Introduction                                       xii
    Basic Concepts                                 1  (30)
      How to Read This Book                        2  (1)
      What Is CGI?                                 2  (2)
      Production Workflow                          4  (4)
      CG Workflow                                  8  (4)
      CG Specialties                               12 (2)
      Core Concepts                                14 (8)
      Coordinate Systems                           22 (1)
      Basic Animation Concepts                     23 (4)
      Basic 3ds Max Terms and Concepts             27 (3)
      Summary                                      30 (1)
    Your First Max Animation                       31 (30)
      Getting Around in 3ds Max                    32 (1)
      Project and File Management Workflow         32 (3)
      The 3ds Max Interface                        35 (6)
      Jumping Headlong into Animation              41 (11)
      Setting Up the Hierarchy                     52 (7)
      Summary                                      59 (2)
    The 3ds Max Interface                          61 (44)
      What Am I Looking At?                        62 (34)
      Managing Scene Objects                       96 (7)
      Summary                                      103(2)
    Modeling in 3ds Max: Part I                    105(74)
      Planning Your Model                          106(1)
      Modeling Concepts                            107(12)
      Look at the Mesh You Got Us Into!            119(10)
      Editable Poly Tools                          129(8)
      Modeling a Chest of Drawers                  137(27)
      Modeling a Hand                              164(13)
      Summary                                      177(2)
    Modeling in 3ds Max: Part II                   179(46)
      Setting Up the Scene                         180(4)
      The Editable Poly Tools                      184(22)
      Lofting the Barrel                           206(9)
      Lathing the Wheels                           215(2)
      Using Snapshot to Create the Tracks          217(6)
      Summary                                      223(2)
    Organic Poly Modeling                          225(50)
      Setting Up the Scene                         226(5)
      Creating the Basic Form                      231(23)
      Adding Detail                                254(17)
      Final Touches                                271(2)
      Summary                                      273(2)
    Materials and Mapping                          275(50)
      Materials                                    276(2)
      The Material Editor                          278(16)
      Mapping a Pool Ball                          294(8)
      Mapping, Just a Little Bit More              302(3)
      Maps                                         305(4)
      More Mapping Exercises                       309(6)
      Mapping Coordinates                          315(8)
      Summary                                      323(2)
    Introduction to Animation                      325(40)
      Hierarchy in Animation: The Mobile Redux     326(4)
      Using Dummy Objects                          330(3)
      Bouncing Ball                                333(2)
      Using the Track Editor--Curve Editor         335(15)
      Track View                                   350(4)
      Anticipation and Momentum in Knife           354(10)
      Throwing
      Summary                                      364(1)
    Character Studio and IK Animation              365(40)
      Character Animation                          366(1)
      Character Studio Workflow                    366(2)
      Creating a Biped                             368(8)
      Animating a Biped                            376(15)
      Associating a Biped to a Character           391(8)
      Using Inverse Kinematics                     399(5)
      Summary                                      404(1)
    3ds Max Lighting                               405(40)
      Basic Lighting Concepts                      406(2)
      Three-Point Lighting                         408(3)
      3ds Max Lights                               411(14)
      Common Light Parameters                      425(7)
      Ambient Light                                432(1)
      Creating Shadows                             432(6)
      Atmospheres and Effects                      438(4)
      Light Lister                                 442(1)
      Summary                                      443(2)
    3ds Max Rendering                              445(34)
      Rendering Setup                              446(9)
      Motion Blur                                  455(2)
      Previewing with ActiveShade                  457(1)
      Cameras                                      457(5)
      Safe Frame                                   462(1)
      Render Elements                              463(3)
      Rendering Effects                            466(4)
      Raytraced Reflections and Refractions        470(7)
      Summary                                      477(2)
    Particles and Dynamics                         479(36)
      Understanding Particle Systems               480(4)
      Setting Up a Particle System                 484(15)
      Particle Systems and Space Warps             499(5)
      Using Rigid Body Dynamics                    504(7)
      Using Soft Body Dynamics                     511(3)
      Summary                                      514(1)
Index                                              515