3ds Max ® 2009 Bible Kelly L. Murdock 01_381304-ffirs.qxp 7/7/08 3:01 PM Page i 3ds Max ® 2009 Bible Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 10475 Crosspoint Boulevard Indianapolis, IN 46256 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2008 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada ISBN: 978-0-470-38130-4 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, (317) 572-3447, fax (317) 572-4355, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. 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Library of Congress Control Number: 2008930835 Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley logo, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates, in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. Autodesk and 3ds Max are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. in the U.S.A. and/or certain other countries. Certain content, including trial software, provided courtesy of Autodesk, Inc. ©2008. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. 01_381304-ffirs.qxp 7/7/08 3:01 PM Page ii About the Author Kelly L. Murdock has been authoring computer books for many years now and still gets immense enjoy- ment from the completed work. His book credits include various 3D, graphics, multimedia, and Web titles, including eight previous editions of this book, 3ds Max Bible. Other major accomplishments include Edgeloop Character Modeling for 3D Professionals Only, Maya 6 and 7 Revealed, LightWave 3D 8 Revealed, The Official Guide to Anime Studio, Poser 6 and 7 Revealed, 3D Game Animation For Dummies, gmax Bible, Adobe Atmosphere Bible, Master VISUALLY HTML and XHTML, JavaScript Visual Blueprint, and co-authoring duties on two editions of the Illustrator Bible (for versions 9 and 10) and three editions of the Adobe Creative Suite Bible. With a background in engineering and computer graphics, Kelly has been all over the 3D industry and still finds it fascinating. He’s used high-level CAD workstations for product design and analysis, completed sev- eral large-scale visualization projects, created 3D models for feature films and games, worked as a freelance 3D artist, and even done some 3D programming. Kelly’s been using 3D Studio since version 3 for DOS. Kelly has also branched into training others in 3D technologies. He teaches at the local university and is a frequent speaker at various conferences. In his spare time, Kelly enjoys the outdoors while rock climbing, mountain biking, or skiing. 01_381304-ffirs.qxp 7/7/08 3:01 PM Page iii Beauty is not a mountain you climb, Or a grand adventure that is sublime. Beauty is not a treasure that you stumble upon, Or a prize to be won. Beauty is a not a reward for a job well done, Or obtained by sitting out in the sun. Beauty is a trait, That comes from living straight. It is a glow that shines from within, From having a soul free of sin. And although it is highly sought, With money it cannot be bought. To find beauty the quickest path, Is to live your life without wrath. To my wonderful cousin Tina, one of the most beautiful people I know. 01_381304-ffirs.qxp 7/7/08 3:01 PM Page iv Credits Senior Acquisitions Editor Stephanie McComb Project Editor Martin V. Minner Technical Editor Chris Murdock Copy Editor Lauren Kennedy Editorial Manager Robyn Siesky Business Manager Amy Knies Sr. Marketing Manager Sandy Smith Vice President and Executive Group Publisher Richard Swadley Vice President and Publisher Barry Pruett Project Coordinator Lynsey Stanford Graphics and Production Specialists Carrie Cesavice Andrea Hornberger Heather Pope Quality Control Technician David Faust Media Development Project Supervisor Laura Moss-Hollister Media Development Specialist Shawn Patrick Proofreading Christopher M. Jones Indexing Sherry Massey Cover Design Michael Trent Cover Illustration Joyce Haughey 01_381304-ffirs.qxp 7/7/08 3:01 PM Page v Preface xxxvii Acknowledgments xlii Part I: Getting Started with 3ds Max. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Quick Start: Firing a Cannonball 3 Chapter 1: Exploring the Max Interface 17 Chapter 2: Controlling and Configuring the Viewports 39 Chapter 3: Working with Files, Importing, and Exporting 79 Chapter 4: Customizing the Max Interface and Setting Preferences 103 Part II: Working with Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Chapter 5: Creating and Editing Primitive Objects 133 Chapter 6: Selecting Objects, Setting Object Properties, and Using Layers and the Scene Explorer 163 Chapter 7: Transforming Objects, Pivoting, Aligning, and Snapping 191 Chapter 8: Cloning Objects and Creating Object Arrays 219 Chapter 9: Grouping, Linking, and Parenting Objects 241 Part III: Modeling Basics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251 Chapter 10: Learning Modeling Basics and Working with Subobjects and Helpers 253 Chapter 11: Introducing Modifiers and Using the Modifier Stack 267 Chapter 12: Drawing and Editing 2D Splines and Shapes 299 Chapter 13: Modeling with Polygons 343 Part IV: Materials, Cameras, and Lighting Basics . . . . . . . . . . . 