Rating: 
Summary: 3D Studio MAX R3 in Depth
Review: .Este formidável livro, está mesmo à medida daqueles que procuram solidificar os seus conhecimentos a nível intermédio com o MAX. Cautela, no entanto para os iniciados nestas lides. Aconselho a todos vós uma leitura mais amena, de carácter introdutório, antes de passarem para este livro. Verão que depois, tudo se torna muito mais fácil! Para isso, parece-me mais adequado o livro " Harnessing 3D Studio Max 3.0 " de Michele Bousquet. Um pouco difícil de se arranjar nas livrarias aqui em Portugal. Já para não falar que é um pouco caro, mas se contabilizarmos o tempo que nos irá poupar, até que vale a pena! Voltando ao 'MAX R3 in depth'. O autor leva-nos a pensar um bocadinho, o que acho bastante bom! ((: Mas o saber e os conhecimentos que ele nos passa, dada a sua experiência, são realmente muito bons e ficam na memória! Só que leva um pouco mais de tempo a assimilar! É um 'must' ter este livro na nossa prateleira! ((: Boa leitura! ((: .
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Summary: 3D Studio Max R3 in Depth!
Review: . This amazing book is right set for those who wich to strengthen their intermediate knowledge with MAX. Beware, nevertheless for the beginners. I advise to U all a more friendly reading before U get trough this book. You'll see that all becomes much more easy after that! "Harnessing 3D Studio MAX 3.0" by Michele Bousquet seems to me like a good bet. Although it's very hard to find here in Portugal. It's a little bit expensive, but if U count the time U spare, it's worthy! Returning to "MAX R3 in Depth". The author takes us a little bit further in making us think harder, and that's good! ((: But the knowledge he passes through, due to his experience, is very good and stays in our minds! It's only a little bit difficult to assimilate if U don't have a solid background! Having this book in our shelves is really a "must"! Good reading! ((: Information...: 5; Exposition...: 5; Comprehension...: 4; Price...: 5. [Evaluation...: 5] .
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Summary: A well written introduction to 3dstudiomax r3.
Review: After reading many other books on the subject of 3dstudiomax,with much disappointment,I decided to take a chance on this one.Rob Polevoi does an excellent job of introducing you to the program. The other books contain tutorials which leave you with no understanding of why you did what you did. This book,on the otherhand,teaches you how to actually learn the program.In my opinion,a very inexpensive,highly valuable resource for anyone serious about learning how to use 3dmax3.Two thumbs up to Rob and I anxiously await any further books from him on this subject!
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Summary: Learning MAX means learning 3D computer graphics.
Review: As a college professor teaching 3D graphics and animation to many new students each semester, I've developed my own take on how to best learn such a challenging application as 3D Studio MAX. My emphasis is not so much on learning MAX, as on learning how 3D graphics and animation are achieved in MAX. 3D computer graphics is a subject far deeper than any one application, and I usually teach two or three programs together in my classroom to show how general principles are implemented in specific programs. The book is therefore as much about 3D computer graphics as it is about the specifics of MAX, because this kind of education is not available in the product documentation or online help. I also believe in taking students--and therefore, readers--very seriously. The book assumes that the reader, whether beginner or advanced, shares my passion for 3D and truly wants to understand this exciting medium. Thus we try to get to the heart of the difficult concepts on which this art is based, seeking to build the basis of real mastery. Best of luck in your efforts to build the art of 3D computer graphics
Rating:
Summary: Great job!
Review: Clear, authoritative and direct -- Rob Polevoi has given the world a thoughtful and well-written book. His broad knowledge of the field of 3D animation gives this book a fresh perspective. Well done!
