3ds Max: Tips, Tricks and Techniques

Stay on top of the latest 3ds Max tools and techniques.

Introduction

• Welcome
• What to know
• Exercise files

3ds Max: Tips and Tricks

• Modeling a floor plan from a 2D drafting document
• Modeling terrain with Displace space warp
• Projecting UVs with the Camera Map world-space modifier
• Capturing shadows with Arnold Shadow Matte map
• Rendering compositing passes with Arnold AOVs
• Mechanical rigging with IK and the LookAt controller
• Modulating animation with Multiply and Ease Curves
• Working with audio and the AudioFloat controller
• Automating with Expression controllers
• Real-time animation with the Motion Capture utility
• Stylized rendering with Scanline Ink 'n Paint
• Getting started with the Max Creation Graph
• Modifying a Max Creation Graph tool
• Sculpting a terrain with Texture Object Mask
• Building a road with Conform space warp
• Shading a landscape with Arnold Curvature
• Creating custom attributes with the Parameter Editor
• Driving animation curves with the Reaction controller
• Rigging a camera-facing matte painting
• Aligning a camera to a background with Perspective Match
• Projecting a photo to proxy geometry with Camera Map
• Automation with wire parameters and manipulators
• Converting scenes for different renderers
• Rendering light groups with Arnold AOVs
• Graphing scene conditions with State Sets Compositor
• Introduction to 3ds Max Fluids
• Modeling with the Motion Field Space Warp
• Non-destructive model adjustment with Linked Xform
• Animating sub-objects with Linked Xform
• Customize and cycle Path Constraint animation
• Generate complex motion with Waveform Controllers
• Illuminate a scene with an Arnold Mesh Light
• Shading with Maya maps in 3ds Max
• Varying shader properties by object with Arnold Color Jitter
• Render a mesh object with Arnold Standard Volume
• Render a Point Cloud object
• Setting track value boundaries with a limit controller
• Drawing curves with Freehand Spline
• Correcting intersections with Spline Overlap
• Reducing curve detail with Optimize Spline
• Resampling curves with Normalize Spline
• Soft-selecting curves with Spline Influence
• Blending curves with Spline Morph
• Combining splines with shape Booleans
• Approximating global illumination in Arnold
• Rendering proxies with Arnold procedurals
• Introduction to the Open Shading Language map
• Basic syntax of Open Shading Language
• Declaring OSL input and output parameters
• Generating a fractal noise pattern in OSL
• Iterating a for loop in OSL
• Using the if… else conditional statement in OSL
• Managing OSL file assets and paths
• Accelerate Arnold rendering with adaptive sampling
• Texturing with the Advanced Wood procedural map
• Art directing the Advanced Wood texture map
• Setting a fluid initial state
• In-camera compositing with Camera Map modifier
• Creating animation layers
• Collaborate online with shared views
• Rendering iridescence with Arnold Thin Film
• Loading and saving fluid presets
• Introduction to 3ds Max Interactive
• Building a motion graphics rig with Data Channel
• Creating custom project folder structures
• Open Shading Language code editor tips and tricks
• Spawning particles from a 3D map
• Rendering a starfield
• Faking GI with an Arnold ambient occlusion filter
• Modeling with the animation Snapshot tool
• Rendering particles with Arnold Standard Volume
• Render Arnold volume with physical values
• Volume indirect global illumination in Arnold
• Removing polygon detail with Freeform Optimize
• Transform and retime a cache with Fluid Loader
• Rendering motion blur in Arnold
• Drawing splines on an editable poly
• Sketching freeform topology over a polygon mesh
• Animating effects with Data Channel Decay
• Animating controllers in the Material Editor
• Painting a vertex color mask with VertexPaint
• Drawing polygon freeform strips
• Extruding polygon freeform branches
• Interactive ActiveShade in a viewport
• Fluid data channels
• Displaying fluid data channels
• Assigning UVW coordinates in an OSL network
