Customer Reviews

Inside 3d Studio Max

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This book upgraded my skill 10 fold. After reading this book my work was shockingly better and I also go back and use it as reference all the time. If you can name a function or tool in 3dsmax you will find a section on it in this book. I mean we are talking a book with 6 pages just for bevel. The organization of the chapters and tools is genius. This book will not tell you how to model, it will tell you how to use the tools and functions of 3d Studio Max. I would buy this book even if they charged 10 times it's price, you can make your money back in seconds with the skill you gain from this book.

I disagree with everyone who has said that this book is either too comlex to get, or not full of How-to's. I am 12, and this is my first 3D graphics expirience. I don't have the software, I don't have manuals, all that I had was that book. After finishing it, I feel like I can read Volume 2 and 3, and be ready to go pro. This book gave a good background of the program, and as I said before, I'm 12. I read exactly 2 pages twice to get the content, but other than that,, the 1100 pages went by quite nicely. You will want to be able to do some of the more advaced things with the program, such as the chapter on materials that had a lot to do with the materials editor. I do reccomend, for those of you who don't want to read the documentation you paid three and a half thousand dollars for, that you get the Fundementals. Overall, excellent book with good background, Good intro to vol. 2, also worth buying.

Inside 3DStudio MAX At last!The book we all waited for.Inside 3DStudio MAX,writtten by Steven Elliot & Phillip Miller;authors of Inside 3DStudio Release 3 & 4.Some said that Inside series is better than the manuals.Well,to tell you the truth,they are quite right. The book is very well structured.It has 29 chapters,starting from explaining the core concepts of MAX,and ending in Network Rendering.Every chapter has its introduction and summary,that's very good 'cause you know what's the chapter about and the summary reminds you the most importants parts. It is not a book that throws you some tutorials only.On the contrary,the writers pay attention to general knowledge an animator must have.Mixing colors and light,story boarding,etc.. Every button is explained thouroughly in the book.It teaches you the best way to model and animate efficiently every model you can think of. Of course,it has some drawbacks.Material editor,Video Post,Space Warps & Particles are not explained in depth.Although there is a solution to that(in February 2 more Volumes will be published:Inside3DStudio MAX Volume II:Advanced Modelling & Material Editor,Volume III:Animation & Character Studio),who wants to buy 2 more books that costs 110$ additionally?(Answear:Me..:P).Another drawback is that the book has color photos only in the chapters that refer to Material Editor(although some will say that's no big deal).And the CD that is included with the book has 200mb of textures.O.k ,where's the drawback?:) Only a few of them are useful.90% of them are very artistic and extend beyond the needs of traditional animators.I think that whoever makes the textures(by the way Tim Forcade,who included textures in 3DStudio 4 Hollywood & Gaming Effects & Indide 3DStudio 4),should have in mind that animators need practical textures like wood,metals and stuff and not abstract paintings.... Inside is for the novice and for the experienced animator,and it is by far the No.1 if you want to master MAX. "Inside 3D Studio MAX should be a part of every serious animator's library"(Larry Crume,Vice President,Autodesk and General MAnager,Kinetix)

This book gives you the knowledge to create complex 3d graphics. Wether you are new to the product or an experienced user this book is for you. It gives an in-depth knowledge that is pretty usefull. I can highly recommend the other books in the series (vol. II & III).

I'm a user of 3D Studio R4, and so I thought that I could easily transfer the lofting skills into 3ds max without too much of a problem. This book, however, doesn't use many of the techniques used in the Inside 3DStudioR4 book by New Riders. It's definitely not for beginning users looking to learn the fundamentals of using 3DSmax. I was disappointed at its learning curve, but I assume if you're comfortable with 3DSmax1, then this book might be for you. If somebody knows a book for 3DSmax2 that is in the same vein as Inside 3DStudio R4, then please email me ;)

There's a thing common to all classic books: even if you've read one from cover to cover you discover something new every time you open it. Things that you glossed over earlier suddenly start to make sense. This book is no exception. Since 'Inside 3D Studio Rel. 3' the authors have provided an unique insight into the world's most popular 3D programs. This book raises the standard even further, providing enough grip for the novice and a treasure trove of knowledge of the professional. The best thing about this book is the explanation of the PRINCIPLES behind 3D Studio MAX. Instead of the 'do this-screen shot-do that' methodology, the authors have concentrated in the core ideas behind every tool and procedure. If you want MAX to be an extension to your right brain, get this book. Read it all the time. Do the tutorials. Keep referring to it for ideas. You'll discover what you were missing with other books -- the real goods on making MAX dance to your tune.

Boy, not only is this thing boring and monotonous, it tries to cover everything really fast. So what you get is a paragraph describing a really important function. And the book is filled with these tiny paragraphs. The first quarter of the book involves real boring things that people on this planet grow up knowing. Like organizing things and what not. If you are reaally hard core and want to totally devote your life to 3dsmax, do not get this book. Cause half your life is going to be spent trying to decipher what the heck the author is trying to say.

This was my first book that I purchased for learning 3d studio max.. I also bought the fundamental book too.. I've only flip through couples of pages then I put it away to collect dust. The exercise are hard to follow, they gave complete instruction for teaching you a certain command. But you wouldn't find motivation to delve in to the 3d world by building something that's meaningless. The book is only good for advance user as it'll teaches you how to press certain short cut keys and stuff..

I found this book hard to comprehend.. even if I'm a immediate user, I wouldn't picked this book, as this is so boring.. It teaches you how to do certain things, but don't tell you much why you are doing it, or why is it necessary to take the steps..

there are few other good ones out there if you are a intermediate user...

This was the second book i bought for MAX, the first one was for the truly begginner and helped me getting started whereas this one helped me understood EVERY fonction included in this soft.

If there's a book that can truly screw up your transition from 3dsR4 to 3dsmax, this would be the one. Dont make the same mistake I did.