3ds Max 9 Essentials

3ds Max 9 Essentials

by Autodesk
Released October 2006
Publisher(s): Routledge
ISBN: 9781136141256

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Book description

Bring 3D film effects to the big screen. Generate realistic characters for a top-selling game. Create rich and complex design visualization. Autodesk® 3ds Max® 9 lets you maximize your productivity and tackle challenging animation projects. And this book, developed by Autodesk insiders, lets you master the essential tools and techniques.

Learn how to use 3ds Max 9 confidently in a production environment. Each chapter of this book has a series of theory lessons and one lab. The theory lessons introduce you to the functional areas of 3ds Max and explain these features with short simple examples. The lab demonstrates a practical application of the theory. Combined, each chapter delivers a sound understanding of the functions, features and principles behind 3ds Max 9, and shows you how to apply this knowledge to real-world situations.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Halftitle
  3. Title
  4. Copyright
  5. Contributors
  6. Contents
  7. Introduction
  8. Chapter One: Getting Started
    1. Lesson 1 : User Interface
      1. Objectives
      2. User Interface Components
      3. Viewports
        1. Adjusting Viewport Size
        2. Viewport Configuration
        3. Home Grid and Default Views
        4. Menu Bar
        5. Toolbars
      4. Exercise 1: Working in the User Interface
      5. Exercise 2: Creating Objects
      6. Exercise 3: Manipulating Toolbars
      7. Command Panel
        1. Create Panel
          1. Geometry
          2. Shapes
          3. Lights
          4. Cameras
          5. Helpers
          6. Space Warps and Systems
        2. Modify Panel
        3. Hierarchy Panel
        4. Motion Panel
        5. Display Panel
        6. Utility Panel
      8. Exercise 4: Using the Command Panel
      9. Other User Interface Elements
        1. Quad Menu
        2. Dialog Boxes
          1. File Dialogs
          2. Render Scene Dialog Box
          3. Track View Curve Editor
        3. Time Slider, Track Bar, and Timeline
        4. Status and Prompt Lines
        5. Animation Controls
        6. Playback Area
      10. Exercise 5: Using the Animation Playback Controls
      11. Viewport UI Elements
        1. Viewport Navigation Icons
        2. Viewport Right-Click Menu
          1. Rendering Levels
          2. Grid Toggle
          3. Undo View Operation
      12. Exercise 6: Orthographic View Manipulation
      13. Exercise 7: Perspective View Manipulation
      14. Keyboard
      15. Help
      16. Summary
    2. Lesson 2: Overview Lab
      1. Objectives
      2. Exercise 1: Creating the Signpost
      3. Exercise 2: Adding Modeling Elements to the Signpost
      4. Exercise 3: Adding More Components: Creating the Sign
      5. Exercise 4: Merging a Sign Lamp: Merging an Object from Another File
      6. Exercise 5: Adding Basic Materials to the Signpost
      7. Exercise 6: Adjusting Ambient Lighting and Adding Lighting for the Sign
      8. Exercise 7: Adding the Broken Sign Animation: Animating the Sign Breaking
      9. Exercise 8: Rendering your Animation
      10. Summary
    3. Lesson 3: Files and Objects
      1. Objectives
      2. Scene File Manipulation
        1. Saving Files
          1. Save
          2. Save As
        2. Hold and Fetch
        3. Merging Files
        4. Save Selected
        5. Import and Export
        6. File Link and XRef
        7. Starting your Scene
        8. Units Setup
        9. Grid Settings
      3. Exercise 1: Units and Grid Setup
      4. Exercise 2: Options for Grid Display
      5. Simple Geometry Creation and Pivot Points
        1. Pivot Point Location
      6. Exercise 3: Simple Geometry Creation and Pivot Point Location
      7. Object Orientation
        1. Pivot Point Orientation
      8. Exercise 4: Viewport Base Plane Geometry and Pivot Point Orientation
      9. Modifying Standard Objects
        1. Face Count
      10. Exercise 5: Modifying Objects and Face Counts
      11. Selecting Objects
        1. Selection Tool
        2. Selection Lock Toggle
        3. Select Objects By Name
          1. Naming Objects
        4. Object Naming Convention
        5. Rename Objects Tool
      12. Exercise 6: Renaming Objects in a Scene
        1. Selection Filter
        2. Selection Window/Crossing
        3. Selection Region Type
        4. Hiding and Freezing Objects
          1. By Selection
          2. Hide By Category
