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3D Grass |
Tutorial on making realistic grass materials with 3D Studio Max. |
| A |
Anisotropic Reflections |
As a more everyday practical definition, Anisotropic Reflections are
just like regular reflections, except stretched or blurred based on the
orientation of small grooves (bumps, fibers or scratches) that exist on
a reflective surface. For example, take a look at this Brazil image (rendered
with an alpha anisotropic shader. |
Asteroild |
This tutorial is designed for advanced 3dsmaxers, I plan to cover how
to create an aseteroid in 3D studio max using only max's standard plugins.
Essentially most of the work in creating the asteroid is done through
three areas, particles, lighting and texturing.
All three of these areas are what make up the asteroids actual look and
feel. Particles are what makes the actual form and shape plus motion,
texturing makes the real look and shape of the asteroid, whereas lighting
controls the real colouring of the particle system, although a lot of
the colour can be portrayed through the diffuse channel in the material
editor the colour is quite dull and lacks any real expression, the lighting
really controls the look when it comes to lighting with the asteroid. |
Audi |
This tutorial is for 3D Studio Max 5 and for other versions, please
see the Discreet Documentation. This tutorial is medium in difficulty.
It took me about 100 hours to finish the car, and 100 more to write this
tutorial. :) |
| B |
Ball Rolling |
This is a very simple tutorial describing how to animate a ball or a
wheel rolling down an irregular path. It was devised by my in answer to
a need for a car which could drive around corners but still have the wheels
rotate accordingly. I assume you know a fair amount about MAX and won't
bother explaining every little detail. |
Basketball |
This tutorial will show you how to model a highly detailed basketball
in 3D Studio Max using box modeling techniques. This tutorial is suitable
for beginners but assume some basic knowledge. |
Blueprint Setup |
This tutorial will teach you how to setup your scene with blueprints
or images of whatever is you would like to model. Ideal for car, truck
and vehicles that have blue prints available. |
Body Modeling |
This article gives a basic overview of how to created a 3D anime character.
It is loosely based off of a spline modeling tutorial from Hash Animation
Master. While it utilizes 3D Studio MAX r2.5 as in the example here, the
basic principles should be useful even if modeling with other packages,
such as Lightwave's Metanurbs, or even splines in AM. Some sections of
this article only give an overview, and show the basic low poly mesh.
Is it assumed that the reader has or will have the basic 3D skills to
create and model their own characters, using what is here as a guide. |
Boolean Operations |
Boolean compound objects. This assignment will introduce you to 3-dimensional
Boolean operations in 3DS Max. |
Creating a Building |
This is a tutorial for creating buildings in 3ds max and only applies
to version 6. In this tutorial I will show you how to create a simple
building. Using the tools covered in this tutorial, you will be able to
easily animate a maze type game environment. |
Bullet Time Effect |
I've made this tutorial to show you a method for making the bullet-time
effect from The Matrix. The idea is to freeze a complicated animation
( in your case an exploading teapot ) but the camera must move aroud the
frozen explosion. The main problem doing this in 3D Studio Max for me
is that I don't know how to freeze the explosion. But I've found other
solution for this: I've made-it in 3D Studio Max exactly like the bullet-time
from The Matrix was created: I've created some cameras around the animation
and then I've created one image of a wanted frame from each camera. |
BMW Z3 |
When the Z3 was introduced back in 1996 many were shocked by the aggressive
styling of this German 2-seater. Everybody thought then that the Z3 is
a very beautiful car to say the least. |
| C |
Caustics |
"Caustics" is the term for the light patterns caused by light
refracting through a glass object. For example, take a clear glass of
water and set it out in the sunlight. The bright streaks and patterns
you see are caustics. 3ds max 6 now comes with Mental Ray. Mental Ray
is a renderer that can calculate photons, creating Global Illumination
and Caustics lighting, which will be explained in this tutorial. This
tutorial mainly focuses on refractive caustics caused by light going through
an object. There is also reflective caustics, such as the light bouncing
off of shiny things. For this tutorial, you will need: 3ds max & Mental
Ray (comes with 3ds max 6). |
Chains |
Use the same technique to make both tentacles or chains. In a nutshell,
I created an object, repeated it several times in a row, then used path
deform to bend it to the shape of a spline. For this example, I will use
a chain link. The first step, create a chain link by making a torus (seg
20), then rotate it 9 degrees. The reason I rotate it is due to the next
step, I use Edit Mesh, choose all the vertexes on one side of the torus,
and pull them to the right, to make the elongation of the link. To do
this, I needed to rotate the torus so there were no vertexes on the North-South
