3ds max 4 Media Animation

Rating:
Summary: Another Winner
Review: "Another Winner" (for ISBN 0-7357-1059-7)

In his latest "3ds max 4 Media Animation" book, award winning animator John P. Chismar demonstrates once again that not only is he extremely skilled in the use of 3D Studio MAX, he is also a superb communicator and teacher, and is able to transfer effectively his knowledge to others.

There are several features that move his book to the front of the pack and make it one that most MAX users will truly enjoy. To begin, the projects are fun, and that's important when you're learning new techniques. When you reach the end of a section, the results of your efforts should demonstrate not only what it is hoped you've just learned, but also verify the professional skills of your instructor. In every chapter, it's obvious that the author has paid a great deal of attention to the small details that make the reader's life easier. Step-by-step instructions are meticulously designed, and complimented by an abundant collection of screen shots that ease you through procedures that otherwise would appear extremely complicated.....allowing you to focus on learning and creating, rather than wasting time trying to guess what is required to complete each step. Repeating a procedure several times during the course of a project is an effective technique for 'painless' learning, and more useful than simply studying a manual, and the author utilizes this approach to great advantage. While this would appear to be a logical idea in any book of tutorials, the author has mastered this art better than most. This is not a book for theorists, but one for those who wish to expand their practical knowledge. In addition, maps, sound files, and everything related to the project, except MAX and the will to learn, are provided on the CD that accompanies the book, so the reader can focus entirely on the tutorials and not spend time creating maps and audio files.

After a number of years of working with 3D Studio MAX, I feel reasonably comfortable with the program and can usually generate what I require. Why then would I be interested in purchasing another book of tutorials? The answers to that question are simple. First, I don't work in media animation, but it's something we see everyday and most MAX enthusiasts I know are always eager to expand their horizons and learn new or different things. The author takes the reader into his world, and, after only a few hours of working on one of his projects, one begins to appreciate what a fascinating world it is. Second, if one works somewhat independently most of the time, it's often easy to acquire sloppy habits such as moving the mouse to a menu instead of right clicking or not using an appropriate key stroke. I'll admit that I'm guilty of this sometimes. Working through one of John's books helps me improve my efficiency, and rediscover better ways to approach a project. Often there are several paths one can follow to accomplish the same goal in MAX, and because the program has so many features that improve and evolve on an ongoing basis, constant diligence is required to remain efficient. Most MAX users will probably agree that they would benefit from a little 'tune-up' once in awhile. One painless way to achieve this goal, improve upon or sharpen your techniques or refine the way you work, have fun and learn something new is to follow the carefully laid out and well designed instructions in "3d studio max 4 Media Animation".

I've mentioned some of the things that, in my opinion, are beneficial for the intermediate to advanced user, but is this book for the absolute beginner? The answer is yes and no. The author's instructions are extremely clear and well written and probably most MAX users could follow them successfully, but still, it would probably be to one's advantage to at least have had some basic experience with the program before attempting some of the more complex projects. I expect that the user who will benefit most from the book will probably be at the intermediate level, but there really is something in it for everyone who owns MAX.

One small warning.....the book was written for MAX 4.0 and everything works well if you have installed versions 4.0, 4.01 or 4.02. However, if you've already upgraded to MAX 4.2. you may run into a few problems when attempting a video post rendering. In fact, I reverted back to MAX 4.02 when I couldn't get the Funhouse scene (Project #1) to render in video post without crashing. The bug, present in version 4.2 but not in previous versions, appears related to the use of VP glow and rendering while using a background image in the Environment slot. Remove the image, and all functions normally. But it must be stressed again that this is a little MAX problem, and not one that should be attributed to the author.

The first book in the series was excellent but, as New Riders reported, this one is even better. It is seldom one can recommend a book without hesitation, but this is one of those times. Buy it, enjoy it, learn, polish your skills, and have fun. I've discovered several good books (and some not so good) related to 3D Studio MAX over the years, but the books written by John P. Chismar, and also Jon Bell's f/x series, remain at the top of my list of favorites.

........................................Frank E. Lancaster

Rating:
Summary: Another Winner
Review: "Another Winner" (for ISBN 0-7357-1059-7)

In his latest "3ds max 4 Media Animation" book, award winning animator John P. Chismar demonstrates once again that not only is he extremely skilled in the use of 3D Studio MAX, he is also a superb communicator and teacher, and is able to transfer effectively his knowledge to others.

