Sams Teach Yourself VRML 2 in 21 Days (Paperback)

Bruce Campbell is a VR researcher at the University of Washington.

VRML (Virtual Reality Modelling Language), pronounced "vermal" is the standard for creating 3D graphics and animations for the Web. 

The origins of VRML date back to the middle of 1994 when Tim Berners-Lee talked about the need for a 3D Web standard. He coined the name VRML, basing it on HTML.

Silicon Graphics pursued the development of VRML, with Sun & others, for several years until the VRML 2.0 specification appeared. The opposition to pure VRML was led by Microsoft, who watered down the 3D aspects of VRML to produce a more 2D animation style (less the Matrix, more Tom & Jerry).

"VRML is the foundation for cyberspace and the on-line virtual communities that were painted and popularized by science fiction writers William Gibson in Neuromancer and Neal Stephenson in Snow Crash."

This book smoothly takes you from basic VRML to advanced scripting, enabling you to build on each lesson as you go. You learn how to build scenes and complex objects, define object behaviour and interaction, create animations and special effects.  

The book is intended for beginners, although established programmers will also benefit from the concise and precise materials presented here. The CD-ROM includes sample VRML worlds, HTML editors, and graphics utilities.

Compare most of the available VRML books at the VRML repository, which states that this book is "the best way to learn how to create VRML 2 worlds!".

This book remains current, even though it was first published in 1997. VRML 2 is "98% compatible" with the current international standard. 
 
Like Newton's Laws of Motion VRML came good early-on and didn't need to change. 

There haven't been many VRML books published in the last few years, and none as good as this for beginners. So buy this, learn the basics, and then get right up to date with web resources. 

The VRML viewer on the CD (CosmoPlayer) is beloved by the VRML community, as a google search will show. A google search will also take you to great VRML models of hurricanes, space stations and so on. Buy this book to start you on the path to great 3D modelling.

As befits a beginner's book there is much manipulation of cones, blocks and other simple objects. But it doesn't stop there. Sprites are introduced in some examples to keep gamers happy. There are also doors, tables and elevators to keep architects, engineers and designers happy. 

Astronomers get a look in with a rudimentary model of a planetary system. All examples are of course, in wonderful 3D. 
An interactive 3D space-age elevator model is the culmination of the book, which combines elegance of design, animations, and interactive control. Great stuff!

In summary, this is an easy-to-understand, step-by-step tutorial explaining how to use VRML 2.0 to create 3D Web content. The CD includes the source code for all the examples in the book, along with additional third-party VRML objects and scenes and a selection of tools.