Animation Books

This book has three great uses: as a learning tool for beginners, as an update for intermediates, and as a reference for experts. All groups can be benefited from this book.

With regards to the first, this book provides a much more natural progression between the topics when read front to back. Also, it does not assume a lot of mathematical knowledge, and it will provide some of it as it goes along.

Also, for people who know OpenGL 1.x, this book will be a great way of being introduced to shader programming as part of OpenGL. Also, something I found invaluable in this book is the chapters in optimization (buffer objects, etc). It talks enough about optimizing OpenGL to high-performance applications without delving into 3D engine design (something that is out of the cope), but still filling a niche. Last, it talks about several things that are taken for granted by professionals but novices sometimes have a hard time accessing (post-processing, multiple passes, image processing, etc.)

Even professionals will find the book useful for looking things up, or to use as a reference.

This is an excellent book for OpenGL topic. I noticed it also includes the most recent works in the computer graphics field which makes it totally different from the free 1st edition bluebook on the internet. I read it everyday on the train to and back from the work. The words used in the book are easy to understand. The authors did a good job presenting the technical details. This is a must-have for all OpenGL software engineers. Would recommend to other people!

The binding broke the first time I opened it and half the color plates fell out.

The code for the book is only provided in one huge zip file, and the compiled versions are outdated. They will crash on an updated version of XP if you are using a normal user account. The provided libraries for freeglut need to be recompiled to work on newer version of Visual Studio.

No electronic version of the book is provided(unless you count having to sign up for "free" 3 month trial membership of some web service that allows you to view it for a limited time..bah).

Sent an e-mail to the webmaster about providing smaller files for downloading the code, but there was no response.

I have no complaints! The most complete source of information for OpenGL you can find. I've spent a great amount of time searching through online tutorials, and nothing compares.

The information and code in this book are great. If that were my only criteria, I would rate it 5 stars. But I have ordered 2 copies so far in an attempt to get one with an acceptable binding. Both copies split at the color plate section the first time I opened them. The color plates are falling out. Amazon was nice enough to send me the second copy and have me ship back the first one free of charge. So I am giving up and am using the second copy even with the pages falling out (not much choice if I want the info in the book), but it is still irritating.

I've spent 13 years working in 3D computer graphics, but never once touched 3D Studio Max. A couple of weeks ago I had a hankering to start, and needed a book to guide me. A few false starts later, and I came across Sams "Teach Yourself" book. It's excellent. There's a couple of minor problems with it though they don't detract from the book. (Some of the images in the sections about shapes are very difficult to de-cipher). There's no CD with the book, but everything is downloadable from their website mentioned in the first chapter. If you need an easy way into 3DS Max, this is the book you should use. By the third evening with the book, I was already producing some pretty nifty renders, much to my wife's dismay. Now not only do I spend a lot of time playing RollerCoaster Tycoon, I spend a lot of time with Max too.....

Where the heck is the CD? I sent the book back the first time because I thought it was an error that it wasn't sent to me.

You need to stop advertising that the book has a CD -- it DOESN'T!

I've spent hours on the internet looking thru hordes of internet tutorials to find that I have failed to complete a single one...what am I looking for you ask? A 3ds max for dummies...but since I havn't seen one of those this book will suffice, if your a dummy, like me, and need complete explinations then this book is for you, and for me as well!!

I never took the time to write a review before..but after reading and trying out this book I have to say it is the best 3d max book for beginners ! I bought other books before and I gave up because I was bored to death but this one is really interesting and touches a lot of important aspects of the software in a very clear way...I am now finshing modeling my first character using all the technique I picked up from the book. I wish the author of this book will write an advanced book to continue from the place this one sttoped so I can make my new modelings realy come to life : )

Whether you are new to 3d modeling entirely, or just trying to convert your skills from some other 3d modeling package to MAX, this book is a great first-time MAX introduction. Buy this book now!

If you go through this book in order you will not get "hung up" trying to figure out how to do something (like happens in some other tutorial books) because the examples are amazingly clear. Each example comes with lots of pictures and very specific numbered sequences telling you what you should do.

