Introduction to 3ds Max 2014
This in-depth 3ds Max 2014 tutorial is designed to help you get a solid understanding of the core features found in 3ds Max, and help you to ease your transition into this very powerful program. Software required: 3ds Max 2014, Photoshop CS6.
What you'll learn
During the course of these lessons, you'll have a chance to learn about different aspects of 3ds Max from several of our tutors here at Digital-Tutors. In the first portion of this tutorial, we'll be getting you familiar with some of the vocabulary and foundational skills that you'll need in order to begin moving around and working in 3ds Max. From there, we'll move into exploring some of the modeling features found in 3ds Max, and we'll begin building the aircraft that will be our central project for the remainder of this training. From there, we'll take you through the entire process of adding textures and materials to the vehicle, adding animated movement and animation controls, adding dynamics, and finally we'll learn how to add lights, shadows, and output our final animated sequence. Software required: 3ds Max 2014, Photoshop CS6.
Table of contents
- Modeling Overview 1m
- Setting up Reference Images 9m
- Modeling the Hull 13m
- Modeling the Tail 10m
- Modeling the Tail Fins 15m
- Modeling the Fenders 15m
- Modeling the Jets 12m
- Modeling the Hull Top 12m
- Modeling the Rotors 11m
- Modeling the Stabilizers for the Rotors 13m
- Modeling the Fan Blade Assembly 11m
- Assembling the Rotor Parts 12m
- Modeling the Rear Landing Gear 12m
- Modeling the Front Landing Gear 13m
- Adding the Hull Details 7m
- Modeling the Gun Turret 11m
- Using Symmetry and Mirror 11m
- Modeling Any Final Details 14m
- Using Smoothing Techniques 13m
- Rigging Overview 1m
- Cleaning up the Asset / Working with Groups and Layers 15m
- Modifying Pivots in 3ds Max 8m
- Building Control Objects 8m
- Creating Custom Parameters 9m
- Wiring Parameters 10m
- Working with Expressions 9m
- Controlling Parameters with 3ds Max's Reaction Manager 7m
- Rigging the Airship's Front Landing Gear 6m
- Creating Bone Systems 15m
- Understanding Inverse Kinematics 9m
- Enveloping Geometry 9m
- Making Your Rigs Animator-friendly 4m
- Animation Overview 1m
- Creating and Editing Keyframes on the Trackbar 10m
- Managing Keyframes in the Curve Editor / Cycling Animations Infinitely 13m
- Path Animation 10m
- Simulating Crowds with Populate 4m
- Starting on the Flight Sequence 9m
- Finalizing the Airship's Blocking Pass 9m
- Completing the Movements of the Airship's Body 15m
- Enhancing Our Animation with Secondary Action 8m
- Wrapping up Our Work on the Airship 9m
- Adding a Shot Camera 15m
- Completing Our Shot / Creating Real-time Previews in 3ds Max 7m
- Rendering Overview 1m
- Overview of 3ds Max Light Types 9m
- Basic Attributes of 3ds Max Lights 10m
- Working with Shadows 14m
- Image-based Lighting in 3ds Max 16m
- Adjusting the Rendering Controls for 3ds Max Objects 6m
- Rendering with Mental Ray Materials in 3ds Max 9m
- Creating Custom Material Libraries in 3ds Max 14m
- Rendering the Final Sequence from 3ds Max 15m
About the authors
Kyle was one of the first authors for Digital-Tutors, now a Pluralsight company. and has been a part of the team for over 10 years. Kyle began his career in computer graphics education as a college instructor and worked as a Digital-Tutors rendering tutor and curriculum manager since 2002. Kyle has contributed to many of the most popular projects and helped the Digital-Tutors team win awards throughout the company's history. Kyle has had the honor of having his art exhibited at the New York ... more
Joshua is a devoted games author at Pluralsight. For years Joshua has been a key author behind Digital-Tutors' (now a Pluralsight company) popular game engine training. As a kid, he had a passion for playing video games, which eventually developed into a fascination with the process of game creation. The question of "How'd they do that?" led Joshua on a quest to learn to make these games himself. Ever since then, Joshua has devoted his life to creating games, as well as teaching others to build ... more
Delano works avidly as an animation author at Pluralsight. Starting his career at animation studios like Shilo, Delano has developed a strong passion for his talents. His animation and rigging background help him teach and create some of the most-watched training on Pluralsight. A few of his favorite projects that he has contributed to include: Character Interaction in Maya and in Softimage, Rigging the Human Face in Maya, Rigging Sea Creatures in Maya, and Rigging and Animating Transforming... more