axis. The formula I used was 360degrees divided by number of segments
divided by 2 is the number of degrees to rotate it. |
Cloning |
Cloning and the Xform Modifier (Daisy) We will be making a couple of
flowers which blow in the wind. |
Clouds |
After you are through with this tutorial you will know how to create
realistic clouds with volume fog. Volume clouds are processor intensive
when rendering. This file can be downloaded at the bottom of the page. |
Compositing a 3D Render |
This is a very simple tutorial demonstrating how to take 2D video footage
and composite a 3D animated object in the scene. I'm not going to go into
every specific MAX feature and option used, Instead I'll be concentrating
more on the actual process and flow of work and files. |
Compositing Camera Matching |
This tutorial essentially covers creating all the geometry that’s
in a photo and matching up the camera to the photo along with using camera
map and other useful max tools to make a complex 3D scene. |
Compositing
Debris Flying at Screen |
Lets say you wanted to make an explosion, blowing an object up and making
debris fly at the screen, of course rather than using CG fire which a
lot of the time looks, well... CG. You might want to use stock footage,
video footage of fire which you can overlay into your 3D scene making
the explosion look a lot more realistic. |
Compositing a Crash |
The idea was to have a ball roll down the hill and crash into the rock
statue knocking it to pieces like a bowling ball striking down a bowling
pin (but this shatters into rocky debris). I wanted this to be a one night
project, the effect was simple and I didn't see why it would take more
than a few hours to make. |
Compositing Pyrotechnics |
The idea was to have a ball roll down the hill and crash into the rock
statue knocking it to pieces like a bowling ball striking down a bowling
pin (but this shatters into rocky debris). I wanted this to be a one night
project, the effect was simple and I didn't see why it would take more
than a few hours to make. |
Crystal |
This tutorials will show you how to get a really cool glass-crystal
effect. |
| D |
Firemarble Holder |
Your end results, if you render the supplied file, should look similar
to the original picture supplied. However, the file is a slightly simplified
version so it won't look exactly the same. BTW, use 'Render Region' to
get the right shape or crop afterwards as it's ugly with the default aspect. |
| E |
Export from 3DSM to PS |
This is more of a tip than a tutorial. Im going to explain how to save
your renders including the alpha channel, and how to delete the unwanted
background in Photoshop. |
Eye Rigging |
Eyes, perhaps one of the more critical and emotive parts of a character,
can be difficult to setup. This tutorial shows how to rig a basic spherical
cartoony eye rig in 3D Studio MAX, though the basic principles should
carry over to other packages. |
| F |
Face Modeling |
The NURMS (Non-Rational Mesh Smooth) or Subdivision Surface technique
uses low-polygonal mesh to control the shape of the smooth surface. |
Fire - Realistic |
Create realistic fire - Making realistic fire in max is quite easy.
You don't need any 3rd party tools to create realistic flames. All the
tools you will ever need are included. The secret is texturing. |
Fire |
Creating Fire in 3DSMAX by Allan McKay. Before we start you will need
one plugin for this tutorial, it isn't a necessity but I've chosen to
put it in just to save time making thin tendrils, it's a free plugin though
from Blur Studios and you can download the plugin. |
| G |
Glass Pawn |
In this tutorial you will learn how to create a realistic glass material
and turn our chess pawn into a realistic glass object. Key terms include
reflection, refraction, opacity, and fall-off. This tutorial is aimed
at the beginner, but since there are several ways to create glass, it
might be interesting for everyone else as well. Although this tutorial
is based on 3D Studio Max, the same settings apply to many other 3D products. |
Golf Ball |
This tutorial will teach you how to make a golf ball. A very easy, pretty
good looking golf ball with subobject editing. |
Grass |
Grass Tutorial V1.5 For 3dsmax R3.x Please note that this is a relative
heavy tutorial, when you are finished, you will have a scene with about
520.000 faces. But its only when you render, they are not in the viewport. |
Guitar |
"A Bumpy Guitar" Modeling a Les Paul with 3D Studio Max. |
| H |
Hair Guide |
One of most difficult processes in character making is the creation
of hair. The process is tedious and most of the time a pain in the ass
especially when creating realistic characters. Basically, hair creation
can be divided into 2 methods. The first method is by using transparency
mapping and second, by using a 3rd party hair renderer. If you work in
big players like Squaresoft, they have software engineers to write propriety
plugins to generate realistic hair. Both methods employ tedious hardwork
and each has its pros and cons. |
HDRI |
This tutorial will show you how to use HDRI images to make realistic
environments and lighting. HDRI images are called High Dynamic Range Images
because they have a high-range that can simulate different amounts of
light. Normal images can have lighting from 0 (black) to 255 (white).
