Title Details

About the Authors

Randi L. Derakhshani teaches 3D and visual effects at The Art Institute of California and has worked as a digital artist and technical director for games and movie projects with Gizmo Games, RJB Enterprises, and Sony. Dariush Derakhshani is an award-winning visual effects supervisor, author, and educator. He has worked on movies such as The Fantastic Four and Pan's Labyrinth, the South Park TV series, and numerous commercials and music videos. He teaches 3D animation and is the author of all of Sybex's Introducing Maya books. They are both Autodesk Certified Instructors.

Chapter 1 The 3ds Max Interface 1

Navigate the Workspace 1

User Interface Elements 2

Viewports 4

ViewCube 6

Mouse Buttons 7

Quad Menus 8

Display of Objects in a Viewport 9

Viewport Navigation 10

Transforming Objects Using Gizmos 11

Graphite Modeling Tools Set 13

Command Panel 14

Object Parameters and Values 15

Modifier Stack 15

Objects and Sub-objects 16

Time Slider and Track Bar 16

File Management 16

Setting a Project 17

Version Up! 18

Chapter 2 Your First 3ds Max Project 19

Set Up a Project Workflow 19

Exercise 2.1: How to Set a Project 20

The Secret to Accurate Modeling: Reference Material! 20

Exercise 2.2: Setting Up the Modeling Reference 21

Building a Simple Model 24

Exercise 2.3: Start with a Primitive 24

Exercise 2.4: Modeling in Sub-Object Mode 25

Exercise 2.5: Bring on the Bevel 28

Exercise 2.6: Chamfer Time 31

Creating Details Using Splines 36

Exercise 2.7: Building the Handle 37

Lathing, Extruding, and Beveling to Create 3D from 2D 43

Exercise 2.8: Lathe to Make a Whole 43

Exercise 2.9: Creating the Clock Numbers and Hands 46

Bringing It All Together 51

Exercise 2.10: Using Merge 51

Chapter 3 Modeling in 3ds Max: Architectural Model Part I 55

Setting Up the Scene 56

Exercise 3.1: Setting Up Units 56

Exercise 3.2: Importing a CAD Drawing 57

Building the Room 59

Exercise 3.3: Creating the Walls 59

Exercise 3.4: Creating the Doors 62

Exercise 3.5: Creating the Window 65

Exercise 3.6: Adding a Floor and a Ceiling 66

Adding Special Details to the Room 68

Exercise 3.7: Creating Baseboard Moldings 69

Chapter 4 Modeling in 3ds Max: Architectural Model Part II 75

Model the Couch 75

Exercise 4.1: Blocking Out the Couch Model 76

Exercise 4.2: Using NURMS to Add Softness 78

Exercise 4.3: Building Detail on the Couch Model 80

Exercise 4.4: Creating the Chaise Lounge 83

Exercise 4.5: Modeling the Couch Feet 85

Modeling the Lounge Chair 87

Exercise 4.6: Creating Image Planes 87

Exercise 4.7: Adding the Images 88

Exercise 4.8: Building the Splines for the Chair Frame 89

Exercise 4.9: Building the Chair Cushion 94

Exercise 4.10: Creating the Chair’s Base 97

Bringing It All Together 101

Chapter 5 Introduction to Animation 105

Animating the Ball 106

Exercise 5.1: Setting Keyframes 106

Exercise 5.2: Copying Keyframes 107

Exercise 5.3: Using the Track View - Curve Editor 108

Reading Animation Curves 111

Refining the Animation 113

Exercise 5.4: Editing Animation Curves 114

Exercise 5.5: Squash and Stretch 116

Exercise 5.6: Setting the Timing 117

Exercise 5.7: Moving the Ball Forward 119

Exercise 5.8: Using the XForm Modifier 121

Exercise 5.9: Animating the XForm Modifier 122

Exercise 5.10: Correcting Rotation 123

Chapter 6 Animation Principles 125

Anticipation and Momentum in Knife Throwing 125

Exercise 6.1: Blocking Out the Animation 125

Exercise 6.2: Trajectories 128

Exercise 6.3: Adding Rotation 129

Exercise 6.4: Adding Anticipation 131

Exercise 6.5: Following Through 133

Exercise 6.6: Transferring Momentum to the Target 134

Chapter 7 Character Modeling Part I 137

Setting Up the Scene 137

Exercise 7.1: Creating the Image Planes 138

Exercise 7.2: Adding the Images to the Planes 139

Blocking Out the Alien Model 140

Exercise 7.3: Forming the Torso 140

Exercise 7.4: Creating Symmetry 144

Exercise 7.5: Blocking Out the Arms 145

Exercise 7.6: Blocking Out the Leg 149

Exercise 7.7: Refining the Body 153

Exercise 7.8: Building the Neck 160

Chapter 8 Character Modeling Part II 165

Creating the Alien Head 165

Exercise 8.1: Blocking Out the Head 165

Exercise 8.2: Building the Nose 167

Building the Alien Hand 173

Exercise 8.3: Building the Palm of the Hand 173

Exercise 8.4: Beveling the Fingers 174

Building the Foot 179

Exercise 8.5: Blocking Out the Foot 179

Exercise 8.6: Beveling the Toes 181

