Sams Teach Yourself 3D Studio Max 3 in 24 Hours

I've spent 13 years working in 3D computer graphics, but never once touched 3D Studio Max. A couple of weeks ago I had a hankering to start, and needed a book to guide me. A few false starts later, and I came across Sams "Teach Yourself" book. It's excellent. There's a couple of minor problems with it though they don't detract from the book. (Some of the images in the sections about shapes are very difficult to de-cipher). There's no CD with the book, but everything is downloadable from their website mentioned in the first chapter. If you need an easy way into 3DS Max, this is the book you should use. By the third evening with the book, I was already producing some pretty nifty renders, much to my wife's dismay. Now not only do I spend a lot of time playing RollerCoaster Tycoon, I spend a lot of time with Max too.....

Whether you are new to 3d modeling entirely, or just trying to convert your skills from some other 3d modeling package to MAX, this book is a great first-time MAX introduction. Buy this book now!If you go through this book in order you will not get "hung up" trying to figure out how to do something (like happens in some other tutorial books) because the examples are amazingly clear. Each example comes with lots of pictures and very specific numbered sequences telling you what you should do. Experienced modelers may find the book somewhat wordy. However, going through the tutorials quickly will teach you the 'MAX religion' and get you off on the right foot. When your later trying to figure out why something dosn't work as you expect, you can find a tutorial which does it, and be reminded EXACTLY how to make it work. I have some amateur experience with SoftImage and TrueSpace and i found the book incredibly useful.Even though this book is for MAX R3, I used it for R4 and it was great. The only thing about R4 which didn't match the examples was the modifier stack/modifier chooser -- but it's enough the same that you can figure it out.

I've spent hours on the internet looking thru hordes of internet tutorials to find that I have failed to complete a single one...what am I looking for you ask? A 3ds max for dummies...but since I havn't seen one of those this book will suffice, if your a dummy, like me, and need complete explinations then this book is for you, and for me as well!!

I never took the time to write a review before..but after reading and trying out this book I have to say it is the best 3d max book for beginners ! I bought other books before and I gave up because I was bored to death but this one is really interesting and touches a lot of important aspects of the software in a very clear way...I am now finshing modeling my first character using all the technique I picked up from the book. I wish the author of this book will write an advanced book to continue from the place this one sttoped so I can make my new modelings realy come to life : )

'Sams Teach Yourself 3D Studio Max 3 in 24 Hours' is a great book indeed. This moderately thin text is brimming with useful information which guides its readers from the basic technique of using primitives, all the way to creating your own animations completely rendered using sophisticated models that you learned how to make through the book. Being a game programmer, I wanted to expand my skills and get into creating graphics, however I didn't want to wade through thousands of pages of text (like the Inside 3D Studio Max series). This book is exactly what I expected it to be: a fast, but extremely detailed tutorial of how to use 3D Studio Max and how to make sophisticated models. By the time I completed reading this book, you wouldn't believe the quality of CG animation I can produce. I can't stress enough how well Dave Kalwick was able to include so much information without taking up thousands of pages. In my opinion, this book alone will cover more information than that of the entire Inside 3d Studio Max series! It's that well written. If what you're looking for is a fast but VERY detailed tutorial on how to use 3DSMax from the ground up, do yourself a favor and spend the small amount of money that this book costs. Compare it's price to the Inside 3D Studio Max series! It's far more expensive, yet this small book (believe it or not) teaching you everything that the others have. How? I have the entire series of Inside 3D Studio Max; This book doesn't spend so much time on the 'theory' of creating models, and it gets straight to the point. It's simply far superior. This book includes: basic modeling, advanced modeling, lighting + effects, animation. Everything you need to know to create 'Final Fantasy' quality CG animation is contained within this text.