3ds Max Speed Modeling for 3D Artists

Table of Contents

• Preface

• Chapter 1: First Launch: Getting to Know 3ds Max
• Quick start: Jump into making models
• Getting to know the User Interface
• Default and custom UI schemes
• Switching UI presets
• Making changes to hotkeys
• Customizing the Quad menu
• Making changes to the view layout
• Deciding on the best view navigation
• Pan, Orbit, and Zoom
• Navigation with the ViewCube
• Making adjustments to the ViewCube display
• Navigation with the Steering Wheel
• Using the Steering Wheel
• Displaying your model for modeling
• Model display
• Setting scene units
• Searching for content in the scene
• Creating your own selection sets with Named Selections
• Common changes to 3ds Max default preferences
• Determining the hardware shading settings to use
• Summary

• Chapter 2: Model Shakedown: Make 3ds Max Work for you
• Setting filters in the Display panel
• Display panel filters
• Hiding and freezing objects
• Display Properties
• Object Properties – Show Frozen in Gray
• Freezing objects via Object Properties
• Object Properties – Animation trajectories
• Toggle trajectory
• Object Properties – Render properties
• Disabling shadow casting
• Moving and rotating objects using pivot controls
• Pivots
• Local, Screen, and Pick spaces
• Changing the axis direction of the gizmo
• Cloning objects: Instances, References, and Snapshots
• Adjusting Instances
• Capturing a Snapshot
• Adjusting modifiers in the viewport
• Assigning a single Turbosmooth to all your models
• Selecting objects that have a certain modifier
• Setting different modifier attributes for views and rendering
• Organizing a scene using Groups
• Group functionality
• Importing models
• Using a template scene including lighting, turntable camera, and render settings
• NVIDIA iray ActiveShade rendering
• Summary

• Chapter 3: The Base Model – A Solid Foundation in Polygon Modeling
• Introducing the project
• Adding image reference
• Viewport image planes
• Forming the base model
• The Quad menu's editable poly tools
• Setting values with the Autodesk style caddy
• Fitting the model to the artwork
• Generating round forms from quad-based geometry
• Detaching and attaching parts of a model
• A preview of a sculpting workflow
• Summary

• Chapter 4: Mod My Ride: Extending upon a Base Model
• Marking Poly Loops
• Soft modeling
• Soft modeling with Soft Selection
• Soft modeling with the Shift brush
• Soft modeling with Free-Form Deformations
• Relaxation techniques
• Using Poly Select to apply modifiers to Sub-Object selections
• Generating shapes from edge selections
• The Lathe modifier process
• Shape construction and interpolation
• Comparing the Sweep modifier with the Loft object
• Smoothing Groups
• Generating model forms using Cloth
• Setting up the Cloth modifier parameters
• Summary

• Chapter 5: The Language of Machines: Designing and Building Model Components
• A visual language for science fiction machinery
• Spare parts
• A Greeble factory
• Getting started with Greeble
• From primitive origins...
• …Into outer space
• A star ship construction walk-through
• Summary

• Chapter 6: The Cutting Edge: A Closer Look at 3ds Max Polygon Tools
• New modeling and UI features in 3ds Max 2013
• Camera movement while a Cut operation is live
• Customizable Workspaces
• Tabbed Layouts
• A gradient for the viewport background
• Interoperability with AutoCad
• Sub-Object level editing tools via the Ribbon
• Getting started
• Edge loop selection and growth
• Loop mode and live select mode
• Dot selection, growth, and Step selection
• Sub-Object editing in Manipulation mode
• Joining objects
• Creating and cleaning Booleans
• ProBooleans
• Ribbon tools
• Paint Connect, Vertex, and Distance Connect
• Freeform: Shift
• Freeform: Optimize
• Summary

• Chapter 7: The Mystery of the Unfolding Polygons: Mapping Models for Texturing
• The goal of UV mapping
• Gaining familiarity with the Unwrap UVW editor
• Combining texture islands to save draw calls
• Just getting on with it...
• Additional UV layout tools
• Soft Selection
• Setting UVW editor hotkeys
• Aligning points
• A handy script for fixing up UVs
• Mirror and Flip commands
• Packing the layout
• Finalizing the layout
• Making a Photoshop texture template
• Send to Mudbox
• 2D View in Viewport Canvas
• Summary

• Chapter 8: Custom Body Job: Painting using Viewport Canvas
• Direct painting versus indirect painting
• Starting a paint session
• Channel selection
• Shortcuts and 2D View painting
• Brush Images and Custom Maps
• Using the Clone brush
• Direct painting using spherical and depth brush settings
• Layers
• Loading maps into other channels
• Tablet user's guide
• Swapping material types using Slate
• Substance procedural textures
• Asset texturing walk-through
• Summary

• Chapter 9: Go with the Flow Retopology in 3ds Max
• Introduction
• High poly model import
• Importing a model into Sculptris
• Importing the Sculptris.OBJ mesh in 3ds Max
• Retopology
• Exploring the Freeform/Polydraw tools
• Pinch/Spread
• Using Quad Cap Pro to generate meshes to conform
• Filling stubborn polygons
• Topology concerns for animation
• WrapIt by The Pixel Hive
• Finalizing the retopologized model
• Summary

• Chapter 10: Pushing the Envelope – Model Preparation for Animation and Games
• ProOptimizer
• Creating a low-resolution model prior to skinning
• Rigging the creature with CAT
• The foreleg
• Rig naming and selection
• Rig display and access via layers
• Skinning the creature
• Skin advanced parameters
• Adjusting envelopes
• Checking skin adjustments
• Weighting per vertex
• Painting blend weights
• Mirror Mode
• Transfer of low poly skinning to a high poly mesh
• Testing the animation and making a preview
• 3ds Max 2013 CAT data transfer to MotionBuilder
• Kinect motion capture – setting up with Brekel Kinect and MotionBuilder
• Matching a CAT rig to an FBX in MotionBuilder
• Matching a CAT rig to an FBX in 3ds Max
• Game readiness check
• Summary

• Index