3ds max 6 Killer Tips features 275 hot tips--all illustrated, all in full color, for all levels of 3ds max users, from newbie to advanced. Get instant help on UI customization, modeling, animation, lighting, materials and texturing, rendering (including mental ray 3 secrets), the Reactor dynamics system, Particle Flow, Bones and IK, the Portable License Utility, and more! Learn how to enhance your 3ds max renderings with programs such as Adobe Photoshop and Discreet Combustion! Speed up your workflow and create stunning effects with more than 40 MAXScript tips, created by guest contributor and scripting expert Borislav Petrov. Written and edited by Jon A. Bell, professional 3D artist (The Discovery Channel, The History Channel, National Geographic) and author of the best-selling 3D Studio MAX f/x book series, 3ds max 6 Killer Tips is a must-have reference for every 3ds max 6 artist!

Jon A. Bell is a writer and 3D computer graphics artist. After working 10 years as an editor and writer in the computer magazine industry, Jon changed careers in 1991 to concentrate on the computer graphics industry, and has produced CGI for television, films, computer games, multimedia, and print. He provided animation for the films "Exorcist III: Legion," "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," "Honey, I Blew Up the Kid," "Soldier" and "Mighty Joe Young." His video and film work includes Autodesk¿s/Kinetix’s 1991, 1994 and 1997 SIGGRAPH reels, their 1993 and 1996 NAB reels, and work for Digital Phenomena and Matte World Digital. His multimedia and game industry work includes architectural models and animation for Oracle, LucasArts Entertainment, Sega of America, and Gametek. He wrote three "3D Studio MAX f/x and design" books for Ventana/Coriolis Press (1996-1999), covering the first 3 releases of 3ds max, and provided 3D artwork for the book "Tripping," Charles Hayes, published October 2000 by Penguin USA. His most recent book was "3ds max 6 Killer Tips," released in February 2004 by New Riders Publishing. His latest full-time job was as 3rd-Party Developer Relations Manager for Discreet, the multimedia division of Autodesk (December 2000--January 2003.)

Currently, Jon provides computer graphics work for the History Channel series, ¿Tactical to Practical.¿ He also provides 3D graphics and technical writing for Hawkes Ocean Technologies, Pt. Richmond, CA (www.deepflight.com), the builders of the experimental minisubs Deep Flight I and the Deep Flight 502 Aviator. Jon¿s hobbies include 3D computer graphics, scuba diving, travel to exotic places, reading, drawing, and writing fiction and essays. After almost 17 years in the San Francisco Bay area, Jon and his wife Joan moved to the red rocks of Sedona, Arizona in May 2003, and they are the parents of the world¿s most spoiled cat, Greystone.

3ds max 6 Killer Tips features 275 hot tips--all illustrated, all in full color, for all levels of 3ds max users, from newbie to advanced. Get instant help on UI customization, modeling, animation, lighting, materials and texturing, rendering (including mental ray 3 secrets), the Reactor dynamics system, Particle Flow, Bones and IK, the Portable License Utility, and more! Learn how to enhance your 3ds max renderings with programs such as Adobe Photoshop and Discreet Combustion! Speed up your workflow and create stunning effects with more than 40 MAXScript tips, created by guest contributor and scripting expert Borislav Petrov. Written and edited by Jon A. Bell, professional 3D artist (The Discovery Channel, The History Channel, National Geographic) and author of the best-selling 3D Studio MAX f/x book series, 3ds max 6 Killer Tips is a must-have reference for every 3ds max 6 artist!

dont read, watch!

dont read a book to learn stuff like this. watch video tutorials! there are tons of websites offering video tutorials. look ’em up!

a cut above

I’m a 3ds user since 2nd version of 3d-studio (3d studio) not MAX it was DOS 5 era, I found it very hard for me to look at 3d books without snickering at it, This one I can always find useful tips here and there, well worth the money I paid for. THey are not earth shattering tips but a good collection of alternative ways to do things, very cool, One thing though, if all the Max scripts are typed into a CD it will be much better, I’ll pay an extra 5 bucks for it.

a cut above

I’m a 3ds user since 2nd version of 3d-studio (3d studio) not MAX it was DOS 5 era, I found it very hard for me to look at 3d books without snickering at it, This one I can always find useful tips here and there, well worth the money I paid for. THey are not earth shattering tips but a good collection of alternative ways to do things, very cool, One thing though, if all the Max scripts are typed into a CD it will be much better, I’ll pay an extra 5 bucks for it.

Very useful book with a lot of short/sharp tips.

Firstly, please take itchybob’s review with a grain of salt. With regard to his "issue" with the lighting setup tip mentioned, there is a reason almost everyone in the industry uses the same or similar setups . . . speed and control. If you are in a production environment, using skylight or radiosity takes incredible amounts of time and is just plain crazy. Therefore it is a very good tip.

Anyway, onto the review! This was the first Max book I purchased and it becomes more useful every week. Why? Because Max is a big program and I am learning more everyday. Following on from this, the tips range from simple one paragraph hints to full blown MaxScript. As I become more proficient, some of the tips become more relevant to me.

I would highly recommend this book as it really does provide *production tested" hints that will speed up your workflow and help give your work that extra oomph. Of course, the end result is up to you, but with this book you might have a little edge on the competition!

Very useful book with a lot of short/sharp tips.

