Autodesk 3ds Max. Design Jeffrey M. Harper MASTERING. Create Compelling Visualizations for all of Your Architectural Projects

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1 Mark Gerhard Jeffrey M. Harper Jon McFarland MASTERING Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2010 Create Compelling Visualizations for all of Your Architectural Projects Master Key Techniques and Improve Your Productivity SERIOUS SKILLS.

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3 Mastering Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2010

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5 Mastering Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2010 Mark Gerhard Jeffrey M. Harper Jon McFarland

6 Senior Acquisitions Editor: Willem Knibbe Development Editor: Denise Santoro Lincoln Production Editor: Liz Britten Copy Editor: Kathy Grider-Carlyle Editorial Manager: Pete Gaughan Production Manager: Tim Tate Vice President and Executive Group Publisher: Richard Swadley Vice President and Publisher: Neil Edde Book Designer: Maureen Forys and Judy Fung Compositor: Jeffrey Lytle, Happenstance Type-O-Rama Proofreader: Word One, New York Indexer: Ted Laux Project Coordinator, Cover: Lynsey Stanford Cover Designer: Ryan Sneed Cover Image: Pete Gardner/Digital Vision/Getty Images Copyright 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada ISBN: No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) , fax (978) Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) , fax (201) , or online at Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Web site is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Web site may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Web sites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at (877) , outside the U.S. at (317) or fax (317) Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data McFarland, Jon. Mastering 3ds max design 2010 / Jon McFarland. -- 1st ed. p. cm. Summary: The only comprehensive tutorial/reference exclusively devoted to Autodesk s robust architectural visualization software 3ds Max Design is a powerful real-time 3D design, modeling, and animation tool for architectural visualizations. This book covers all the software s crucial features, including how to simulate and analyze sun, sky, and artificial light-crucial factors for sustainable design-and how to define and assign realistic materials and work with AutoCAD and Revit files. You ll quickly learn how to get the most from this powerful software s 3D modeling, animation, and rendering capabilities. McFarland is an Autodesk Authorized Author with professional experience in creating complex visualizations for a large property development company. His real-world focus means workflows and instructions are professional and proven, and projects will include those that pros work on every day. Uses actual examples from the author s experience, including retail spaces, small offices, residential developments, and more Concise explanations, focused examples, step-by-step instructions, and hands-on tutorials teach the basics and fine points of the software Covers all the essential features, such as how to simulate and analyze sun, sky, and artificial light Demonstrates efficient use of the interface; how to work with Revit and AutoCAD files; using data, scene management, and solid modeling tools; rendering real-world surfaces; and setting up animated walkthroughs Mastering 3ds Max Design 2010 provides a practical education in using this powerful architectural visualization tool -- Provided by publisher. ISBN Architectural design--data processing. 2. Computer-aided design. 3. 3ds max (Computer file) I. Title. NA2728.M dc TRADEMARKS: Wiley, the Wiley logo, and the Sybex logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates, in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. Autodesk and 3ds Max are registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book

7 Dear Reader, Thank you for choosing Mastering Autodesk 3ds Max Design This book is part of a family of premium-quality Sybex books, all of which are written by outstanding authors who combine practical experience with a gift for teaching. Sybex was founded in More than 30 years later, we re still committed to producing consistently exceptional books. With each of our titles, we re working hard to set a new standard for the industry. From the paper we print on, to the authors we work with, our goal is to bring you the best books available. I hope you see all that reflected in these pages. I d be very interested to hear your comments and get your feedback on how we re doing. Feel free to let me know what you think about this or any other Sybex book by sending me an at nedde@ wiley.com. If you think you ve found a technical error in this book, please visit Customer feedback is critical to our efforts at Sybex. Best regards, Neil Edde Vice President and Publisher Sybex, an Imprint of Wiley

8 This book is dedicated to my wife Rhonda, who puts up with me; to my four children, Kai, Sakina, David, and Sam, who bring me so much joy; and to my grandson Mateo, may he enjoy the future. And to my mother and father who gave me the encouragement to do whatever I wanted, no matter how wacky it seemed at the time. M.G. This book is dedicated to my family and friends, for always encouraging me in my endeavors, providing their emotional support, and for their understanding when I had to miss events or disappear from the face of the Earth to finish projects such as completing this book on schedule. I would also like to dedicate this to Mr. Gil Moscatello, for introducing me to AutoCAD back in 1989 in his Architectural Drafting classes, for tolerating my enthusiastic investigation and critiquing of the software, and for his guidance and encouragement which has and will continue to help me throughout my career. J.H. To my wife Lucy and our two sons, Zach and Jacob J.M.

