Advanced 3ds max 5 Modeling & Animating

Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT! 3ds max book
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: A great Book...
Review: I have been working on 3d Max for sometime now,this book is good, tells you about the details of the software, has good tips, haven't followed the complete book, the project based approach is very good, it has a step by step approach. Even if you are a beginner or Intermideiate user this is a good book, the projects give you nice detail and if you have good brains you can pick the techniques and use it as your own :o) .
I suggest you should have little basic knowledge like how to make basic primitives (which you can get from a beginners book or the tuts that come with max)

Rating:
Summary: Could be better
Review: I recently bought Advanced 3ds max 5 Modeling & Animating
by Boris Kulagin, and in my opinion, i am advanced but this book is written for complete Pro's. Within 15 minutes of starting the first project i was already confused about how something got there, i followed the instructions exactly and even started again to see if i missed something and the same thing happened at the same bit. On one page you would have what you have and then you turn over and theres a completely different section. Later on in the book when i tried another project, again i got lost about something magically appearing, its as if i have several pages missing in the middle of a project. This book is VERY advanced and maybe more, you must have magical powers to know whats going on sometimes. I have read other books that are better in explanation, this book could have been better with about 100 pages more just to give those extra few sentances on whats happening. If you plan on buying this book its advised to get the previous book "3DS max 4: objects to animation" as there are many references to it throughout. The CD provided has a few useful plugins etc, but thats the best bit about this book. In honest truth to you i would shop around for another title. Espeacially if you are a begginer.

Rating:
Summary: i'm sure there one better than this
Review: 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.
The book itself consist in two big proyects, where you finally get two animations, as the result of a extensive use of many tools. The rest of the book it's filled up with some quick tutorials, that are not very different from that ones found on the web.
In conclusion, I would expect a more modling and animating dedicated book, and not a book trying to teach you a little of everything without getting in depth in anything.

PD: If you are used to those step by step tutorial books, DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK, it sometimes skip steps in the proyect, like assuming you already know how to reach the next step.

Rating:
Summary: Pure Power
Review: 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....

Rating:
Summary: Money for old rope
Review: 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....

Rating:
Summary: Pure Power
Review: 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....

Rating:
Summary: Money for old rope
Review: 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?
I find it offensive that an author can exploit the ambition of a novice - providing nothing but empty promises.
Free tutorials on the internet are by far the most diverse and useful resource available to an emerging modeller and animator.
DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK.