Quick Start 2 builds upon the material covered in Part I, “Getting Around Inside 3ds Max.” In this tutorial, you’ll jump right into the modeling process by creating the structure of your virtual welcome center. You’ll use some of the most powerful mod- eling features covered in the next three chapters and see how quickly and easily a visualization can be modeled. Although this scene is simplistic in nature, it requires use of many of the same tools as a very large and intricate scene created by a veteran user. For the sake of time and to avoid repetitive features, several of the scene ele- ments have already been created.
1. Open the file you that you saved at the end of Quick Start 1, or open the file 3dsMax8\scenes\Friends_of_Ed\QuickStart02.max.
You’ll start by providing some land for the welcome center to rest on.
2. Press H to open the Select Objects dialog box and double-click the object named Site-Grass. You can also click once on the name and click OKto com- plete the same command.
Approximate completion time: 45 minutes
3. In the Command panel on the right-hand side of the screen, click the Modifyicon.
4. Click the Extrudemodifier button. This adds the Extrudemodifier to the Site-Grass object, which changes the spline into a 3D object.
5. In the Amount field of the Parametersrollout, type 5and press Enter. This causes the spline that represents the grass to turn into a 3D object with a 5-inch thickness.
Now you’ll create a street for visitors to access your welcome center.
6. Press H to open the Select Objectsdialog box and double-click the object named Site-Streets.
7. Right-click in the active viewport (the one with a yellow line around it), move the cursor over Convert To:and select Convert to Editable Mesh. The line that represents the street is now a 3D mesh object.
Now that visitors have a way to get to the welcome center, they’ll need a place to park.
8. In the Filemenu, select Import.
9. Click the Files of typedrop-down list and select AutoCAD Drawing (*.DWG,*.DXF).
10. Go to the 3dsMax8\scenes\Friends_of_Eddirectory and double-click the file ParkingLines.
11. In the AutoCAD DWG/DXF Import Optionsdialog box, ensure that the Combine Objects by Layer option is enabled (as shown below). This option tells 3ds Max that all of the line work on the same layer in AutoCAD gets combined into the same object when imported. Click OK to exit.
12. Select theLayer:Site-ParkingLinesobject (using the Select Objectsdialog box), right-click in the active viewport, move the cursor over Convert To:and select Convert to Editable Mesh.
The imported lines can now be seen when rendered. However, since they lie at the same ele- vation as the street, they need to be raised slightly above the street object.
13. Right-click the Select and Moveicon in the Maintoolbar. The Move Transform Type-Indialog box appears.
14. In the Z:field of the Absolute:Worldcolumn, type 0.5 and press Enter. This raises the parking lines half an inch above the street object—just enough to be ren- dered properly.
Next, you’ll add some mountains behind the welcome center to give your scene a good background.
15. Close the Move Transform Type-Indialog box and select the object Site-Terrain.
16. In the Command panel, click the Createtab.
17. Click the Geometryicon (if not already active).
18. Click the drop-down arrow directly below the Geometryicon, and select Compound Objects.
19. Click the Terrainbutton. The lines representing the terrain elevation are used to create moun- tains. Notice, however, that the mountains have an unnatural, chiseled look, as shown on the right in the following image. Let’s smooth out the mountains for a more natural look.
20. In the Command panel, click the Modifyicon and then click the TurboSmooth button. This adds the TurboSmoothmodifier to the mountains and smoothes their appearance by adding vertices around corners and edges, as shown on the right in the following image.
21. In the Iterationsfield, type 2. This makes the mountains even smoother by increasing the num- ber of times the modifier is applied to the object. However, this modifier produces more faces than you need. Let’s try to reduce the number of faces without reducing the quality of the mountains.
22. Click the Optimizebutton to the left of the TurboSmoothbutton. This dramatically reduces the number of faces from over 2,900 (shown on the left in the following image) to just 850 (shown on the right). You can press F3 to toggle the view from Smooth + Highlights to Wireframe. If you do, return the view to Smooth + Highlightsbefore continuing.
Go ahead and render your scene to see what you’ve done so far.
23. Press Shift+Q to render the scene. You should see an image similar to the following:
24. Close the render window by clicking the Xin the upper-right corner.
Now that you have a few site elements in place, it’s time to start putting your welcome center together. You already have a foundation in place, so you’ll start by erecting some walls.
25. Select the objects named Bldg-Walls-pathand Bldg-Walls-profile. Then press Alt+Q to select and isolate these objects.
26. Deselect both objects and reselect only the Bldg-Walls-pathobject (the larger rectangle).
27. In the Command panel, select Create ➤Geometry ➤Compound Objects, and click the Loft button.
28. Click the Skin Parametersrollout to expand the content.
29. Right-click the spinner arrows next to the Shape Stepsand Path Stepsfields to change their val- ues to 0. You could also simply type the desired value in the fields; however, right-clicking will save time.
30. Click the Bankingoption to deselect it. This turns off Banking, an option that can cause slight imperfections in the loft.
31. In the Creation Methodrollout, click the Get Shapebutton. 3ds Max now wants you to tell it which shape to loft around the selected path.
32. Click the spline that looks like the cross-section of a wall, named Bldg-Walls-profile. A new object is created that will serve as the walls of the office building. Note that the color of the loft you just created is assigned a random color.
33. Click the Modifyicon, and then click inside the object name field and type Bldg-Walls. This renames the loft you just created. You could have also typed the name inside the Name and Colorrollout within the Createpanel instead.
34. While still in the Modifypanel, click the Smoothmodifier button. This adds the Smoothmodi- fier to the loft, which, in lieu of a complex explanation, improves its appearance by changing how the object is shaded.