Experienced modelers may find the book somewhat wordy. However, going through the tutorials quickly will teach you the 'MAX religion' and get you off on the right foot. When your later trying to figure out why something dosn't work as you expect, you can find a tutorial which does it, and be reminded EXACTLY how to make it work. I have some amateur experience with SoftImage and TrueSpace and i found the book incredibly useful.

Even though this book is for MAX R3, I used it for R4 and it was great. The only thing about R4 which didn't match the examples was the modifier stack/modifier chooser -- but it's enough the same that you can figure it out.

Highly recommend for someone whose never used Premiere Pro. Easy to follow and provides good advice and tips.

Author Jeff Sengstack not only knows the subject matter because he has done video editing and shooting for a living, he also invites other professionals to share their best advice on how to setup camera shots, how to present a story and more.

The book starts logically at the very beginning with advice on how to shop for camera equipment but if you purchase this book to learn Premiere Pro, have no fear, this book will teach you the basics and more in a painless fashion. You will be much better with Premiere Pro in a shorter time than the majority of users out there relying on their own native computer skills and the Adobe manual and help files.

Jeff Sengstack is simply an excellent writer and the cost of this book is minor compared to the time it will save you in learning how to use Premiere Pro.

After buying a bunch of glossy colorful Premiere 6.5 books, and a CD-ROM course, I got hopelessly confused on how to learn the program. Then I came across Jeff's book and it all fell into place for me.

Then Adobe brought out Premiere Pro which was almost a totally new software comparatively with many of the 6.5 actions done differently. I didn't waste my money on the other books and went straight to this one on Premiere Pro - wasn't disappointed as it gets into a complete project, from concept to DVD and all the steps in between. It even devotes a chapter to Adobe Encore, Audition, and After Effects which comes with Adobe's Video Collection package.

First class publication, reasonably prices, no need for color pics and CD instructions as it takes you through the process of making your own production from day one. Highly recommended for novices in video making, or those upgrading from Premiere 6.5.

I am not complete with this book, but am a beginner in Premier, and can say that this book is very thorough and has given me much to work with and I believe it would be easy to "learn" Premier Pro in 24 solid hours of using the tutorials in this book...NOT thoroughly learn it, but learn the ins and outs and how to use the many features included in this great program...definitely a must have book IMO.

This book was easy to follow and I learned a lot but it would have been much more helpful if Jeff had included a CD with examples to use for some of the exercises. I've used Adobe's Classroom in a Book series for other products and found the included CD gives it the edge over the Sams Teach Yourself series.

When looking through this book I was reminded of Dorothy Parker's bon mot about a similar book..."This is not a book to be lightly tossed aside. It should be thrown with great force."

A bit of background; I'm an illustrator (the real kind...with paintbrushes) with decades of experience and a number of books under my belt. I remember when Frazetta was a hot item on the paperback scene. That was in 1969 about forty years ago. I remember seeing Star Wars when it first came out in 1973...about thirty-five years ago. I remember being dazzled by Blade Runner back in 1982, more than 25 years ago. So why is it that the imagery in this book has not grown past those old, hoary images? Has the world of art stopped? Evidently it has for these "experts," because this is all aimed at the very low-paying and over-crowded field of fantasy art.

To say that these artists are derivative is like saying those art factories in China are slightly influenced by cheesy poster art.

In years of buying books for the artists in the studio, this is the only book I've bought from Amazon that I really wanted to send back. The other artists looked at it and opinions ranged from "Gaacck" to "Arrggghhh." But then, what do we know? After all, we're just well-paid working pros, so we must have missed the real essence of this book.

It's soon to become kindling.

I've been slowly getting into CGI through the use of Poser and Vue since Christmas '05. I have found that many websites/forums cast postwork as being a way to correct mistakes -- like you don't really know how to use the software properly if you need to do postwork. This book blows that misconception away.

This book is a showcase for sixteen artists that utilise Poser somewhere in their workflow. They are all exceptionally talented in different ways. Each artist receives a chapter of the book and each chapter is in the form of a brief artist bio, a Poser technique/tutorial, Insights into each artist's use of Poser, a Q&A covering some set questions posed by the authors, and a Gallery of the artist's work.

