Randi L. Derakhshani - Autodesk 3ds Max 2012 Essentials

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Cover Image: Randi L. Derakhshani, Dariush Derakhshani

Copyright 2011 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

ISBN: 978-1-118-01675-6

ISBN: 978-1-118-11779-8 (ebk.)

ISBN: 978-1-118-11780-4 (ebk.)

ISBN: 978-1-118-11781-1 (ebk.)

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To Max Henry

Acknowledgments

We are thrilled to be a part of Autodesk 3ds Max 2012 Essentials , a complete update and style change to our previous Introducing 3ds Max series. Education is an all-important goal in life and should always be approached with eagerness and earnestness. We would like to show appreciation to the teachers who inspired us; you always remember the teachers who touched your life, and to them we say thanks. We would also like to thank all our students, who taught us a lot during the course of our many combined academic years. Equally, we want to extend many thanks to the student artists who contributed to this book, many of whom are our own students from The Art Institute of CaliforniaLos Angeles.

Having a good computer system is important with this type of work, so a special thank-you goes to Hewlett-Packard for keeping us on the cutting edge of workstation hardware. Special thanks go to Mariann Barsolo, Dick Margulis, Dassi Zeidel, and Liz Welch, our editors at Wiley who have been professional, courteous, and ever-patient. Our appreciation also goes to technical editors Jon McFarland and Jeff Harper, who worked hard to make sure this book is of the utmost quality, in addition to contributing to the writing of a few chapters. We could not have done this revision without their help.

In addition, thanks to Dariushs mother and brother for their love and support, not to mention the life-saving babysitting services.

Randi L. Derakhshani, Dariush Derakhshani

About the Authors

Randi Lorene Derakhshani is a staff instructor with The Art Institute of CaliforniaLos Angeles. She began working with computer graphics in 1992, and was hired by her instructor to work at Sony Pictures Imageworks, where she developed her skills with 3ds Max and Apple Shake, among many other programs. A teacher since 1999, Randi enjoys sharing her wisdom with young talent and watching them develop at The Art Institute. Currently, she teaches a wide range of classes, from Autodesk 3ds Max to compositing with Apple Shake and Adobe After Effects. Juggling her teaching activities with caring for a little boy makes Randi a pretty busy lady.

Dariush Derakhshani is a visual effects supervisor and Supervisor of Games at Zoic Studios in Culver City, CA, and a writer and educator in Los Angeles, as well as Randis husband. Dariush used Autodesks AutoCAD software in his architectural days and migrated to using 3D programs shortly after. Dariush started using Alias PowerAnimator version 6 when he enrolled in the University of Southern California (USC) Film Schools Animation program, and he has been using Alias/Autodesk animation software for quite a while. He received an M.F.A. in Film, Video, and Computer Animation from the USC Film School in 1997 and holds a BA in architecture and theater from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. He has worked on feature films, music videos, game cinematics, and countless commercials as a 3D generalist and CG/VFX supervisor. Dariush also serves as an editor and is on the advisory board of HDRI 3D , a professional computer graphics (CG) magazine from DMG Publishing.