Reviews (12)

If you want to learn 3ds max only this book will help you
I didn't want to spend so much money on a book so I have searched in the libraries and reviewed in book stores many books about 3ds max. After waisting about 2 weeks in reviewing book after book I can give you my honest oppinion this is the best book on the market. This is the only book which will give you full explanation how to use 3ds max and why the things work in a certain way. You don't need to have any previous experience to understand the concept of this book. All the other books comparing to this one need experience in programing or at least 3d graphics. Most of them are thousants of pages talking and not saying anything to you.

ALMOST COMPLETE!!
This books is a must-have and the author known about max and, he give a lot of usefull tips. For example, the author talk about "activeshades" in the render.. they say how usefullness it can be BUT he also say that activeshades are not useable for all thinks.. even more he show the pro and cons about it. The best book ever
Just recently, I started to get into 3D design. For past 2 months I worked in Plasma since it was a slimmed down version of 3ds Max. Then finally, I decided to learn it and dig deeper into the program. Without prior experience it was a little hard for me so I bought this book. From the start, I can see how valuable this book is. I read all the posts above and they were dead on. Also, they were part of the reason I picked up this book. The author really explains the 3D design in detail which is very easy to understand for a person who is just starting out. As I only read close to 100 pages of the book, I already feel like I can get around the program lot easier. Not only the techniquest are explained, but also, why things happen and work the way they do. If you have graphic - web design experience and can get around Photoshop, armed with this book and 3dsMax, you will be able to desing some mean layouts. Simply said: The best 42 bucks I spend on a book. GO AND BUY IT! Oh yeah, the book comes with CDROM which includes excersizes for EACH chapter along with AVI movies!!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 3ds max (Computer file)    2. Business & Economics    3. Business/Economics    4. CAD-CAM - General    5. Computer Graphics - General    6. Computer animation    7. Computer graphics    8. Computers - Other Applications    9. Engineering - General    10. Industries - Computer Industry    11. Computer graphics software    12. Image processing: computer animation    13. Multimedia    14. Technology / Engineering / General   

Reviews (3)

Great!
That's the only word i can describe this book with...it really is. If your anything like me and you get bored quickly this is the book for you.Unlike others it doesnt start out with those boring animated sphere tutorials.It really gets right down to business and prevents you from that inavitablehybernation of studying. Begginers-This is the Book for you. One Warningthough.If you are a CD buff you wont find satisfaction with the CD inclosedhere but hey you can always play frisbey with it on the spare time providedto you by the Cut To The Chase-Keep Me Awake Stucture of this book(if youwont spend time on the Useless Technical supportand just give up on theCD part-you dont need it anyway).

Excelence is the key
When I deciced to start learning 3d max I din't know what book I had tobuy, I was looking for a book where I could learn from the biginning andget familiarize with the Interface not something standard where they justexplain things in general, I wanted to see the "CLICK here and theretype of explanations" step by step.After reading the book I considermyself a Person who knows what is doing. This book if just perfect for starters
When I decided to learn 3D studio max I headed right to a book store tofind the best book for for this subject however, they all looked like theywere made for professional users, even the "3d studio maxfundamentals" Everything changed when I got my hands on this book..You will learn everything so fast...I'm so glad I found it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animation    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Graphics - General    4. Computers    5. Computers - Desktop Publishing    6. Microcomputer Graphics    7. Computer graphics software    8. Image processing: computer animation   

Reviews (6)

Money for old rope
This book says "advanced modelling and animation". The modelling and animation examples in this book are of a beginner's standard and poorly executed. The tutorials are utterly uninspirational and lacking any creativity. The demo files on the accompanying CD are, frankly, embarassing. Why would you want to follow a tutorial that produces such a substandard result? Pure Power
This book reads like a "Secrets of the master's revealed."Yes, it assumes you know whats what, but if you do know what is what, then there is really no other book available.It took me the better half of 60 days to work this journey, but you come out bigger and bolder than ever on the other side.If you are dedicated and put in the hard time, this book will take you to a pro status.My eyes were once closed, now after reading this book, they are wide open.I can only hope that the great Mr. Kuligan and his associates write another book that covers the few untouched features of 3DS MAX that he did not address in this book .A true must-own for any aspiring 3d artist lying in wait....

