves that you'd be making when you wanted to sculpt a car.

Really enjoyed Learning Three.js

Working through this book. -http://www.amazon.co.uk/3ds-2012-Bible-Kelly-Murdock/dp/1118022203 - Has really given me some confidence with how aware I feel of the software's capabilities and tools. I'm only a little over half way through and it's been a good way to structure my learning. The tutorials aren't visually great, but they do the job of giving you an example of what the text is outlining.

I used to make maps for various UT mods. This was way back when I was like 12 - 16. (24 now) At the time I came to understand some of the basic principles and aspects of 3D modelling. I was far too put off by my render times and general performance speed then though.

I've been drawing a lot since though and looking at other mediums such as photography. Which I definitely don't think will have done any harm when it comes to thinking about composition, harmony, lighting for effect, colours, Ideas in general I guess. There are plenty of good books in any library for these topics.

Over the past year I've been modelling better than ever. The learning is often as fun as the work and I find my self having some real break-through moments. Blender is certainly a great tool to for free. If you haven't already , check out Sintel. (http://www.sintel.org/)

I'm no expert. Only a beginner really. I'd definitely advise you to develop your skills for idea generation and preservation in any creative or artistic way you can. Outlining objectives and aiming to achieve specific goals also really helps.

Looking at and working from reference images makes an incredibly large amount of sense as well. Use them for everything. You can always copy one aspect of something and work into it some of your own ideas.

Ultimately, I've found there is an awfully large amount of information on the web that can help you learn to work with 3D. A lot of it free as well. last night at daft o,clock I thought I'd search Polycount. That led me here http://wiki.polycount.com Which already I can see has a lot of worthwhile information.

Enjoy learning and do as much of it as you can. :)

Hm, you might be looking at more general books then, so you could also ask /r/computergraphics or /r/3dmodeling.

Also this might be of your interest, and you should look trough this this list too.


There's also the C4D Beginners Guide - from this list.