Product Description

3D Studio Max 3.0 Workshop takes the approach of "beginning with the end in mind." This book teaches you 3D Studio Max basic design principles, as well as techniques for getting ideas out of your brain onto your computer screen. Chapters include information on backgrounds, set design and modeling, props and secondary scene elements, camera set-up and movement, and lighting. You'll also learn innovative techniques for creating 3D depth, texturing & reflection, specific material development, and dirt, wear and tear, smoke, water and other special effects, and character design and animation. Other topics covered include video post-production, making a demo reel, and getting a job as a CGI artist/animator.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2388627 in Books
• Published on: 2000-05-31
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 600 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
3D Studio Max 3 Workshop confidently leads beginner Max users through the dark forest of installation, interface introductions, and core concepts. Illustrating the design, construction, and final rendering of a single project, and introducing new features as needed, it drives toward a final goal and artistic vision that started out as a sketch on paper.

The first noticeable thing about this book is the invaluable keyboard/icon tearout sheet. Featuring every icon in Max's many toolbars on one side, and the most commonly needed keyboard shortcuts on the other, this two-page sheet printed on heavy paper gets the new user more proficient in Max via keyboard shortcuts and making it easier to decipher onscreen icons.

The 10 chapters illustrate the step-by-step process of creating and refining an idea, building the set, applying materials, adding lights, animation, and pulling it all together in the final rendering. Each chapter is clear and concise, and is designed to build on previous material while introducing new functions. The only downside is that the book has no colour images--a few pages of colour graphics would have been great for illustrating ideas presented in the chapter on lighting, or surface materials, for example.

The real-world approach that 3D Studio Max 3 Workshop takes is encouraging and realistic. If you are serious about learning to use Max and working professionally in 3-D computer graphics and animation, this book makes a solid teacher. Starting out with an idea on paper and following through all the way to final rendering, it gives a an overview of not only how to use Max, but how to use it in the real world. --Mike Caputo, amazon.com

From the Back Cover

3D Studio Max 3.0 Workshop takes the approach of "beginning with the end in mind." This book teaches you 3D Studio Max basic design principles, as well as techniques for getting ideas out of your brain onto your computer screen. Chapters include information on backgrounds, set design and modeling, props and secondary scene elements, camera set-up and movement, and lighting. You'll also learn innovative techniques for creating 3D depth, texturing & reflection, specific material development, and dirt, wear and tear, smoke, water and other special effects, and character design and animation. Other topics covered include video post-production, making a demo reel, and getting a job as a CGI artist/animator.

About the Author

Duane Loose is the Supervising Art Director for Creative Capers Entertainment, a Southern California company that creates and produces original content for film, television and game/interactive companies worldwide. A leader in animation and CGI, the company works with clients such as Disney, Nickelodeon, Warner Brothers, Dreamworks/SKG, and Sony Entertainment, billing itself as "the best kept secret in Hollywood".

Customer Reviews

An excellent introduction...
This book provides an excellent introduction to both 3DS Max and general CGI. The author provides detailed descriptions of many basic aspects of 3DS Max, such as lighting and texture, and explains why they are important in your composition.

The book basically guides you through an entire project from start (a fresh canvas) to finish (an 8 second animation!), which is an excellent way learn. As you get towards the final chapters, you will find that the authors stops "spoon-feeding" you, and you are left to create some of you own objects with just a short description and some pictures to help you...initially, this can be quite a shock, and you may find yourself closely examining his pictures to make sure that it's "right", but then you realise that it's time for your creativity to shine through.

This book does not cover cameras, so you need to look elsewhere for that. Instead, it provides a camera file that you have to mearge in with your project (the file wasn't on the CD either, you may have to download it from their website).

Overall, a good read, a good introduction to a powerful software program, but not a reference, and by no means a complete guide.