i'm sure there one better than this
I'm following the first proyect of the book, wich is the largest, and aplies many modeling techniques, and animation tools too, plus a little texturing. i won't denied it, it's a very prectical book, but I just get that sensation, that there has to be a better one, I don't expect to cover all the program tool, but if it says advanced modeling and animating, so I expect some great modeling techniques, and great animation tips too.Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Animation    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    4. Computer Graphics - General    5. Computer graphics    6. Computers    7. Computers - Desktop Publishing    8. Desktop Publishing - General    9. Computers / Computer Graphics / Design   

Editorial Review

3D Studio Max version 3 is a mature and flexible 3-D modeling, animation, and rendering tool. Read more

Reviews (11)

For those in the area
A solid introduction to Max for those who are already aware of the area. This book explains the use of Max's wide range of tools in a tutorial format. Probably not ideal for anyone who lacks a basic understanding of 3D. This book could benifit from greater expalination of the way the tools are used. Nevertheless, well written with well set out examples.

Not so professional
If you send a CD along with a book - the files you claim to be on the CDshould actually be on it! If you spend some time with the 3D Studio MAX 3Reference Volumes, you will learn a lot more than you'll ever learn fromthis book, wich basically only repeats the same things found in theReference Volumes. There are much better books on MAX out there - so thisis not a good choice.

Not so professional
If you send a CD along with a book - the files you claim to be on the CDshould actually be on it! If you spend some time with the 3D Studio MAX 3Reference Volumes, you will learn a lot more than you'll ever learn fromthis book, wich basically only repeats the same things found in theReference Volumes. There are much better books on MAX out there - so thisis not a good choice. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 3D studio    2. Computer Books And Software    3. Computer Graphics - 3D Studio    4. Computer animation    5. Computers    6. Computers - Desktop Publishing    7. Desktop Publishing - General    8. Internet - Web Site Design    9. Computer graphics software    10. Computers / Computer Graphics / General   

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - General    3. Computers    4. Computers - Other Applications    5. Design & Drafting    6. Computer graphics & software    7. Computers / Computer Graphics / General   

Subjects:  1. Computer Animation    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Graphics - General    4. Computers    5. Computers - Other Applications    6. Microcomputer Graphics    7. Art / Graphic Arts    8. Computer graphics software    9. Image processing: computer animation   

Reviews (16)

Completly AMAZING
I don`t speak a lot english and i was so scare to buy it because this guy is brithis but i saw some reviews and took the risk. when i got the book we can resume in one ward i was just surprised, it is completly amazing, i dont know for one else but for me this guy that`s really knows how to explain the difficult world of 3D, Thanks Peter DraperI've already found the key to my goal "this Book"

ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL
There is a reason why the used books are priced the same as the new for this item. This is an essential buy. Beginners should try get their hands on something a little easier first, but everyone with even a little bit of experience needs to get this book. Whereas many books leave you with a feeling of being "rushed" or of not being properly thought out, this one leaves you with an impression of having every single tiny detail meticulously planned. The DVD even includes video tutorials that didn't fit in the pages of the book! And the author has a website for the book and users that have problems with the tutorials. And guess what? He actually visits the website and offers help! wow! what a concept!
Best 3Ds Max book purchase
Most books out there are rehashes of the help documentation or popular tutorials already out there.For this book, however, almost every single tutorial covered tricks and techniques that I've never been exposed to before in my years of working with 3D Studio.Definitely an eye-opener for anyone who wants to learn how to create any sort of realistic environmental effect.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - General    3. Computers    4. Computers - General Information    5. Interactive & Multimedia    6. Computers / Computer Graphics / General    7. Image processing: computer animation   

Editorial Review

The 3D Studio Max application offers an array of powerful modeling tools, but the type of model and the style of tool can often make building intricate objects a real challenge. Read more

Reviews (3)

Very Disappointing
The title of this book is extremely misleading. The majority of this book is not complex at all; building basic models would have been a more accurate name. Mortier fells less like a teacher of 3D, and more like a salesperson of plug-ins. Overall I felt insulted by this book which is too amateur for an intermediate user, and too confusing for a beginner.

Waste of money
This book is for beginners. The title is extremely misleading, as there is no complexity at all to what author teaches. I also question the authors experience using this program. If you want to stunt your learning, and expose your mind to a gallery of medicore art then you will enjoy this. If you want to learn something about 3D, there are plenty of good 3D max books available. This one should really be called 'please buy my bad book.'

