Book description
Welcome to the Autodesk Media and Entertainment Official Training Courseware for 3ds Max 8 software! Consider this book an all-access pass to the production and training experience of Autodesk developers and training experts. Written for self-paced learning or instructor-led classroom training, the manual will teach you the fundamentals of using 3ds Max 8. The book is organized into sections dedicated to animation, modelling, materials, lighting and rendering. Each section covers basic theory, and then includes exercises for hands-on demonstration of the concept. By the end of the book, you will have mastered the basics and moved onto full-length projects. Flexibility is built in, so that you can complete the tutorials in the way that works best for you. Complete the book and you will be a seasoned 3ds Max pro, ready to work confidently in a production environment.
Table of contents
- Cover
- Half Title
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Table of Contents
- Introduction
-
Chapter 1 Getting Started
-
1 User Interface
- Objectives
- User Interface Components
- Viewports
- Exercise 1: Working in the User Interface
- Exercise 2: Creating Objects
- Exercise 3: Customizing Toolbars
- Command Panel
- Exercise 4: Using the Command Panel
- Other User Interface Elements
- Exercise 5: Using the Animation Playback Controls
- Viewport UI Elements
- Exercise 6: Orthographic View Manipulation
- Exercise 7: Perspective View Manipulation
- Keyboard
- Help
- Summary
-
2 Overview Lab
- Objectives
- Exercise 1: Creating the Signpost
- Exercise 2: Adding Modeling Elements to the Signpost
- Exercise 3: Adding More Components: Creating the Sign
- Exercise 4: Merging a Sign Lamp: Merging an Object from Another File
- Exercise 5: Adding Basic Materials to the Signpost
- Exercise 6: Adjusting Ambient Lighting and Adding Lighting for the Sign
- Exercise 7: Adding the Broken Sign Animation: Animating the sign breaking
- Exercise 8: Rendering your animation
- Summary
-
3 Files and Objects
- Objectives
- Scene File Manipulation
- Exercise 1: Units and Grid Setup
- Exercise 2: Options for Grid Display
- Simple Geometry Creation and Pivot Points
- Exercise 3: Simple Geometry Creation and Pivot Point Location
- Object Orientation
- Exercise 4: Viewport Base Plane Geometry and Pivot Point Orientation
- Modifying Standard Objects
- Exercise 5: Modifying Objects and Face Counts
- Selecting Objects
- Exercise 6: Selecting Objects by Name and Naming Objects
- Organization of Objects in a Scene
- Exercise 7: Selection Sets
- Groups
- Exercise 8: Groups
- Attaching Objects
- Exercise 9: Attaching Objects
- Summary
-
4 Transforms
- Objectives
- Transform Tools
- Transform Base Point
- Exercise 1: Simple Transform Exercise
- Coordinate Systems
- Exercise 2: Transforms using Snaps and Coordinate Systems
- Exercise 3: Transforms with the Pick Coordinate System
- Align
- Exercise 4: Aligning Objects
- Cloning Objects
- Exercise 5: Cloning Objects
- Other Transforms
- Summary
- 5 Applying Modifiers
-
1 User Interface
-
Chapter 2 Modeling
-
6 Low Poly Modeling
- Objectives
- Objects and Sub-Objects
- Exercise 1: Accessing Sub-Object Levels
- Sub-Object Levels
- Exercise 2: Working at Sub-Object Levels
- Exercise 3: Basics of Low-Poly Modeling
- Exercise 4: Modeling with Modifiers
- Exercise 5: Repairing the Broken Part
- Smoothing Groups
- Exercise 6: Using Smoothing Groups Menu
- Using Subdivision Surfaces
- Exercise 7: Smoothing a Low-Poly Model
- Summary
-
7 Shapes
- Objectives
- Shape Definitions
- Basic Shape Creation Functions
- Editing Splines
- Exercise 1: Creating a Simple Shape
- Adding Splines from a Shape
- Segment Editing