• Using named coordinate spaces in Open Shading Language (OSL)
• Shadow group exclusion with Arnold properties
• Erasing materials with MAXScript or UVW Remove
• Understanding Fluid Churn and Vorticity channels
• Rendering Fluid channels with Arnold User Data
• Keyframe quantization and sub-frame editing with Snap Keys
• Importing a CAD solid model as a Body Object
• Solid model subtraction and intersection with Body Cutter
• Solid model union with Join Bodies
• Denoising an Arnold rendering
• Interactive Update in the animation Curve Editor
• Curve Editor view menu: Tips and tricks
• Editing animation curves with the Region Keys tool
• Combining data channels of Fluids
• Shading per object with OSL Random by Index
• Layering materials of Fluids
• Render particles as Arnold primitives
• Render PFlow particles with Arnold Shape
• Remapping colors with Arnold Ramp RGB
• Rendering contours with Arnold Toon
• Mapping Arnold Toon base color
• Controlling preview quality
• Adding information overlays to a preview with MAXScript
• Modeling with the updated Chamfer modifier
• Applying a chamfer using edge weight and depth
• Baking a map to a mesh with Assign Vertex Color
• Generating cavity and occlusion maps with Render Surface Map
• Baking multiple vertex color channels with VertexPaint
• Compositing vertex color in a shading network
• Optimizing geometry with the MultiRes modifier
• Improving viewport performance with the Substitute modifier
• Constructing a lighting assembly
• Wiring parameters in a lighting assembly
• Measuring with tape helper, the Measure Distance tool, and the Measure utility
• Display panel tips and tricks
• Quickly adjusting transforms and pivot point with the Transform Toolbox
• Stacking objects with Select and Place
• Managing objects and sub-objects with selection sets
• Referencing scenes with containers
• Changing inherited container content with Edit in Place
• Locking and unlocking container parameters
• Editing unlocked container parameters
• Projecting splines onto surfaces with ShapeMerge
• Analyzing and correcting mesh geometry with xView
• Keyframing sub-objects with the Master Point controller
• Managing scene materials with Material Explorer
• Defining a temporary transform center with working pivot
• Customizing keyboard shortcuts with Hotkey editor
• Stylized rendering with OSL Halftone Dots map
• Incorporating scene lighting in a shading network
• Incorporating render resolution in a shading network
• Situating geometry within an OSL HDRI environment
• Studio lighting with HDRI lights map
• White balance and exposure with an Arnold camera filtermap
• Rasterizing maps with bake to texture
• Advanced baking with bake to texture
• Baking to physically based renderer (PBR) materials for export
• Production rendering with Quicksilver hardware
• Varying textures with OSL Randomized Bitmaps
• Deforming a particle system with the Mesher compound object
• Set up Arnold render passes with AOV Manager
• Animating multiple tracks with Parameter Collector
• Improving edge smoothing with Weighted Normals modifier
• Rendering a cutaway with the Arnold Clip Geo material
• Advanced procedural noise with Uber Noise map
• Rendering polygon edges with OSL Wireframe map
• Art directing the OSL Wireframe map
• Introduction to MassFX Rigid Body dynamics
• Setting up a MassFX Rigid Body simulation
• Controlling a MassFX Rigid Body simulation
• Fine-tuning a MassFX Rigid Body simulation
• Automating secondary animation with the Flex modifier
• Keyframing modeling commands with the Edit Poly Animate mode
• Generating UVs with OSL projection maps
• Retiming all keyframes in a scene with the world track
• Snapping surfaces dynamically with MCG Ray Constraint
• Complex sub-object selections with the Selection ribbon
• Adding polygon edges with Paint Connect
• Manipulating sub-objects without changing mapping with Preserve UVs
• Hiding geometry based on distance with Viewport Clipping
• Navigating a scene with walkthrough mode
• Parametric soft transforms with Affect Region