New architecture book for 3ds

[phix95]

Hey guys.

Anyone saw this new book for 3ds max and architecture called

"Realistic Architectural Visualization with 3ds Max and mental ray"? I just saw it on Amazon but it's not available till April. Are there any other books dealing w/architecture and 3ds (besides Foundation 3ds Max 8 Architectural Visualization---I heard its terrible)?

[Matt McDonald]

ummm.... the Guys that wrote the Max 8 Architectural Visualization book are heavy posters in these forums and are always helpful with good insight. They are very community minded, and seem like genuinely nice people.

 

FYI - before you use the term "terrible".

 

I've read their book as well as all the articles that they have been posting here on CGArchitect, free of charge, and they provide lots of good information. If you are getting starting in this line of work or have more than a passing interest I would say that it is worth a read.

[phix95]

Oh sorry. I was just going on reviews I read. From what I heard, the book is good if you need an intro into Max but not so much if you're concentrated on architecture specifically. If I'm wrong, that's great. These types of books seem hard to find. I truly apologize if I hurt anyone's feelings.

And I suppose I will try to search for these articles. It's just nice to have something tangible when I'm working.

[Brian Smith]

Danielle,

No hard feelings. I have learned you have to have pretty thick skin the more stuff you put out there because there are always plenty of people that find joy in badmouthing. I'm sure you're talking about reviews on Amazon...this one is my favorite...

 

This book is terrible. Badly written from a grammer standpoint. Not comprehensive and lacks a direction. Explains by steps but leaves out many steps. You have to figure out those yourself. But more than that, just doesnt cover rendering with 3d in architecture. You are far better off buying a book like "Master Visually Max d3 8", an introduction book. I have purchased alot of books and this has to be one of the worst ever. Its way overpriced!!! Laughable how they charge this price for this crappy book!! DONT BUY THIS BOOK !!!!!!

 

Believe it you want but i challenge you to find one sentence with bad grammar as this genius makes as his first point. There is a sample chapter at http://www.friendsofed.com and another one at the Visualization Insider homepage. Those 2 chapters will tell you enough if the book is right for you. Best of luck.

[Sindala]

I just started with it, it's a very good book imo, only the us measurements are a bit of a bother. Here in holland we stoppen measuring things with our feet a long time ago.

[MarkC-UK]

I've also spied "Realistic Architectural Visualization with 3ds Max and Mental Ray" and cannot wait for it to be published - roll on April.

With regards to Brian's book - it does what it says on the cover a foundation for arch viz in MAX. I bought this as a complete beginner and found it really useful.

I liked this: "Here in holland we stoppen measuring things with our feet a long time ago":D

[phix95]

Brian:

Yes, it was from Amazon. That site has the most reviews of things (that i know of). And I usually read a bunch of them, not just one.

I will check out those sample chapters. I learned Max in school, so I guess I don't need funamentals. I need the specifics to Arch Viz., like how to measure correctly and an efficiant way of building. Like sometimes I don't put enough polys in what I'm doing and have to go back and cut (arch.-stuff)...I just wisht there was a better way.

It's just b/c I don't want to learn a huge new software package, though I tried Autocad, and bought a book, and I can do it, sort of, but I dont like Autocad. Also tried Sketchup, basic stuff. And ordered a demo of Vectorworks. That seems like the best to me, after viewing some videos on their site.

And I know Friends of Ed are very reputable. So I was suprised at the bad reviews.

I'm working through a tutorial building a low poly house, and some steps are left out, measurements are approx....it's annoying.

[Brian Smith]

I recommend reading the insider articles...they're pretty much good for beginner to intermediate users.

[landrvr1]

Haha, great thread. I enjoyed those negative reviews at Amazon.com. Typical.

 

It's amazing:

 

1. How many beginners buy software books, and then come away disappointed when they find out that what they just purchased isn't the Holy Grail of tutorial texts that will give them photorealistic renderings with the click of a button or a few hidden commands.

 

2. How many so called advanced users purchase books only to trash them for not taking them to the LucasArts level.

 

I personally find something of value in nearly every software book I've ever purchased. I buy with the simple rule of thumb that no single book will ever hold all the answers.

 

Admittedly I've never seen Brian's book, but I've gotten so much good info from his posts here, I can't image the book wouldn't at least warrant 3 stars.

[stefkeB]

I haven't read the book, but have read quite a few others in the past. I preferred the project/workflow based books that are less focused on software versions. The [digital] series of New Riders comes to mind.

 

If a book has architectural visualization in its title, I assume that to be the main focus. As I browse through the table of contents, it seems to be more of a VIZ/3ds max basic tutorial, which is not the same as what the title is promising.

 

That said, I've read the sample chapter on project assembly (posted here in the Visualization Insider) and that was straight to the point. If the whole book is on that level, I might reconsider.

 

The thing that hinders me at the moment is I don't want to read yet another book that starts from scratch (and thus doesn't reach advanced level). So I guess that the "Foundation" would prevent me from buying the book.

 

Isn't there any "Advanced Architectural Visualization" book? It should not explain the software, but rather learn about workflow, optimizations, workable scenarios with large scenes.

 

I often see our students struggling with this, since they always create unmanageable scenes. They can create nice models, with lots of detail, but always fail to render them to their full quality.

[martin walker]

I bought that book, I think its an exellent resource for people starting out..its a little basic for us more experienced guys, but my main reason for buying was for the juniors in the office to look at it.

 

Brian, your "Critical V-Ray settings" was the most imformative paper on v-ray I have read....very well written, and the complex explained clearly.

 

Idiots who slate something so easily are just plain ignorant and rude.

[Brian Smith]

Brian, your "Critical V-Ray settings" was the most imformative paper on v-ray I have read....very well written, and the complex explained clearly.

 

Thanks a lot for the remarks.

 

As far as the book...no book is going to work for everybody. When i first started out, i bought everything on the market because only a fraction of each applied to my needs. For my book I didnt want to mislead anyone about what was in the book so i put the word 'Foundation' clearly as the first word in the title. Between that, the sample chapter, and the table of contents, it is pretty clear what level the book is for. But it is a bit irritating when people send personal emails ripping you for the book not meeting their expert level needs. Gets a little old.

 

Actually, one of the big motivating factors for writing all the Insider articles was to shut some of these people up and not have them bad mouth me for not giving more real world production tips, which i thought i had plenty of in the book for the foundation level user.

[Fran]

Actually, one of the big motivating factors for writing all the Insider articles was to shut some of these people up and not have them bad mouth me for not giving more real world production tips, which i thought i had plenty of in the book for the foundation level user.

 

A book review is a book review. It's not a personal attack.

 

When I read the guy's one other product review, I took his review of your book with a grain of salt. Other people will do the same, I'm sure.

[Brian Smith]

I agree, but when they come to your personal email, it's a little different...and they tend to be more outspoken when it's in an email rather than on a public forum for everyone to see. I get a lot of thank you emails but since the book was released 8 months ago i've received about 10 derogatory emails.

[Fran]

When they come to your personal email, it's not bad-mouthing. It's not nice, but at least it's private. The other thing that happens when you put yourself out there (besides taking some nasty hits), is having the not-so-nice people come out of the woodwork.