There are dozens of features and techniques to master, from sculpting and texturing to lighting and rendering.  This course covers 3ds Max from the ground up, providing an overview of the entire package as well as essential skills that 3D artists need to create professional models and animations. Learn how to get around the 3ds Max interface and customize it to suit your production pipeline. Discover how to model different objects using splines, NURBS, polygons, subdivision surfaces, and tools such as Paint Deform. Then, find out how to construct hierarchies, add cameras and lights to a scene, and animate with keyframes. Author Aaron F. Ross also takes an in-depth look at materials and texture mapping as well as the rendering options, including use of the Autodesk Raytracer (ART) renderer.

Topics include:
* Customizing and configuring the interface
* Selecting, duplicating, and editing objects
* Working with sub-objects in the modifier stack
* Performing polygonal and subdivision surface modeling
* Freeform modeling and sculpting
* Modeling with splines and NURBS
* Linking objects in hierarchies
* Framing shots with cameras
* Creating and editing keyframes
* Controlling lights and shadows
* Building materials
* Mapping textures
* Rendering sequences