3DS Max 2012

3DS Max 2012

Released July 2011
Publisher(s): Infinite Skills
ISBN: 9781926873558

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Video description

In this video tutorial on 3ds Max 2012, expert author and animator Brian Mennenoh introduces you to the many features of this 3D modeling and animation software from AutoDesk. Brian has over 20 years experience working with 3D, and his engaging teaching style draws you in and allows you to enjoy the sometimes complex intricacies of such a powerful software program.
Using a single project throughout the whole training course, you will learn how to use the interface and a good production workflow, several modeling techniques, material creation, basic lighting, camera setups, matching a camera to a background image, rendering settings and more. At the end of the lessons you will have created a robot and a fully skinned fairy, rigged with bones, battling with crayons after their kids walked away from a coloring project.
By the completion of this computer based training course, you will have a solid foundation in 3ds Max and be able to start working on your own projects, building on the knowledge gained throughout the lessons. Extensive working files are included to allow you to work alongside the author in this project, learning with the same files that he is using in the training.

Table of contents

  1. Introduction And Project Overview
    1. Welcome - About This Course 00:04:11
    2. Using The Project Files 00:01:02
  2. Introduction To The Interface
    1. Getting Familiar With Where Things Are 00:01:49
    2. The Command Panel 00:04:25
    3. Working Within The Viewports 00:02:50
    4. Right-Click Menus 00:04:00
    5. Navigating With The Mouse 00:03:30
    6. Creating Primitives And Parametric Objects 00:04:39
    7. Transforming Objects Using The Transform Tools 00:05:29
    8. Considering Keyboard Shortcuts 00:04:03
    9. Customizing The Interface 00:05:09
    10. Customizing The Quad Menus 00:03:30
    11. Using Modifiers And The "Stack" 00:07:39
  3. Modeling The Robot
    1. Setting Up Units And Working At A Real World Scale 00:03:26
    2. Setting Up Modeling Planes For The Robot 00:08:36
    3. Using Appropriate Primitives 00:05:58
    4. Upper Arm And Shoulder 00:06:53
    5. Lower Arm And Claw 00:05:10
    6. Spline Modeling The Head 00:15:00
    7. Lathing A Jet Pack 00:04:07
    8. Lofting A Jet Pack 00:08:04
    9. Using Primitives For The Legs 00:06:09
    10. Box Modeling The Foot 00:03:34
    11. Box Modeling The Helmet Crest 00:10:31
    12. Poly Modeling The Eye Area 00:04:54
    13. Fine Tuning 00:06:43
  4. Modeling The Fairy
    1. Setting Up Modeling Planes For The Fairy 00:03:30
    2. Box Modeling The Torso 00:05:18
    3. Modeling The Leg 00:06:12
    4. Modeling The Foot 00:04:22
    5. Adding The Arm 00:07:15
    6. Starting The Hand 00:10:54
    7. Adding Fingers 00:09:17
    8. Making Adjustments 00:04:12
    9. Adding A Thumb 00:10:08
    10. Starting The Face 00:06:55
    11. The Cheek And Nose 00:12:45
    12. The Nostril 00:05:02
    13. Correcting The Flow 00:05:52
    14. The Forehead Cheek And Chin 00:10:17
    15. Closing The Skull 00:08:01
    16. Neck And Jaw Line 00:04:47
    17. Lips 00:10:03
    18. Starting The Ear 00:08:34
    19. The Ear Interior 00:09:45
    20. Finishing The Ear 00:06:01
    21. Attaching The Ear To The Head 00:09:00
    22. A Simple Eye 00:08:37
    23. Adding The Breast And Adjusting The Butt 00:09:03
    24. Mirroring And Attaching Everything Together 00:12:20
    25. Using Splines For The Wings 00:07:11
    26. Bringing It All Together 00:02:57
  5. Hair And Fur And Cloth
    1. Growing Hair And Fur On The Model 00:06:09
    2. Growing Hair And Fur On A Scalp Object 00:08:03
    3. Using Splines For Hair And Fur 00:08:06
