Deconstructing the Elements with 3ds Max: Create natural fire, earth, air and water without plug-ins

Went looking for this particular Max tutorials book based on some reviews I'd seen. This is the author's "third edition" of the book, but in truth it's less an Edition than a Volume. Volumes 1 and 2 had almost completely different ranges of tutorials; in truth, this edition (purchased as one would normally expect a "third edition" to have corrected the errors and omissions of the first two "editions") didn't _have_ the tutorial I purchased the book to acquire.Normally these high-priced computer How To books include a disk with the external files needed for the projects. Not this one. Not only was there _not_ a disk, but the web addresses listed in the book to _download_ said files no longer function; sloppy beyond forgiveness. (You can find them by googling, but it's a lengthy process, and disappointing as heck.) While it's possible to walk through the tutorials following the book's instructions, many of the tutes rely on images or meshes that you don't have if you don't download them.And then, for the Third Edition, the author made sure that there's at least one typo or grammar gaffe--sometimes more--_per page_. Whoever edited the thing really doesn't need to be editing books for a living (or even as a hobby). I'm not talking the usual spelling differences between Britlish and Yanklish; I'm talking out-and-out spelling mistakes. The author's good with Max, but not really that good with the English language (and it's his mother tongue to boot!).All problems aside: once you've located and downloaded the tutorial files (I found the one I wanted--making coronae for a sun-like object), these tutorials _do_ cover the ground, and mostly nicely. The author gets into some seriously-deep Max work with them--this is not a book that would work that well for a raw beginner in Max or CG--but the end results can't be beat.Would I buy another book by this author? Probably not. Bait-and-switch with the necessary files and garbling the words (on EVERY PAGE; it's almost a record) simply mean that this particular author I might check into, but probably not drop money on.

I love this book. I teach 3d disciplines in Maya and still recommend this book. It's how to create all kinds of natural phenomenon without plugins of any kind. that's what makes this book so valuable to people looking for a good resource. Most 3d effects are being done by one "plugin" or another and that makes it hard to give your project a unique feel. I call it lensflareitis. Because you first see a lens flare in Photoshop and are amazed by it, but after seeing it several thousand times, it takes about .5 seconds to know that is how it was done. 3d has that same issue. once you have seen the output of a plugin a few dozen times you will know that the people were using it right out of the box and it removes the luster from the final product. With that being said what is important for effects is to have a good eye. That is what this book focuses on. It doesn't start with the software or a plugin. It begins a topic in this way. Research your subject. (if it is fire, look at pics of real fire, look at videos of fire, surround yourself with reference and break the effect down into the easiest to digest components). Then apply what you have learned to the core 3d concepts and develop your own look, layer by layer. In this way it makes your effects much more easily "tweaked" into a unique effect that will set you aside from the crowd. So you can get this book and just do the tutorials, but the real magic to me is the method. Once you get used to it, you will find your own answers and that is more valuable than any other thing you could learn. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did. It's a gem. thank you for your time.

First off the book is great, and Pete Draper comes through again with many great tutorials. This book is full of all new tutorials, that take you from start to finish. If you are familiar with the second edition, then you will want to add this to your 3DSMax Library, as it will increase anyone's knowledge, skills, and ability to create the effects you want. I have read plenty of other books on Max,(lighting, rendering, etc.) but no other book contains straight forward tutorials like these(Deconstructing series). Highly recommend for novices or experienced, everyone can learn from this book.Pros:Great tutorials, easy to read, pages are in color -makes it nice to see how end result should look.Cons:Online content -hope they go back to DVD format.UPDATE: Website is now fixed, and full tutorials are available for downloading.Also note: Pete personally responded to my post here on Amazon, there are not many authors who would do that, very few indeed. Thanks Pete.

At the begining I was confused because it doesn't have any DVD with the supported files, but later I realize that I had to download them in Peter's web page with a unique passcode at the end of the book, It would be better if you can get a DVD with the book, but you can access to a lot of files including all the effects in the second edition, finally I could create all the effects in the book and some plus effects that I could downloadedSo a fully recomend this book!!!

I just bought this book and I have to say it is very good book from great VFX artist. Book is very well written and there are many useful advices. Deconstructing the elements with 3ds max are one of the best books about 3dsmax I have ever bought. Michal

Good book.Unfortunately, the advertised in the book link to the website with all files and video tutorials does not work.

O livro é ótimo, pena não existir versão em português, aliás as editoras deveriam lançar versões em outros idiomas para que o conhecimento fosse compartilhado.

I spected to find water (as we know it) but I did not. It is not what it is offering

I have to say I was rather disappointed with this cook book. I anticipated that I would be able make use of examples via the online details stated. The web url no longer excists and does not redirect and the examples were not in synch with the text.I also found it frustrating that as an e book I am unable to zoom in on the images. This would have supported the text and possibly overcome the missing assets.Yes it is highly technical and I bought it specifically for guidance and inspiration on sun and solar flares. Despite seevral attempts I simply failed to get it up and running.I tried contacting the author via the emails stated in the text - but no response.All in all - better off sticking to the freebie stuff on the web and having this as a decoration on the book shelf until you really are expert at which point this book will be a weighty tombe of work of immense benefit

This book is not for the feint hearted but it is absolutely brilliant, as are the tutorials videos and files you can download from Pete's website once registered with the code in your book.Although I haven't been through all the tutorials I have thumbed through them for hints on techniques.So if you're looking for great environmental modelling and techniques this book is definitely recommended.

I have not yet started working the tutorials, but I have browsed through the book and the tutorials seems easy to follow and will give great results - especially with the "Taking it further" chapter in the end of each tutorial.

While I will note that this book is indeed a well written and often useful resource for most artists, it should be noted that if you own one of the previous Deconstructing books, you might not need this one. I own the first book and bought this on the strength of it, but was slightly disappointed that it pretty much covered the same scenes or uses similar techniques to achieve different results.For example; the 1st book described how to make icy landscapes, this one does too. The 1st book told us how to make a volcano; this one tells us how to make a mountain (same thing). An angle grinder rather than fire-works, etc...I also found it somewhat frustrating that the sub-categories for 'Water' are soap bubbles, icicles, condensation and ice aggregation. So no water of the kind that actually flows and splashes down a rocky river. I was also disappointed that there are a further two more tutorials based on bubbles in the 'Air' section. Great if you really want to know how to model bubbles!However, to counter-balance my negativity, it should be pointed out that while the first edition is very similar (I can't vouch for the 2nd), the techniques used in this one should supersede it due to its age and there is still plenty of handy tricks to be learned here.

Another great learning resource from 3ds max master Pete Draper. More really cool effects and methods to achieve them, definitely worth getting.