35. Click the Exit Isolation Modebutton. This redisplays all the objects that were temporarily hidden.
36. Change the Camera viewport to Wireframemode by pressing the keyboard shortcut F3. In
37. Press Shift+Q to render the scene. You should see an image like the one that follows:
38. Close the render window.
Now it’s time to display an object that’s been hidden from view until now.
39. In the Command panel, click the Displayicon.
40. Open the Hiderollout (if not already open) and click the Unhide Allbutton. The object named Bldg-Walls-Boolean is now visible.
This is the object you will use to subtract from the walls to create the openings for your windows and door.
41. Select the Bldg-Walls and Bldg-Walls-Boolean objects. Now you will subtract the volume of the Bldg-Walls-Boolean object from the Bldg-Walls object to create windows and door openings.
42. Press Alt+Qto isolate the objects and then deselect both objects and reselect only the Bldg- Wallsobject.
43. In the Command panel, select Create ➤ Geometry ➤ Compound Objects and click the Booleanbutton.
44. Click the Pick Operand Bbutton.
45. In either view, click the Bldg-Walls-Booleanobject. The volume occupied by the Bldg-Walls- Booleanobject is now subtracted from the Bldg-Wallsobject, creating openings for the win- dows and door.
46. Press Shift+Q to render the scene again. You should see an image like the one following; how- ever, the color of your walls will probably be different.
47. Close the render window and click the Exit Isolation Modebutton.
Now that the walls are up, let’s add a roof.
48. Select and isolate the Bldg-Roofand Bldg-Roof-Booleanobjects.
49. Deselect both objects and reselect only the Bldg-Roof-Booleanobject.
50. In the Command panel, click the Modify icon and then click the lightbulb icon to the left of the Extrudemodifier located in the modifier stack. The icon changes to a lit lightbulb, and the Extrudemodifier, which was previously
51. Right-click inside the Top view to activate the view and press F3 to change the view to Smooth + Highlights. Select the Bldg-Roofobject, right-click in either viewport, and select Convert to Editable Meshfrom the quad menu. The roof is converted from splines to a 3D mesh object.
Now let’s improve the look of the roof by turning it into a standing seam roof.
52. In the Command panel, select Create ➤ Geometry ➤ Compound Objects, and click the Booleanbutton.
53. Click the Cutoption and then click the Splitoption.
54. Click the Pick Operand Bbutton.
55. Click the Bldg-Roof-Booleanobject in either viewport. You should immediately see the new roof with cuts and splits because it has been split into two separate elements within the one object.
56. Right-click twice in the active viewport and select Convert to Editable Meshfrom the quad menu.
57. In the Command panel, open the Selection rollout (if not already opened) and click the triangle-shaped icon labeled face. This takes you to the face sub-object level where you can manipulate individual faces that make up the object. In this case, the faces split by the Boolean operation are automatically selected.
58. Open the Edit Geometryrollout in the Command panel (if not already opened), type 2in the field next to Extrude, and then click the Extrude button. This extrudes the selected faces 2 inches upwards, creating the appearance of a standing seam roof.
59. Click the text labeled Editable Meshin the modifier stack to close the object’s modifier stack.
60. Click the Exit Isolation Modebutton. Activate the Cameraview (if not already active) and press the keyboard shortcut Pto change the view to a Perspectiveview.
Next, you’ll add a fountain to the front of the welcome center.
61. Select and isolate the Site-Fountainobject. Use the viewport navigation buttons in the bottom- right corner of the screen to get a better view of the fountain in the Perspectiveviewport.
62. In the Command panel, click the Modifyicon and then click the Lathebutton. This turns the spline into a 3D mesh object using the Lathemodifier.
Let’s try giving the fountain a few different looks before settling on one.
63. In the Segments field, type 8and render the scene. This changes the number of radial seg- ments that make up the fountain, and now the fountain looks octagonal, as shown in the mid- dle image that follows. Press F3to change your view to Smooth+Highlights. You may want to change your perspective to a more overhead view.
64. Increase the segments to 30and render the scene. Notice the curved segments of the fountain are much smoother, as shown in the image on the right. With this increase in smoothness, how- ever, comes a large number of vertices. Let’s try to reduce the number of faces on the object without changing the fountain’s appearance.
65. Add the Optimizemodifier. This reduces the number of faces from over 5,000 to only 1,800 (as shown at the bottom of the Parametersrollout) without reducing the overall appearance.
66. With the Perspectiveview active, press Cto change the view back to a Cameraview. Click the Exit Isolation Modebutton.
The last thing you’re going to add in your scene is some vegetation.
67. Select the Site-Shrubsobject.
68. While still in the Modifypanel, type 50000in the Duplicatesfield. This scatters 50,000 faces around a preselected volume. This is one of numerous ways to create 3D shrubs.
Finally, let’s add some trees.
69. In the Command panel, click Create ➤Geometry and select AEC Extendedfrom the drop- down list.
70. Click the Foliagebutton.
71. Scroll down to the bottom of the foliage library and select Generic Oak.
72. In the Cameraview, place a tree on each of the two circular mulch areas behind the house by clicking in the viewport at these locations. The default tree size is too large for your scene, so let’s reduce the height of the trees.
73. With one of the trees selected, click the Modifyicon, type 20'in the Heightfield, and repeat with the second tree.
74. Render the scene. Your scene should look similar to the one following:
75. Click the Filemenu, select Save As, and name your file MyQuickStart02.maxfor use in the next Quick Start tutorial.
This concludes Quick Start 2. You have just sampled some of the powerful tools that will be explained in detail in the following chapters on modeling. In Quick Start 3, you’ll begin to make the scene come alive by giving the objects real-world materials.
Chapter 3