373 Chapter 14: Exploring the Material Editor 375 Chapter 15: Creating and Applying Standard Materials 395 Chapter 16: Creating Compound Materials and Using Material Modifiers 407 Chapter 17: Adding Material Details with Maps 425 Chapter 18: Configuring and Aiming Cameras 463 Chapter 19: Using Lights and Basic Lighting Techniques 479 Part V: Animation and Rendering Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509 Chapter 20: Understanding Animation and Keyframe Basics 511 Chapter 21: Animating with Constraints and Controllers 535 Chapter 22: Learning to Render a Scene 571 Part VI: Advanced Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 593 Chapter 23: Building Complex Scenes with XRefs and Using Vault 595 Chapter 24: Working with the Schematic View 611 Chapter 25: Deforming Surfaces and Using the Mesh Modifiers 629 Chapter 26: Working with Compound Objects 649 vi 02_381304-ftoc.qxp 7/7/08 2:58 PM Page vi Chapter 27: Modeling with Patches and NURBS 687 Chapter 28: Adding and Styling Hair and Fur, and Using Cloth 727 Part VII: Advanced Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 745 Chapter 29: Using Specialized Material Types 747 Chapter 30: Unwrapping UVs and Using Pelt Mapping 761 Chapter 31: Creating Baked Textures and Normal Maps 787 Part VIII: Advanced Animation Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 797 Chapter 32: Using Animation Modifiers 799 Chapter 33: Animating with the Expression Controller and Wiring Parameters 813 Chapter 34: Working with Function Curves in the Track View 831 Chapter 35: Using Animation Layers and the Motion Mixer 869 Part IX: Dynamic Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 885 Chapter 36: Creating Particles and Particle Flow 887 Chapter 37: Using Space Warps 919 Chapter 38: Simulating Physics-Based Motion with reactor 941 Chapter 39: Animating Hair and Cloth 963 Part X: Working with Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 971 Chapter 40: Understanding Rigging and Working with Bones 973 Chapter 41: Working with Inverse Kinematics 981 Chapter 42: Creating and Animating Bipeds and Crowds 999 Chapter 43: Skinning Characters 1027 Part XI: Advanced Lighting and Rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1045 Chapter 44: Working with Advanced Lighting, Light Tracing, and Radiosity 1047 Chapter 45: Using Atmospheric and Render Effects 1065 Chapter 46: Raytracing and mental ray 1097 Chapter 47: Batch and Network Rendering 1119 Chapter 48: Compositing with Render Elements and the Video Post Interface 1135 Part XII: MAXScript and Plug-Ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1167 Chapter 49: Automating with MAXScript 1169 Chapter 50: Expanding Max with Third-Party Plug-Ins 1207 Appendix A: What’s New with 3ds Max 2009 1215 Appendix B: What’s on the DVD 1219 Index 1223 vii 02_381304-ftoc.qxp 7/7/08 2:58 PM Page vii 02_381304-ftoc.qxp 7/7/08 2:58 PM Page viii Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxvii Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xlii Part I: Getting Started with 3ds Max 1 Quick Start: Firing a Cannonball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Hills and Cannonballs — Planning the Production 4 Modeling the Cannon 4 Tutorial: Building a cannon wheel 4 Tutorial: Cloning and positioning the cannon wheels 6 Tutorial: Finishing the cannon 7 Tutorial: Adding ProMaterials 8 Tutorial: Adding a Sun & Sky system 10 Tutorial: Rendering the scene 10 Tutorial: Animating a cannon firing 12 Tutorial: Adding particles 13 Summary 15 Chapter 1: Exploring the Max Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Learning the Interface Elements 18 Using the Menus 20 Using the Toolbars 21 Docking and floating toolbars 21 Using tooltips and flyouts 22 Learning the main toolbar 23 Using the Viewports 26 Using the Command Panel 26 Working with rollouts 27 Increasing the Command Panel’s width 28 Tutorial: Rearranging the interface for lefties 28 Using the Lower Interface Bar Controls 30 Interacting with the Interface 31 Gaining quick access with the right-click quadmenus 31 Understanding the button color cues 32 Using drag-and-drop features 33 Controlling spinners 33 Understanding modeless and persistent dialog boxes 33 ix 02_381304-ftoc.qxp 7/7/08 2:58 PM Page ix Getting Help 34 Using the InfoCenter toolbar 34 Viewing the Essential Skills Movies 36 Using the browser-based reference guides 36 Using the rest of the Help menu 37 Summary 38 Chapter 2: Controlling and Configuring the Viewports . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Understanding 3D Space 39 Learning Axonometric versus Perspective 40 Learning Orthographic and Isometric views 40 Discovering the viewports in Max 40 Using the Navigation Gizmos 41 Working with the ViewCube 42 Using the SteeringWheels 42 Tutorial: Navigating the active viewport 45 Controlling Viewports with a Scroll Wheel 47 Using the Viewport Navigation Controls 48 Zooming a view 49 Panning a view 50 Walking through a view 50 Rotating a view 50 Maximizing the active viewport 51 Controlling camera and spotlight views 52 Using the Views Menu 53 Undoing and saving Viewport changes 53 Disabling and refreshing viewports 54 Viewing materials in the viewports 54 Displaying Lights and Shadows in the viewports 54 Configuring the Viewports 58 Setting the viewport rendering method 58 Altering the Viewport layout 65 Using Safe Frames 66 Understanding Adaptive Degradation 68 Defining regions 70 Viewing statistics 73 Working with Viewport Backgrounds 74 Loading viewport background images 74 Loading viewport background animations 75 Tutorial: Loading reference images for modeling 75 Summary 77 Chapter 3: Working with Files, Importing, and Exporting . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Working with Max Scene Files 79 Saving files 80 Opening files 81 Setting a Project Folder 82 Merging and replacing objects 82 Archiving files 83 Getting out 83 x Contents 02_381304-ftoc.qxp 7/7/08 2:58 PM Page x [...]... the raytracer 11 03 Excluding objects 11 05 Enabling mental ray 11 06 mental ray preferences 11 06 mental ray lights and shadows 11 07 Controlling Indirect Illumination 11 14 Rendering control 11 15 Advanced mental ray 11 15 Using mental ray proxies 11 16 Summary 11 17 Chapter 47: Batch and... 11 69 MAXScript Tools 11 70 The MAXScript menu 11 70 The MAXScript Utility rollout 11 70 Tutorial: Using the SphereArray script 11 71 The MAXScript Listener window 11 73 Tutorial: Talking to the MAXScript interpreter 11 74 MAXScript Editor windows 11 76 The Macro Recorder 11 76 Tutorial: Recording a simple script... 11 83 Variables and data types 11 83 Tutorial: Using variables 11 85 Program flow and comments 11 85 Expressions 11 86 Conditions 11 88 Collections and arrays 11 89 Loops 11 90 Functions 11 91 Tutorial: Creating a school of fish 11 93 Learning the Visual MAXScript Editor Interface 11 98... with Plug-Ins 12 09 Installing plug-ins 12 09 Viewing installed plug-ins 12 09 Managing plug-ins 12 10 Tutorial: Installing and using the AfterBurn Plug-in Demo 12 11 Locating Plug-Ins 12 12 Summary 12 13 Appendix A: What’s New with 3ds Max 2009 12 15 Appendix B: What’s on the DVD 12 19 Index... 11 57 Adding flares 11 58 Adding focus 11 60 Adding glow 11 60 Adding highlights 11 61 Tutorial: Making a halo shine 11 62 Adding backgrounds and filters using Video Post 11 63 Summary 11 65 Part XII: MAXScript and Plug-Ins 11 67 Chapter 49: Automating with MAXScript 11 69 What Is MAXScript?... 11 99 The menus and the main toolbar 11 99 Toolbar elements 12 00 Laying Out a Rollout 12 01 Aligning and spacing elements 12 01 Tutorial: Building a custom rollout with the Visual MAXScript Editor 12 02 Summary 12 05 Chapter 50: Expanding Max with Third-Party Plug-Ins 12 07 Using Turbo Squid Tentacles 12 07 Working... Raytrace Materials 10 97 Raytrace Basic Parameters 10 98 Extended Parameters rollout 10 99 Raytracer Control rollout 10 99 Additional rollouts 11 00 Tutorial: Coming up roses 11 00 Using a Raytrace Map 11 02 Setting raytrace parameters 11 02 Understanding Global Raytracing Settings 11 02 Controlling the raytracer... 10 47 Selecting Advanced Lighting 10 47 How light tracing works 10 48 Enabling light tracing 10 49 Tutorial: Viewing color bleeding 10 51 Using Local Advanced Lighting Settings 10 52 Tutorial: Excluding objects from light tracing 10 53 Understanding Radiosity 10 54 Lighting for radiosity 10 54 Tutorial: Lighting... 11 0 Tutorial: Adding a new menu 11 1 Customizing colors 11 1 Customizing Modify and Utility Panel Buttons 11 2 Working with Custom Interfaces 11 3 Saving and loading a custom interface 11 3 Locking the interface 11 5 Reverting to the startup interface 11 5 Switching between default and custom interfaces 11 5 Configuring... 11 78 The MAXScript Debugger 11 79 xxxv 02_3 813 04-ftoc.qxp 7/7/08 2:58 PM Page xxxvi Contents Setting MAXScript Preferences 11 81 Types of Scripts 11 82 Macro scripts 11 82 Scripted utilities 11 83 Scripted right-click menus 11 83 Scripted mouse tools 11 83 Scripted plug-ins 11 83 Writing Your Own MAXScripts . 3ds Max ® 2009 Bible Kelly L. Murdock 01_ 3 813 04-ffirs.qxp 7/7/08 3: 01 PM Page i 3ds Max ® 2009 Bible Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 10 475 Crosspoint Boulevard Indianapolis, IN 46256 www.wiley.com Copyright. menus 11 0 Tutorial: Adding a new menu 11 1 Customizing colors 11 1 Customizing Modify and Utility Panel Buttons 11 2 Working with Custom Interfaces 11 3 Saving and loading a custom interface 11 3 Locking. 412 Shellac 413 Top/Bottom 413 Tutorial: Surfing the waves 413 Applying Multiple Materials 414 Using material IDs 414 Tutorial: Mapping die faces 415 Using the Clean MultiMaterial utility 415 Material