Customer Reviews

3ds max 4 Fundamentals

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Let me start out saying I'm 16, and I just got a copy of 3ds max a few days ago. I picked up this book because it looked more "newbie" friendly... I didn't know anything about making 3d graphics before but now I'm already making animations and modeling stuff, usually making dragonball z characters and stuff.

This book shows you all about customizing the interface, lighting and rendering, modeling, and the best thing is the cd... The cd is great and has the photos in the book in color... And it has all the models you need to follow with the book.

If your new to 3ds max like me, you have found your new companion....

The author is very good, you can tell he knows 3ds max and loves to share what he knows. I really like the layout of the book and the concept of making the entire book a tutorial on how to build the cover image, I didn't give it five stars, because I wish it had more illustrations (this is not likely the authors fault, but more so the publisher) a book like this MUST have color illustrations and lots of them.

Before you buy this (or any other intro book on 3ds max) please go to your help menu and select "Tutorials" you will be deligted by what you find. The nice folks at descret and packaged in an excellent set of tutorials that will actually bring you from biginner to intermediate level faster than this book and the tutorials cover character modeling and animation! So be careful or you may spend money and then be beating yourself up later when you find you already had all the information you needed.

This book is exactly what it states on the cover, it is a tutorial of the fundamental elements of the very powerful 3ds Max 4 software.

Just moving from the programmer's side of the computer to the artist's side, I needed something that would show me how to create 3-dimensional objects using the basic 2d polygons, an essential to becoming a skilled user of any 3d software.

The author does a great job of walking the user through object creation from the basic rectangle or triangle to the finished product, complete with lights, cameras, animation, and texturing.

This book was exactly what I needed to get a start on 3-dimensional computer art. If you are also somewhat of a beginner to 3d design, I would strongly recommend this book. If you are intermediate to advanced, I may caution you that it probably would be restating a lot of what you already know, so try looking elsewhere.

As a relative newbie to 3ds max myself, I would recommend this as a great 2nd or 3rd book. It does a good job of introducing the basics of several fundamental techniques (e.g., lighting, basic modelling, etc) but it will not teach you how use the software itself. I would recommend starting on a lower level book, perhaps "3ds max 4 for Windows: Visual QuickStart Guide" before moving to this one.

If you are a person that loves those "Dummies" book (I am not one of those people) then you might enjoy this book. It goes through one tutorial at a very slow pace with lots of pictures in a very general fashion. It tells you to do certain things, generalizes why and what you are doing, and then doesn't go into any more specifics. This book is mainly for novices and "slower" learning people. If you want to become very proficient in 3ds max and are a quick learner then I would recommend a different book.

DWP

I purchased 3ds max 4 Fundamentals almost a week ago, and I'm almost half-way through the book. The book is thoroughly enjoyable and very comprehensive. Mr. Boardman takes a practical approach by basing the book on the creation of a 1950s diner, but each step of the way is suffused with important and fundamental concepts essential to a professional understanding of 3ds Max. I find myself amazed through each of the excellent exercises over how much power is hidden away in this fantastic program. I thoroughly commend Mr. Boardman and New Riders Press for providing new users like me with such a great resource. I believe any user, no matter what level of expertise, could benefit from this book.

I'm currently an architect intern with a strong passion for architectural illustrations. Recently I became heavily interested in pursuing my career as a CG Architect. I was familiar with some other 3D modeling programs (Maya Unlimited and Form Z) but had problems finding good 3ds Max books for architects, mainly because most 3ds max books focus on character creation and animation. I finally found this book and quickly became addicted to it. Great illustrations and detailed explainations guide you through the process of creating a diner. I definitely recommend it to any CG architects who are not familiar with 3ds max. If you've never used a 3D modeling program, however, this book might be a little difficult.

3ds max 4 Fundamentals AUTHOR: Ted Boardman PUBLISHER: New Riders REVIEWED BY: Barbara Rhoades

BOOK REVIEW: 3ds max 4 Fundamentals has lots of illustrations to show you what the book is describing. There are tips, cautions and notes set off in boxes to draw your eye to them so you will take an extra look at them.

The first few chapters get you set up on creating 2D shapes. Then the book moves on with 3D shapes. The last chapters talk about animation, rendering and constrains. The CD has every file you will need to work through the books exercises.

If you are interested in 3ds max 4 and how it works, this book will give you the tools to do it.

I bought the book in order to expand my abilities in 3ds max 4. I began to read and noticed that the author explained the tools with moderate detail. That wasn't the end of it. The examples and tutorials were mainly on how to do the the image found on the cover. I recommend looking for another, more descriptive book. I'm 14 years old and I have worked with Lightwave, Maya, and 3ds max for two years seeing that books are always helpful.

It must be good otherwise the guy above wouldnt say so