Tripe
Unlike the author's intermediate to advance recommendations, this book really is for the beginner....frankly, even then I would hesitate to recommend it. The title is quite misleading, there is very little modelling, complex or otherwise. The gist of the book is a compendium of plugins with beginner tutorials. Most of this info is readily available on the web from the developers site. The color examples are extremely amateurish and in fact, quite ugly. I suggest Max users to steer far away this. Your money is spent better elsewhere. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Bks - Desktop Publishing    2. Computer Books And Software    3. Computer Books: General    4. Computer Graphics - 3D Studio    5. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    6. Computers    7. Computers - Desktop Publishing    8. Microcomputer Graphics    9. Programming - General    10. Art / Graphic Arts    11. Computer graphics software    12. Computer modelling & simulation    13. Graphics    14. Software   

Reviews (5)

Maybe not "Essential" for everyone to Own but a Great Way to get Started
I approached this book with no preconceived expectations, expecially after reading the one negative review below.When searching for books on design or development, I find there are typically two types:
Good Book
I had max for a while and was moving forward but had alot of little questions that needed to be answered.This book helped me understand the UI layout more as well as how to customize it.There are a couple neat character models in there as well that he breaks down step by step in the later chapters.

Great book if you are starting out...
If you are just starting out and want to learn Max with no previous 3D experience then this is a great book to start with.It covers all the basics you will need to get up and running before moving onto more application specific excercises. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics    3. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    4. Computer Graphics - General    5. Computer animation    6. Computers    7. Computers - Other Applications    8. Graphic Design    9. Computer graphics software    10. Image processing: computer animation    11. Multimedia    12. Non-Classifiable   

Reviews (20)

Not Ready for Prime Time
I have been working with this book for several years. I have never been able to anything more than the modeling tutorials. The scripts do not function, therefore the UI's do not work and you are unable to finish the book! Additionally, you are unable to contact the authors to obtain corrections. I have purchased every book that Michele Bousquet has published since 3D Studio Dos 1. This book is not her best effort. Great idea to take a student from start to finish on a project but there-in lies the rub, a student nor could most instructors use this book for a reference must less a book to use for classroom instruction. Wasted time and wasted money..............

EXCELLENT BOOK!!WROTE FOR THE NEWBIES.
I was a total newbie when I bought this book, and it have really made me improve in almost every aspect that must be known in 3ds max. Of course if you already know advanced techniques you'll probably get bored with the book. In the animation aspect I think is a bit short (talking about teaching you how to simulate motion like the walking cicle for the alien and so.)But the tutorials in modeling are excellent and very easy to understand. EXCELLENT BOOK!!WROTE FOR THE NEWBIES.
I was a total newbie when I bought this book, and it have really made me improve in almost every aspect that must be known in 3ds max. Of course if you already know advanced techniques you'll probably get bored with the book. In the animation aspect I think is a bit short (talking about teaching you how to simulate motion like the walking cicle for the alien and so.)But the tutorials in modeling are excellent and very easy to understand. Read more

Subjects:  1. 3ds max (Computer file)    2. Computer Books And Software    3. Computer Graphics - 3D Studio    4. Computer Graphics - General    5. Computer animation    6. Computer graphics    7. Computers    8. Computers - Desktop Publishing    9. Computer graphics software    10. Technology / Engineering / General   

Subjects:  1. Computer Animation    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    4. Computers    5. Computers - Games    6. Computer graphics software    7. Computers / Computer Graphics / General    8. Image processing   

Reviews (2)

EXCELLENT! 3ds max book
I have been perusing all the 3ds max books that come through the local Barns & Nobles for years and have purchased several. I must say the majority of them have been a big disappointment. I picked up "Advanced 3ds max 5 Modeling & Animating" on a whim and what a pleasant surprise. I liked this book so much I ordered B. Kulagin's (the author) other max book "3ds max 4 from Objects to Animations". It is also an excellent book and it covers features that are not covered in his max 5 book (the max 5 book actually builds on the max 4 book). These books are with out comparison the best max books I have ever run across. The project base lessons reveal the hidden power of max and are easy to follow and understand. B. Kulagin is a master instructor of max.

