Rating: 
Summary: Missing File from the CD: TheEndCamera.max
Review: There is a crucial file missing from the Companion CD. Fortunately the Camera in it's correct location can be merged from many of the other example MAX files provided on the CD that comes with the book. Following the directions given in Lesson 4, Page 96-97, Browse to MAX Workshop/Models/Workshop Examples and select "EXBGPyramid.max" to open a list of the objects contained in that file. You'll see "Camera.01" in the list, double click on it to merge it into your scene. That's it. My sincere apologies for this oversite. From the reviews on Amazon and comments from other readers from around the country the book is fulfilling it's purpose...to empower your growth as an artist by raising your proficiency as a MAX user. Thanks for purchasing the book and best of luck in your quest to master 3D Studio MAX.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the Best for Beginner and Intermediate Learners
Review: This book focuses on developing the skills of beginning and intermediate 3D Studio MAX 3.0 user. This book uses a single project, which involves the knowledge of interrelated tutorials to guide you through a complete project development process. It also shines in the area of providing a good understanding of Computer Graphics Imagery in general. This book is a great investment to me as I have learnt much through it.
Rating: 
Summary: BEGINNERS BEWARE Starts off good but ends badly
Review: This book has a couple of good chapters that are fun and easy to understand, but the other 8 chapters make you want to fall asleep. Chapters 1 and 2 cover the installation and basics of 3ds MAX ,which is very fun, but chapters 3-10 are just plain boring and hard to understand. The whole book basically is just one big tutorial that is confusing and boring. You actually start modeling on chapter 5 and by the time you get there you are just feeling confused and bored to death. This book is a very bad start if you're just a beginner and know nothing about 3d modeling. This book has many good reviews, but don't let the 5 stars fool you this book is plain crap.
Rating: 
Summary: About the missing files problem.....
Review: This book seems pretty well organize and explain deeply about every process. The only bad part is it have many files lost in it's cdrom.You can download from their site : mcp.com Just type in "3D Studio Max 3.0 Workshop" and go into the link and you will see the "download" link... just go ahead and download all the missing files.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic
Review: This book takes the beginning max user from start to finish. The part that I like most about this publication is the fact that it shows the development to production process from start to finish, as oppossed to glossing over techniques as they become more complex. There is the problem of the missing camera file, but the author provides samples of all the finished scenes so it was a simple matter to just take a finished scene and strip it down to nothing but the camera scene and then rename it. Well Done.
Rating:
Summary: Top notch
Review: This is an excellent example of what a 'Beginning to Intermediate' type book should be. If you are new to MAX, this well-written book is a top notch way to learn enough about MAX to begin your own exploration and creation. Not only does this book teach you the technical ("How-to") methods of MAX but also teaches you about 3d graphics and animation in general (i.e. color, light, scale, proportion, production process, etc, etc...) I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in breaking into the CGI world.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect for Beginners and Intermediate Users
Review: This was the second book on Max that I bought. The first was the Visual Quickstart Guide which helped me learn the interface, but left me unsure of how to make a real animation or scene of any complexity. Workshop is exactly what I needed though. It takes you step by step through the creation of an entire scene and along the way explains why to use certain techniques and tools. The author also throws in several useful sections on general art and design principles. After reading this book I feel confident in making some simple animations and scenes that don't require any real complex modelling or animation. I also feel prepared to read intermediate books dealing more in depth with modelling, animation, etc. The only hangup I found was near the beginning of the book where a camera just appears in the scene without the author making any mention of how to create it. This was easy to fix though by importing the camera from one of the scene files on the CD-Rom.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect for Beginners and Intermediate Users
Review: This was the second book on Max that I bought. The first was the Visual Quickstart Guide which helped me learn the interface, but left me unsure of how to make a real animation or scene of any complexity. Workshop is exactly what I needed though. It takes you step by step through the creation of an entire scene and along the way explains why to use certain techniques and tools. The author also throws in several useful sections on general art and design principles. After reading this book I feel confident in making some simple animations and scenes that don't require any real complex modelling or animation. I also feel prepared to read intermediate books dealing more in depth with modelling, animation, etc. The only hangup I found was near the beginning of the book where a camera just appears in the scene without the author making any mention of how to create it. This was easy to fix though by importing the camera from one of the scene files on the CD-Rom.
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