This DVD is the first of a two part series that introduces Proceduralism within 3dsmax. Chris guides you through the concepts of a nodal architecture by looking at practical examples in 3dsmax , Maya and Houdini , and goes on to show how it is accessed in Max via its Stack interface. He then continues onwards to show how large and small elements can be instanced, and outlines important issues such as stack evaluation and topological dependency.

This DVD is aimed at a user of Fundamental to Intermediate level. It is intended to give a good grounding in the Procedural concepts and workflows in 3dsmax, and also as a strong foundation upon which the user can build their skills in DVD 2 in this series Procedural Techniques .

CH 01: What Is Proceduralism?
A brief introduction to the concepts that lie behind Proceduralism, such as Nodes, Parameters and Controllers.

CH 02: Working With Nodes & Proceduralism
To give us a broader insight into what a Procedural workflow is, in this chapter we take a brief look at the same procedural task tackled in 3 different packages, 3dsmax (of course), Maya and also Houdini.

CH 03: The Stack, Friend or Foe?
The Stack can be a daunting and confusing prospect to new users of 3dsmax and 3D software in general. Here we look at how it can be used to make our workflow easier and more flexible.

CH 04: Instancing & Referencing
An important feature of most Procedural systems is the ability to share and re-use nodes, parameters and controllers across the package. We look at what this offers us here...

CH 05: Base Objects & Conversion
All objects in 3dsmax are based on a number of core base geometry types, we look at them here and how we can convert between them at will.

CH 06: Working With The Stack
Here we return to the Stack to look at how it functions in more detail. How we can manipulate the modifiers to do what we want and gain mastery over this crucial 3dsmax interface element.

CH 07: The Modifiers
The Modifiers are the elements that we use to build our procedural systems via the Stack. Here we run through the functionality of each major group briefly.

CH 08: Passing It On & Topological Dependency
Some Modifiers and situations are such that they are totally dependant on the geometry and sub selections passed to them. We explore those issues here.

CH 09: Experimentation Without Risks
Finally we look at how a procedural workflow also allows us to experiment during our workflow with no real risk, and also how to use proceduralism to fix errors we may have made during modelling.

This DVD introduces the 3dsmax user interface and its unique workflow. In the first half of this DVD you will be taken through all of the user interface elements of 3dsmax, and this exploration continues in the second section where Chris creates a simple scene that demonstrates many core features of 3dsmax.

This DVD is aimed at a basic level 3d user, someone with knowledge of how to operate software in general and with a basic understanding of 3d software concepts. It is designed to give the user an introduction to 3dsmax and not to 3d concepts in general. It is also of particular use to those moving over to 3dsmax from another 3d graphic platform.