Customer Reviews

3DS Max 4 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The visual quickstart guide series of books has always been my favorite for referencing the programs I work with. If you just want to jump right in to using 3D Studio Max and already are fairly familiar with the program but just can't remember how to do a particular operation, you can easily find the steps without having to dig through a large manual.

Screenshots of the buttons you'll press, the menus you'll see, and even examples of the operation as it progresses accompany each step. Quick and to the point, the 3DS Max 4 Visual Quickstart Guide is a must have reference.

This is a great book, and it was really easy to follow. Though I prefered the 3ds max fundamentals as a learning process... I picked up this book and it's just as good..

I give it four out of five stars because it's a better reference then a teacher. I reccomend that you use fundamentals for learning 3ds max, and if you need a good reference this book is the one to pick up!

(I leave it on top of my computer monitor, I use it so much!)

Here is my review folks.

Pros:

Tons of pictures...lots of details...you can jump from place to place so when you get bored with on thing you can easily go practice on another aspect of the program without being confused. The book is like mini excerises after mini exercises. graphics are clean , crisp ,sharp. The writing style is not boring and concise and to the point. A good book to learn what max is and what it can do for you. If you wanna have info on max to see how it works and don't know where to go, this is the book and it does not cost a fortune to boot.

Cons:

Missing a lot of details. The chapters are skimpy and leaves to a lot of guessing afterwords.You have the feeling" ok now i know how to do this but where do i go from that point!" Nothing on basic modeling or nurbs...you just learn to move vertex and other parts od 3d meshes but nothing on modeling here...

There should follow ups to this book with exploration more in depth. Michelle is great but she should sit there and make sequels of the book and explains the other features she did not put in the first book and modelling....modelling..modelling... please!!!!!!!!!!!.

You are left on empty after a while with this book.. you wanna learn more but you are stuck..so you have to buy other books.

Nevertheless the book wich seems not so impressive is really the opposite...its just too short as most visual quickstart guides are and i don't think that only one book would do 3ds max justice because its too complex of a program to cover in 1 quickstart guide.

Please Michelle do other books that follow this one...

A very satisfied dude! But could learn more from your wisdom.

I think it's not fair to give this book lesser than 4 stars.

As the title "Visual QuickStart Guide" has made it clear, this is just a guide for getting quick start. It's not tutorial-oriented. You should not expect it to teach you everything about 3ds Max.

What it dose is giving you the basic concept and teaching you how to use the tools, so you can get familiar with the Max user interface and the functions of most of the tools.

I use it as a warm-up & reference book for relatively more advanced ones like "Mastering the Art of production with 3ds max" or "Modeling a Character in 3ds Max".

I consider this book very informative.
So, just go get it and take advantage of it.

Nothing here you couldn't learn from the tutorial book that is included with the software package. I give it a low rating, not because what it has isn't good, its what it doesn't have. THERE'S NOT A WORD ABOUT THE FOLLOWING:
Advanced animation,
Animation particals,
Partical arrays,
Bones,
Skinning,
And more.

If you EVER get advanced at MAX this book's just another dust collecter. If you're just starting out, it can be rather useful, though it's basically a paper copy of your valuable F1 key.

The book is a handy and easy to use reference when starting off with 3ds max 4. It is not intended to teach you the concepts underlying 3D modelling, but rather it a step-by-step guide for performing the various functions in 3ds max. (Which has a cryptic interface to say the least!)
I use the book as a sort of second manual in addition to Discreet's documentation.

People are wanting a book that tells them how to do everything. People don't want to learn, have fun, or think. People are interested in showing off and making money. I've had about 4 Visual Quickstart Guides, and they've all told me how to run the program I was asking it to do.

Do yourself a favor, pick this word up.

If you're just starting out with Max and can't remember commands and procedures off the top of your head, Michele's book is a great desktop companion to keep around while your working! Michelle explains Max in plain english, with screenshots of the interface itself. What's so beautiful about this book is that Michelle takes the time to explain to you what your doing instead of giving you a 1,2,3 step by step set of instructions. It's the extra care Michelle took while writing that helps you understand what you're doing, and that alone makes this book well worth the cover price. I've spent three times as much on advanced Max books where they don't convey the WHY as much as Michelle. I wish Michelle would write MORE max books! I create content for videogames, and found this book to be an invaluable reference guide as I'm creating monsters and goblins. If you've been scouring Amazon looking for a great Max reference guide, your search is over. This is your book!

After having some wonderful experiences with other visual quickstart guides like Elizabeth Castro's invaluable HTML reference, a book which should be in every webmasters bookshelf, I was expecting the same high quality, no fluff, all meat information in this volume.

Much to my dismay, it only 'teaches' you things you could figure out on your own. "Here's how to make a sphere", "Here's how to make a cube"...

Ok, this is stuff I figured out already, I really want a quick reference to the nurbs tools and maybe some tutorials on patches...

Unfortunately, nurbs and any kind of useful modelling information is BEYOND THE SCOPE OF THE BOOK!

People, save yourselves some money and use discreets manuals, and/or online tutorials. They are written by some of the best modellers out there today and you *WILL* learn a trick or two to start out.

A much better book would be the Inside 3d studio series and the 3ds max bible, which help hammer the concepts in, but more importantly, and I cannot emphasise this enough... RTFM!

This book unfortunately does not add anything you wouldn't find in the first few tutorials.

I looked all over for a beginner 3DS Max book, and as far as I know this is the only one that begins with the assumption that you don't know the program or 3D in general. Topics range from navigation, modelling, and texturing; each topic is introduced and taken to an intermediate understanding. There's lots of shortcut tips, and changing preferences tips.

The concepts never go much beyond combining several shapes, or never into building a real world project, but that is for other books. This book gives you the concepts and fundamentals that are required before you can do something really cool. This 3D Max book helps you understand those other 3D Max books.