There are several features that move his book to the front of the pack and make it one that most MAX users will truly enjoy. To begin, the projects are fun, and that's important when you're learning new techniques. When you reach the end of a section, the results of your efforts should demonstrate not only what it is hoped you've just learned, but also verify the professional skills of your instructor. In every chapter, it's obvious that the author has paid a great deal of attention to the small details that make the reader's life easier. Step-by-step instructions are meticulously designed, and complimented by an abundant collection of screen shots that ease you through procedures that otherwise would appear extremely complicated.....allowing you to focus on learning and creating, rather than wasting time trying to guess what is required to complete each step. Repeating a procedure several times during the course of a project is an effective technique for 'painless' learning, and more useful than simply studying a manual, and the author utilizes this approach to great advantage. While this would appear to be a logical idea in any book of tutorials, the author has mastered this art better than most. This is not a book for theorists, but one for those who wish to expand their practical knowledge. In addition, maps, sound files, and everything related to the project, except MAX and the will to learn, are provided on the CD that accompanies the book, so the reader can focus entirely on the tutorials and not spend time creating maps and audio files.

After a number of years of working with 3D Studio MAX, I feel reasonably comfortable with the program and can usually generate what I require. Why then would I be interested in purchasing another book of tutorials? The answers to that question are simple. First, I don't work in media animation, but it's something we see everyday and most MAX enthusiasts I know are always eager to expand their horizons and learn new or different things. The author takes the reader into his world, and, after only a few hours of working on one of his projects, one begins to appreciate what a fascinating world it is. Second, if one works somewhat independently most of the time, it's often easy to acquire sloppy habits such as moving the mouse to a menu instead of right clicking or not using an appropriate key stroke. I'll admit that I'm guilty of this sometimes. Working through one of John's books helps me improve my efficiency, and rediscover better ways to approach a project. Often there are several paths one can follow to accomplish the same goal in MAX, and because the program has so many features that improve and evolve on an ongoing basis, constant diligence is required to remain efficient. Most MAX users will probably agree that they would benefit from a little 'tune-up' once in awhile. One painless way to achieve this goal, improve upon or sharpen your techniques or refine the way you work, have fun and learn something new is to follow the carefully laid out and well designed instructions in "3d studio max 4 Media Animation".

I've mentioned some of the things that, in my opinion, are beneficial for the intermediate to advanced user, but is this book for the absolute beginner? The answer is yes and no. The author's instructions are extremely clear and well written and probably most MAX users could follow them successfully, but still, it would probably be to one's advantage to at least have had some basic experience with the program before attempting some of the more complex projects. I expect that the user who will benefit most from the book will probably be at the intermediate level, but there really is something in it for everyone who owns MAX.

One small warning.....the book was written for MAX 4.0 and everything works well if you have installed versions 4.0, 4.01 or 4.02. However, if you've already upgraded to MAX 4.2. you may run into a few problems when attempting a video post rendering. In fact, I reverted back to MAX 4.02 when I couldn't get the Funhouse scene (Project #1) to render in video post without crashing. The bug, present in version 4.2 but not in previous versions, appears related to the use of VP glow and rendering while using a background image in the Environment slot. Remove the image, and all functions normally. But it must be stressed again that this is a little MAX problem, and not one that should be attributed to the author.

The first book in the series was excellent but, as New Riders reported, this one is even better. It is seldom one can recommend a book without hesitation, but this is one of those times. Buy it, enjoy it, learn, polish your skills, and have fun. I've discovered several good books (and some not so good) related to 3D Studio MAX over the years, but the books written by John P. Chismar, and also Jon Bell's f/x series, remain at the top of my list of favorites.

........................................Frank E. Lancaster

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Reference...
Review: About two weeks ago I purchased John Chrismar's "Media Animation" book, and I must say that I am very impressed with this book. Having completed the three projects, and am now reviewing the final real world case studies, I think I'll toss in my two cents worth here. Maybe this will be useful for the next guy, maybe not.

This book appears to be geared for the beginner to intermediately skilled 3ds max user (perhaps with an emphasis towards intermediate). The first tutorial (Funhouse billboard) covers most of the basics. While I already new most of the stuff covered here, I did learn a few handy tips and tricks I hadn't known before. You get exposed to just about all of the basics that become the foundation for the rest of the book in this tutorial. The final animation was pretty cool, although the sound track that went with it made me want to barf. Oh well, its the learning that matters.