- Vertex Editing
- Exercise 2: Creating a Profile for an Oil Can
- Exercise 3: Creating a Profile for a Bottle
- Using Shape Modifiers
- Exercise 4: Using the Lathe Modifier
- Exercise 5: Creating a Medallion with Bevel
- Exercise 6: Re-creating the Gas Station Island with Bevel Profile
- Exercise 7: Using the Sweep Modifier to Create a Wainscoting
- Summary
- 8 Using Compound Objects
- 9 Modeling Lab
-
6 Low Poly Modeling
-
Chapter 3 Animation
-
10 Animation Basics
- Objectives
- History of Animation
- 2D versus 3D Animation
- Time
- The Concept of Keyframing
- Exercise 1: The Bouncing Ball
- Track View
- Timing
- Ease in / Ease out
- Arcs
- Exercise 2: The Bowling Ball and the Golf Ball
- Exercise 3: The Gelatin Cake
- Anticipation
- Follow-Through and Overlapping Action
- Squash and Stretch
- Exaggeration
- Exercise 4: The Gelatin Cake: Anticipation, Stretch, and Follow-Through
- Secondary Action
- Straight-Ahead Animation and Pose-to-Pose Animation
- Staging/Appeal/Personality
- Summary
-
11 Hierarchies
- Objectives
- Mechanics of Movement
- Linking Objects
- Exercise 1: Linking the Robot Arm
- Exercise 2: Linking the Robot Arm using Schematic view
- Schematic View
- Exercise 3: Linking the Robot Arm Using Schematic View
- A Little Bit About IK
- Exercise 4: Inverse Kinematics
- Hierarchy
- Exercise 5: Link Info on the Locomotive Wheel
- Summary
-
12 Character Animation—Biped
- Objectives
- Character Animation
- Biped
- Exercise 1: Fitting a Biped Inside a Character
- Exercise 2: Creating a Physique
- Motion Panel
- Exercise 3: Setting up Biped for Animation
- Exercise 4: Animating a Walk Cycle
- The Mechanics of a Walk Cycle
- Exercise 5: Refining the walk
- Animation Principles
- Exercise 6: Follow through
- Summary
- 13 Animation Lab
-
10 Animation Basics
-
Chapter 4 Materials & Mapping
-
14 Introduction to Materials
- Objectives
- Introduction to Materials
- The Material Editor
- Exercise 1: The Material Indicators
- Exercise 2: Changing the Sample Shape
- Exercise 3: Using a Custom Sample Object
- Exercise 4: Applying a Material to an Object
- Exercise 5: Creating a Simple Material
- Material Types
- Exercise 6: The Wet Floor
- Exercise 7: Saving the Scene Material to a Library
- Summary
- 15 Using Maps
- 16 Mapping Coordinates
- 17 Materials and Mapping
-
14 Introduction to Materials
-
Chapter 5 Rendering
-
18 Cameras
- Objectives
- Camera types in 3ds Max
- Framing a Camera Shot
- Exercise 1: Setting a Long Shot with a Target Camera
- Exercise 2: Setting a Close-up Shot with a Free Camera
- Camera Lenses
- Exercise 3: Setting the Camera Lens and FOV
- Camera Aspect Ratio
- Exercise 4: Setting the Camera’s Aspect Ratio
- Camera Angles
- Exercise 5: Setting a Dynamic Camera Angle
- The Line of Action
- Exercise 6: Setting up a Triangle System
- Exercise 7: Shot Variation: Using an Over-the-Shoulder (OTS) Shot
- The Moving Camera
- Exercise 8: Setting up a Crane Shot
- Summary
- 19 Basic Lighting
- 20 Global Illumination
-
21 Rendering the Scene
- Objectives
- Rendering in 3DS Max
- Render Scene Dialog
- Common Panel
- Time Output
- Output Size
- Exercise 1: Output Size
- Render Output
- File Type
- RAM Player
- Exercise 2: Using the RAM Player
- Object Properties Rendering Control
- Exercise 3: Rendering Control
- Rendering Environment and Effects
- Exercise 4: Creating a Sun using Lens effect
- Scene States
- Exercise 5: Scene States
- Batch Render
- Exercise 6: Batch Render
- Summary
- 22 Scene Assembly Lab
-
18 Cameras
- Index
Product information
- Title: 3ds Max 8 Essentials
- Author(s):
- Release date: March 2014
- Publisher(s): Routledge
- ISBN: 9781136142932
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