9 Acknowledgments Thanks to everyone at Wiley/Sybex for their continued support over the years. Big thanks to Tom Hudson for pursuing his dream that turned into this software, and Gary Yost, Dan Silva, Rolf Bertteig, and Jack Powell for creating a program that has turned into my life s work. I d like to acknowledge Frank Moore, for getting me into this mess by hiring me at Autodesk in And my gratitude goes to Gary Rackliff for hiring me exactly at the right moment in my life. Thanks to Jeff Harper for incredibly hard work under the gun. And double thanks to my wife Rhonda, for keeping me sane when my computer was driving me otherwise. Mark Gerhard I would like to acknowledge the support of Mark Gerhard in recommending me for editing and updating the Mastering Autodesk VIZ 2008 book to make it appropriate for the new 3ds Max Design 2010 software, and for his help in updating the content. I would also like to acknowledge Willem Knibbe, Denise Lincoln, Pete Gaughan, Liz Britten, and everyone else on the Wiley/ Sybex Team who helped keep me on schedule, assisted with graphics and figures, and made the edits and corrections. Thanks go out to Jon McFarland, Scott Onstott, and George Omura, who worked on the previous editions of Mastering Autodesk VIZ. They provided a very thorough framework on which to build. I would also like to thank Scott Onstott for allowing us to use his models as examples for a number of chapters of this book. Thanks also go out to Michael Clamp for the use of his wonderful photograph of Notre Dame de Haut in Chapter 4 and to Brian P. Skripac, former Architectural Consulting Expert at IMAGINiT Technologies, for the Revit model used in Chapter 15. I have to thank my family and friends again for all their love, support, encouragement, faith, and patience. Jeff Harper

10 About the Authors Mark Gerhard is a 3ds Max Guru. He has devoted the past two decades to this software in all its forms. Mark was one of the first artists hired by Autodesk in 1990 to test the first version of 3D Studio on MS-DOS. In his 14-plus years at Autodesk he worked as an instructor, product manager, demo artist, application engineer, and technical writer. He wrote many of the tutorials that shipped with 3ds Max from versions 3 to present. He has been an ATC instructor, teaching 3ds Max to countless individuals at high schools, community colleges, and universities around the world. He has been the technical editor on numerous books on 3ds Max for New Riders, Wiley/Sybex, Friends of ED, Apress, 3DATS, and Focal Press. He has been co-author of several books as well. Currently Mark teaches 3ds Max to architects and engineers across the United States and Canada. He is also a Forum Assistant on The Area, Autodesk s forum for all things 3D. Mark holds a bachelor s degree in Practice of Art from University of California, Berkeley, with a focus on painting and sculpture. He is the author of the children s book The Elf of the Shelf Sees Himself (Push Press, 1983). He is also a trained musician, proficient in the tradition of North Indian Classical Music, having studied tabla with Ustad Shankar Ghosh and Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh of Calcutta. He has also studied vocal music with Ustad Ali Akbar Khansahib. He is also a student of Indian folk music, having studied and performed with the Bauls of Bengal (Babukishan Das Goswami Baul). Jeff Harper started using Autodesk products (initially AutoCAD 9) in his architectural drafting classes when he was high school. Jeff was very excited to see AutoCAD add 3D modeling to its toolset and starting thinking cinematographically, creating renderings of his CAD files with AutoShade. Soon he began using 3D Studio R3 (for DOS) to help visualize his projects while he studied Architecture at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He upgraded to 3D Studio Max 1.0 for Windows when it was released, and he has used every version since, he also used LightScape 3.2 and a few versions of Autodesk VIZ. He has used 3ds Max to create architectural and civil engineering visualizations from a combination of aerial and terrestrial LiDAR, USGS NED data, high-resolution digital orthophotography, stereo-compiled mapping data, and CAD files from different packages and disciplines. Jeff has also used 3ds Max to create models, stills, and animations used in Computer-Based Training programs for aircraft maintenance. Jeff has even used 3ds Max to create an STL file used to create a rapid-prototyped form from which he hand-pressed ceramic tiles used in the backsplash for a kitchen remodeling project. As a CADD Manager and Data Manager for a large multistate, multidiscipline engineering firm, Jeff wrote a number of workflow/training documents to assist users with certain CAD and GIS functions and assisted users with AutoCAD, Revit Structure, Civil 3D, MicroStation, InRoads, Adobe Photoshop, and ArcGIS. Jon McFarland lives in Cleveland, Ohio. He manages a design department at a property development company, where he uses AutoCAD and 3ds Max to create visualizations of proposed facility construction and expansions. He has authored five books and teaches AutoCAD and 3ds Max courses at the university level.

