3ds Max 9 Bible (Paperback)

~ Kelly L. Murdock (Author)
Key Phrases: subobject mode, parameters rollout, using this rollout, Material Editor, File Edit Tools, Track View (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

"An excellent book for beginners as well as advanced 3ds Max users. A valuable reference that covers everything you'd want to know." --Andre Surya, Award-winning Digital Artist A favorite of 3ds Max artists from beginners to pros! Why is 3ds Max Bible a perennial bestselling favorite? Because whether you're a beginner looking for a tutorial to get you up to speed your first day or an expert needing a reference to Max's advanced features, it's all here. Loaded with advice, professional tips, and more than 150 step-by-step lessons, this is the most comprehensive reference-tutorial on 3ds Max on the market, and the one you'll turn to again and again. * Organize and blend sequences with the new Animation Layers feature * Explore Sun and Sky, Car Paint, and other new mental ray shaders * Combine and divide objects with ProBoolean and ProCutter * Create more accurate dynamic animations with updated reactor tools * Add greater realism with enhanced and integrated hair and fur tools * Reference objects, materials, and controllers with XRef Animate a dancing cartoon moose Isolate mapping surfaces with the Quick Planar map button Add realistic motion to your model's hairstyle What's on the DVD? You'll find before-and-after example files for every tutorial in the book. The DVD also includes: * Models and textures to customize for your own designs * Rendered AVI files of animations used in the tutorials * All the Max files for every tutorial * Adobe tryout versions of After Effects(r), Photoshop(r) CS2, Illustrator(r) CS2, and Premiere Pro System Requirements: See the DVD appendix for details and complete system requirements.

From the Back Cover

"An excellent book for beginners as well as advanced 3ds Max users. A valuable reference that covers everything you'd want to know."
—Andre Surya, Award-winning Digital Artist

A favorite of 3ds Max artists from beginners to pros!

Why is 3ds Max Bible a perennial bestselling favorite? Because whether you're a beginner looking for a tutorial to get you up to speed your first day or an expert needing a reference to Max's advanced features, it's all here. Loaded with advice, professional tips, and more than 150 step-by-step lessons, this is the most comprehensive reference-tutorial on 3ds Max on the market, and the one you'll turn to again and again.

• Organize and blend sequences with the new Animation Layers feature
• Explore Sun and Sky, Car Paint, and other new mental ray shaders
• Combine and divide objects with ProBoolean and ProCutter
• Create more accurate dynamic animations with updated reactor tools
• Add greater realism with enhanced and integrated hair and fur tools
• Reference objects, materials, and controllers with XRef

Animate a dancing cartoon moose

Isolate mapping surfaces with the Quick Planar map button

Add realistic motion to your model's hairstyle

What's on the DVD?
You'll find before-and-after example files for every tutorial in the book. The DVD also includes:

• Models and textures to customize for your own designs
• Rendered AVI files of animations used in the tutorials
• All the Max files for every tutorial
• Adobe tryout versions of After Effects®, Photoshop® CS2, Illustrator® CS2, and Premiere Pro

System Requirements: See the DVD appendix for details and complete system requirements.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 1248 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; Pap/DVD edition (January 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470100893
• ISBN-13: 978-0470100899
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.4 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #195,315 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Detailed but under-illustrated, September 17, 2007

By	Haydn Allbutt "FastLife" (Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an excellent and highly detailed reference for the program 3ds Max 9. As near as I can tell it mentioned every button and command that 3ds Max has available. My main criticism is that it is highly under-illustrated. While every function and button is mentioned, as a beginner to 3ds Max, I found that I often could not find the command being referred to in the text, whereas a screen shot would have quickly, and clearly shown what I should look for. In addition, since 3ds Max is such a sophisticated and detailed program which is great, it is often not readily apparent how all the various settings and parameters that can be entered for a given effect should be used. This book mentions most, if not all of the parameters, but examples as to how they are used in an actual project would have been good. There are short tutorials on the main features of the program, but these are generally restricted to singe effects. This book is probably for a more advanced user who is familiar with all the commands and knows how to use them to create a 3d scene, but would like a more detailed explanation of various functions in 3ds Max. Definitely well written though, and the DVD with the material and software described in the examples is great.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book for 3ds max learning and reference., February 23, 2007

By	Dija "Dija" (Brazil) - See all my reviews

I just start reading 3ds max bible book. I never read any of Kelly Murdock's books, but I've found the way he presents and explain every feature of 3ds max very good and being as non technical as possible! It isn't boring to read and fun sometimes. I'll consider buying the author's books from now on!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Awesome read, May 25, 2007

A Kid's Review

This book helped me a lot to become a much better 3d artist/animator. It is a absolute necessity for any budding 3DCG artists. The 3ds max 9 bible contains information for both beginners and advanced users who may use it as a reference.

Although I now have accquired the skills that is taught in this book I still use it as a reference when I'm stuck.

I'm a 13 year old male living in Perth, Australia.