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3DATS 3ds Max for Architectural Visualization Books Reviewed
By Jeff Mottle

Those of you who have been around CGarchitect for the last year or so will surely have seen Brian Smith and/or his company 3DATS mentioned on the forums or in a handful of architectural visualization tutorials on the site. Brian, who owns a visualization company called 3DAS and actively works in production, has also been busy writing books for the last several years on architectural visualization production. Brian has worked as a CAD manger and animation specialist in architectural engineering and landscaping firms in Florida. Brian graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point with a major in aerospace engineering. He served on active duty, and later in the Florida Army National Guard, including two years as a battery commander, responsible for a short range air defense battery of over 100 soldiers. Following 9/11, he served in Washington, DC as an air defense artillery fire control officer, working closely with the US Secret Service, the US Air Force and the FAA to provide air defense coverage for the US’s capitol.



For years there has been very little coverage of production techniques as they relate specifically to visualization, so his new books are certainly a welcome addition. His first book came out a couple of years ago and was called 3ds Max 8 Architectural Visualization. The two most recent books that have released continue the series in the form of a Beginner to Intermediate book, built upon by the just released Intermediate to Advanced book. If you look at the book titles themselves, you will note that the beginner to Intermediate version was based around 3ds Max 2008, whereas the Intermediate to Advanced covers 3ds Max 2009. However, don’t let the appearance of being outdated affect your decision to look at this book. Both books were originally slated to release for 3ds Max 2008, however the unexpected release of 3ds Max 2009 by Autodesk, forced the third book to be updated last minute and thus renamed. Both titles are relevant today and should be for several years to come at least. The only updates cover changes made to mental ray as well as a few UI updates.



The first book we are going to evaluate is the Beginner to Intermediate title. This book is a partial re-write of Brian’s very first book, which is now out of print. This new edition is printed in full color and uses significantly more architecturally based models in the illustrations and diagrams throughout the book. This book was written with beginners and students in mind and designed to take the reader to an intermediate level. The book is filled with years of personal experience in real-world production and is clearly written to help the reader land their first job, help build a new department or get into the architectural visualization industry. Although 3ds Max is an incredibly complex and encompassing application, Brian covers only the features and tools that are absolutely essential for architectural visualization. The writing style is to the point with carefully chosen words, with no filler or “fluff” that you sometimes run into in other books. This book covers a host of topics from interface basics to modeling and materials, lighting, camera and rendering. The full table of contents listed below outlines the exact contents of this book:

3ds Max 2008
Architectural Visualization – Beginner to Intermediate

PART 1 Getting Around Inside 3DS Max
CHAPTER 1 Navigating the 3ds Max Interface (20 pages)
CHAPTER 2 Working with Objects (20 pages)

PART 2 Modeling
CHAPTER 3 Modeling Basics (35 pages)
CHAPTER 4 The Critical Compound Objects Types (Loft,
Boolean, Pro Boolean, Terrain, and Scatter) (24 pages)
CHAPTER 5 The Critical Modeling Modifiers (30 pages)

PART 3 Materials
CHAPTER 6 Material Basics (26 pages)
CHAPTER 7 The Critical Map Channels (15 pages)
CHAPTER 8 The Critical Map Types (20 pages)
CHAPTER 9 UVW Mapping (11 pages)

PART 4 Lighting
CHAPTER 10 Basic Lighting (27 pages)
CHAPTER 11 Photometric Lighting (13 pages)
CHAPTER 12 Global Illumination (12 pages)

PART 5 Cameras and Animation
CHAPTER 13 Camera Basics (11 pages)
CHAPTER 14 Animation Basics (8 pages)
CHAPTER 15 Animation Controllers (17 pages)

PART 6 Rendering
CHAPTER 16 Rendering Basics (27 pages)
CHAPTER 17 Scene Assembly (15 pages)
CHAPTER 18 Effect Basics (25 pages)

Appendixes
APPENDIX A Customizing 3ds Max (4 pages)
APPENDIX B Keyboard Shortcuts (4 pages)

Index
Gallery of Images

The book itself is a work of art. The layout, font, full color graphics, illustrations are all exquisitely done. Since the release of this book, I’ve heard numerous people comment on how “nice” the book looks. A great deal of attention has gone into every aspect of this book. Each chapter is chalk full of detailed information as well as brief exercises outlining how to create or use the knowledge learned. This book has over 480 pages of the most specialized and relevant information on architectural visualization production anywhere. It is sold exclusively though 3DATS for $59.95 US and ships worldwide. There was only a limited number of books printed so if you are just getting into the industry or are looking to brush up your skills you will definitely want this “visualization bible” on your arsenal.