11 Contents at a Glance Introduction...xxi Chapter 1 Getting to Know 3ds Max Design Chapter 2 Introducing 3ds Max Objects...65 Chapter 3 Creating Shapes with Splines Chapter 4 Editing Meshes and Creating Complex Objects Chapter 5 Creating AEC Objects Chapter 6 Organizing and Editing Objects Chapter 7 Light and Shadow Chapter 8 Enhancing Models with Materials Chapter 9 Using the 3ds Max Camera Chapter 10 Working with External Files Chapter 11 Using mental ray Chapter 12 Understanding Animation Chapter 13 Creating Animations Chapter 14 Atmospheres, Effects, reactor, and Particles Chapter 15 Using Other Autodesk Applications with 3ds Max Design Appendix A The Bottom Line Appendix B Modifiers and Materials Index...853

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13 Contents Introduction... xxi Chapter 1 Getting to Know 3ds Max Design Introducing the New 3ds Max Design 2010 Features....1 Getting Started...4 Touring the Interface...5 The Menu Bar...5 The Quick Access Toolbar...7 The Information Center Toolbar....8 The Main Toolbar...8 Docked and Floating Toolbars...9 Toolbar Flyouts...13 The Viewports...13 Tools for Working with the Viewports Getting to Know the Command Panel...17 Understanding 3ds Max s Tools Working with Objects...24 Selecting and Moving Objects...24 Rotating and Scaling Objects...28 Copying an Object...32 Selecting Multiple Objects Naming Selection Sets...40 Editing Named Selection Sets Getting the View You Want...44 Understanding the Perspective Viewing Tools...44 Using Multiple Viewports...50 Changing the Viewport Display and Configuration...53 Working with the Custom UI and Defaults Switcher The Bottom Line Chapter 2 Introducing 3ds Max Objects Understanding Standard Primitives Adjusting an Object s Parameters...67 Accessing Parameters Introducing the Standard Primitive Objects Modeling Standard Primitives with Modifiers...78 Adding a Modifier...78 Accessing Modifier Parameters...81 Placing Modifiers Where You Want Them...84 Using the Modifier Stack Tools How 3ds Max Sees Objects....88

14 xii Contents Making Clones That Share Properties...88 Creating an Instance Clone...89 Creating a Reference Clone...91 Scaling and Rotating Objects with Transform Tools Making a Clone Unique Cloning a Modifier Introducing Extended Primitives Modeling a Couch Working with Groups Grouping the Components of the Couch Working Within Groups Disassembling Groups The Bottom Line Chapter 3 Creating Shapes with Splines Drawing with Splines Drawing Straight-Line Segments Constraining Lines Vertically and Horizontally Drawing Curves Lathing a Spline Modifying a Shape Using Sub-object Levels Adjusting the Lathe Axis Flipping Surface Normals Smoothing Spline Corners Adjusting Tangent Handles Creating Thickness with a Spline Outlining and Extruding Splines Drawing Accurate Line Splines Giving Walls Thickness Using Grids and Snaps to Align Objects Accurately Adjusting a Wall Location Combining and Extruding Primitive Splines Combining Splines Joining Closed Splines with Boolean Tools Creating a Solid Form with Splines Introducing the Spline Types Editing Splines Placing and Beveling Text The Bottom Line Chapter 4 Editing Meshes and Creating Complex Objects Creating Openings in a Wall with Boolean Operations Hiding Shapes That Get in the Way Creating the Shape of the Opening Subtracting the Opening from the Wall Creating Multiple Openings in a Single Wall Making Changes to the Opening Tracing a Sketch

