    | Book Review: Mastering Mental Ray
Contributed by: Steven D. Papke
Posted by: sdp777
Average Rating : 5.00/5.00 
Published on: June 2nd,2010
Views: 695 | | |
Book Review:
Mastering mental ray
Rendering Techniques for 3D & CAD Professionals
Jennifer O’Connor
Sybex Publishing, ISBN 978-0-470-56385-4
There is a new book out on mental ray by Jennifer O’Connor, president and founder of Chicago’s (AAUGA) Autodesk Animations Users Group Association. The new title is called Mastering mental ray. This full color, 345 page book provides a comprehensive look at the mental ray rendering engine as it applies to 3DS Max/Design 2009-2011 and provides numerous examples to demonstrate a more modernized workflow as well as strategies common to many of the software platforms from Autodesk which use mental ray.
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The book does an excellent job providing a fundamental understanding of mental ray. However, the book is highly focused on the explanation of lighting and provides essential techniques for improving rendering times. This is truly what every user wants: to demystify the difficult and often confusing user interface and make the end results, consistent and predictable. The approach within the book is to take an in depth look at what the setting is and what it controls, how to apply it in your scenes and summarizes with what may be best to tweak to further enhance to quality or speed.
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The initial chapter begins with the basics of configuring both 3DS Max/Design and mental ray to best optimize the work environment. A common feature of books is to break out and highlight specialized information. This book does a fantastic job with the sidebars and often correlates pictures to further explain the points made. And at the end of each chapter is a Master It section which serves to re-emphasize the highlight points of the chapter and challenges you to recall what you have read.
The second chapter is dedicated maps, materials and shaders. It also uniquely explains the new Slate Material Editor (also known as SME) in 3DS Max/Design 2001. This was my first look at this Material Editor and initially I was not fond of it; however, a visual approach to mapping perhaps is a more intuitive way…however, it does not relinquish on the difficulty of materials. 3DS Max is difficult enough as it is – and I am all for changing for the better more intuitive approach. Since I have been around a while, I recall in the late 90’s nodal mapping software developed by the originators of Viz ….. Since using it a while, I have grown more accustomed to it and you can always revert to the classic Material editor (now referred to as CME). The author has simplified the SME and made it more approachable. Her explanations are straightforward and even touch on the new Autodesk Material type.
Chapter three is an overview of the always challenging settings of Light, Shadow and Exposure Control. I found the Eight Simple Rules for Lighting Your Scene even applicable the professional end user.
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Chapter four deals with Rendering: how do it effectively and efficiently. Everyone knows that the most stressful part of a job is waiting on the final rendering and seeing a misplaced color, or shadow or light intensity. The author provides great techniques for leveraging the network, perhaps the office environment for both test rendering and final renderings.
Chapters five, six and seven are without question the meat of the book. The author covers all aspects of lighting (from Final Gather to Global Illumination and Caustics) providing thorough examples of what each does via exercises, examples or sidebars. In chapter seven the author even taken a stab at explaining the new technologies developed in 3DS Max / Design 2011 called Importons and Irradiance Particles. These are so new, that the only real reference information is other Artists and Autodesk.
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Chapter eight gives insight into the common features overlooked by the eye, but never the less necessary to fool the eye with realism…the effects. Manipulation of the camera lens and output simulate real world phenomena.
Chapter nine provides a great translation workflow for importing models, materials and lighting from other Autodesk flagship programs including Revit and Inventor.
The book comes with a companion DVD to follow along with scenes saved in several versions. Also included is a very informative website, www.masteringmentalray.com and includes several video chapter overviews with more coming online each month. In the reviewer’s opinion, this serves two functions: first, for those who want to jump in quickly and learn best from visual teaching and second, for those who seek clarification or reinforcement of the ideas presented.
What I found invaluable about the book is that it explores the highly technical nature of rendering into easy-to-follow steps and tutorials that you can apply immediately to your own projects. You can never have enough books on Max. If any book provides you that the one bit of information which saves you, you never forget. This is one of those books. The information assembled and the comprehensive look at each setting will have you returning to it throughout your day to day work. I highly recommend this book for both the casual and intermediate user, and who doesn’t want to speed up their renderings and have more believable lighting?
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| | | | Similar articles of interest | | Article Title | Author | Published Date | | | | | User Comments | | Moderator | Posted on: June 2nd,2010
Nice one Steve, I just purchased this book.
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