3D Studio Max R2.5 F/X and Design

This guide for intermediate and advanced users shows you how to produce eye-catching effects in the 3-D modeling and animation tool, 3D Studio MAX R2. You use files on the included CD-ROM (which also offers models, scene files, materials, texture maps, and additional insight on how the package works) to work along with the book's projects.

The authors help you create convincing lighting effects and build realistic industrial and animated materials, such as dirt and metal. You also learn how to create optical effects and work with the Dynamics utility. Additional sections of the book teach more advanced modeling techniques, including those involving lightning, bones, landscapes, and Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline (NURBS) modeling; Space Warps and particle systems; and plug-ins. A section dedicated to technical material covers expressions and MAXScript.

Appendices list resources for more information on 3D Studio MAX, special effects, and filmmaking. A full-color section shows you the results of the projects in the book's tutorials, as well as the work of various 3D Studio MAX artists. --Kathleen Caster