15 Contents xiii Using a Bitmap Image Scaling the Image Plane to the Model s Size Tracing the Image Building Objects from Traced Lines Editing Meshes Creating a Tapered Wall Converting the Spline to a Mesh Moving a Single Mesh Vertex Tapering the Top of the Wall Using Instanced Clones to Create Symmetrical Forms Adding a User Grid to Aid Tracing Building the Tower Walls Adding the Vaulted Ceiling Creating the Smaller Towers Drawing the Remaining Walls Attaching Objects to a Mesh Smoothing Meshes Smoothing within a Mesh The Smooth Modifier Creating Objects Using Box Modeling Preparing a Box for Box Modeling Using the Transform Toolbox Creating Clones with Array and Snapshot Creating a Column Grid With Array Creating a Multitransform Polar Array Creating Multiple Clones Using Snapshot The Bottom Line Chapter 5 Creating AEC Objects Creating a Parametric Wall Creating a Parametric Wall Adjusting the Wall s Parameters Adding Doors and Windows to Walls Changing the Door s Parameters Adding Doors to Existing Openings Creating a Parametric Window Changing Elevations with Stairs Setting Boundaries with Railings Adding Foliage to a Scene The Bottom Line Chapter 6 Organizing and Editing Objects Naming Objects Renaming the Ceiling Fixtures Organizing Objects by Layers Setting Up Layers Assigning Objects to Layers Assigning Color to Layers...308

16 xiv Contents Understanding the Icons in the Layer Dialog Box Lofting an Object Setting Up the Shapes to Form the Pedestal Lofting an Object Using Different Shapes along the Loft Path Fine-Tuning a Loft Object Using the Instance Clones to Edit the Loft Using the Noise Modifier Modeling with Soft Selection Extruding with the Sweep Modifier Aligning Objects The Bottom Line Chapter 7 Light and Shadow Lighting Your Model Understanding the Types of Lights Adding a Spotlight to Simulate the Sun Moving a Light Editing a Spotlight Changing the Light Type Rendering a View Ambient Light Faking Radiosity Adding a Highlight with an Omni Light Looking at Omni Light Options Adding Shadow Effects Softening Shadow Edges Understanding Shadow Maps Using Ray-Traced Shadows Using Advanced Ray Traced Shadows and Area Shadows Playing in the Shadows Using Two Suns Adding a Second Sun Using Unseen Objects to Cast Shadows Using a Clone to Cast Shadows Using the Light Lister Using Scene States The Bottom Line Chapter 8 Enhancing Models with Materials Understanding Bitmap Texture Maps Diffuse Color Maps Surface Properties The Physical Qualities Rollout The Special Effects Rollout Adding Materials to Objects

17 Contents xv Adding a Map Path to Help 3ds Max Find Bitmaps Understanding Material Libraries Editing Materials Using Bump Maps Creating a New Material Adding Material Mapping Coordinates Understanding Mapping Coordinates What Happens When You Add the Mapping Coordinates Adjusting the UVW Mapping Gizmo Using the Standard Material Map Scalar Modifiers Adding Entourage Hiding Unwanted Surfaces with Opacity Maps Adjusting an Object to a Bitmap Shape Assigning Materials to Parts of an Object Creating a Multi/Sub-Object Material Applying a Submaterial to an Object s Surface Exploring the ProMaterials Adjust the ProMaterial Parameters Using the Material Explorer The Material Utilities Modeling with Displacement Maps Using the Displace Modifier Using the Material Editor to Create Displaced Geometry Converting a Displacement Map into an Editable Mesh Creating an Editable Mesh from a Displacement Map The Bottom Line Chapter 9 Using the 3ds Max Camera Understanding the 3ds Max Camera Adding a Camera ds Max 2010 Viewport Improvements Editing the Camera Location with the Viewport Tools Setting Up an Interior View Creating an Environment Making Adjustments to the Background Immersive Environments for Animation Creating a Believable Background Using a Texture Map and Hemisphere for the Sky Using Render Types Render Elements for Compositing Matching Your Scene to a Background Image Setting Up the Model and the Image Adding the Background Image Adding the Camera Match Points Aligning the Camera Match Points to the Background Image...504

18 xvi Contents Fine-Tuning a Camera-Matched View Matching the Design Image Quality to the Background The Bottom Line Chapter 10 Working with External Files Gaining Access to Materials and Objects from Other Files Arranging Furniture with XRefs and the Asset Browser Replacing Objects with Objects from an External File Substituting Objects for Faster Viewport Performance Importing Files with the Asset Browser Arranging Furniture with XRef Scenes Using the Rendered Frame Window Printing Images Opening Multiple RFWs for Comparisons Zooming, Panning, and Controlling Channels in the RFW Obtaining Colors from External Bitmap Files Using the Asset Browser on the Internet Tracking and Locating a Scene s Assets Creating Panoramas Publishing a DWF File The Bottom Line Chapter 11 Using mental ray Understanding mental ray Setting Up mental ray The Material Editor and mental ray Using Photon Maps Testing the Photon Map Effects Final Gathering Reviewing the Basic mental ray Workflow Contour Renderings Using the mr MultiMap Material Skylight Global Illumination Image-Based Lighting and Skylight Using High Dynamic Range Images Using mr Proxy Objects Using Lighting Analysis The Bottom Line Chapter 12 Understanding Animation Understanding the World of Video Time Creating a Quick-Study Animation Adding Camera Motion Adjusting the Camera Path Viewing the Camera Trajectory Controlling the Camera Trajectory Visibility Creating a Preview Animation Understanding Keyframes

