3ds Max 2011 One Project from Start to Finish

3ds Max is a uniquely powerful modelling program, yet one that can catch out both new comers and even advanced users out with its intricacies and workflows. Many tutorial style books are fundamentally flawed by assuming the reader is already familiar with various aspects of the software. Indeed, we remember well a book that stated ‘now complete this easy step’ only to leave us both frustrated and annoyed as we failed to grasp the instructions.

What therefore is needed is a book that illustrates the process of creating a 3D visualization project step by step – and we are pleased to say there finally is a book worthy of its title ‘3ds Max 2011, One Project from Start to Finish’.

The movie below details the model produced over 9 chapters and the good news is we have three copies to give away, full details at the end of the post:

The book has been designed to be useful for readers at all skill levels. The material is presented in a way that will engage advanced users while still being explicatory enough for beginners – which is great to see.

Covering 2D-3D Modelling, Terrain Creation, Tree Creation, Water Elements, Animation, Lighting, Rending, Particles Systems and more the book provides a fully structured guide.

If your only going to buy one 3D modelling book this year then 3ds Max 2011 – One Project from Start to Finish is simply the best option.

The publishers 3DATS have kindly provided us with 3 copies to give away to readers – simply retweet this post and we will pick 3 winners at random from the Twitter feed. Competition ends 28th February, so you have a week to enter.

The retweet button is at the top of the post, good luck, books will be shipped Tuesday 29th, each valued at $99.95.

Join Google at the Game Developers Conference

In the next few weeks, thousands of programmers, designers and publishers will head to San Francisco for the annual Game Developers Conference (GDC). Google will be there in full force, showcasing technologies, distribution platforms and monetization solutions that help game developers create amazing games and reach an audience of hundreds of millions.

We’ve planned two developer days with several exciting talks. On February 28th, we’ll discuss web technologies such as HTML5, WebGL and Native Client, as well as Google’s cloud solutions and YouTube APIs. On March 1st, we’ll switch our focus to Android, with tech talks on audio, graphics, compatibility, the new NDK and the use of App Engine to securely serve application data.

Several Googlers are also speaking at the GDC summits and main conference, presenting topics ranging from mobile monetization to games on smart TVs. For a full list of our talks you can visit www.google.com/events/gdc.

Want even more Google? Visit our booth on the expo floor, where you can meet Google experts, check out the latest Android devices, or just relax in our Google TV lounge. If you stop by, you might even be able to score a pass to Google’s first invitation-only GDC party. We look forward to meeting you in person!

Foursquare Will Totally Show You the Best Spots to Pick Up Desperate Chicks

Dude…it’s like 1am and that chick you bought 5 drinks for totally bailed with her cockblocking grenade friend. SUCKS BRO! Luckily there’s this new Foursquare utility, which’ll lead us to the promised land of drunk-ass breezies down to hook up!

So this thing, called Ratio Finder or something, will make maps using stuff that Foursquare, like, um, tells them. (Bro Speak Translation: Ratio Finder pulls data from the Foursquare API and uses it to plot density maps based on gender.) Bro, we can totally creep on girls, and narrow it down to ones who are eating, shopping, or clubbing, Then it will use pink circles to tell us where there are mad chicks, and blue circles to warn us about sausagefests.

But if you don’t live in San Francisco or New York, you’re totally not getting laid…bro.