HDRI images can have a much higher range since it stores values differently.
The main format of HDRI images are Radiance *.hdr files. Now, 3ds max
6 can use HDRI images without third-party plug-ins.
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Hotkeys and Mouse Essentials |
Using hotkeys and the mouse efficiently can save you tons of time. At
first you may need to spend some time looking up the hotkey (see printer-friendly
version of this tutorial here), but once you memorize them through using
them, they will allow you to produce results at least twice as fast.
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| I |
IK Setup |
This tutorial explains how to create a working leg setup with 3D Studio
MAX r2.5 and its "New IK" system. After going through this article
you should be able to take the same principles here and apply them to
other setups such as arms, antennas, or anything else you might want to
create (such as animated flying dachsunds). A basic working knowledge
of MAX is assumed. |
IK Setup (Advanced) |
This tutorial is for advanced users. Before reading this, please have
a working knowledge of 3Dstudio Max's "New IK", or IK in general.
In this tutorial you will be using 3D-Studio Max's "New IK",
and Expressions to create 2 advanced setups. |
| J |
Modeling Joan of Arc |
A very extensive tutorial that includes creating a character from A to Z, modeling, textures and skinning. Image Templates provided. Tutorial
by Michel Roger. |
| K |
Karamenods Cell |
Create Karamenods Cell (slime) This tutorial learns you how to make
Karamendos cell (slime). This is a very simple, step by step tutorial
for beginners and intermediate 3ds Max users. There is three chapter :
1. Modeling 2. Materials 3. Light |
Kitchen Sink |
Modeling and texturing a stainless steel kitchen sink. Page goes to
a ink is to a PDF download. |
| L |
LCD Monitor |
This tutorial will show you how to model an LCD monitor in 3D Studio
Max using basic box modeling techniques. This tutorial is suitable for
beginners and shows exactly how to perform each step. |
Lighting |
3DS Max 5 has new Advanced Lighting features such as the Light Tracer.
In this exercise, you’ll use a Skylight and Light Tracer to add realism
to an outdoor scene. This is an intermediate level tutorial. You should
be familiar with standard lights and shadows in 3ds max before doing this
exercise. |
Lightning |
Detailed tutorial about creating lightning. Making some lightning can
be useful to simulate storms, electric arcs, ect... Sure you can also
add some sparks, smoke, rain and a lot of things for a more realistic
effect. To make this lightning you'll need the Lightning Digimation Plug-in
and the glow Video post plug-in. With of these two plug-ins we can create
this picture. |
Lip Sync |
Lip sync is the art of taking a prerecorded track of dialogue, and making
a character appear to speak it. This involves figuring out the timings
of the speech (breakdown) as well as the actual animating of the lips/mouth.
In addition making the actual setup or mouth phonemes needed can also
be considered a part of the entire Lip Sync process for 3D. |
Lofting |
Lofting is one of the most useful features in 3DStuidio MAX. You can
think of it as pulling one shape along another shape. Extrusion, for example,
is just lofting in a straight line. |
Lotus Elise Mk1 |
You will see that in this tutorial I used edit mesh for most of the
time, but if you have 3dsmax 5 or 3dsmax 4 with mesh tools, I suggest
that you use editable poly since it has some features that makes your
modeling a lot easier (like selecting entire edge loops). Also insted
of using slice modifier you can use quick slice or just "cut"
from editable poly. |
| M |
Mazda RX8 |
Starting out with the setup of your chosen blueprints, I´ve decided
to make the "Mazda RX8" and I found the blueprints at www.onnovanbram.com who has an wide range of car blueprints. |
Multi/Sub-Object Material |
Multi/Sub-Object Material allows you to apply many different materials
to one object at the same time, based on what is called Material ID that
you assign to certain polygons of your object, that's what we're going
to do now. The object I've used to make this tutorial is a sword that
I've box modeled and meshsmothed. |
Multiple Texture Mapping |
Blend material and multiple object texture mappings. An example of two
spheres, one using normal spherical mapping and the other using multiple
mappings. The stretching problem is clearly visible on the polar region
of the sphere on the left, while the sphere on the right although oriented
in exactly the same position shows no stretching. |
| N |
Necklace 2 Hearts |
This is a simple tutorial that will teach you how to build a necklace
with 2 hearts. The techniques that will be used are edit mesh and mesh
smooth. |
Nuclear Explosion |
After releasing the student short movie : Indigen, Julien VANHOENACKER
received alot of questions about how he made the explosions. Here is a
small tutorial to help you make animated gaz explosion effects in a few
easy steps using 3D Studio Max 4 without any plug-ins. The tutorial assumes
you already have the necessary basic common knowledge of 3D Studio Max,
and doesn't enter into teadious explanation. |
| O |
Orange |
Creating a Photo-Realistic Orange using the Material Editor and Lofting.
