Information Seeking in Electronic Environments or 3ds Max 8 Essentials

Information Seeking in Electronic Environments

Author: Gary Marchionini

In the computer age, it is essential for individuals to develop skills and strategies for manipulating, storing, and retrieving electronic information. This book considers how electronic technologies have changed these skills and strategies and augmented the fundamental human activity of information seeking. Writing from the point of view of the user rather than the computer, the author makes a case for creating new interface designs that allow information seekers to choose what strategy to apply according to their immediate needs. Such systems may be designed by providing information seekers with alternative interface mechanisms for displaying and manipulating multiple levels of representation for information objects. This book is multidisciplinary in approach and aims to bridge the perspectives of information science, computer science and education. It will be essential reading for researchers and graduate students in these fields.

Interesting textbook: Shattered Peace or National Geographic Kids Almanac 2010

3ds Max 8 Essentials: Autodesk Media and Entertainment Courseware

Author: Autodesk

Welcome to the Autodesk Media and Entertainment Official Training Courseware for 3ds max X software! Consider this book an all-access pass to the production and training experience of Autodesk developers and training experts. Written for self-paced learning or instructor-led classroom training, the manual will teach you the fundamentals of using 3ds max X. The book is organized into sections dedicated to animation, modelling, materials, lighting and rendering. Each section covers basic theory, and then includes exercises for hands-on demonstration of the concept. By the end of the book, you will have mastered the basics and moved onto full-length projects. Flexibility is built in, so that you can complete the tutorials in the way that works best for you. Complete the book and you will be a seasoned 3ds max pro, ready to work confidently in a production environment.

•For beginners or those new to 3ds max
•Tutorials and exercises designed for flexibility and ease of use
•CD contains 3ds max support models, materials, textures, and animations for completing the exercises

Table of Contents:

Ch. 1	Getting started	3
	User interface	5
	Overview lab	57
	Files and objects	97
	Transforms	149
	Applying modifiers	195
Ch. 2	Modeling	243
	Low poly modeling	245
	Shapes	279
	Using compound objects	341
	Modeling lab	375
Ch. 3	Animation	395
	Animation basics	397
	Hierarchies	431
	Character animation - biped	455
	Animation lab	481
Ch. 4	Materials & mapping	499
	Introduction to materials	501
	Using maps	535
	Mapping coordinates	561
	Materials and mapping	601
Ch. 5	Rendering	623
	Cameras	625
	Basic lighting	651
	Global illumination	677
	Rendering the scene	697
	Scene assembly lab	725