3ds max 4 Media Animation: Amazon.ca: John Chismar: Books

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Unlike many books trying to cover all things Max, 3DS Max 4 Media Animation focuses on a specific use of the popular animation system from Discreet: creating opening graphics and logo animation for video.

The book assumes the reader has some experience in using Max, and in creating animation for video. It focuses on the design and production of six different animated openings, and three of those are real-world on-the-air clips from networks such as MSNBC and NBC News.

Four main sections of the book cover the projects step by step. The user doesn't get a tour of the interface, and there is no history of computer graphics. Instead, each chapter methodically describes only the steps involved in creating each particular project. If you've used Max and know the difference between a viewport and a roll-out, this book is for you.

There are plenty of details to absorb, since each project is fairly complex. The "Funhouse" tutorial is more about lighting and texturing, with some emphasis on modelling. The "Voting Machine" project is mostly about modelling, while the "News Open" project is a combination of lighting and effects. Each chapter is liberally illustrated and clearly written.

While many animators despise the idea of having to create yet another flying logo, many more have already embraced this genre and have realised that a comfortable living can be made as a talented motion graphics designer--as long as your work stands out from the crowd. It is far more difficult to design and execute an attractive motion graphics opening than you think, and if you haven't yet done it, "3DS Max 4 Media Animation" is a good place to start. --Mike Caputo

Book Description

Insights and ideas from an award-winning author!
Expert Advice. John Chismar provides a glimpse into the way he and his team function, complete with tips and tricks to enhance reader skills.
Quality tutorials. Throughout the book, Chismar presents carefully constructed exercises to demonstrate how the animations were constructed and most importantly - why they were developed using that methodology. The quality and clarity of tutorials in 3D Studio Max 3 Media Animation have been highly touted. Expect more of the same in this version!
Fills a unique niche. No other book covers media animation with the detail or authority offered by John Chismar and New Riders. @SUMMARY= New Riders offers the most comprehensive coverage of 3ds max functionality of any publisher. No other book covers the start-to-finish process of developing media animations using 3ds max (the program of choice for media animators). And that is precisely what our marketplace wants! This book includes all new animations from Emmy Award Winner John Chismar.
John Chismar, Senior 3d Animator at MSNBC, has been working in 3D animation since 1991 and in media animation since 1993. Using 3ds max, Chismar has garnered several awards for his work- 1997 and 1998 Emmy Awards; 3D Design magazine Big Kahuna Awards in 1998, 1999, and 2000; three Broadcast Design Association International Bronze Awards; and a 1995-96 Emmy nomination.

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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews

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Average Customer Review

4.9 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars best so far - waiting for any new Chismar release, Oct 31 2003

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david troutman (NYC) - See all my reviews

Ce commentaire est de: 3ds max 4 Media Animation (Paperback)

I am a beginner user of Viz and Max and will be using it for architectural 3D rendering. What I look for in a text book are lengthy tutorial exercises. I want to know step by step everything that I have to do to reproduce what the author is showing. This book is great for that. There are three main excercises that go the full length of the 550 pages of this book. As an example the 2002 voting machine tutorial goes from pages 182 to 315, covering each step of the construction. Chismar even includes alternate means of construction to show why one method works better than other methods.

I am looking forward to an updated book by Chismar on the lastest release of Max. I have not heard if one is being made.

One slight drawback...Chismar does not deal with the possiblities of drawing and rendering for architecture. If the new release of Max does include the architectural functions of Viz, then there will be a need for tutorials on those items. None the less the command structure of the software for Viz and Max is virtually the same, so learning that part from Chismar's book is still very important.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Best I have seen, May 23 2003

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david troutman (NYC) - See all my reviews

Ce commentaire est de: 3ds max 4 Media Animation (Paperback)

The most important feature of this book is the lengthy step by step tutorials. This is the first thing I look for in a computer book - to see that the tutorials are long. to me this indicates that the writer is very thorough with all steps in the project and does not leave out important steps along the way.

If you buy used make sure the disk is included.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, July 2 2002

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PONG HAY CHI (Hong Kong Hong Kong) - See all my reviews

Ce commentaire est de: 3ds max 4 Media Animation (Paperback)

Overall, it is a good book with clear instruction for intermediate user.

I give it 4 stars since it doesn't tell you the detailed procedures to reproduce the cool special effect described in the Part 4 (Real World Case Stuides).

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The Benchmark for All Tutorial-Style Computer Text Books
This book is a fantastic example of how all computer text books should be structured - Step-by-step tutorials that demonstrate experienced solutions to real-world projects. Lisez davantage

Published on Jun 13 2002 by Russell Brooks

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Reference...
About two weeks ago I purchased John Chrismar's "Media Animation" book, and I must say that I am very impressed with this book. Lisez davantage

Published on Mar 26 2002