New to 3ds max
This is one of the first books I've bought for MAX.I was impressed that it is essentially a book of 5 long tutorials (projects) that lead the reader from start to finish.This is helpful to us users that want to "get our hands dirty" doing something rather than just reading a reference book that shows all the nifty gizmos but not how to really use them.Read more

Subjects:  1. 3D studio    2. Computer Books: Operating Systems    3. Computer Graphics - 3D Studio    4. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    5. Computer Graphics - General    6. Computer animation    7. Computers    8. Computers - Desktop Publishing    9. Desktop Publishing - General    10. Computer graphics software    11. Operating systems & graphical user interfaces (GUIs)    12. PCs (IBM-compatible personal computers)   

Reviews (7)

Just what is needed for a beginner
After reading some of the other listed reviews, I was a little skeptical of this book, but a friend of mine recommended it so I thought I'd check it out and I'm glad I did. I'm a beginner to 3DS Max and this book is awesome. I tried to get the program to work before this book, but kept running into trouble. The examples are all super simple to follow and very helpful. I especailly like the variety of the examples. In one chapter, the examples are fun cartoons and in another they are amusement rides. I found myself anxious to see what the next example would be. Chapter 1 had a space shuttle example that seemed to be in poor taste, but the rest were great. Max 5 is big, this book is not!
I've been using Max 5 for about 6 months now and thought this book would be a good addition to the Discreet courseware...I was wrong!I get the impression the author "rushed" this book just to get it on the market.There is not much detail, and I feel there's much missing. Poor content and demos
OK I haven't thoroughly read this book - I bought it as a supplement to max's courseware books, thinking it would go into more details on what can be done with the tools in max. Some of the demos in the book are laughably impractical.Example: placing a dozen or two omni lights against a plane to create a starry background?The author apparently isn't aware of real-life issues like render time.. Seriously, a new user is still better off using the 3ds max courseware, its short, but at least its informed. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Desktop Publish    2. Computer Graphics - General    3. Computers    4. Computers - Desktop Publishing    5. Desktop Publishing - General    6. Interactive & Multimedia    7. Microcomputer Graphics    8. Multi-Media Hardware & Software    9. Computer Software Packages    10. Computers / Computer Graphics / Design    11. Image processing: computer animation   

Subjects:  1. Computer Animation    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Graphics - Design    4. Computer Graphics - General    5. Computers    6. Computers - Other Applications    7. Computers / Computer Graphics / Design   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (23)

The point is moot...but this book is wonderful.
I know the point is late in coming since Peterson has moved on to AutoDesk Press and MAX4 is now the proper subject of any review, but there is no way this book deserves the poor reviews it has received from a couple of reviewers here. Buy another book instead
In a nutshell, this book misses ilustrations, no pictures of buttons after the presentation of them in chapter One. The author takes for granted lotsof things in his step by step tutorials. I have also had problems followinginstructions in the first animation exercise. Steve Burke did a great jobin the cover but not in the book itself. LOOK, what a beginner expects in abook that says FUNDAMENTALS is visual help, when I decided to buy this bookI came to this same page and did not consider what the other people wroteabout how terribly writen and designed this book was, I thought the otherswho gave 5 stars were the ones I should listen to and here I am completlydisappointed. I have read and practiced the book cover-to-cover and it isincredible how dissociate topics are, how irrelevant examples are and howgraphically poor this book is. This book is an act of irreponsabilitytowards beginners a waste of money if compared to the visual quickstartguide and other books that were written instead of dictated to a secretaryand better illustrated in the inside than in the outside.

Reasons why you should NOT buy this book
Well, if you are dealing with 3D Studio for a month already or have read another book on the theme this book would not suffice your expectations.What if you have not read a previous book or have not been working with 3Dstudio? The answer is the same no.Have in mind 3D Studio has an interfacedivided into 3 singular menus/tabs not including the menu Bar, if you cannot go through one to another you will be lost and won't be able toaccomplish any project and that is the main problem with Toddy's book,there are no pictures!He presents the tabs in the first chapter and thatmeans that you will have to memorize all the buttons and where they arebecause he won't show a single picture of a button after that chapter. Thebook misses essential examples and places other that are completelyirrelevant. The first project you will be challenged to do is to createyour first animation. As I could not accomplish it after 3 hard working anddedicated nights, I decided to share the problem with other students of 3Danimation here in Barcelona. They could not accomplish it either but tookthe book to an animation professor who rewrote the steps and added themissing writen information (the author forgot to assert points that wereessential) besides drawing all the buttons that should be shown in thebook. Kind of stupid to have it done in 2 hours after this editing. Ofcourse, you can learn something with this book but it will take you a lotof time to accomplish simple things due to lack of graphical help (SteveBurke was suppposed to do it but he spent more time doing the nomad withplastic-like breast and rubber-like pants that appears in the cover) andexamples and a considerable amount of technical errors. Concerning theCD-ROM it is good but the whole set (book and cd) is not worth your timeand money, buy '3D Studio Max R3 in Depth' by Rob Palevoi instead, youwon't regret. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 3D studio    2. Computer Books: Desktop Publish    3. Computer Books: General    4. Computer Graphics - 3D Studio    5. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    6. Computer animation    7. Computer graphics    8. Computers    9. Computers - Desktop Publishing    10. Microcomputer Graphics    11. Multi-Media Hardware & Software    12. Virtual reality    13. Computers / Computer Graphics / General   