What's good about the book:

Each artist gives a brief summary of their Creative Process. I found it very interesting to read about how different people work and where Poser fits into their workflow. In a similar vein the Insights section wherein each artist describes the features of Poser that they find most useful was very helpful to me -- there were features I don't even use that the artists were describing as their favourite feature.

The main plus for me though is in each artist describing their workflow for a particular piece, in the form of the Techniques/Tutorials sections. Its not so much the How as the Why -- the specific tutorials may or may not be that useful to you, but why the artist does *this* in Poser and *that* in Photoshop is quite eye-opening.

What's bad about the book:

The DVD that comes with the book. The blurb on the back of the book devotes a large section to espousing the DVD's content. I found the interface to the content to be gimicky, clunky, and flawed. The content itself is unexceptional.

Some of the techniques/tutorials are a little scarce on detail if you really want to replicate a particular image. Occasionally Photoshop is a bit of a magic box -- here's the Poser image that went in to Photoshop (standard Poser image) and here's the image afterwards (fabulous CGI image).

Favourites:
The chapters on Fabrice Delage, Brian Jon Haberlin, Daniel Scott Gabriel Murray, Gabriel Sabloff, As Shanim and Siliphiel, and Thomas Weiss. Quite inspiring and definitely informative.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who is familiar with Poser and Photoshop.

I have been trying to create some images for a while with very little success. With this book, if you TRY some of the examples, it really opens your mind to the possibilities.

I Highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to improve their creative skills!

Beautiful book. A great set of masterclasses on various poser/photoshop techniques for generating digital art. With all of the gallery sections in the book it works as a coffeetable book too.

I am an employee of e frontier, the creators of Poser. I would like to say that the Secrets of Poser Experts is a well written book on what users can do with Poser. There are lots of great images and personality profiles of artists that create this amazing 3D art. By the way, it's also been written by an industry insider who's been in the 3D industry for a couple decades. I recommend this book to any one that has ever wanted to know and understand what Poser is about.

Considering the almost complete lack of real documentation in XSI (even in the program itself), this book is almost a godsend, even though it's a bit weak in some areas.

Overall, it works as a primer for beginners, touching lightly on interface and basics, but has some excellent chapters on technique and workflow.

I would recommend this to a beginner (there's really nothing else out there, anyway, but it's still a good book to have) with no problem. It makes a few assumptions about knowledge (in other words, pair this with some other animation and modeling books) but again, it's an excellent way to get started using what is really, in my opinion (and I know Maya users' hackles will rise at this), the most intuitive 3D application I've ever used.

Final analysis: give it a whirl, you really can't go wrong. Any documentation is better than no documentation, and you WILL learn something from it (and likely, you'll learn quite a bit).

I, too, was glad that when this book came out, there finally was some kind of documentation. However, it wasn't really the kind of user guide I was looking for. There is an awful lot of pages wasted in this book, on such things as storyboards, drawing charaters, and so forth. Really what I wanted was a technical manual, that guides me through the features of XSI. If I want a book on storyboarding or cinematography, I'll buy one. For this proud price the Softimage book really left me dissapointed. If you are looking for a comprehensive user guide that introduces you to all the features of XSI and guides you through using them, you've come to the wrong place...

Thankfully, this book covers character animation very comprehensively and also goes into some of the preceeding tasks that often aren't covered. The first few chpters don't bother with the software but cover possibly more important issues such as character design, storyboarding and creating rough animations in various manners, which is much truer to how most animaton studios would work. I feel this is far better than jumping straight in and hitting the "ok, what next stage" since everything is pre planned. Elements such as cinematography are given a nice introuduction too to give the reader more angles to think about to improve their end product. The character set up stages are well thought out with consideration for areas which can cause problems. The ik setups are solid and flexible. The expressions add extra value too. Various controllers are used for facial animation in the later sections, so most areas are covered very well.... I think this one is a worthy addition.