The second tutorial (Vote:2000) was in some ways simpler than the first although it had some interesting material editor stuff that I found very handy. Learning the use of DOF was cool although it bogged down my machine rendering for quite awhile. The final product was a cool animation with a nice soundtrack (I wouldn't be embarrassed to show this to my friends).

The third (and best IMO) tutorial was the TV3 News Open. Now here's where the book really earned its price. An excellent walkthough on pro looking logo development. Excellent workflow with lots of good pointers on using the material editor and video post to pull off some very nice looking stuff. I learned alot in this one, stuff thats hard to pull out of your 3ds max manuals. I wish the whole book had more stuff like this one.

There are a few points which are not so great and deserve a small amount of attention.
1. Many of the illustrations are not correct in this book. The text will say something like "... as shown in figure x.xx". Then you look at figure x.xx and it has an image of something else altogether. Looks like some proofing problems here. If you're the type who DEPENDS on illustrations, you might get a bit frustrated. This happens quite a bit in this book. If you're already somewhat experienced with max then this probably won't be a big problem, more of an annoyance since the text is very accurate.

2. I had some problems with the Funhouse video post glow. This however is not the authors fault. Once the glow is applied and you try to render the scene, max has a fatal error everytime. It appears to be a problem with max 4.2x. I had to re-install max 4.0 to get this tutorial done. The basic problem appears to be between the enviornment map and the video post glow effect. If you have a map in the enviornment map slot and then use the video post glow, the error occurs pretty reliably. Take out either the map or glow and everything works fine. So if you're using max 4.2x then you'll want to either downgrade or ditch one of the effects. Like I said tho, this isn't Chrismar's fault. Those guys at Discreet have to get this one handled.

3. Overall when I bought the book I thought I was getting tutorials more like the TV3 News Open. Being already somewhat experienced, I was a bit dissapointed with the first two tutorials. I think the Real World Case Studies could have been better explored. However I do also realize that what you learn in the first 3 tutorials gives you the basic tools to create something *like* the real world case studies. So this is more of a gripe than a fault of the book. I felt a little "deceived" by the pictures on the back of the book.

Overall Impressions:
This book rocks, gripes aside which is why I give it 5 stars. John's approach is very direct and thorough. No missing steps that I could find which is why I think the illustrations being mixed up isn't so bad. John accurately describes all of the steps and discusses the uses of various tools and also good workflow habits in a very useful way. I learned alot as a result of this book. Clearly, this guys is a top quality animator. This book is a must have for anyone's reference and I have absolutely NO REGRETS about this purchase.

I hope that Chrismar finds the time to do another book for intermediate to advanced users. I will definitely be buying it. Thanks for the great book John!

Rating:
Summary: No other 3DS book has even come close. Really!
Review: Every 3D Studio book other than these Media Animation books are more or less useless. The author's try to cram every nook and cranny of 3D Studio Max into the book. They stretch what could be an easily understood one-sentence explanation into an entire page or even chapter. The result is the knowledge of tools without the know-how to use them efficiently. Don't get me wrong, this book also explains the tools, (I've been using max for years and didn't even know some of the tools I used for project 3 in this book existed until the author showed me) but it does so as you are working on projects in the book: you learn as you go. This book, 3D Studio Max 4 Media Animation, and the media animation book for MAX 3 are truly the most useful books for 3D Studio. I have learned more from these books, than every other 3D Studio Max book combined. The author, unlike most, gives you explanations on how to make things look great and stand out. He doesn't hold back his 'secrets' to avoid anyone reaching his creative level like I feel a lot of authors do sometimes. What I like the most about this book is that it's not made up of 500 little scenes. He doesn't show you how to render a scene with fog, and then let you sit there wondering what the hell to do with it while he moves on to the next snippet like every other book. He has 3 large full-blown projects in his book. You actually create something useful, professional, and finalized. Most books tend to skip over the important things that actually make animations look realistic, not this Author... Realistic lighting, animated lens flares, realistic textures (in depth), transitions (combines multiple movies into one and animates them with crazy transitions) and so many other important things are covered in each of the projects. Most of all, he makes scenes in such a way that they are easy to build, and have unbelievable results. YOU WON'T come to a line where he is vague and tells you to do something, and you spend 5 hours trying to figure out what he was talking about. "Where's that tool? Is that a typo? That menu item isn't in my version! My outcome is completely different!" That usually always happens to me when I'm following a different book, or an online tutorial. It won't happen in these books. He shares his style, and shares his thought process while you are working through each project. He is a professional. The only thing this book lacks, is a successor. But I hope, in time he will release another book. His books just keep getting better. I would also recommend that you buy his first book: 3D Studio Max 3 Media Animation. If you're like me, your usually apprehensive about buying books for software that is for an older version, but that doesn't matter in this case. His previous book is built just like this one. It has other projects though, and you learn how to use other tools and techniques. Anyhow, back to this book. If you buy this book, I guarantee you will be extremely thankful, just like me. Thanks John Chismar.