Reviews (9)

I would hardly call these people masters
First let me say that I had previously written a more positive review of this book; however, I may have been a little over zealous. I learned a little, but the book's out of date.
This book, written ages ago for MAX 1.2, doesn't do the job now that MAX is up to v2.5.While I did learn a few interesting tricks, for the most part I was dissapointed.Several tutorials contained blatant errors orwould not work as explained.Most of what you learn here, you learnbyfixing the author's errors or figuring out the things he forgot to tellyou. Add to that the fact that it's out of date, and it adds up to adefinite last resort resource book.

Best starter book on the market
This is the book for anyone using 3D Studio MAX for the first time.Aftercompleting the first 3 chapters I was able to begin reading (withunderstanding) the more comprehensive manuals for experienced MAX users. GREAT MANUAL, THANK YOU Michele and company. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animation    2. Art    3. Computer Bks - Desktop Publishing    4. Computer Graphics - 3D Studio    5. Computer animation    6. Computer graphics    7. Computers - Desktop Publishing    8. Film & Video - General    9. Microcomputer Graphics    10. Performing Arts    11. Computer graphics software    12. Technology / Engineering / General   

Editorial Review

3DS Max 5has a wide and deep feature set that’s often intimidating to a new user, but in Read more

Subjects:  1. 3ds max (Computer file)    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Graphics - General    4. Computer animation    5. Computer graphics    6. Computers    7. Computers - Other Applications    8. Interactive & Multimedia    9. Microcomputer Graphics    10. Multi-Media Hardware & Software    11. Animation    12. Computer graphics software    13. Computers / Computer Graphics / Design    14. Image processing: computer animation    15. Multimedia   

Reviews (5)

Beyond Fundamentals
I hesitated to buy this book because I consider myself a "veteran" user and I didn't want to go back to basics but I was pleasantly surprised at how advanced it was and the wealth of information that the book had to offer. The author seems to really want you to know what you need to know and goes out of his way to show you. The pages have lots of sidebars with valuable tips and cautions. The book is also a great way to segue from 4x to 5.0. The new features are showcased in many of the tutorials.

Few mistakes on tutorials
Looks like a good book. However, misleading steps on the chapter three make you stuck almost at the end of the Applying Material exercise. I took some time to figure out what to do to continue provided the misinformation written by the author, it's very frustrating. I am using Max since version 2 so that's why I think I could try some other steps to finish the tutorials on the book. I did not finish the book yet, will see how many more mistakes are there, I hope none...

3ds max 5 fundamentals
I really thought this book was a great investment.It has a pretty thorough tutorial, and the book complemented with the CD was comprehensive enough for me to fly through the menus and interfaces of 3ds max 5 by the first third of the book.I was especially interested in how the book extensively covered radiosity, since I am currently in third year university, majoring in Computer Science with a keen interest in computer graphics and animation.This book has helped me greatly with my thesis.All in all, a really great book to learn from and to use as a reference. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - General    3. Computer animation    4. Computer graphics    5. Computers    6. Computers - Other Applications    7. Microcomputer Graphics    8. Computer graphics software    9. Computers / Computer Graphics / General    10. Image processing: computer animation   

Reviews (7)

Good book for character amination
It is a 5 stars book, but is a little outdated now.

Good character animation book, but a bad MAX book...
This book teach you how to make a good character modeling and animation + basic tutor of Character Studio. So, if you looking for character modeling and animation in MAX, better buy other books like Inside series of 3DS MAXR2.5

Great learning tool.
If you don't like this book it's because you dont know what your doing.It comes chock full of models and taught me how to really use Bones Pro. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 3D studio    2. Computer Bks - Desktop Publishing    3. Computer Books And Software    4. Computer Graphics - 3D Studio    5. Computer animation    6. Computer graphics    7. Animation    8. Computer graphics software   

Subjects:  1. Computers - General Information    2. General