Customer Reviews

Realistic Architectural Visualization with 3ds Max and mental ray

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

 

 

The objective of Architectural visualization is to produce high quality photorealistic images. Unfortunately this book falls far short of achieving that objective. The illustrations throughout are a huge and major disappointment and printing photorealistic images with a semi mat finish kills the renderings stone dead. The book largely replicates the settings information available in the 3ds User Reference so you're not going to learn any secret techniques that will make you a rendering expert with mental ray. I'd have to rate the presentation of this book as being at the bottom of the pile and given the blurb on the experience of the authors, I really expected something that set the bar a whole lot higher. The Appendix section on HDRI images and their use for lighting is woeful and the images are tinted with a orange/pink colour that leaves you wondering what the authors were trying to do as HDRI for lighting can produce truly spectacular renderings. Unfortunately you're not going to learn how to do it using this book though your renderings may improve if your a total beginner. There is too much emphasis (and illustrations of) problem with mental ray renderings - one screen capture is a totally black box - that could have been described in a few sentences. Showing problems is not something that needs to be illustrated as that just wastes precious paper that could have been used to provide useful information. When combined with it's 'tick this, change that setting' approach of the authors, this book is a very unsatisfactory work that skips and skims over the workings of mental ray and its setting, which is probably something that more advanced users really want to know. What the authors tell you about mental ray can be found in the 3ds User Reference where it is clearly covered in about the same amount of detail. Readers are looking for snappy solutions for rendering with mental ray and unfortunately this book fails to deliver. As a reader I feel it's a total let down. The DVD with the book contains the models and textures used throughout the book and these are welcome. A redeeming feature of the book are the screen captures for 3ds settings, which are very clear. If you've used mental ray in 3ds for any period of time then this book probably isn't for you as it seems to be aimed more at novice users and those not totally familiar with the 3ds interface. The appendices take up one third of the book, which seems a bit excessive given that the book is supposed to be about producing high quality renderings with mental ray.

With the limited number of more advanced books regarding architectural visualization for 3ds Max, I was really looking forward to getting this one. To my disappointment, none of the tutorial files on the dvd will open because I have 3ds Max version 8, not 9 which the files require.

I think it's kind of misleading that there's nothing written anywhere on the books cover or in the online summary saying that you need version 9 to do any of the tutorials. I wish I knew this before I dropped $50. What a bummer.

Otherwise, the book looks full of useful information that other beginnner books don't get to. There's even a good chunk of info in the appendix at the end of the book with very useful tips for those working in architectural visualization.

This book is going to look great next to the other Max books on my shelf. In the meantime, I'll try to be patient until my employer can upgrade to version 9. Rrrr...

I must admit that i am really dissapointed with this book. To me it seems like the author just took the reference help menu and made it his own. These renders are not even close to realism. I thought by buying this book, i would gain some confidance in the archviz field. Unfortunately that is not the case. I will have to look elsewhere to gain that confidance and to get a better book or dvd tutorial on archviz. I am not new to 3D. I have worked in 3D for 7 years using 3ds max, and Maya. This book is more accurate to be marketed towards beginners and not towards mid level or professionals.

If you've never done any design viz before (and I mean NEVER) you might benefit from this book. My biggest beef is that 90% of this book's content is laid out almost word for word in the Mental Ray tuts and user reference that ship with Max 9. At this price...hold off.

to take notice that this will NOT work if you are not upto aleast 3dSMaxR9. I wish I had seen the above review befor doing the same exact thing. I have a feeling that we are not the only ones that fell for this. I'm sure the examples are great but I won't know anytime soon. The authors are responsible for putting out accurate information within the pages but they are reaaaaly not clear right on the cover.

If you have Max9 get it. If you dont' then don't bother. (unless they release the same examples that are usable to all.)

This is really good choice for me. Detailed one project sutdy. Actually I learned a lot from this book. Before Mental Ray / Lighting in 3D's Max was a puzzle for me. Know I really understand.

Thanks,
Regards,
SAQIB

At first I was reluctant to buy this book as the previous books about mental ray were not so helpful;being a 3ds max user. I have to confess that I was utterly surprised to find out that this book explores most areas of mental ray usage. Moreover, i was delighted to have seen for the first time a book that touches on the subject about common mental ray errors, and how to overcome them.The "flash light effect" tutorial was another big surprise for me; especially as this technique has always been linked to Maxwell renderer.
Having known jamie cardoso's work for years, I knew this book would be a good purchase.
All tutorials were innovative and very easy to follow.
Finally,the array of detailed 3D scenes,bitmaps and documentation make this book a very good value for money indeed. Many thanks to Jamie and Roger. ...Are you considering the second edition any time soon? This book left me wanting to know more.

This book was very helpful to get started using mental ray for 3D architectural interior and exterior lighting as well as some input on mental ray materials. I went through the tutorials and can begin to understand the process. Although the book features a previous version of 3ds Max (I use 3ds Max 2009 Design) most of the dialog boxes can relate to the newer version. When the tutorials direct the creating of lights there are some noticable differences between the older 3ds version, used in the book, and the new 2009 version of 3ds Max. The book does an excellant job of explaining the reasons for the various settings available to you in mental ray. Many helpful dialog boxes illustrate each process of the tutorials. I'm saving this book as a reference for the mental ray lighting of architectural renderings I work on. I hope that an updated version will also include mental ray daylighting systems and their use and analysis for LEEDS or Green Globes projects. Highly recommended.

These book is intended for intermediate to advanced max users, but these material is far from that. MR is a very powerful render engine, and the book doesn't cover lighting with photometric lights, the HDR section is bad, bad, terrible. If you have basic knowledge on Max and MR, then you could go to the Autodesk online store and get video training that are better. I own about 5 training videos from Autodesk which are basically conferences by well known artists like Gary M. Davis and even though they are short, around 90 minutesa piece, they explain some things that books don't cover. In my opinion if you buy the book Rendering with mental ray and 3ds max by Joep van der Steen you will have a more rich information about how mental ray works, (it also includes some interior and exterior tutorials) so you could then simply apply it to your architectural projects.

The book arrived brand-new, carefully packed, absolutely satisfy my need. Simply love Amazon's way of business.