Modeling a Character in 3DS Max [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

by Paul Steed (Author) "Defined, design is "the arrangement of elements or details in a product or work of art..." (more)
Key Phrases: Weld Selected, Edit Mesh, Body Guide (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Whether you’re new to 3D Studio Max or you’re an experienced developer working on your next game, Modeling a Character in 3DS Max will be an indispensable addition to your Max book collection. Paul Steed, modeler and animator of characters seen in id Software’s Quake II and Quake III Arena, shows you all the tips, tricks, and techniques that have made him one of the industry’s most recognized 3D artists. Essentially one long tutorial, this book chronicles the creation of a single character from concept to texture mapping. Using each body part as an opportunity to illustrate a different modeling method, Steed runs the gamut of character creation:

Modeling with primitives
Using extrusions
Dealing with Booleans
Mirroring and reusing models
Using high-poly mesh as a low-poly template
Optimization techniques
Applying UVW mapping coordinates

Learn from one of the pros how to make low-poly, real-time game characters with Modeling a Character in 3DS Max!

About the Author
Paul Steed is widely considered to be the dominant 3D game modeler and animator in the business. He has worked in the computer game industry for nearly ten years, including four years at id Software, where he worked on Quake II, Quake III Arena, and Quake III Team Arena. He is now a producer at WildTangent, a web-based technology and content company founded by former Microsoft DirectX evangelist Alex St. John, where he builds and directs the creation of original content showcasing WildTangent’s popular multimedia platform, the Web Driver. Steed has written articles for Game Developer magazine and tutorials for his “Thinking Outside the Box” column on Loonygames.com. He is a frequent speaker at the annual Game Developer Conference.

Product Details

• Paperback: 350 pages
• Publisher: Wordware Publishing, Inc. (July 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556228155
• ISBN-13: 978-1556228155
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #680,732 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Does exactly what it sets out to do...and a bit more :), October 16, 2001

By	CV Koutsos "millavk" (Wellington, New Zealand) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you're new to character modelling and have an entry-level grasp of the 3D Studio Max interface this book was designed for you, without a doubt. If you're more advanced you will very likely get a lot out of it as well, as it's a medley of different techniques and riddled with very helpful hints, but really this book is tailor-made for the novice.

Paul has made a point of screen-dumping every step, every dialogue, and making explicit the reasoning behind what he teaches. This makes for a detailed and clear step-by-step map of the process and methods he uses to create his characters.

I should add that Studio users may have some difficulty and would be well-advised to familiarise themselves with the Max interface before tackling this one, but unless you know every possible route to character creation it's probably worth the effort.

A nice touch is the sprinkling of anecdotal gems thrown in. Steed has had a very public career as a character modeller/animator, and there are a few excellent star-studded stories in the mix as well as the actual education.

If you want something that you can sit in your lap and work through you want this book. I recommend this book unreservedly to anyone interested in pursuing this branch of digital art. The design chapter of the book alone is invaluable to you, let alone the technical side, and Paul is amply qualified to hold forth on the subject matter.

47 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Bad Book, October 7, 2002

By	Norman Hechavarria "Eyes Open" (Fort Wayne, IN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I purchased this book after skimming it over in a local store. I wish I had taken a closer look at it. I just came off a 2 week break from work and school. During my break I decided to work on a new model and following along with Mr. Steed's book. This turned out to be frustration hell. The methods in his book are fine if you are into wasting alot of time. Boolean and splines to make a simple character like the one in his book actually doubles your work. You wind up wasting more time cleaning up the errors from following his tutorial. Why he didn't demonstrate the way MOST people in the industry model, which is box modeling, is beyond me. He basicly tries to reinvent the wheel. I found much better tutorials for FREE on the web. Save yourself from learning bad modeling techniques. I happen to also know that Paul Steed DOES NOT model the way presented in the book. This should raise a red flag or two.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not worth it, November 15, 2004

By	Guy Dufour (Petite-Rivière-St-François, Quebec Canada) - See all my reviews

I'm sorry but this book is written with 3ds max 3 in mind (editable mesh). If you want to model a character today I cannot insist more not to buy this book. I strongly suggest investing your hard-earned dollars on 3ds max 6 animation by barret fox because his way to model a character is much better and in a ~350pages book he even show how to create a scenario, how to rig + animate your characters and the after-production retouches with combustion 3. sorry for my english!