rajat22
In the zone
Basic in 3d max
Source
*www.iatp.md/
Source
*www.iatp.md/
Before we begin, you should first familiarize yourself with what some of the
basic areas of buttons are within 3DS MAX.
*www.iatp.md/3d-avril/3d/asimpletutorial_clip_image001_0000.jpg
Above is a sample screen shot of what the interface will look like. We'll go on
to explore more in-depth the various sections of the screen.
The Top Bar
*www.iatp.md/3d-avril/3d/asimpletutorial_clip_image004_0000.jpg
The side tray is where you will be accessing most of your commands/buttons
while working in 3DS Max. You will notice that there are 6 'Tabs' at the top of
the tray. These allow you to select which type of commands you want to
access at any time.
Going from Left to Right, the command tabs are: Create, Modify, Hierarchy,
Motion, Display and Utilities.
For today we're going to primarily concentrate upon the Create and Modify
panels.
The Bottom Row
*www.iatp.md/3d-avril/3d/asimpletutorial_clip_image005.jpg
The bottom contains three sections of buttons, going from left to right, these
sections include: The prompt line, which lets you lock objects and set snaps
on or off. Time Controls, this VCR looking set of buttons is what you use when
creating a simple animation, or to see how your animation will play out before
rendering. View port Navigation, where you go when you need to adjust how
you're looking at the scene you're working on. There you can zoom, rotate, or
pan whichever view port you wish. You wil l use the view port Navigation
buttons fairly frequently.
If you have any questions what a particular button looks like, please reference
the button map handout. It includes just about every button that you can access
in the main interface. I will try to at all times reference these buttons by the
names used i n the reference sheet.
Creation of Objects:
Now that you are at least somewhat familiar with the layout of 3DS Max, let's
go ahead and make some simple objects.
Step #1: First make sure that the Create tab is picked in the Side Tray. And
that under that Geometry is selected.
Step #2: Select Sphere, and the move to any of the view ports. Click and hold
the button down as you move the mouse. You should see a sphere shrink and
grow in all view ports as you continue to move the mouse.
Step #3: Try selecting and creating a few other shapes. If the scene becomes
crowded, click on the Zoom Extends All button. This should rescale all of your
view ports so you can see what you're modifying.
Step #4: Now click on the Select and Move button. Try moving some of the
elements that you're created around.
Step #5: Click on Select and Rotate. Try rotating a box or cylinder in different
view ports. Notice how it will automatically rotate around different axes when in
the left view port vs. the top view port.
Step #6: After you've become comfortable with how to rotate, and move some
objects, try using the Pan, Zoom and Arc Rotate buttons to see how you can
affect the view port.
Creating a Compound Object:
Since it's easy to make, and at least will remind you of something cool, we're
going to try to make a very simplistic model of the ship from 2001.
Step #1: Create a sphere of of Radius 10. This will serve as the bridge, so
rename the Sphere01 to Bridge01
Step #2: Now Create a box. Using the spinners, set the box to the following
dimensions: Width 4, Height 4, Length 50. This will serve as the fuselage, so
rename Box01 to Fuselage01.
Step #3: Activate Select and Move. While holding down the shift key, move the
Sphere away. When you release, a pop up dialog box should appear asking
what type you want. Make sure copy is selected and select okay.
Step #4: Move the new Bridge to one end of the fuselage, while positioning the
other bridge at the other end. Be certain to leave a little bit of the fuselage
sticking into both bridges. As a reminder, if at any time you are unable to see
what you are w o rking on in all the view ports, simply click on Zoom Extends
All.
Step #5: Now you are ready to make these objects into the same object. First,
make certain that nothing is selected for the moment. Now select the Fuselage.
Under the Create objects, there is a pull down, using that select compound
objects from the l ist. One the new buttons have appeared, select Boolean.
Step #6: Scroll through the object creation panel for Boolean, you'll notice that
you can create a boolean that's an intersection, Subtraction, or a Union . Make
certain that Union is selected, and click on Pick Object B. Select either of the
Bridge Sph eres.
Step #7: Once they have been joined, be certain to de-select the combined
objects. Now, reselect the newly combined ship section. Click again on Select
Object B, and now select the other Bridge. You should end up with a ship that
roughly resembles the shape of the one in 2001.
Step #8: But, to add some detail to the object, let's make it look like it was
built for space and not just a large clay or concrete mix. Go back to Geometric
creation, and select Cylinder. Make a Cylinder that has a radius of 1.75 and a
height of 6.
Step #9: Click off the cylinder, and then click on the Rotate Select button.
Step #10: Holding Shift, rotate the cylinder 90 degrees. Select Copy from the
menu and select okay.
Step #11: Go back to complex objects and select boolean again. Now Union
together the two Cylinders.
Step #12: Place the joined cylinders within the fuselage towards one end.
Center it so that the cylinders extend through the top and sides.
Step #13: If the length of your ship is on the X axis, then select restrict X,
otherwise restrict on whichever dimension your ships length is on.
Step #14: Using the Select and Move, while holding down the Shift key, begin
to move the cylinders down the fuselage at regular intervals until you have
about 10 or whatever you feels looks good.
Step #15: Now, beginning from one end of the fuselage, and moving towards
the other end, follow this simple process:
• Make certain nothing is selected.
• Select the fuselage
• Under Boolean make certain that Subtract(A-B) is selected.
• Click on Pick B Operand
• Select a cylinder group.
• So long as everything appears okay, select off the fuselage and repeat the
process.
You should end up with a fuselage with a whole series of cylinders taken out
of it the whole length along. While not a huge improvement, it does provide
quite a bit more detail than a simple box provides.
