Brian Smith's Archviz Books

[Morne]

Hi all

What do you guys think about these books? From 3das website and from what Brian says on this forum, I always thought that Brian is one of the experts on VRay. However, in the index of these books (www.3dats.com) it seems they are geared more towards mental ray, and VRay is mentioned in an appendix! Is this so or does the books index not propperly reflect the message? Is it worth while for somebody to learn more about VRay and production workflow to get these books? Or are these books really only helpful to newbies that dont know anything about modelling?

Or is it just me that is missing the boat altogether and that the books are not actually about Arhviz and VRay, but merely about a "generalised overall view of arhviz" ?

Kind Regards,
Morne

[intero_ua]

Hi Morne,
I contributed one of the chapters for this book, a chapter called Creating Furniture. I haven't had eyes on all the other chapters but enough to provide some insight that might be helpful.

There are 6 people that contributed to this book, and each of us was told something to the effect, "This is a book on 3ds Max...not VRay, Fusion, Photoshop, or anything else. However, because such a huge % of 3ds Max users rely on these tools, it is acceptable and actually encouraged to reference these tools whenever possible."

I know Brian put the VRay section in the back because he is trying to get it certified through Autodesk and having a dedicated chapter on mental ray's biggest competitor in the main body of the book wouldn't help his efforts. I havent seen it but knowing him, it's probably a killer reference.

The book covers modeling of just about every type of architectural element you can think of, but it's not at all a book on modeling. For example, the chapter I wrote is called 'Creating Furniture' but it's not all just modeling. It's about 70% modeling and 30% material application. There is no need for me to discuss rendering, lighting, or anything else because they have nothing to do with furniture creation. There are 4 dedicated mental ray chapters written by a guy named Chris Bullen and he is a really great instructor that teaches at Autodesk University. There is a chapter on compositing and effects and a chapter on Photoshop tips and tricks as they apply to work in 3ds Max. There is also a really awesome chapter I saw on conserving system resources. There is an appendix chock full of tips and tricks that cover everything from modeling to lighting, to business to compositing.

There really isnt much that isnt covered in the 3D workflow that I can think of. It covers the whole spectrum. Hope that helps.

[Morne]

thanks for the info