This book really goes well beyond just using XSI to do character animation. The first chapter discusses fundamentals of XSI, doing a rushed but adequate job of it. The next several chapters discuss the "animation process", including things like the necessity of creating a character profile, storyboarding, style and color selection, etc. This stuff was genuinely useful and interesting, but not really the meat of the book.

The really excellent information comes in the later chapters of the book, where he discusses the basics, tricks, and advanced proceedures for character rig setup (specific to XSI). He shows you how to create a rig, and then layer controls all over it. While some controls can be manipulated directly, he shows you how to hook most to sliders in organized property pages. He goes further to show how to created automatic animation (through expressions) such as automatically rolling the foot as the character takes a step, breathing, automatic muscle flexing, etc. He touches *very lightly* on control of clothes and the like. Beyond that, lip syncing and facial expressions are covered in fair detail, all in XSI specific discussions so you know right where to find the tools that you need to accomplish the tasks (you won't, however, get a comprehensive list of lip shapes for English phonetic sounds for example).

He shows you how to make animated "clips" for use in the animation mixer, and then how to mix those clips together to achive a fluid animation. Lip syncing in the animation mixer is also included. There is enough detail in the animation mixer discussion that even if you know nothing about the animation mixer, you will be producing solid animations once you finish the book.

Things that are *not covered* are features in XSI that are relatively unrelated to character animation, such as texturing and the render tree, simulation, etc. Hair isn't covered either (the book was written for XSI 1.5, not 2.0). Also, while modeling is discussed, the book does not go into great detail about the modeling of your character, as the focus is more on controlling the animation rather than building the character (he does mention several interesting points about why the animation stage is more important than the modeling stage, particularly for a new-comer like me). Finally, advanced features of XSI such as the ability to transfer animated clips betweem unrelated character rigs is barely touch on, and the transfer of envelope weights between characters is not mentioned.

Overall, a *very* informative and useful read for those who *don't* have a rock solid knowledge of XSI and who really don't know much about rig setup and the animation mixer. Oh, and the CD has a couple *excellent* skeleton rigs pre-built with slider controls and all.

This book shows you everything you need to know about character set up and character animation in XSI.The first part of the book shows you how to develop your character and other things (storyboards,camera staging,lighting ect) you need to know about production and on the second part you learn all the secrets about character animation.The author guides you from a basic rig to an advanced rig with sliders, expressions and other powerfull features of xsi but it's not only that.He encourages you to dive deeper and explore all these cool features the pro's use.The new animation mixer is covered in depth and some advanced ways of facial animation are explained step by step.Even though this book was written for XSI users it's valuable for every serious animator who wants to explore powerfull character animation!

Anyone with an interest in animation history and technique is well served by this book. A wonderful tribute to a great artist and an insight into the historical technique and approach of film animation. A fun and worthwhile read.

Maurice Noble was a world class artist and designer and a wonderful friend. Its great to see such a comprehensive book on the life of someone who influenced so many contemporary artists.

Stepping Into the Picture is a terrific read for anyone with even a passing interest in the golden age of animation. For someone like myself who enjoyed the Warner Brothers cartoons growing up, this book gave a very entertaining insider's look at how the films were made and the personalities and events that shaped them. Maurice is a fascinating character and Robert Mckinnon's book is well researched and full of interesting anecdotes from interviews with the artist. The next time I watch a Maurice Noble Warner or Disney feature I will have a much better appreciation of the artistry behind it because of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend Stepping Into the Picture.

I had eagerly awaited Stepping into the Picture: Cartoon Designer Maurice Noble, because it brought back fond memories of my friendship with this versatile, remarkable man. I was not disappointed. I remember Maurice as a pleasant, down to earth man, humble and immaculate who surprised us as a gourmet cook and an accomplished piano and organ player. During the early 50's when Maurice was a sojourner in St. Louis, the rage for renovating kitchens was the snazzy Youngstown look--a stark, utilitarian style of metal cabinets and appliances. While my kitchen was being redecorated in this latest fashion, no coordinating backdrop had yet been selected. Maurice instinctively sensed artistic urgency and had the prescription. He took charge by saying, "Let me take care of this matter!" Maurice planned and oversaw the installation details that centered on the unusual and imaginative color scheme of purple and green wallpaper depicting flowers and grapes. These striking features wonderfully offset and enriched the plain white Deco equipment. An illusion of crawling vines encircling the room and meeting above the sink at a focal point was just what was needed. Everyone who saw this distinctive room expressed amazement. I guess you could say that we really stepped into the picture!