19 Contents xvii Increasing the Number of Frames in an Animation Segment Accelerating and Decelerating the Camera Motion Smoothly Editing Keyframes Adding More Frames for Additional Camera Motion Adding Frames to the End of a Segment Adjusting the Camera Motion Through a Keyframe Compressing and Expanding Time Adjusting the Camera Trajectory Using the Track View Increasing the Number of Frames Between Selected Keys Speeding Up the Preview Rendering Time Adding Frames to the Beginning of a Segment Other Options for Previewing Your Motion Moving the Camera Target over Time Controlling Lights over Time The Bottom Line Chapter 13 Creating Animations Rendering the Animation Creating a Study Animation Creating a Quick Overall Study Animation Adding a Moving Car Automating Output of Multiple Still Images Setting Up a Camera for Elevations Setting Up the Four Elevations Rendering a Shadow Study Adjusting for True North Changing from IES Sun to a Standard Light Creating a Walkthrough Fine-Tuning the Camera s Orientation Adjusting the Camera s Timing Adjusting the Path The Animation File Output Options True Color vs. 256 Colors File Naming in Animations Choosing an Image Size The AVI Codecs The Bottom Line Chapter 14 Atmospheres, Effects, reactor, and Particles Adding Atmospheres Effects Creating a Volume Light Adjusting the Volume Light Parameters Adding Fog Adding a Fire Effect Using Hair and Fur to Add Grass Adjusting the Hair and Fur Parameters Refining the Ground with the Hair and Fur Parameters Using reactor to Animate Objects

20 xviii Contents Assigning Properties to Simulation Objects Assigning Simulation Objects to a Collection Setting Up and Running the Simulation Refining the Settings Using Particle Systems Creating the Initial Flow Adding and Editing the Operators Adding Materials and Space Warps Adding Deflectors The Bottom Line Chapter 15 Using Other Autodesk Applications with 3ds Max Design Creating Topography with Splines Updating Changes from an AutoCAD File Exploring Terrain Options Setting Up an AutoCAD Plan for 3ds Max Importing AutoCAD Plans into 3ds Max Design Extruding the Walls Extruding Exterior Wall Headers Extruding the Mullions Creating Interior Wall Headers Adding Glass Creating a Floor with Openings Exploring the File Link Manager Editing Linked AutoCAD Files Understanding the Block Node Hierarchy Understanding the File Link Manager Options Understanding File Link Settings Using the Substitute Modifier with Linked Geometry Importing a Truss Importing Revit Files into 3ds Max Export the Revit File Link the Exported File in 3ds Max The Bottom Line Appendix A The Bottom Line Chapter 1: Getting to Know 3ds Max Design Chapter 2: Introducing 3ds Max Objects Chapter 3: Creating Shapes with Splines Chapter 4: Editing Meshes and Creating Complex Objects Chapter 5: Creating AEC Objects Chapter 6: Organizing and Editing Objects Chapter 7: Light and Shadow Chapter 8: Enhancing Models with Materials Chapter 9: Using the 3ds Max Camera Chapter 10: Working With External Files

21 Contents xix Chapter 11: Using mental ray Chapter 12: Understanding Animation Chapter 13: Creating Animations Chapter 14: Atmospheres, Effects, Reactor, and Particles Chapter 15: Using other Autodesk Applications with 3ds Max Design Appendix B Modifiers and Materials Modifiers Selection Modifiers World-Space Modifiers Object-Space Modifiers Materials and Maps Materials (Blue Spheres) Maps (Green Parallelogram) Index...853

