Mastering Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2010 E-Book

Mark Gerhard

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 1324

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Beschreibung

The only comprehensive tutorial/reference exclusively devoted to Autodesk's robust architectural visualization software 3ds Max Design is a powerful real-time 3D design, modeling, and animation tool for architectural visualizations. This book covers all the software's crucial features, including how to simulate and analyze sun, sky, and artificial light-crucial factors for sustainable design-and how to define and assign realistic materials and work with AutoCAD and Revit files. You'll quickly learn how to get the most from this powerful software's 3D modeling, animation, and rendering capabilities. McFarland is an Autodesk Authorized Author with professional experience in creating complex visualizations for a large property development company. His real-world focus means workflows and instructions are professional and proven, and projects will include those that pros work on every day. * Uses actual examples from the author's experience, including retail spaces, small offices, residential developments, and more * Concise explanations, focused examples, step-by-step instructions, and hands-on tutorials teach the basics and fine points of the software * Covers all the essential features, such as how to simulate and analyze sun, sky, and artificial light * Demonstrates efficient use of the interface; how to work with Revit and AutoCAD files; using data, scene management, and solid modeling tools; rendering real-world surfaces; and setting up animated walkthroughs Mastering 3ds Max Design 2010 provides a practical education in using this powerful architectural visualization tool.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Credits