The earlier reviewer has not read this book, or looked at the pictures. This is a biography of designer Maurice Noble, not a coffee table book of illustrations from Warner and Disney films. That aside, few artists deserve the "Art Of" treatment more than Maurice Noble, one of the finest graphic talents--in any medium--from the last century. This book should have a color illustration on every page.
The artwork (included in two small sections) was reproduced from originals donated by Noble himself and/or collectors, not screen grabs.
The problem is that the book is small in more ways than one; none of the layouts can be shown at actual size, so it is difficult to see the detail.
The book is well written and long overdue. Maybe we can now have a companion volume with full sized, color artwork. Noble deserves the same treatment as the latest 'blockbuster' that was highly influenced by his groundbreaking style.

"A Taste of Blood" is a book I would never have gone out and purchased, but under some unusual circumstance I came to read this book.
Not having heard of H.G. Lewis or his films I never thought I could get into this book.
On reading I found "A Taste of Blood", to be very engaging and interesting. This book reads more like a novel than a review of H. G. Lewis' films. There is a sense of continuity that one does not expect to find in such a work. Christopher Curry has done what every good writer does, he keeps the reader spellbound throughout.One would think that such a work would be predictable, but it's not. The sense of humour which
pervades this book adds a positive punch.
Christopher Curry does not write with the blind devotion of a fan.
Where the work is good he lets us know and where it's bad he writes with equal candour. Well done!

Christopher Curry has done a remarkable job of gathering information and interviews and has made A TASTE OF BLOOD a must-have book for horror movie fans, independent film fans, and of course, gore-hounds! The reviews are informative and entertaining, and never talk down to the reader (a fault found in many film books). The big draw here for me is Curry's personal interviews; not only with Lewis and his longtime partner David Freidman, but also with some of his players, including Fuad Ramses himself, Mal Arnold! This book is a valuable addition to my collection... one I will turn to many times for reference.

A Taste of Blood will surely become a treasured part in the collection of every fan of the Godfather of Gore. The book is a comprehensive guide to the films of Herschell Gordon Lewis and an insightful and candid look into the world of exploitation films. It is one exceptional fan's tribute to H.G. Lewis and a fond look back at some of the defining films of the drive-in era. The author provides a detailed look at each and every one of H.G. Lewis' bloody and bizarre (but always entertaining) films. The book contains exclusive interviews, behind the scenes information, detailed plot summaries, and plenty of great insights provided by H.G. Lewis, David Friedman, and many others. Also, the book is overflowing with tons of rare pictures that you will probably never find anywhere else. A Taste of Blood is an entertaining, educational, and engrossing book for the veteran or novice horror/exploitation fan. If you're an H.G. Lewis fan, this book should already be on your shelf. As a long time fan of the Godfather of Gore myself, I'm in awe of the wealth of information included in this book. Give Christopher Curry some well-deserved credit by ordering his book. You will not be disappointed.

A Taste of Blood belongs in the true horror fan's library sandwiched between David Friedman's A Youth in Babylon and The Amazing World of H.G. Lewis. Taste offers capsulated reviews of all of Mr. Lewis's films as well as interesting interviews with key players. This book is definetly a work written "by a fan, for the fans" and lacks the objective insights to make it a five star work. It is ,however, a compasionate and long overdue tribute to one facet of a multitalented gentleman who deserves the title "Wizard of Gore".