Completing the Alien 183

Exercise 8.7: Attaching to the Body 183

Exercise 8.8: Using Symmetry 188

Exercise 8.9: Finishing the Head 188

Chapter 9 Introduction to Materials 195

Navigate the Slate Material Editor 195

Identify the Standard Material 197

Standard Materials 197

Identify the mental ray Material 198

Identifying Shaders 198

Build Materials for the Couch 199

Exercise 9.1: Creating a Standard Material 199

Exercise 9.2: Applying the Material to the Couch 200

Exercise 9.3: Adding a Bitmap 202

Exercise 9.4: Mapping Coordinates 204

Exercise 9.5: Adding Materials to the Feet 206

Exercise 9.6: Applying a Bump Map 207

Build Materials for the Lounge Chair 208

Exercise 9.7: Creating a Leather Material for the Chair Cushion 209

Exercise 9.8: Creating a Reflective Material 210

Build Materials for the Window 213

Exercise 9.9: Creating a Multi/Sub-Object Material 213

Chapter 10 Textures and UV Workf low: The Alien 219

Define UVs on the Alien’s Body 220

Exercise 10.1: Seaming the Alien’s Body 220

Unwrap UVs on the Alien’s Body 226

Exercise 10.2: Unwrapping the Alien’s Arm 226

Exercise 10.3: Unwrapping the Alien’s Body 230

Exercise 10.4: Arranging the Alien’s UVs 231

Build the Material and Apply It to the Alien 235

Exercise 10.5: Applying the Color Map 236

Exercise 10.6: Applying the Bump Map 237

Exercise 10.7: Applying the Specular Map 239

Chapter 11 Character Studio: Rigging 243

Character Studio Workflow 243

General Workflow 244

Associating a Biped with the Alien Model 245

Exercise 11.1: Creating and Modifying the Biped 246

Exercise 11.2: Adjusting the Torso and Arms 252

Exercise 11.3: Adjusting the Neck and Head 254

Skinning the Alien Model 255

Exercise 11.4: Applying the Skin Modifier 255

Exercise 11.5: Testing the Model 256

Exercise 11.6: Tweaking the Skin Modifier 258

Exercise 11.7: Testing the Alien Model Rig 261

Exercise 11.8: Controlling the View 263

Chapter 12 Character Studio: Animation 265

Animating the Alien 265

Exercise 12.1: Adding a Run-and-Jump Sequence 266

Freeform Animation 267

Exercise 12.2: Moving the Head 268

Exercise 12.3: Moving the Arms 270

Exercise 12.4: Completing the Motion Sequence 272

Modifying Animation in the Dope Sheet 272

Exercise 12.5: Adding Footsteps Manually 273

Exercise 10.6: Using the Dope Sheet 274

Chapter 13 Introduction to Lighting: Interior Lighting 279

Recognizing 3ds Max Lights 279

Standard Lights 280

Target Spotlight 280

Target Direct Light 282

Free Spot or Free Direct Light 283

Omni Light 284

Lighting a Still Life 285

Exercise 13.1: Basic Light Setup 286

Exercise 13.2: Adding Shadows 289

Exercise 13.3: Adding a Fill Light 290

Exercise 13.4: Attenuation of the Fill Light 292

Selecting a Shadow Type 294

Atmospherics and Effects 296

Exercise 13.5: Creating a Volumetric Light 296

Volume Light Parameters 300

The Light Lister 301

Chapter 14 3ds Max Rendering 303

Navigate the Render Setup Dialog 303

Common Tab 304

Choosing a Filename 305

Rendered Frame Window 306

Render Processing 306

Assign Renderer 307

Render a Scene 308

Exercise 14.1: Rendering the Bouncing Ball 308

Work with Cameras 309

Exercise 14.2: Creating a Camera 311

Exercise 14.3: Animating a Camera 312

Exercise 14.4: Safe Frames 314

Raytraced Reflections and Refractions 315

Exercise 14.5: Raytrace Material 316

Exercise 14.6: Raytrace Mapping 318

Exercise 14.7: Refractions Using the Raytrace Material 319

Exercise 14.8: Refractions Using Raytrace Mapping 322

Render the Interior and Furniture 324

Exercise 14.9: Adding Raytraced Reflections 324

Exercise 14.10: Outputting the Render 325

Chapter 15 mental ray 329

Navigate the mental ray Renderer 329

Exercise 15.1: Enabling the mental ray Renderer 329

mental ray Sampling Quality 330

Navigate the Final Gather Parameters 332

Basic Group 333

Advanced Group 335

The mental ray Rendered Frame Window 335

Navigate mental ray Materials 336

Exercise 15.2: Setting Up the Material Editor 336

Exercise 15.3: Using Arch & Design Material Templates 338

Exercise 15.4: Creating Arch & Design Materials 341

Exercise 15.5: Using the Multi/Sub-Object Material and Arch & Design 342

Use Photometric Lights with mental ray 344

Exercise 15.6: Using Photometric Lights in mental ray Renderings 344

Use the Daylight System 350

Exercise 15.7: Using the Daylight System in mental ray Renderings 350

Appendix A Autodesk 3ds Max Certification 355

Index 359