          3. Isolation Mode
      13. Exercise 7: Selecting Objects by Name and Naming Objects
      14. Organization of Objects in a Scene
        1. Selection Sets
      15. Exercise 8: Selection Sets
      16. Groups
      17. Exercise 9: Groups
      18. Attaching Objects
      19. Summary
    4. Lesson 4: Transforms
      1. Objectives
      2. Transform Tools
        1. Move
          1. Move Transform Gizmo
          2. Move Transform Type-In
        2. Rotation
          1. Rotate Transform Gizmo
          2. Rotation Transform Type-In
        3. Scale
          1. Scale Transform Gizmo
          2. Scale Transform Type-In
      3. Transform Base Point
      4. Exercise 1: Creating a Simple Transform
      5. Coordinate Systems
        1. World
        2. View
        3. Local
        4. Pick
        5. Snaps
          1. Object Snaps
        6. Angle Snap
        7. Scale Percent Snap
      6. Exercise 2: Transforms using Snaps and Coordinate Systems
      7. Exercise 3: Transforms with the Pick Coordinate System
      8. Align
        1. Align XYZ Position
        2. Align Orientation
        3. Quick Align
      9. Exercise 4: Aligning Objects
      10. Cloning Objects
        1. Copy
        2. Instance
        3. Reference
        4. Make Unique
        5. Select Dependents
      11. Exercise 5: Cloning Objects
      12. Other Transforms
        1. Mirror
        2. Array
        3. Spacing
        4. Clone and Align
      13. Summary
    5. Lesson 5: Applying Modifiers
      1. Objectives
      2. Concepts of the Modifier Stack
        1. Operations in the Modifier Stack
          1. Navigation in the Modifier Stack
          2. Showing End Result and Turning Off Modifiers
          3. Copying and Pasting Modifiers
          4. The Modifier Stack Buttons
        2. Modifier Order
      3. Exercise 1: Basic Manipulations of the Modifier Stack
      4. Modifiers
        1. Bend
        2. Taper
      5. Noise
        1. Twist
        2. Shell
        3. Lattice
        4. FFD
          1. Normal
      6. Collapsing the Stack
        1. Base Object Types
        2. Collapsing the Stack
        3. Converting Base Object Types
      7. Exercise 2: Adding Modifiers to a Model
      8. Exercise 3: Modeling with Modifiers
      9. Exercise 4: Creating a Sky Dome
      10. Summary
  9. Chapter Two: Modeling
    1. Lesson 6: Low-Poly Modeling
      1. Objectives
      2. Objects and Sub-Objects
      3. Exercise 1: Accessing Sub-Object Levels
      4. Sub-Object Levels
      5. Exercise 2: Working at Sub-Object Levels
      6. Exercise 3: Basics of Low-Poly Modeling
        1. Adding Detail to the Engine and Optimizing the Mesh
      7. Exercise 4: Modeling with Modifiers
      8. Exercise 5: Repairing the Broken Part
      9. Smoothing Groups
      10. Exercise 6: Using Smoothing Groups
      11. Using Subdivision Surfaces
      12. Exercise 7: Smoothing a Low-Poly Model
      13. Summary
    2. Lesson 7: Shapes
      1. Objectives
      2. Shape Definitions
        1. Shape Components
      3. Basic Shape Creation Functions
        1. Line Tool
        2. Parametric Shape Tools
        3. Shape Steps
        4. Rendering Values
        5. 3D Splines
      4. Editing Splines
        1. Editing Parametric Shapes
        2. The Base Spline Object – The Editable Spline
          1. Edit Spline Modifier
        3. Spline Manipulations
          1. The Shape and the Spline
      5. Exercise 1: Creating a Simple Shape
      6. Adding Splines from a Shape
        1. Detaching Splines from a Shape
        2. Basic Transformations of Sub-Objects
        3. Mirror
        4. Boolean
        5. Outline
      7. Segment Editing
        1. Connecting Vertices
        2. Refining a Segment Through the Addition of Vertices
      8. Vertex Editing
        1. Deleting Vertices
        2. Welding Vertices
        3. Vertex Controls
        4. Fillet and Chamfer
        5. Importance of the First Vertex
      9. Exercise 2: Creating a Profile for an Oil Can
      10. Exercise 3: Creating a Profile for a Bottle
      11. Using Shape Modifiers
        1. Extrude
        2. Lathe
        3. Bevel
        4. Bevel Profile
        5. Sweep
      12. Exercise 4: Using the Lathe Modifier
      13. Exercise 5: Creating a Medallion with Bevel
      14. Exercise 6: Recreating the Gas Station Island with Bevel Profile
      15. Exercise 7: Using the Sweep Modifier to Create a Wainscoting
      16. Summary
    3. Lesson 8: Using Compound Objects
      1. Objectives
      2. Booleans
        1. Subtraction
        2. Intersection
        3. Union
        4. Merge