    4. A Simple Shirt 00:09:31
    5. A Simple Skirt 00:05:27
  6. Materials
    1. Understanding UVWs 00:05:14
    2. Unwrap UVW And Maxs' Viewport Canvas 00:12:36
    3. Material Libraries That Ship With Max 00:06:24
    4. Customizing Materials 00:06:02
    5. Adding Realism To Materials 00:05:52
    6. Using Material IDs To Add A Glow Effect 00:06:35
    7. Adding Details 00:04:20
    8. Using Photoshop To Paint Diffuse Maps 00:13:33
    9. Finishing The Robot's Materials 00:07:10
    10. Unwrapping The Fairy - Placing Seams 00:07:40
    11. Pelt Mapping 00:11:53
    12. Organizing UVs 00:05:01
    13. Fine Tuning The UVs With Peel 00:05:07
    14. Unwrapping The Shirt And Skirt 00:04:32
    15. Using Photoshop To Make Materials For The Shirt And Skirt 00:08:56
    16. Finishing The Fairy's Materials 00:09:39
  7. Rigging, Hierarchies, IK And FK
    1. Pivot Points And Hierarchical Linking 00:09:49
    2. Fixing The Robot's Shoulders 00:05:01
    3. Adjusting The Knees And Adding Leg Bones 00:08:35
    4. Pelvis And Spine Bones 00:08:11
    5. Arm And Finger Bones 00:08:59
    6. Finishing The Finger Bones And Mirroring 00:08:30
    7. Using IK Solvers 00:06:31
    8. Setting Up A Basic Control Rig 00:05:08
    9. Basic Parameter Wiring For The Fingers 00:09:58
    10. More Parameter Wiring 00:10:18
    11. Fixing The Pivot Point Of The Fairy 00:04:01
    12. Starting The Skinning Process For The Fairy 00:10:40
    13. More Skinning 00:10:28
    14. Finishing The Skinning 00:09:48
    15. Using Mirror Mode In The Skin Modifier 00:04:27
    16. The Skin Morph Modifier 00:10:18
    17. A Basic Eye Rig And The Lookat Constraint 00:05:45
  8. Compositing And Lighting
    1. Understanding The Scene 00:03:49
    2. Placing The Photograph In The Viewport 00:11:14
    3. Matte Shadow Materials And The Environment Background 00:05:30
    4. Refining The Shadow Catching Objects 00:04:39
    5. Adding Reflections To Matte Shadow Materials 00:07:34
    6. Building The Crayon 00:05:16
    7. Creating The Crayon Label In Photoshop 00:10:50
    8. Applying The Crayon Labels In 3ds Max 00:05:47
    9. Merging The Robot And Fairy 00:08:38
    10. Creating Matte Shadow Materials With Mental Ray 00:07:00
  9. Animating The Battle
    1. Storyboards Save Time 00:05:11
    2. Places Everyone 00:07:14
    3. Blocking Scene 1 And 2 00:10:01
    4. Blocking The Fairy In Scene 3 00:09:09
    5. Continue Blocking The Fairy In Scene 3 00:05:26
    6. Blocking The Robot In Scene 3 00:07:33
    7. Continue Blocking The Robot In Scene 3 00:06:19
    8. Blocking Scene 4 00:05:37
    9. Discussion Of The 'Principles Of Animation' 00:03:52
    10. The Fairy Picking Up A Crayon 00:08:18
    11. The Robot Picking Up A Crayon 00:06:28
    12. Refining The Robot's Movements 00:09:24
    13. Continue Refining The Robot 00:08:14
    14. Refining The Fairy's Movements 00:08:56
    15. Continue Refining The Fairy 00:08:58
    16. More Refining 00:08:53
    17. Animating The Fairy's Wings 00:08:11
    18. Adding Motion Blur In Mental Ray 00:06:16
    19. Hair Dynamics 00:03:47
    20. Cloth Simulation 00:05:33
  10. Particle Systems
    1. Introduction To Particles 00:09:36
    2. Using Gravity And Deflectors 00:09:48
    3. Particle Materials And Motion Blur 00:04:31
    4. Matte Crayons And The Push Modifier 00:06:54
    5. Using PArray For Fairy Sparkles 00:07:51
    6. Using PCloud For Fairy Sparkles 00:08:58
    7. Effective Use Of Preview Rendering 00:02:52
  11. Rendering
    1. Render Settings 00:10:14
  12. Conclusion
    1. Thanks For Watching 00:00:38
  13. About The Author
    1. A Brief History 00:08:05

Product information

  • Title: 3DS Max 2012
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: July 2011
  • Publisher(s): Infinite Skills
  • ISBN: 9781926873558