Tom Shannon

The true story of an extraordinary friendship In the summer of 1992, Christopher Morgan, a farmer, joined a penfriend scheme whose aim was to give prisoners a window on the world. He was allocated Tom Shannon, a lifer, inside for murder. Through their correspondence, a strong and honest friendship developed between the two men whose lives were poles apart. Never intended for publication, the authenticity of these letter is all the more powerful and convincing. Whilst portraying the grim reality of prison life in Britain in the 1990s, they also reassure us that friendship and respect can prevail in the most unlikely circumstances. Royalties from the publication of the Invisible Crying Tree helped to found Shannon Trust, a national charity unlocking the power of reading for people in prison.'A small gem of a book.' Marie Claire 'A remarkable insight into prison conditions and human nature...The murderer, defying a poor education...finds an eloquent voice which rings with poetry, humour and a moral certitude.' Sunday Times 'A truly revealing insight into the mind and existence of a "lifer." A sensitive and telling dialogue between an understanding outsider and a man condemned to life inside prison.' Jon Snow

The Official, Full-Color Guide to Developing Interactive Visualizations, Animations, and Renderings with Unreal Engine 4 Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) was created to develop video games, but it has gone viral among architecture, science, engineering, and medical visualization communities. UE4’s stunning visual quality, cutting-edge toolset, unbeatable price (free!), and unprecedented ease of use redefines the state of the art and has turned the gaming, film, and visualization industries on their heads. Unreal Engine 4 for Design Visualization delivers the knowledge visualization professionals need to leverage UE4’s immense power. World-class UE4 expert Tom Shannon introduces Unreal Engine 4’s components and technical concepts, mentoring you through the entire process of building outstanding visualization content–all with realistic, carefully documented, step-by-step sample projects. Shannon answers the questions most often asked about UE4 visualization, addressing issues ranging from data import and processing to lighting, advanced materials, and rendering. He reveals important ways in which UE4 works differently from traditional rendering systems, even when it uses similar terminology. Throughout, he writes from the perspective of visualization professionals in architecture, engineering, or science–not gaming. Understand UE4’s components and development environmentMaster UE4’s pipeline from source data to delivered applicationRecognize and adapt to the differences between UE4 and traditional visualization and rendering techniquesAchieve staggering realism with UE4’s Physically Based Rendering (PBR) Materials, Lighting, and Post-Processing pipelinesCreate production-ready Materials with the interactive real-time Material EditorQuickly set up projects, import massive datasets, and populate worlds with accurate visualization dataDevelop bright, warm lighting for architectural visualizationsCreate pre-rendered animations with SequencerUse Blueprints Visual Scripting to create complex interactions without writing a single line of codeWork with (and around) UE4’s limitations and leveraging its advantages to achieve your visionAll UE4 project files and 3ds Max source files, plus additional resources and links, are available at the book's companion website.