      3. ProBoolean Operations
        1. Changing the Boolean Operation
        2. Multiple Selections
        3. Reorder Operands
      4. Exercise 1: Using Booleans to Create a Building Shell
      5. Lofts
        1. Drawing Paths and Shapes
        2. Alignment and Pivot Points of Shapes
        3. Multiple Shape Lofts and the First Vertex
        4. Shape Steps and Path Steps
        5. Deformation Grids
      6. Exercise 2: Creating a Screwdriver Blade
      7. Scatter Tool
      8. Exercise 3: Distributing Cactus Trees on a Terrain
      9. Summary
    4. Lesson 9: Modeling Lab
      1. Objectives
      2. Creating an Underwater Scene
      3. Exercise 1: Creating the Ocean Floor
      4. Exercise 2: Adding Rocks
      5. Exercise 3: Adding Complex Rock Formations
      6. Exercise 4: Lighting Setup
      7. Summary
  10. Chapter Three: Animation
    1. Lesson 10: Animation Basics
      1. Objectives
      2. History of Animation
      3. 2D versus 3D Animation
      4. Time
      5. The Concept of Keyframing
      6. Auto Key and Set Key
      7. Exercise 1: The Bouncing Ball
      8. Track View
      9. Timing
      10. Ease in / Ease out
      11. Arcs
      12. Exercise 2: The Bowling Ball and the Golf Ball
      13. Exercise 3: The Gelatin Cake
      14. Secondary Action
      15. Anticipation
      16. Follow-Through and Overlapping Action
      17. Squash and Stretch
      18. Exaggeration
      19. Exercise 4: The Gelatin Cake: Anticipation, Stretch, and Follow-Through
      20. Alternative Animation Methods
      21. Exercise 5: Driving Around: Using Path Constraint
      22. Summary
    2. Lesson 11: Hierarchies
      1. Objectives
      2. Mechanics of Movement
      3. Linking Objects
        1. Pivot Point
        2. Linking vs. Groups
      4. Exercise 1: Linking the Robot Arm
      5. Exercise 2: Linking the Robot Arm Using Schematic View
      6. Schematic View
      7. Exercise 3: Linking the Robot Arm Using Schematic View
      8. A Little Bit About IK
      9. Exercise 4: Inverse Kinematics
      10. Hierarchy
        1. Pivot
        2. IK
        3. Link Info
      11. Exercise 5: Link Info on the Locomotive Wheel
      12. Summary
    3. Lesson 12: Character Animation: Biped
      1. Objectives
      2. Character Animation
      3. Biped
      4. Exercise 1: Fitting a Biped Inside a Character
      5. Skinning the Character
      6. Exercise 2: Using the Skin Modifier
      7. Motion Panel
      8. Exercise 3: Setting up Biped for Animation
      9. Exercise 4: Animating a Walk Cycle
      10. The Mechanics of a Walk Cycle
      11. Exercise 5: Refining the walk
      12. Animation Principles
      13. Exercise 6: Follow Through
      14. Summary
    4. Lesson 13: Animation Lab
      1. Objectives
      2. Getting Prepared
      3. Planning the Animation
      4. Animating the Attack of the Pawn
      5. Exercise 1: The Pawn’s Primary Motion
      6. Exercise 2: Adding the Hop to the Pawn’s Animation
      7. Exercise 3: The Pawn’s Secondary Motion
      8. Animating the Rook
      9. Exercise 4: The Rook - Noticing the Danger
      10. Exercise 5: The Panic
      11. Exercise 6: The Escape
      12. Analysis of the Rook’s Animation
      13. Exercise 7: The Rook - Fixing the Jump
      14. Exercise 8: Animating the Clock
      15. Summary
  11. Chapter Four: Materials & Mapping
    1. Lesson 14: Materials
      1. Objectives
      2. Introduction to Materials
        1. The Purpose of Materials
        2. Substance
        3. Age
        4. Style
        5. Material Importance
        6. Materials and Lighting
      3. The Material Editor
        1. The User Interface
        2. The Material Editor Dialog
        3. Material Editor Menu Bar
        4. Material Sample Slots
        5. Sample Window Indicators
        6. Material Editor Options
      4. Exercise 1: The Material In dicators
      5. Exercise 2: Changing the Sample Shape
      6. Exercise 3: Using a Custom Sample Object
      7. Exercise 4: Applying a Material to an Object
      8. Exercise 5: Creating a Simple Material
      9. Material Types
        1. The Standard Material
        2. Shader Types
        3. The Raytrace Material
        4. The Architectural Material
        5. The Ink ‘n Paint Material
        6. Blend Material
        7. Arch & Design Material
      10. Exercise 6: The Wet Floor
      11. Exercise 7: Saving the Scene Material to a Library
      12. Summary
    2. Lesson 15: Using Maps
      1. Objectives
      2. Using Maps in Material Definitions
        1. Textures and Maps
        2. Maps
        3. Bitmaps