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23 Introduction A significant portion of your work as a designer will involve sketching and drawing throughout the design process. These visual explorations will not only help convey your ideas to others, but they will also help you see problems with a design and help you refine your ideas. 3D computer modeling and animation take design visualization beyond hand-drawn sketches and foam-core models, by allowing you to create a complete replica of your design and study it from any point of view in any lighting condition. With 3ds Max Design 2010, you can apply color, texture, lighting, and other effects to see how variations of these elements affect your design. You can get a realistic look at your design to help you make better decisions as you progress through the design process. Mastering 3ds Max Design 2010 is intended to help architects, designers, and visualization artists present their designs through 3D models, rendered stills, and animations. This book focuses on the use of 3ds Max Design 2010 as a modeling and presentation tool. Because Mastering 3ds Max Design 2010 is focused on design issues, you will not find information about character animation or advanced special effects. You also not find descriptions of every single tool or function available in 3ds Max Design In this book you will find step-by-step tutorials covering the primary functions of the software that you will use in the process of visualizing designs. These tutorials are based on years of experience using 3ds Max on real projects with real requirements and deadlines. By completing the tutorials, you will learn how to construct complex geometric forms and how to apply realistic textures and lighting to study a design. You will also learn how to create effects to help emphasize parts of your design for presentations. How to Use This Book The goal of this book is to give you the appropriate skills to produce professional-level presentations of your ideas, from conceptual designs to finished renderings and animated walkthroughs. Once you have mastered those fundamental skills, you will be equipped to confidently explore 3ds Max Design 2010 and its robust set of tools and options on your own. To get the most value from this book, you should read the chapters sequentially from front to back, doing all the exercises as you go. Each chapter builds on the skills you learned in previous chapters, so you can think of this book as your personal, self-paced course on 3ds Max Design As you are doing the exercises, don t be afraid to try things not in the tutorials. 3ds Max Design is too robust and complicated a piece of software to completely teach in one volume.

24 xxii Introduction The first three chapters of this book will help you become familiar with how 3ds Max Design 2010 works and how it is organized. If you are already familiar with 3ds Max, 3ds Max Design, or Autodesk VIZ, you may want to skim these chapters to become accustomed to the new user interface and to be introduced to the some of the new features of 3ds Max Design Chapters 4, 5, and 6 will show you how to build fairly complex geometry using a variety of tools. These chapters introduce you to the more common methods of constructing and modifying objects in 3ds Max Design Chapters 7 through 10 show you how to use lights, materials, and cameras. Chapter 11 covers the mental ray rendering system. Chapters 12 and 13 introduce and then expand on animation topics. Chapter 14 covers using the built-in particle effect and dynamics systems in 3ds Max for enhancing your visualizations. Chapter 15 covers bringing data from other Autodesk programs into 3ds Max. At the back of the book there are a set of appendices that offer general reference information on some of the more common tools used in 3ds Max Design Once you have completed the first few chapters of the book, you can use the appendices as an aid in your own exploration of 3ds Max. You can then refer to the appendices as you continue to work through the rest of the book. Before you start going through the tutorials in this book, you need to go to the Sybex website ( and download the compressed files with the content. You must extract the chapter archive files to a folder on your computer that you will use to complete the tutorials in the book. You will need those files to complete the exercises in the book. Connecting 3ds Max to the Chapter Files It is important that you configure 3ds Max Design 2010 to recognize the location of the tutorial files from the Sybex website ( Make sure that you perform the instructions given in the section titled Adding a Map Path to Help 3ds Max Find Bitmaps in Chapter 8. If you like, you can set up 3ds Max as described in that section right after you have extracted the files. What You ll Find To give you a better idea of what you ll find in this book, here is a summary of the chapters and their contents. Chapter 1: Getting to Know 3ds Max Design 2010 In Chapter 1, you will get an introduction to 3ds Max Design 2010 and the new User Interface, and you ll get a first look at 3ds Max objects and how they are created. Toward the end of Chapter 1 you will be introduced to the different ways you can view your designs in 3ds Max Design Chapter 2: Introducing 3ds Max Objects Chapter 2 delves deeper into the workings of 3ds Max objects. You ll learn about the different types of objects available in 3ds Max Design 2010 and how you can use them to create the shapes you want. You will learn how to manipulate 3ds Max s core set of shapes, called primitives, and turn them into more complex shapes. You will also learn about the different methods you can use to duplicate shapes, and how these methods can help you quickly complete your design.