For a more detailed table of contents click here

The latest book released by 3DATS is the Intermediate to Advanced book. This is a follow-up companion to the Beginner to Intermediate title and is designed to take intermediate 3ds Max users to an advanced level. Unlike the second book which focused on explaining the technical side of 3ds Max, this third book expands upon the previously learned knowledge by teaching techniques to implement that knowledge in a production environment. The over 544 pages that make up this book, is the collaborative effort of Brian Smith and eight top production artists, visualization company owners and freelancers. This book is like having a small army of visualization pros sitting next to you. Every aspect of the visualization business, from workflow to business practices, including invaluable tips and tricks that are based on decades of experience, are covered in this book. This third title is also sold exclusively though 3DATS for $79.95 US and ships worldwide. The full table of contents listed below outlines the exact contents of this book:



3ds Max 2009
Architectural Visualization – Intermediate to Advanced

PART 1 Working with Architectural Drawings
CHAPTER 1 Reading Architectural Drawings (29 pages)
CHAPTER 2 Preparing AutoCAD Linework for 3ds Max (23 pages)

PART 2 Creating Building Elements
CHAPTER 3 Creating Walls, Windows, & Doors (Part I) (28 pages)
CHAPTER 4 Creating Walls, Windows, & Doors (Part II) (30 pages)
CHAPTER 5 Creating Roofs (28 pages)
CHAPTER 6 Creating Furniture (32 pages)

PART 3 Creating Site Elements
CHAPTER 7 Creating 2D Sites (29 pages)
CHAPTER 8 Creating 3D Sites (22 pages)
CHAPTER 9 Creating Backgrounds (17 pages)
CHAPTER 10 Creating Vegetation (24 pages)

PART 4 mental ray
CHAPTER 11 Introduction to mental ray ( 9 pages)
CHAPTER 12 Global Illumination (20 pages)
CHAPTER 13 Lighting Strategies with mental ray (20 pages)
CHAPTER 14 mental ray Materials (20 pages)

PART 5 Advanced Visualization Techniques
CHAPTER 15 Unwrap UVW (15 pages)
CHAPTER 16 Advanced Animation and Effects (19 pages)
CHAPTER 17 Photoshop Techniques for Visualization (19 pages)

PART 6 Efficient 3D Workflow
CHAPTER 18 The Animation Process (16 pages)
CHAPTER 19 Managing System Resources (13 pages)

APPENDIXES
APPENDIX A Top 30 Production Tips (20 pages)
APPENDIX B Top 20 3D Vendors (3 pages)
APPENDIX C Top 20 Free 3D Resources (3 pages)
APPENDIX D Common 3D Mistakes (3 pages)
APPENDIX E Marketing Your Services (7 pages)
APPENDIX F Pricing Your Services (4 pages)
APPENDIX G The 3D Business Plan (3 pages)
APPENDIX H The Professional Services Agreement (6 pages)
APPENDIX I The 3D CAD Brief (2 pages)
APPENDIX J The 3D Presentation (2 pages)
APPENDIX K A Quick Reference Guide to V-Ray Settings (14 pages)

Both of Brian’s books are hands down the most comprehensive, informed and well written culmination of architectural visualization knowledge anywhere. They both contain very practical examples of real world scenarios and workflows, and were clearly written with visualization production in mind. Whether you are just entering the industry or a seasoned pro, there is enough information in one or both of these books to greatly improve your knowledge of the industry, how to use the tools and run a visualization business. Having had the opportunity to hear feedback from Brian’s students, I have yet to receive feedback that was anything short overwhelming praise. In fact, many of his students coming back for custom one on one training and consulting within their firms. If you work in visualization, these books are a must have for your library. To order these books you can do so on the 3DATS website here: http://3dats.com/products.asp You can also download a sample chapter here as well.

Preview of 3ds Max 2008
Architectural Visualization – Beginner to Intermediate

Preview of 3ds Max 2009
Architectural Visualization – Intermediate to Advanced