This book is a great resource for anyone interested in Herschell Gordon Lewis, or exploitation films in general. Curry has done a remarkable job collecting information on Lewis's somewhat obscure oeuvre giving us a nice plot synopsis, stills or exploitation artwork, and some insightful and often humorous anecdotes. However, if you are hoping for scholarly material, this title is sadly lacking. Curry qualifies more as a "film buff," than a "writer". Much like a Herschell Gordon Lewis film, Curry's cumbersome prose is often unintentionally hilarious. He possesses the grammar and vocabulary of a high school student and one wonders how much of the material could slip by without notice from an editor. Nevertheless, it's difficult to be upset with Curry because his presentation is completely sincere. He's does not write the book just to become a published author. He simply loves these films and wants to share them with others. Overall, I highly recommend this book.

[Since writing this review a year ago, I've collected more of the Creation Cinema books (19 more to be exact). I can no longer completely fault Curry for his amateurish prose style. The Creation Cinema books as a series are quite frequently sloppy in much the same way. The value in the series is the examination of areas of film that previously went virtually unnoticed by mainstream film criticism. The difficulty is that I can't feel great about buying a book that I could have written better. Curry does a good job as far as research and content are concerned, but I'm sure there are many writers who could communicate with more grace and skill. It's unfortunate that these studies weren't conducted by more seasoned scholars, but since they are rather unique, they remain essential for anyone interested in the obscure, arcane, and just plain weird. I still recommend A Taste of Blood, but don't be disappointed by the style.]

hello last house fans, as a close confidant of david szulkin and last house star david a hess, i must say people have to read this graphically detailed monster of written class. this 70's film student text book has inspiration.szulkin has touched the heart and soul of wes cravens masterpiece. All cult fanatics will read this book

This book is a must for any fan of 70's horror. The genre had a feel to it in the 70's, and this book shows that feeling. Great book for any aspiring filmaker.

the importance of the movie,is overshadowed by Szulkin's "under the microscope" details and facts.And those details and facts are exactly why you can not put this book down.The index alone is a treasure listing of the the greatest horror/slasher/sci-fi/camp...movies ever made. I cannot wait to see what Szulkin's next subject will be....

I think this may be one of those reviews that get 0 out of 20 user ratings. I didn't even read the whole book, only about 50%. If you want a good review go read any of the other usefull ones of which there are plenty.

Let me start out by saying that this is a good book, highly detailed just like everyone else has said. It however had me going out of the house to the nearest garbage can at three o'clock in the morning. After spending the whole day reading the very detailed desciptions of an orgy in violence I felt dirt, disgusted and in need of a shower and a memory loss. I couldn't get the imagery of the book out of my head and I definately couldn't sleep, so I decided to make a symbolic trip to the garbage can to cleanse my house since there was no way I could sleep with that thing in the house. If like me you have a sensitive disposition, you should be warned that this book may not be for you. Otherwise, like previously noted, it's probably a good book.

The best way to describe this book is reverent. This is a seriously in depth look at Wes Craven's demented debut, Last House on the Left.

Szulkin has done a ton of research. There are countless references in here to obscure genre work, foreign films, etc, etc. Plenty of pictures, too, big, bright and shiny pictures of various artwork from the film and its unofficial 'sequels', grisly scenes, and more. Whatever you think of the film, this is an impressive book.

Last House on the Left is definitely demented, but looking at the current state of the horror genre, it holds up pretty well. The raw, grainy quality and the depiction of the kind of sick, stark horror you read about in the papers--this is definitely not a movie that glorifies crime and murder as other slick, entertaining films do. Craven would do similar things later in the decade with The Hills Have Eyes, another ultra low-budget but creepy study of an American family.

Video nasty buffs and horror fans will highly appreciate such a respectful book about an oft-disrespected and reviled film. I mean, this is the second, revised edition(!) That is dedication, folks.

One of the big gripes I hear from people using tutorial books for software is that they are linear. (They make you start with the apple, then they let you model the tree, and somewhere way down they road you get to model Johnny Appleseed.) This is not the case with 3dMax 3 Magic. Each chapter introduces a new technique on a new tutorial model. In one chapter you are shown how to make realistic looking water surfaces, in another you are being shown how to make the best looking car paint I've ever seen. Like the title of this review states, this is a goodie bag. It is for the Intermediate to Advanced user who wants a "How To" on some of the things Max 3 has to offer. The Authors of the book assume that you atleast know your way around the application. I'm happy to have this book on my shelf, right next to my computer!