Rating:
Summary: Great techniques, evolution.
Review: Excellent!
If you want to know how to approach creating broadcast graphics this is a great book. I was able to begin to successfully adapt some of the key techniques and approaches within a short time after working through the book from cover to cover. Become an expert on importing and tweaking Illustrator vector files into Max. I hope the author writes an advanced companion to this series.

Rating:
Summary: best so far - waiting for any new Chismar release
Review: I am a beginner user of Viz and Max and will be using it for architectural 3D rendering. What I look for in a text book are lengthy tutorial exercises. I want to know step by step everything that I have to do to reproduce what the author is showing. This book is great for that. There are three main excercises that go the full length of the 550 pages of this book. As an example the 2002 voting machine tutorial goes from pages 182 to 315, covering each step of the construction. Chismar even includes alternate means of construction to show why one method works better than other methods.

I am looking forward to an updated book by Chismar on the lastest release of Max. I have not heard if one is being made.

One slight drawback...Chismar does not deal with the possiblities of drawing and rendering for architecture. If the new release of Max does include the architectural functions of Viz, then there will be a need for tutorials on those items. None the less the command structure of the software for Viz and Max is virtually the same, so learning that part from Chismar's book is still very important.

Rating:
Summary: best so far - waiting for any new Chismar release
Review: I am a beginner user of Viz and Max and will be using it for architectural 3D rendering. What I look for in a text book are lengthy tutorial exercises. I want to know step by step everything that I have to do to reproduce what the author is showing. This book is great for that. There are three main excercises that go the full length of the 550 pages of this book. As an example the 2002 voting machine tutorial goes from pages 182 to 315, covering each step of the construction. Chismar even includes alternate means of construction to show why one method works better than other methods.

I am looking forward to an updated book by Chismar on the lastest release of Max. I have not heard if one is being made.

One slight drawback...Chismar does not deal with the possiblities of drawing and rendering for architecture. If the new release of Max does include the architectural functions of Viz, then there will be a need for tutorials on those items. None the less the command structure of the software for Viz and Max is virtually the same, so learning that part from Chismar's book is still very important.

Rating:
Summary: How to be a pro...
Review: I've been using 3D Studio since it was a version 3 dos based application. I could fill a bookcase with all the "How-to" books I have. This was by far one of the best. Mr. Chismar didn't just teach you how to model and animate but how to create something that was ready for primetime. I hope he does another book soon!!

Rating:
Summary: Great book - must have
Review: John shares his ideas and thoughts in an especially personable way. He comes across like a real human being - animator to animator - which is nice if you're still a bit intimidated by the 3 volume set of manuals that comes with 3DS Max 4. Oh I've read them alright - cover to cover, actually. And when I was done, I wanted some refreshing reading that stimulated my creative side and would inspire me to take all that information I assimilated in the manuals and go do something with it! Well, John's book did that.

From the man who created MSNBC's "Decision 2000" animation, comes a book I would recommend to anyone who is creating graphics for television.

Rating:
Summary: Another Home Run
Review: Mr. Chismar has written another big winner here. I learned more from his last book than from all the other MAX books I've bought combined (I've bought most all of the MAX books. This book is even better than the first one. I cannot praise these books enough. (No, I don't know John Chismar although I'd love to meet him.) All you other MAX book writers would do well to follow Mr. Chismar's style; Big Projects in tutorial form, from start to finish. This is far better than a big collection of cobbled up tutorials written by a bunch of different people.