Tutorial 7 - Making your own materials

In order to make your own materials to import into 3DS Max, you need to use Photoshop.

Make a new file, approx 3cm x 3cm. Using the brush, make a random pattern within the file. Save as a bitmap.

In 3DS Max, click on the Material Editor. Click on a slot and got to the diffuse slot. Next to the slot is a small box. Click on this and it reveals the material editor. At the top of the material editor is Bitmap. Click on Bitmap, and a dialogue box appears to allow you to find the image you made in Photoshop. The image will appear in the material slot. Click and drag it to your object.

Tutorial 6 - Materials - Shaders

In order to start making materials you have to chose the relevent shader to make that material.

Anastropic

The anastropic shader is ideal for metal materials, because it changes the shape of the specular from round to elongated via the anastrophy spinner. You can also change the direction of the shine. It works very well for hair where the shaft of the hair catches the light.

Blinn

This is the standard Max default - A basic shader which can be used for most materials, it has a no anastrophy.

Metal

This was in use until the Anastropic shader was introduced, it is more simple in the way it works, there is a dimple in the specular graph, which means that the shader is useful for dull metal materials such as brushed stainless steel.

Muli-layer

This is very good for metalic objects, particularly cars, as it has two layers of specularity. You can also change the colours of the specular layer to add subtle tones.

Orin-Nayer-Blinn

This is much softer in tone than Blinn and produces a very soft feel to the material. It is ideal for organic materials such as skin, velvet, as it slightly absorbs light.

Phong

This is one of the original shaders and is not really used anymore. Gives a plastic feel to a material.

Strauss

This is good for plastic, or can be used for metal, but there are not a lot of parametres and is not utilised much.

Translucent

This is a fun shader - and can be used to produce psychodelic influences on the material, glowing effects etc. It offers translucency, and opacity plus filter colour.

Tutorial 5 - Rendering your scene

To render your calendar scene

Click on Render in the top tool bar, or click on the Render button, an icon, which looks like a teapot with a blue and white box.
The Render dialogue box will appear.
As we are rendering a still image we need to check “Single” in the “Time output” box.

Output size – check 640 X 480

Scroll down to Render output > Files, and select the area you wish to save your file.
Save as type BMP or JPEG, and press SAVE.
In the Render Scene dialogue click on RENDER, and the image will be rendered to your file.

Tutorial 4a - Producing a Circular Array

Producing a Circular Array

Click and drag a teapot into the perspective viewport.
Click the Use Pivot Point Centre button on the main toolbar and drag down to the last icon, which is the Use Transform Coordinate Centre button.
Make sure the teapot is highlighted.
Go to Tools > Array for the Array dialogue box.
Between the Incremental and Totals sections are the labels “Move”, “Rotate” and “Scale”. Click the arrow button to the right of the rotate label. Set the axis which you would like to rotate the teapot and type in 360 degrees.
In the Array dimensions section, set the 1D spinner count value to 6 and click the OK button to create the array.

Tutorial 4 - Making a Linear Array

Producing a Linear Array

Make a shape like a piece of picket fencing in the perspective viewport. Make sure this is highlighted.
Go to Tools > Array and this opens an array dialogue box.
Make sure that the Preview button is checked

In array dimensions, check 2D, and in the Count select how many copies of the fence post you require. Then click on the X spinner. You can now see the fence post being cloned. Take the X spinner up to 25.

Now check 3D, and choosing the Y spinner, you will see the set of fence posts being cloned, take the spinner again up to 25.

Tutorial 3 a - Using the Loft tool

Modelling a coat hanger using Loft

In the front viewport, using the line spline tool, draw out the shape of a coat hanger.

Also in the front viewport, click and drag a small circle (spline)

Go to Creat > Compound Objects > Loft.

Make sure that the coat hanger spline is highlighted, and then in the Loft properties box, click on get shape, and then click on the circle.

You now have a complete coat hanger.

Tutorial 3 - Booleans and Pro-boolean

Modelling using Boolean and Pro Boolean

Create a large flat box.
Now create a letter from Spline text. Turn the spline into an editable poly. Extrude the letter so that it is deeper than the box and cap the end.
Place the letter in the middle of the box so that it intersects it.
Go to Create > Compound objects > Boolean
In the Boolean parameters it will tell you that the box is operand A. Click the Pick Operand B button and choose the letter as Operand B. In the properties dialogue you with to subtract B from A.
Now you have an letter shaped Boolean through your box.
If you have more than one shape that you wish to boolean, use the pro-boolean tool which asks you to keep picking operand B until all the shapes are removed.

Tutorial 2a Modelling with Splines

Lathing with Splines – Making a bowl.

Go to the create panel > shapes

Using the line tool, set Initial type and Drag type to smooth – this will provide you with a curved line.

Click and drag your shape in the Front viewport.

When you have produced your shape, you need to change the pivot point from the centre of the shape to the base of the shape so that the lathe modifier rotates around the base of the bowl. Navigate to the modify panel/list, pick the lathe modifier.
This will automatically lathe around the Y axis, but you can change this if needs be in the lathe properties panel.

Tutorial 2 - Modelling with splines

Modelling with splines – producing an S shaped beam

Creating splines is a way of drawing out a shape initially and then either editing the spline to make it 3D or applying a modifier.

Go to the create panel > shapes

Using the line tool, set Initial type and Drag type to smooth – this will provide you with a curved line.

Click and drag your shape in the Front viewport.

When you have produced your S shape right click on the spline, and convert to editable poly.

Use the extrude tool to pull the shape out into a beam. You will see that the 3D shape has a front normal and a side normal but no back face.

In the Editable Spine rollout, pick Border, and click on the border of the open edge. In the rollout pick Cap. This now provides you with an editable 3D shape.

To make a banana

To make a banana

Click and drag a box into the perspective viewport.
Go to sub-object level, and using the extrude and bevel tools gradually build up the tapering shape of a banana.

Then using soft selection tweak the banana to make the shape more random.
When you are happy with the shape try using the meshsmooth or turbosmooth modifier to reveal a more organic shape.

To produce an apple

Click and drag a sphere into the perspective viewport
Go into sub-object level, and enter the Soft Selection part of the Editable Poly rollout.
Using soft selection and vertices, you can alter the shape of the sphere to represent a typical apple. The shape should be fairly random – no apples are completely perfect and round!

Still in Soft selection select the top vertex of your apple shape and drag the cursor down to produce the dent in which the stalk sits.

If you are going for total realism, pull out some bumps at the bottom of the apple.

Next add a stalk, which can be achieved using an elongated cone, placed in the top of the apple. Add a leaf if you like.