3DS Max Tips #2 and lecture techniques

Lynda (Ross, 2015)

Basics and Interface

• For reference images use a plane as this is resizable, the grid is not
• Transform type in on bottom toolbar can be used to perfectly centre an object
• Image ratio needs to maintained (if width is double the height, keep this height even if different to the exact picture size) on reference image
• Keep images in sceneassets/image to maintain internal links
• Under self-illumination, turn up to 100 so the reference image won't be affected by lighting
• +, viewport configuration, improve texture quality if image is blurry
• Lock image by click object properties, turn show frozen in gray off and interactivity- freeze on
• Go to modify tab to see height, move down by half it's height to centre accurately through grid
• Keep same value on Y axis if lining objects up in that axis
• Customise, Configure columns on scene explorer to display colour, frozen items etc
• If the number of segments was not set, go back to 'box' in modifier hierarchy and change it, then go back to other effects to re-apply them
• Bottom to top dataflow, apply modifiers in this order
• Light bulb on modifiers tab turns their display off
• To collapse modifier stack and apply the changes to an explicit object, right click top modifier and collapse all - save version with modifier stack and version with collapsed

Lecture techniques

• Adding vertices - Adding vertices along an edge has proven useful where surface detail needs to be added. While 'connect' has the advantage of equal spacing when creating extra edge for example, adding vertices allows for the flexibility of placing them anywhere along an edge. I did however encounter a problem when using this as lining up the two vertices to create a perfectly straight line is very difficult. The snapping tools used so far have do not allow incremental mouse movement withing and edge that has no vertices.
                    
• Connect - if two vertices needed an edge between them or even two edges being equally divided, the connect tool allowed this to happen. This also useful as it allows only the edges needed to be added rather than using the segment settings on the primitive object. It also has the added benefit of accurate spacing of the lines and an option to slide them along too. This is particularly useful if only one line is created and it needs to be positioned somewhere other than the centre it defaults to. When creating the low poly house, the connect tool caused an issue with creating the window bars. Once the vertical lines were created, the horizontal ones could no longer be as the clear path from the two edges being connected was blocked. This was solved by creating lines from each edge to the vertical bars, and then going into vertex mode to connect the central box of vertices.
  
• Boolean operations - as proven in the first house exercise, using boolean operations to subtract one shape from another proved the most efficient for creating window holes without showing the hollowness inside of the object. The 'union' tool was also useful for merging objects into one, such as the floor of the church in the derelict village which is made up of three different planes. The main issue I have encountered is the pattern a complex shape will leave. For example, to cut a simple circle shape, faces for each of the 18 sides of a cylinder will be added to the shape. This is particularly damaging to the poly count when using a sphere as this has many faces to achieve its round shape. The solution to this issue is to be selective with the tool to make sure the poly count is only added to when no other method would work.
• Grouping - Grouping will become increasingly useful as my models increase in complexity. While it may seem neater to just merge all objects into one, it is inevitable that certain parts of the model will need editing individually. In the context of a star wars ship, this could mean grouping the different parts of the wing while keeping them, and the overall wing, a separate selection from other parts of the ship. Ungrouping retains any sub-groups which may be useful.
• Aligning - Aligning is an important tool for accurate positioning. With a combination of lining up the maximum of one and the minimum of another on the z axis and the centres on the x and y, objects can be quickly positioned exactly where they are needed. Issues arise when trying to do all three axis at once, so to understand what is going on and achieve the best result it is best to do it one axis at a time
• Splines and lofting - When creating complex building shapes, the spline tool has proved much more efficient than combing many primitives. Being able to draw out the shape of the inner and outer walls then extrude them up has enabled me to create more interesting shapes of buildings, such as the church in the derelict village. An immediate issue with this methods is that no floor is created when extruding the walls. This is easily solved by first converting the inner spline to an edible poly (which fills it) and then copying that shape.

Own research

• Import - As shown in the broken cart model in the derelict village exercise, importing previous work is possible in 3DS Max. While it is unlikely for the assignment I will need to import a whole model to another project file, this tool is perfect for copying over things such as intricate decal or generic parts such as wheels or guns. Combining this with the align tool proved a quick way to add the wheels on to the cart and hence this a useful method I aim to use in the final models if appropriate.
• Bridge - If two edges leave a gap where a face should be, I found the bridge tool to be quite useful. An example where this might happen is when deleting faces to make a door which exposes the hollowness inside of an object. Using bridge on the edges will fill in the gap. As show below, it can also work between two separate elements if attached.