Firstly, please take itchybob’s review with a grain of salt. With regard to his "issue" with the lighting setup tip mentioned, there is a reason almost everyone in the industry uses the same or similar setups . . . speed and control. If you are in a production environment, using skylight or radiosity takes incredible amounts of time and is just plain crazy. Therefore it is a very good tip.

Anyway, onto the review! This was the first Max book I purchased and it becomes more useful every week. Why? Because Max is a big program and I am learning more everyday. Following on from this, the tips range from simple one paragraph hints to full blown MaxScript. As I become more proficient, some of the tips become more relevant to me.

I would highly recommend this book as it really does provide *production tested" hints that will speed up your workflow and help give your work that extra oomph. Of course, the end result is up to you, but with this book you might have a little edge on the competition!

GREAT REFERENCE, VERY USEFUL

If you every wanted to know the in-depth functionalities and the "hidden" or more overlooked features of 3ds max, get this book.
Full color pages are packed with tips of every conceivable kind-from materials to animating to rendering to max script to anything in between. I constantly go back to it to look up various small things that I can’t find in 3ds max reference or tutorials.

GREAT REFERENCE, VERY USEFUL

If you every wanted to know the in-depth functionalities and the "hidden" or more overlooked features of 3ds max, get this book.
Full color pages are packed with tips of every conceivable kind-from materials to animating to rendering to max script to anything in between. I constantly go back to it to look up various small things that I can’t find in 3ds max reference or tutorials.

A lot for everybody...

Let me first tell that I am from the games industry, and our use of Max is very specific and thus limited from the broad range the program has. As such I would say I am an intermediate to advance user in some areas, but a beginner in other features.

The book does not aim itself specifically at any one industry, but rather has a lot for everybody. And as such it is VERY useful. It is chokeful of tips, work arounds and time savers in every single area of Max. Even if you know the Max 6 version almost inside out (and who can honestly claim that?), there will still be a tonne of reminders on good workflow and timesavers, easily worth the cover price. This is not the kind of book you read from cover to cover, but rather flip through, and then keep close to your workstation, as problems arise. I use the materials chapter the most due to the nature of my work, but I am deeply grateful for all the goodies on lightning, rendering and modelling etc. as well.

This book is for everybody, save absolute gurus and people who have never touched a 3D application before.

A lot for everybody...

Let me first tell that I am from the games industry, and our use of Max is very specific and thus limited from the broad range the program has. As such I would say I am an intermediate to advance user in some areas, but a beginner in other features.

The book does not aim itself specifically at any one industry, but rather has a lot for everybody. And as such it is VERY useful. It is chokeful of tips, work arounds and time savers in every single area of Max. Even if you know the Max 6 version almost inside out (and who can honestly claim that?), there will still be a tonne of reminders on good workflow and timesavers, easily worth the cover price. This is not the kind of book you read from cover to cover, but rather flip through, and then keep close to your workstation, as problems arise. I use the materials chapter the most due to the nature of my work, but I am deeply grateful for all the goodies on lightning, rendering and modelling etc. as well.

This book is for everybody, save absolute gurus and people who have never touched a 3D application before.

Pretty good

this tip book is ideal if you are putting together a demo piece or the like. It has strong tips in areas such as raytracing, surface tools, animating, lights, materials, and other general 3dsmax information. Good tips at the end in working with 2d editors. There is also 25-30 pages of maxscript, which you either like or you don’t. The book is only 270 pages, and of that about 200 pages are very worthwhile. The other 70 pages, maybe not as much. In the end, you must decide if $25 is worth 200 strong pages of 3dsmax tips. I think it is.

Pretty good

this tip book is ideal if you are putting together a demo piece or the like. It has strong tips in areas such as raytracing, surface tools, animating, lights, materials, and other general 3dsmax information. Good tips at the end in working with 2d editors. There is also 25-30 pages of maxscript, which you either like or you don’t. The book is only 270 pages, and of that about 200 pages are very worthwhile. The other 70 pages, maybe not as much. In the end, you must decide if $25 is worth 200 strong pages of 3dsmax tips. I think it is.

Useless to the advanced user

This book is just to short and just does not explain anything in any amount of detail at all!!!! For the amount of money I really would just order somethingelse. I.E. 1 section of the book says find that perfect lighting solution try setup a line and space lights around it, now if you are advanced then you would usally go straight only radiosity or light tracer. This book to me was a real dissapointment and Im waiting for someone to buy it second hand from me. A real book to collect dust in your bookcase

Can’t live without it book

There can’t be very many Max 6 users who have so mastered its’ incredible array of tools that they won’t find something new in this book. It not only explores hard to learn topics, it provides new insights into creating effects. And the topics are all about the "cool" things that make using Max exciting and productive.

A nice organized book for all kinds of max users

I use max since version 3, so I consider myself to be an intermediate user. With this spirit I bought this book promising to be helpful to all users. Well, the truth is that you can find any kind of tips in this book, things that a veteran user could have forgotten, or that a novice would kill to find. The book covers all areas of the 3d process through 3d studio from customization of 3dsmax to final renderings and compositing, not exluding some maxscripting. Due to that fact, the amount of tips for each section is somewhat selective (not that it could be done in another way though!). I discovered many features in "unknown" territories (at least for me) and many tips that claryfied things for other sections. I only wished it covered more the lightining and rendering section (as it is now, it is evenly divided among all sections), because there are many more things I would like to find out about the mental ray, lightrace and radiosity settings.
Overally, this is a good book, well worth the price, and it is almost certain that you will find something new in here. My wish is that it doubled its 300 pages.