Mastering Autodesk® 3ds Max® Design 2010

Chapter 11. Using mental ray

In Chapter 7, "Light and Shadow," you learned how to light the Villa Savoye model with standard lights, set up "fakiosity," and render the scene with the Scanline Renderer. That fundamental information still applies to the mental ray rendering engine in 3ds Max Design; however, mental ray provides alternative light sources that provide you even more options for rendering your scenes.

3ds Max Design 2010 ships with the new 3.7 version of the robust mental ray renderer. It includes Final Gather presets for quickly assigning situation-specific parameters; the Arch & Design, Car Paint, and ProMaterials templates; global quality knobs on the Reveal toolbar for fine-tuning renderings; and mr Proxies to help make your renderings ...