This book is excellent for anyone who already has a working knowledge of Max3. The 20 effects covered in the book are clearly explained with lots of pictures, all of which could easily be used to give your demo reel or project extra flair. The whole book is printed in color. My favorite lessons are the Moving Crowd, Glowing Trail, and Realistic Eyeball (best eyeball tutorial I've seen). Each lesson also contains techniques that could be applied elsewhere. Not a comprehensive manual, more like a bag of tricks. Very good!

This is an excellent resource for anyone wanting to enhance their abilities with 3D Studio MAX 3. It goes beyond the MAX tutorials to show you how to create effects that obviously took some of these professionals a long time to perfect. The car paint material chapter alone is worth the price of the book. My only complaint is that it's too short.

I'm thoroughly happy with this book as it is very easy to understand and follow. However, one or two of the tutorials are very dodgy indeed. Like for example the Tidal Wave effect on the CD is not very good, the wave looks extremely fake and out of place. But apart from that, the rest of this book is very well made and presented. A must buy for any intermediate users.

This books is based on tutorials, so it's easy to read and understand. In the end of each chapter there is a "variation" and "plugins" section which help you in using techniques featured in the chapter in other situations and ways and help you selecting plugins to use to make it even more realistic!(giving you a very detailed plugins list). Most of the tutorials are very useful both for advanced and basic users, but some tutorials look very unrealistic where the head title is "How to create a REALISTIC....". I've been using 3d studio and MAX for 7 years now, spending most of my freetime in MAX and still i found this book very useful and I would recommend it for all users except the very basic users. BUY IT

3D , unlike 2D 'photo' applications, reqire that you know a fair deal about the nature of the 3D world and the multitude of features and modeling techniques before you can do anything!
If like me, you don't know your arc from your omni then this book will get you up and running.
Written in a simple language, you'll find that pidgen descriptions eg. 'a row of buttons will appear under the title box. Click the third button from the left, adjust the value to -20.5, then click on the check box to apply this value' - are a godsend when you're sat in front of your monitor and you don't really know what you're doing yet; things are happening onscreen and you feel that you're making progress. Guiding you through the motions helps give you a feel for the program and you can move into the following chapters with a bit more understanding.
Following the tutorials to build and modify a robot forms the main teaching element (as you only really learn by doing). But I would have liked to see more stand-alone examples of the seperate modeling methods, as you can only read so much about splines, sub-objects or modifiers before it all starts to blur.
Overall though, this book seems as good as any for a complete beginner. Though it's value as a reference book once you've worked through it (due to the absence of stand-alone tutorials) could be limited.
If you want to learn 3D but don't know where to start, try here.

One aspect of the book is that it is easy to read. Samples, examples explanations. Definately worth reading.

I have read many a 3DS MAX book. -- Well I have tried to read many that is. -- Believe me I have tried off and on for a year or so now. --- This book *truly* is a beginners book that will start you off on the ground level and have you doing things very quickly that are fun. -- I learned more with 3 hours and this book in front of MAX than I had in 3 weeks prior just because this book has a good focus.

Everyone gives everything 5 stars... and I try not to... but then again... I usually only feel inclined to rate things I trully feel derserve high praise. -- This is one of those things.

This book makes it so easy to learn 3ds max! The writing style is so easy to read and follow. You can learn quickly and painlessly just by doing the examples. I would recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn 3ds max 4.

If you are a newbie to 3ds max then this would be a good book for you. I am on chapter 7 of this book and am finding a small fraction of difficulty. This book doesn't get into as much detail as I would have preferred it to. One thing I didn't like was making this robot model. All it really is, is spheres and cylinders. But I guess it's just a newbie book. So let me just say that its not the best book in the world for max 4. Seriously my friends, if you want to start 3ds max 4, there are better books out there than this one. Overall, this book is an alright book to get a novice modeler up and going.