25 Introduction xxiii Chapter 3: Creating Shapes with Splines In Chapter 3 you will look at how you can create complex forms from simple lines. Here you will learn how to manipulate a basic type of object called a spline shape and turn it into a wineglass. You will look at creating walls and 3D text objects as well. Chapter 4: Editing Meshes and Creating Complex Objects Chapter 4 introduces you to object and editing methods that are common to architectural projects. You will start modeling a well-known building, using a hand-drawn sketch as a template. You will also focus on drawing objects that have unusual shapes. Chapter 5: Creating AEC Objects Chapter 5 will introduce you to the parametric AEC (Architectural, Engineering, Construction) objects included with 3ds Max Design 2010, such as walls, windows, doors, stairs and railings, and foliage objects. Chapter 6: Organizing and Editing Objects In Chapter 6 you will continue working on the main scene from Chapter 5 by exploring ways to organize the components of the design. You will learn how to use object names and layers to help identify parts in the design. You will also continue your exploration of modeling complex forms by creating additional objects and modifying existing objects to add detail and depth to the scene. Chapter 7: Light and Shadow Chapter 7 uses another well-known building to introduce you to the concepts of lighting and rendering your digital models. You will also learn about the different types of lighting and shadows and how to use them together. In addition, you will learn how you can create more realistic renderings by the careful placement of additional lights in strategic locations. Chapter 8: Enhancing Models with Materials In Chapter 8, you will continue to build on what you learned in Chapter 7 by exploring materials. You will experiment with the many properties of materials and maps in 3ds Max Design, such as diffuse color, bump map textures, and reflections. You will learn how to align a texture to a surface, and you will be introduced to methods for adding entourage, such as trees and people, to scenes. Chapter 9: Using the 3ds Max Camera Chapter 9 discusses placing cameras in your model and creating environments to surround your models. You will learn how to control the background to affect the mood of your renderings. You will also experiment with rendering only selected portions of your scene to save time. Chapter 10: Working with External Files Chapter 10 shows you different ways to use 3ds Max files. You will learn how to combine different files efficiently to allow you to work collaboratively with other members of a design team. You will discover ways to share data between project files. You will also see how you can share your models on the Internet. Chapter 11: Using mental ray In Chapter 11 you will use the mental ray rendering system. The mental ray system offers you the capability to create incredibly realistic renderings. You will learn how to set up and use global illumination, create and use mr Proxy objects, the Multi-Sub-map material, create contour renderings with the Material Override feature, and perform Lighting Analysis on your projects. Chapter 12: Understanding Animation Chapter 12 offers you an introduction to animation in an architectural context. You will learn to create and control the animation of a camera to create a flyby of one of the buildings you worked on in earlier chapters. You will also learn how to edit an animated object s motion, create previews of your animation, and control lights over time.

26 xxiv Introduction Chapter 13: Creating Animations Chapter 13 continues your look at animation by exploring the options for outputting your animations to files, creating shadow studies, adding other animated elements to add to the realism of your visualizations, and creating effective walkthroughs of your designs. Chapter 14: Atmospheres, Effects, reactor, and Particles In Chapter 14 you will learn how to use the built-in particle systems, effects, and dynamics system to add atmosphere to your visualizations. Chapter 15: Using Other Autodesk Applications with 3ds Max Design 2010 Chapter 15 shows you how to take advantage of files created in other Autodesk products, capitalizing on their unique strengths to reduce the time and effort you need to expend to create highquality finished models in 3ds Max Design In addition to the main chapters in this book, there are two appendices. Appendix A: The Bottom Line Appendix A has the solutions for the Master It exercises found at the end of each chapter. Appendix B: Modifiers and Materials Appendix B is a reference for the Modifiers and Materials found in 3ds Max Design System Requirements This book assumes that you already have Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2010 and a PC that can properly run the software. Additionally, you should perform a complete installation of 3ds Max Design 2010, including the optional tutorials and plug-ins. Many of the extra and demonstration plug-ins are not covered in this book; however, you should experiment with them on your own. The following list shows you the minimum system requirements necessary to run 3ds Max Design 2010; you should exceed these values whenever possible for better system performance and stability. u u u u u u u u u Intel Pentium 4 or AMD-based equivalent processor 1GB of RAM (4GB recommended) 1GB of swap space (more recommended) 3GB of free disk space after 3ds Max Design 2010 software installation Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 or higher Graphics card supporting , 32-bit color display, 128MB DirectX 9.0c (included on the 3ds Max Design 2010 DVD) DVD-ROM drive A three-button mouse with the appropriate driver software u Microsoft Windows XP Professional (Service Pack 2 and higher) 32-bit or 64-bit, or Microsoft Windows Vista