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Summary: A treasure for the confused dabbler
Review: I am a 3D amateur and had been dabbling with 3D Studio since R4 for DOS. This is obviously not an intuitive product to the amateur, so trying to learn it alone will never really get you far. I realised this and meant to buy a book to help me through for a long time. Until I did, I got a vague grasp on many of the fundamental concepts 3D Studio uses and could do some crude modeling & animations. I finally decided to buy a book and this was it. After years of guesswork I found this book beautifully unravelling the concepts to me and making all the pieces of the puzzle come together, finally making sense, while discovering lots of new features I never knew were there. I am not an artist, nor a 3D expert, but this book has helped me make sense of 3D Studio Max because its writing is very understandable and the author goes a long way to helping the complete beginner understand the product's deep concepts with many dedicated sections, such as the coordinate systems, the modifier stack and the cloning options (copy/instance/reference) to name a few. I can't help thinking that these are subtle areas that other references may easily tend to overlook. The book is filled with step by step examples that demonstrate the concepts covered and provide a rich hands-on experience with Max as you learn. The author makes a good point about the many ways to get the same job done and hilights many of the smart shortcuts you can use to save time on the way, which can only be otherwise learnt by experience. I have been reading this book to get a feel for the fundamentals but I have frequently referred to individual chapters for detailed information on a feature I might be trying to use, in which case the book was quick to make things clear and allow me to move on with my work and get the expected results. The book is separated into 6 parts as follows: 1. 3D Studio Max - The Big Picture 2. Working in Max 3. Modeling (includes NURBS) 4. Materials & Textures 5. Lights, Camera, Render! 6. Animation The book is very easy to follow, clearly written, covers all important aspects a beginner could wish to learn and has so far never let me down in my quest for 3D Studio Max knowledge and experience. Overall I would consider this a book for beginners to intermediate users and an ideal match for my own case as a long time dabbler with a need to understand the product that could never be achieved without a friendly and insightful guide as this. The author himself targets the book at: - Beginners with 3D Applications in general (hence the emphasis on backgrounders) - Experienced users of 3D Studio Max in search of a stronger background - People looking for a stronger reference than the product documentation I give it 5 stars for its broad coverage (it doesn't focus mainly on modeling or animation for example), depth of content (I didn't find any section too shallow), easy reading and the multitude of backgrounders and examples. I won't be interested in another Max book until I'm a comfortably proficient 3D artist.
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Summary: Really cool stuff
Review: I have been interested in Max for about a year and always had trouble finding a good book teaching you the basic principles. After a few unsuccessful try, I got this book. I wish it had been available some time ago before I had read big books only to discover wasting my time. It really meets the need for a new beginner virtually requiring no Max knowledge at all. Have it even if you are rather professional and long-time Max user.
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Summary: A great book for beginners and intermediates!
Review: I have read a bunch of books for 3DS Max as well as other 3D packages, and I have to say I am pleasantly surprised by the layout and writing of this book. Polevoi goes into functionality as well as some philosophy behind what you're doing in Max. It is straight forward and easy to follow. It provides a number of tutorials that take you not only through the mechanics of the tools, but also attempt to explain why that particular method is used. I find most other books lacking this depth, this humanity that Polevoi weaves into 3D Studio Max R3 in Depth. I have yet to finish the book, but I'm already pleased to have bought it. If you are new to Max, and you're looking to do more than just pressing a few buttons in the order that some tutorial book tells you, get this book, read it, do some tutorials, branch out on your own projects, and use it as a reference. I am very pleased with this book and have made it the textbook in the collegiate level Max classes I teach.
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Summary: This is a fine introduction to 3dMax R3, probably the best
Review: I love this book, its clarity, its concise and well thought out examples, and its flow; a perfect first book for 3D Studio R3 users. You walk away with a firmer understanding of what Max is about and its approach to modeling. More, the lack or errors of any kind (I remember only one in the 559 pages I've read and worked through so far)is truly phenomenal. Hats off to the author.
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Summary: Excellent way to get grounded in MAX3
Review: I read this book, almost cover to cover, without having had the opportunity to spend more than a few hours hands on with MAX. I thought that it gave me a tremendous amount of insight into the feature set of the product and allowed me to find a basis for forming my own opinion on its strengths and weaknesses versus Lightwave, Softimage, Maya, EI, etc. I particularly liked the fact that while Rob obviously loves MAX, he wasn't at all shy about pointing out its shortcomings (they all have them, you know) as well as trumpeting its more well designed, powerful features. Can't comment on the tutorials since I didn't have the software, but the rest read well enough to actually sit down and read. For those who don't own or have access to the program and the documentation that comes with it, this is a great way to get started. It goes down for me along with Anthony Rossano's Inside Softimage 3D as the best books I have read to learn about software I don't (yet) own.
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