The purpose of this tutorial is to give you an understanding of lighting
and texturing as well as a basic understanding of some lofting techniques.
I can't stress enough about how important lighting and texturing is when
modeling. These two things determine what your picture looks like. Will
it look cartoony, or realistic? There aren't many tricks to texturing
and lighting. |
| P |
Phaser Fire |
Phaser Fire with 3D Studio Max 2. No plugins are needed for this tutorial
as it uses the built-in Lens effect Glow filter. |
Photon Torpedoes |
Making Photon Torpedoes by Mike Wright. Making a good photon torpedo-like
effect is much less difficult than it looks. Some very simple geometry
and a little fiddling with lens flares is all it takes, and Mike Wright
has layed out all the steps you need. Please note that this tutorial refers
specifically to the Superglo plugin from MetaMAX Productions, which can
be obtained from our plugins page. |
Previewer |
Creating a simple previewer with MXS. When making a MaxScript you have
an option to make a script with an interface or just a script that will
automate a sequence of events. In this tutorial I will be showing you
how to design an interface script that will allow you to preview your
scenes quickly. Previewers are good for doing motion checks, checking
lighting, or whatever you may want to use it for. |
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| R |
Raybrig Honda NSX |
This tutorial is aimed at the intermediate 3D Studio max 5 user, a general
undarstanding of 3D Max is required, though I will cover as many bases
as I feel nessesary. I am a graphic designer/illustrator, this model was
made purely as a means to learn 3D modelling, in particular, mesh/box
modeling, which I found was pretty much the same across all platforms
and applications unlike NURBS or Patches. |
Rigging Robot Arms & Legs |
Like most tasks in 3D Studio Max and similar products, rigging robots
is easy, if you know how. Depending on the complexity of the robot, some
may find it even easier than rigging a human or animal character. This
is because most parts of a robot do not deform during movement, with the
exception of cabling and other flexible parts, so you don’t have
to ‘skin’ it. One of the primary challenges in building a cool
robot, which still looks cool when animated, is creating realistic mechanical
joints. |
| S |
Self Portrait |
Making a Realistic Self Portrait by Kris Kaufman. |
Smoke |
After you are through with this tutorial you will know how to create
cigarette smoke, Made for 3D Studio MAX 3.x by Thomas Suurland. |
Soccer Ball |
Learn to make you own "real" soccerball in 3D Studio MAX.
The method described in this tutorial is a bit more advanced then making
a simple sphere and putting a texture map on it. This is because the type
of ball described in this tutorial can be seen very close, and it has
the small cracks between the small leather pieces that forms the ball. |
Space Scene |
This tutorial learn you how to make Space scene (view to the Earth).
It’s very simple, step by step tutorial for beginners and intermediate
3ds Max users. There are three chapters: 1. Modeling, 2. Materials and
3. Lighting. |
| T |
Aztec Texturing Made Easy |
Many people avoid adding aztec and other interesting patterns to their
textures (or use generic patterns), believing that it takes too much time
to draw original patterns, and thier models suffer as a result. This tutorial
will show you that this is not at all true, with the right sofware and
a little planning you can make complex patterns with ease.
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Realistic Texturing |
In this tutorial we'll be looking at techniques for using textures and
materials to create realistic objects. I'll be using 3D Studio MAX as
an example but you can easily apply these techniques in any other package. |
Texture a Starship |
Learn the basics of creating materials and applying the neccessary mapping
coordinates to the mesh. |
| U |
USS Enterprise |
The USS Enterprise NCC-1701 This tutorial will take you step by step to modeling that ship, and if all goes well (for you), you should have something like the picture here at the end.
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| V |
Vector Rendering |
Ok, you want your rendering in vector format, no problem you can do
in 3dsmax 6. Vector Rendering with Mental Ray. |
| W |
Walkthrough |
Using AutoCAD 3D model &3D Studio VIZ. This tutorial shows how to
create an animated walkthrough of your AutoCAD 3D model using 3D Studio
VIZ. All you need to start is an AutoCAD drawing with some 3D content.
The end result will be a .AVI file which can be viewed on any Windows
PC. AVI files can also be embedded within PowerPoint presentations along
with text and other graphics to really demonstrate your design proposals. |
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