Rating: 
Summary: Learning 3ds max 4 Fundamentals
Review: 3ds max 4 Fundamentals AUTHOR: Ted Boardman PUBLISHER: New Riders REVIEWED BY: Barbara RhoadesBOOK REVIEW: 3ds max 4 Fundamentals has lots of illustrations to show you what the book is describing. There are tips, cautions and notes set off in boxes to draw your eye to them so you will take an extra look at them. The first few chapters get you set up on creating 2D shapes. Then the book moves on with 3D shapes. The last chapters talk about animation, rendering and constrains. The CD has every file you will need to work through the books exercises. If you are interested in 3ds max 4 and how it works, this book will give you the tools to do it.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book, but not for ABSOLUTE Beginners
Review: As a relative newbie to 3ds max myself, I would recommend this as a great 2nd or 3rd book. It does a good job of introducing the basics of several fundamental techniques (e.g., lighting, basic modelling, etc) but it will not teach you how use the software itself. I would recommend starting on a lower level book, perhaps "3ds max 4 for Windows: Visual QuickStart Guide" before moving to this one.
Rating:
Summary: Good book, but not for ABSOLUTE Beginners
Review: As a relative newbie to 3ds max myself, I would recommend this as a great 2nd or 3rd book. It does a good job of introducing the basics of several fundamental techniques (e.g., lighting, basic modelling, etc) but it will not teach you how use the software itself. I would recommend starting on a lower level book, perhaps "3ds max 4 for Windows: Visual QuickStart Guide" before moving to this one.
Rating:
Summary: ROX!
Review: At first I was like this book will be like every other book..it will tell u click this click that press this and volia u made this...but instead it teachs u the basic and u can think up what ever u want...i got the book 6 hours ago...and im already makin simple 3d models...trust me...ifu ever though of getting into 3d modeling...this is for u!
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Summary: Ted Boardmans latest Book and Class
Review: Five Stars Says it all! Ted's Latest Book is very much like attending one of his classes. What! You Say you've Never been to a Ted Boardman Class Before? Your in for a Treat! Here's a partial email exchange from a class participant and senior architect Roy Forehand to another Architect looking for a reference before attending one of Ted's Classes at Virtual Partners Training Center www.virtualpartners.com Have returned from the trip and will try to assist you. As I said before, you will definitely benefit from the classes, not only what you will learn from Ted but also from your peers that attend and the resources you will develop with them. We are not alone in this endeavor, so you have a lot of support that's out there to tap into. Will try to make this as brief as possible, however there is lots of ground to cover: Let's start. Do this: Bring several of your projects in color, like you sent me, so he can look at them and see where you need help. Ted usually gets to the class about 8:00 Am so you can talk to him before the class starts. You can at that time express to him the concerns you have. You will also get to express your desires during the class introduction of each participant, who you are, what you do and what you want to cover. Ted is quite versatile in his approach and has the ability to handle all our concerns from not so good to very good. He has the talent as a teacher. Us old grads of his, refer to him as "The Master". He also has breakfast at the Allouez cafe (murph note: next door to the Marriott Residence Inn. Note that breakfast is free at the Marriott every am for everyone staying there, Ted just likes a steak, eggs,& hashbrown breakfast..;-) ) That's where I usually corner him....he loves it. Stay at the Marriott so you can go have a beer after class with Ted and continue your concerns. He never quits, worse than a missionary! Make a list of the the things you want to cover: like lighting, animation, etc and give Ted a copy before classes start. The class is quite intense and he moves at a rapid pace due to the ground he has to cover. Let this not deter you, but ask the question and he'll get to you during the break or some other exercise that he uses for this purpose. Camera or tape recorders will do you no good. (murph note: you can still bring them!) You can bring a note book and jot some brief notes down, but I've found the best way is to make yourself a directory on the hard drive and immediately save the exercise with an apt name, that he starts, and continue to save until the exercise is finished. You can copy to a floppy when the class is finished. (murph note: we will also burn anything you wish to a cd-rom) This way, when you get back you've got something to review and it will jog your memory as to that particular exercise and the points covered. When you get back from the classes do not expect immediate miraculous results. That will slowly come over time as you intuitively use what you learned at the classes... Takes a while to recover from the brain damage, you know. Some have thought that the exercises Ted demonstrates are too simple and do not give them that jazz they want. Be not taken in with this stuff. Ted has been at this a long time and he knows this program in and out and how to get across the finer points that will make you the accomplished 3D artist you want to be. It's kinda' like learning to swim. all of a sudden you're swimming without knowing how.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: I am teaching myself Max currently with version 4 and it is not and easy proggram to just use trial and error tactics to understand. As the title implies, this book is for fundamentals and a solid foundation in Max. This should be the first Max book anyone should purchase. It is undoubtedly one of the easiest 3d books to read and it is so easy to follow the step by step tutorials and the author (Ted Boardman) explains 3d concepts with real life analogies to bring things down to earth. It was a breeze going through the book and I had no problems at all. I have definitely learned a lot from it and I'm ready to move to more intermediate level stuff in a short period.
I would recomend it to anyone aspiring to understand the program more. Ted Boardman is a great teacher and any of his series of Max Fundamentals books (whatever version) should be the best way to start off.
Rating: 
Summary: Good but not enough
Review: I bought the book in order to expand my abilities in 3ds max 4. I began to read and noticed that the author explained the tools with moderate detail. That wasn't the end of it. The examples and tutorials were mainly on how to do the the image found on the cover. I recommend looking for another, more descriptive book. I'm 14 years old and I have worked with Lightwave, Maya, and 3ds max for two years seeing that books are always helpful.
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Summary: An Excellent Max book for all users!
Review: I purchased 3ds max 4 Fundamentals almost a week ago, and I'm almost half-way through the book. The book is thoroughly enjoyable and very comprehensive. Mr. Boardman takes a practical approach by basing the book on the creation of a 1950s diner, but each step of the way is suffused with important and fundamental concepts essential to a professional understanding of 3ds Max. I find myself amazed through each of the excellent exercises over how much power is hidden away in this fantastic program. I thoroughly commend Mr. Boardman and New Riders Press for providing new users like me with such a great resource. I believe any user, no matter what level of expertise, could benefit from this book.
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Summary: Great Book for CG Architects
Review: I'm currently an architect intern with a strong passion for architectural illustrations. Recently I became heavily interested in pursuing my career as a CG Architect. I was familiar with some other 3D modeling programs (Maya Unlimited and Form Z) but had problems finding good 3ds Max books for architects, mainly because most 3ds max books focus on character creation and animation. I finally found this book and quickly became addicted to it. Great illustrations and detailed explainations guide you through the process of creating a diner. I definitely recommend it to any CG architects who are not familiar with 3ds max. If you've never used a 3D modeling program, however, this book might be a little difficult.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book for CG Architects
Review: I'm currently an architect intern with a strong passion for architectural illustrations. Recently I became heavily interested in pursuing my career as a CG Architect. I was familiar with some other 3D modeling programs (Maya Unlimited and Form Z) but had problems finding good 3ds Max books for architects, mainly because most 3ds max books focus on character creation and animation. I finally found this book and quickly became addicted to it. Great illustrations and detailed explainations guide you through the process of creating a diner. I definitely recommend it to any CG architects who are not familiar with 3ds max. If you've never used a 3D modeling program, however, this book might be a little difficult.
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