27 Introduction xxv Autodesk does not support running 3ds Max Design 2010 on Windows Me, NT 4.0, 98, or prior versions. You can find the complete system requirements for 3ds Max Design 2010 on the Autodesk website, The 3GB of free disk space includes space for the sample files and general workspace for your projects. For later chapters, you may want to have AutoCAD 2007 or later installed and Adobe Photoshop CS or later. You can obtain a trial version of Photoshop from the Adobe website. You can also download a 30-day trial version of AutoCAD 2010 from the Autodesk website. These additional software applications are not crucial to have, but you may find them to be useful companions to 3ds Max Design What s on the Book s Website You will want to make sure that you have downloaded and extracted the sample files from the Sybex website ( that are mentioned throughout the book. The website includes the *.max and support files necessary to complete the exercises in this book in archive files.

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29 Chapter 1 Getting to Know 3ds Max Design 2010 Welcome to Mastering Autodesk 3ds Max Design Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2010 replaces Autodesk VIZ 2008 and benefits from the development of its sister product, 3ds Max, to give architects and other design professionals an indispensable design and visualization tool. Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2010 gives designers cutting-edge rendering technology, easy-to-use architectural materials, improved communication with other related software, enhancements to modeling and animation tools, and better viewport interactivity than ever before. This chapter introduces some of 3ds Max Design 2010 s special features and then gets you started working with the 3ds Max interface. In this chapter, you will learn to: u u u u Navigate and configure the viewports Dock and float toolbars Copy objects and use the Transform tools Create a named selection set Introducing the New 3ds Max Design 2010 Features 3ds Max Design replaces Autodesk VIZ 2008 as Autodesk s 3D modeling and visualization tool for the architectural industry. It is comparable to 3ds Max and is essentially the same product without the Software Developers Kit (SDK), which is used to develop plug-ins that give the programs additional functionality. In addition to having all the features that 3ds Max has, 3ds Max Design offers a new Exposure lighting analysis tool, which is used to help meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) 8.1 certification standards. The program is referred to as either 3ds Max or 3ds Max Design throughout the text. Each new version of 3ds Max incorporates fresh and exciting tools to enhance your capabilities and workflow while also increasing the performance of the program on your computer system. Utilizing these new features is key to improving your skills and decreasing the time it takes to complete your projects. To help you find information, the 3ds Max Design 2010 Learning Movies dialog box (see Figure 1.1) includes links to essential skills movies, which teach many of the basic skills for using 3ds Max, as well as links to movies that explain the new features and additional 3ds Max related tutorials.

30 2 Chapter 1 Getting to Know 3ds Max Design 2010 Figure 1.1 The new Learning Movies dialog box New Features and Essential Skills Movies/What s New and Learning Path The new features and additional skills movies are located on the Autodesk website, and an active Internet connection is required to view them. When you no longer want the dialog box to appear as 3ds Max opens, simply uncheck the Show This Dialog at Startup option in the lower-left corner. The dialog box can then be opened by choosing Help Learning Movies from the menu bar. Graphite Modeling Tools The new Graphite Modeling tools provide over 100 new modeling features for organic sculpting, texture painting in the viewports, and advanced polygon modeling. They are available on the new Graphite Modeling Ribbon. These tools bring a new level of interactivity to modeling in 3ds Max. Containers Containers are a new toolset within 3ds Max designed to improve project collaboration and workflows by aggregating multiple objects into containers. Similar objects in a scene can be added to a container so you can interact with them as one unit. Containers can be loaded and unloaded from the viewports as necessary to improve the performance of 3ds Max Design Material Explorer The new Material Explorer is a hierarchical display that allows you to review and manage all materials in a scene. Unlike the Material Editor, the Material Explorer does not suffer from a limitation of how many materials it can display at one time. Exposure lighting validation When architectural or engineering visualizations are being created, accurate simulation of lighting conditions can be vitally important to a project s success. The Exposure feature, only available in 3ds Max Design, allows you to create more sustainable design projects by analyzing the interaction of artificial lighting, sun, and skylight directly in your models. This information can be studied right in the viewports. Although the Exposure name is trademarked by Autodesk, you won t actually find Exposure anywhere in the Help file or 3ds Max Interface. xview Mesh Analyzer The xview Mesh Analyzer feature allows you to check your models in the viewport for common mesh errors such as overlapping UV coordinates, isolated