3ds Max 3rd Edition Textbook: Deconstructing 3D Elements - Perfect for Architecture, Game Design & Animation Students

I love this book. I teach 3d disciplines in Maya and still recommend this book. It's how to create all kinds of natural phenomenon without plugins of any kind. that's what makes this book so valuable to people looking for a good resource. Most 3d effects are being done by one "plugin" or another and that makes it hard to give your project a unique feel. I call it lensflareitis. Because you first see a lens flare in Photoshop and are amazed by it, but after seeing it several thousand times, it takes about .5 seconds to know that is how it was done. 3d has that same issue. once you have seen the output of a plugin a few dozen times you will know that the people were using it right out of the box and it removes the luster from the final product. With that being said what is important for effects is to have a good eye. That is what this book focuses on. It doesn't start with the software or a plugin. It begins a topic in this way. Research your subject. (if it is fire, look at pics of real fire, look at videos of fire, surround yourself with reference and break the effect down into the easiest to digest components). Then apply what you have learned to the core 3d concepts and develop your own look, layer by layer. In this way it makes your effects much more easily "tweaked" into a unique effect that will set you aside from the crowd. So you can get this book and just do the tutorials, but the real magic to me is the method. Once you get used to it, you will find your own answers and that is more valuable than any other thing you could learn. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did. It's a gem. thank you for your time.