For anyone considering getting a certain book to support your endeavors in max then look no further than here. I’ve compiled a listing of books that I personally own and make comments about each one in order to assist you in your decision. Books are expensive so I figured this will help.
Please note this will be an on going listing and will be edited quite bit as more info is introduced.
Remember that these are in my library- its not just an arbitrary list!
As a side note just by taking a look at the listing contained here it seems to be an indication what the most popular CG app is!
So for now here are the books:
3ds max 4 Bible (Murdock)
3ds max 4 for Windows: Visual Quickstart Guide (Matossian)
Great as a handy reference book for looking up tools and commands. This version includes an index which makes it much easier to find what you need. The price is right on this one!
Modeling a Character in 3ds max (Steed)
Great book if youre either a) new to caharacter modeling, or b) want to do models for games. I havent actually completed the tutorials because frankly I found it a tad on the boring side. I also discovered some of the Illustrator files required to load for reference really grinded my system to a melt down. I now have a faster PC so I will try the files again soon.
3ds max Animation and Visual Effects Techniques (Kennedy)*
This is one of my most recent purchases. So far Ive sat down and read every chapter without turning on my computer. It’s well written and the instructions are clear and concise. More importantly, the example pictures are large enough to discern what the tutorial step is talking about. Whats great about this book is theres chapters dedicated to Character Studio and Combustion. The author worked on lots of movies including X-Men 2 and the book uses his solo project as the tutorials. I recommend this one w/o hesitation.
3D Studio Max 3 Professional Animation (Jones)*
This is a fantastic resource for anyone even remotely interested in character animation. Fun tutorials, excellent models to work with, and its well written. I think you may have to find a used copy or look in bargain bins now for it.
Mastering the Art of Production with 3ds max 4 (Busby)*
Fantastic book! A complete project from beginning to end including a chapter dealing with Combustion. Its a fun tutorial and the end result is quite impressive. People I show it to are amazed that its CG (like little purple alien guys are a normal occurance in real life!)
Maxscript and the SDK for 3D Studio Max (Bicalho)
Lots of great script examples included (thus the title of this book). I havent really worked through it yet because reading the scripts makes me go cross-eyed. Besides, I visit Bobos site if I want scripts. Good for reference nonetheless especially if youre into specialized work or customization.
Sams Teach Yourself 3D Studio Max 2 in 14 Days (Kakert)
3ds max 4 Magic (Bonney et al.)
For intermediate to advanced users. Lots of variety in tutorials but you need to be able to read between the lines as not everything is spelled out for you.
3ds max 4 Fundamentals (Boardman)
3ds max 4 Workshop (Loose)*
I agree with Xilica’s comments. See the post below. I want to note that this book is geared more towards intermediate to advanced users. Loose’s tutorial’s in this book explain what needs to be done but leaves the majority of work process up to the max user. In other words, he is not holding your hand this time around. I recommend getting his ver. 3 book which is a more step-by-step approach THEN continue your progress with this book. Highly recommended.
3ds max 4 Media Animation (Chismar)*
This book deals with mainly logo type projects for television just as its predecessor did. I found the tutorials to be quite enjoyable and gives great insight into multi-camera sequences and texturing.
3D Studio Max R3 F/X & Design (Bell et al.)
Inside 3ds max 4 (Lee)
Inside 3D Studio Max 2 Fundamentals
Inside 3D Studio Max 2 Volume I
Inside 3D Studio Max 2 Volume II (Boardman et al.)
Inside 3D Studio Max 2 Volume III (Maestri et al.)
3D Studio Max 3 Fundamentals (Peterson)
3D Studio Max 3 Media Animation (Chismar)*
You want to know how to do logo animation? This is the book for you! Great stuff. I learned a lot from the four extensive tutorials here. Loose covers Illustrator as well.
3ds max 4 Ground Rules (Peterson)
3D Studio Max R3 Visual Quickstart Guide (Matossian)
3D Studio Max 2 Fundamentals (Peterson)
3ds max 4 In Depth (McFarland)
3D Studio Max 2 Effects Magic (Carbonaro et al.)
3D Studio Max 3 Magic (Holmes et al.)
For intermediate to advanced users. Lots of variety in tutorials but you need to be able to read between the lines as not everything is spelled out for you.
Inside 3D Studio Max 3 Volume I (Miller et al.)
Inside 3D Studio Max 3 Volume II
Inside 3D Studio Max 3 Volume III
3D Studio Max 3 Bible (Murdock)
Mastering 3D Studio Max 4 (Woods)
3D Studio Max 3.0 Workshop (Loose)*
Extremely fun tutorial project that goes from story boarding all the way to final output. I found a few mistakes in the tutorials which forces you to backtrack a bit and solve the problems to make the models or animation look right. However, its still a great resource and I always refer to it if Im stumped in doing something.
Harnessing 3ds max 5 (Bousquet)
3ds max 5 Fundamentals (Boardman)
Advanced 3ds max 5 Modeling & Animating (Kulagin)
I just started working through this book. Right of the start I’d recommend this book more to intermediate max users or someone who has a good grasp on all the tools in max. The author relies on the fact that the user does not need any hand-holding in going through the tutorials and leaves most of the exercises up to the user to complete. I don’t really like the way the book is written grammatically speaking. I guess it has to do with translation from the author’s native language to English. Also, the author refers to another book “3ds max 4: From Objects to Animation” which I don’t have (and won’t get because I thought it was too basic) and gives me the feeling he wants the user to buy it too. However, that being said, the tutorials so far are fun to do and is really good at showing some of the modelling techniques available in max. Get it if your book collection is lacking but otherwise it’s not a ‘must have’ as compared to other titles.
to be continued
*- asterix indicates what I would deem a must have title.
It’s very important to remember that the Help, Tutorial, and Manuals that ship with max are your friend and should be consulted before laying out your hard-earned cash for an after market book! This is usually stipulated in every preface of every max book.