        4. Procedural Maps
      3. Map Types
        1. Accessing Map Types
        2. Map Types
      4. Exercise 1: Mapping the Drum
      5. Displaying Maps in the Viewport
      6. Activate and Deactivate All Maps
      7. Mixing Maps
        1. 2D vs. 3D
      8. Exercise 2: Creating a Multi-Map Procedural Texture
      9. Summary
    3. Lesson 16: Mapping Coordinates
      1. Objectives
      2. Mapping
        1. UVW Mapping
        2. Mapping Coordinates
        3. Mapping Types
          1. Planar
          2. Cylindrical
          3. Spherical
          4. Box
      3. Exercise 1: Applying UVW Mapping
      4. Exercise 2: Box Mapping
      5. Exercise 3: Spherical Mapping
      6. Unwrap UVW
        1. Unwrap UVW tools
          1. Transform Tools
          2. Mapping Tools
          3. Render UVW Template
          4. Direct Mapping Options
      7. Exercise 4: Using Unwrapped Mapping Coordinates
      8. Render To Texture
        1. Texture Baking
        2. Dependence on Mapping
        3. Rendering a normal map using projection mapping
      9. Exercise 5: Rendering a Normal Map
      10. Summary
    4. Lesson 17: Materials and Mapping Lab
      1. Objectives
      2. Exercise 1: Create a Material for the Ocean Floor
      3. Exercise 2: Fine-Tune the Sand Material
      4. Exercise 3: Create a Blend Mask
      5. Exercise 4: Apply a Material to the Rocks
      6. Exercise 5: Finalize and Adjust the Rock Material
      7. Exercise 6: Create the Caustic Effect
      8. Summary
  12. Chapter Five: Rendering
    1. Lesson 18: Cameras
      1. Objectives
      2. Camera Types in 3ds Max
      3. Framing a Camera Shot
      4. Exercise 1: Setting a Long Shot with a Target Camera
      5. Exercise 2: Setting a Close-up Shot with a Free Camera
      6. Camera Lenses
      7. Exercise 3: Setting the Camera Lens and FOV
      8. Camera Aspect Ratio
      9. Exercise 4: Setting the Camera’s Aspect Ratio
      10. Camera Angles
      11. Exercise 5: Setting a Dynamic Camera Angle
      12. Perspective Correction
      13. Exercise 6: Correcting the Perspective
      14. The Line of Action
      15. Exercise 7: Setting up a Triangle System
      16. Exercise 8: Shot Variation: Using an Over-The-Shoulder (OTS) Shot
      17. The Moving Camera
      18. Exercise 9: Setting Up a Crane Shot
      19. Summary
    2. Lesson 19: Basic Lighting
      1. Objectives
      2. The Ambient Light Riddle
      3. Exercise 1: Setting the Ambient Color
      4. Light Types in 3ds Max
        1. Using Standard Lights
          1. Omni Light
          2. Spotlight
          3. Target Spot
          4. Free Spot
          5. Direct Light
        2. Color, Intensity and Attenuation
        3. The Importance of Shadows
          1. Shadow Maps
          2. Ray-Traced Shadows
          3. More Shadow Types
      5. Exercise 2: Creating a Target Spot
      6. Lighting Techniques
        1. Three-Point Lighting
          1. The Key Light
          2. The Fill Light
          3. The Backlight (or Rim Light)
      7. Exercise 3: Working with Three-Point Lighting
      8. Light Lister
      9. Exercise 4: Using the Light Lister
      10. Summary
    3. Lesson 20: Mental Ray
      1. Objectives
      2. Lighting Basics
      3. Mental Ray
      4. The Arch & Design Material
        1. Ambient Occlusion
      5. Exercise 1: Using the Arch & Design Material
      6. Lighting
        1. The Daylight System
        2. Final Gather
        3. mr Area Lights (Omni & Spot)
        4. Global Illumination (GI)
      7. Exercise 2: Lighting the Courtyard
      8. Summary
    4. Lesson 21: Rendering the Scene
      1. Objectives
      2. Rendering in 3ds Max
      3. Render Scene Dialog
      4. Common Panel
      5. Time Output
      6. Output Size
      7. Exercise 1: Output Size
      8. Render Output
      9. File Type
      10. RAM Player
      11. Exercise 2: Using the RAM Player
      12. Object Properties Rendering Control
      13. Exercise 3: Rendering Control
      14. Rendering Environment and Effects
      15. Exercise 4: Creating a Sun Using Lens Effect
      16. Scene States
      17. Exercise 5: Scene States
      18. Batch Render
      19. Exercise 6: Batch Render
      20. Summary
    5. Lesson 22: Scene Assembly Lab
      1. Objectives
      2. The Last Gas(p) Gas Station
      3. Modeling
      4. Materials
      5. Lighting
      6. Animation
      7. Summary
  13. Index

Product information

  • Title: 3ds Max 9 Essentials
  • Author(s): Autodesk
  • Release date: October 2006
  • Publisher(s): Routledge
  • ISBN: 9781136141256