Copyright

Publisher's Letter

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Introduction

How to Use This Book

What You’ll Find

System Requirements

What’s on the Book’s Website

Chapter 1: Getting to Know 3ds Max Design 2010

Introducing the New 3ds Max Design 2010 Features

Getting Started

Touring the Interface

Working with Objects

Getting the View You Want

Working with the Custom UI and Defaults Switcher

The Bottom Line

Chapter 2: Introducing 3ds Max Objects

Understanding Standard Primitives

Modeling Standard Primitives with Modifiers

How 3ds Max Sees Objects

Making Clones That Share Properties

Introducing Extended Primitives

Working with Groups

The Bottom Line

Chapter 3: Creating Shapes with Splines

Drawing with Splines

Modifying a Shape Using Sub-object Levels

Outlining and Extruding Splines

Combining and Extruding Primitive Splines

Joining Closed Splines with Boolean Tools

Creating a Solid Form with Splines

Introducing the Spline Types

Editing Splines

Placing and Beveling Text

The Bottom Line

Chapter 4: Editing Meshes and Creating Complex Objects

Creating Openings in a Wall with Boolean Operations

Tracing a Sketch

Editing Meshes

Using Instanced Clones to Create Symmetrical Forms

Attaching Objects to a Mesh

Smoothing Meshes

Creating Objects Using Box Modeling

Creating Clones with Array and Snapshot

The Bottom Line

Chapter 5: Creating AEC Objects

Creating a Parametric Wall

Adding Doors and Windows to Walls

Changing Elevations with Stairs

Setting Boundaries with Railings

Adding Foliage to a Scene

The Bottom Line

Chapter 6: Organizing and Editing Objects

Naming Objects

Organizing Objects by Layers

Lofting an Object

Using the Noise Modifier

Extruding with the Sweep Modifier

Aligning Objects

The Bottom Line

Chapter 7: Light and Shadow

Lighting Your Model

Rendering a View

Ambient Light

Adding Shadow Effects

Playing in the Shadows

Using the Light Lister

Using Scene States

The Bottom Line

Chapter 8: Enhancing Models with Materials

Understanding Bitmap Texture Maps

Adding Materials to Objects

Understanding Material Libraries

Editing Materials

Understanding Mapping Coordinates

Using the Standard Material

Map Scalar Modifiers

Adding Entourage

Assigning Materials to Parts of an Object

Exploring the ProMaterials

The Material Utilities

Modeling with Displacement Maps

The Bottom Line

Chapter 9: Using the 3ds Max Camera

Understanding the 3ds Max Camera

Setting Up an Interior View

Creating an Environment

Immersive Environments for Animation

Using Render Types

Render Elements for Compositing

Matching Your Scene to a Background Image

The Bottom Line

Chapter 10: Working with External Files

Gaining Access to Materials and Objects from Other Files

Arranging Furniture with XRefs and the Asset Browser

Replacing Objects with Objects from an External File

Arranging Furniture with XRef Scenes

Using the Rendered Frame Window

Using the Asset Browser on the Internet

Tracking and Locating a Scene’s Assets

Creating Panoramas

Publishing a DWF File

The Bottom Line

Chapter 11: Using mental ray

Understanding mental ray

Using Photon Maps

Final Gathering

Contour Renderings

Using the mr MultiMap Material

Skylight Global Illumination

Using High Dynamic Range Images

Using mr Proxy Objects

Using Lighting Analysis

The Bottom Line

Chapter 12: Understanding Animation

Understanding the World of Video Time

Creating a Quick-Study Animation

Understanding Keyframes

Increasing the Number of Frames in an Animation Segment

Accelerating and Decelerating the Camera Motion Smoothly

Editing Keyframes

Adding More Frames for Additional Camera Motion

Adding Frames to the Beginning of a Segment

Other Options for Previewing Your Motion

Moving the Camera Target over Time

Controlling Lights over Time

The Bottom Line

Chapter 13: Creating Animations

Rendering the Animation

Automating Output of Multiple Still Images

Rendering a Shadow Study

Creating a Walkthrough

The Animation File Output Options

The Bottom Line

Chapter 14: Atmospheres, Effects, reactor, and Particles

Adding Atmospheres Effects

Using Hair and Fur to Add Grass

Using reactor to Animate Objects

Using Particle Systems

The Bottom Line

Chapter 15: Using Other Autodesk Applications with 3ds Max Design 2010

Creating Topography with Splines

Setting Up an AutoCAD Plan for 3ds Max

Importing AutoCAD Plans into 3ds Max Design

Exploring the File Link Manager

Importing a Truss

Importing Revit Files into 3ds Max

The Bottom Line

Appendix A: The Bottom Line

Chapter 1: Getting to Know 3ds Max Design 2010

Chapter 2: Introducing 3ds Max Objects

Chapter 3: Creating Shapes with Splines

Chapter 4: Editing Meshes and Creating Complex Objects

Chapter 5: Creating AEC Objects

Chapter 6: Organizing and Editing Objects

Chapter 7: Light and Shadow

Chapter 8: Enhancing Models with Materials

Chapter 9: Using the 3ds Max Camera

Chapter 10: Working With External Files

Chapter 11: Using mental ray

Chapter 12: Understanding Animation

Chapter 13: Creating Animations

Chapter 14: Atmospheres, Effects, Reactor, and Particles

Chapter 15: Using other Autodesk Applications with 3ds Max Design

Appendix B: Modifiers and Materials

Modifiers

Materials and Maps

Index

Senior Acquisitions Editor: Willem Knibbe

Development Editor: Denise Santoro Lincoln

Production Editor: Liz Britten

Copy Editor: Kathy Grider-Carlyle

Editorial Manager: Pete Gaughan

Production Manager: Tim Tate

Vice President and Executive Group Publisher: Richard Swadley

Vice President and Publisher: Neil Edde

Book Designer: Maureen Forys and Judy Fung

Compositor: Jeffrey Lytle, Happenstance Type-O-Rama

Proofreader: Word One, New York

Indexer: Ted Laux

Project Coordinator, Cover: Lynsey Stanford

Cover Designer: Ryan Sneed

Cover Image: © Pete Gardner/Digital Vision/Getty Images

Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

ISBN: 978-0-470-40234-4

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

McFarland, Jon. Mastering 3ds max design 2010 / Jon McFarland. -- 1st ed. p. cm. Summary: “The only comprehensive tutorial/reference exclusively devoted to Autodesk’s robust architectural visualization software 3ds Max Design is a powerful real-time 3D design, modeling, and animation tool for architectural visualizations. This book covers all the software’s crucial features, including how to simulate and analyze sun, sky, and artificial light-crucial factors for sustainable design-and how to define and assign realistic materials and work with AutoCAD and Revit files. You’ll quickly learn how to get the most from this powerful software’s 3D modeling, animation, and rendering capabilities. McFarland is an Autodesk Authorized Author with professional experience in creating complex visualizations for a large property development company. His real-world focus means workflows and instructions are professional and proven, and projects will include those that pros work on every day. Uses actual examples from the author’s experience, including retail spaces, small offices, residential developments, and more Concise explanations, focused examples, step-by-step instructions, and hands-on tutorials teach the basics and fine points of the software Covers all the essential features, such as how to simulate and analyze sun, sky, and artificial light Demonstrates efficient use of the interface; how to work with Revit and AutoCAD files; using data, scene management, and solid modeling tools; rendering real-world surfaces; and setting up animated walkthroughs Mastering 3ds Max Design 2010 provides a practical education in using this powerful architectural visualization tool”--Provided by publisher. ISBN 978-0-470-40234-4 1. Architectural design--Data processing. 2. Computer-aided design. 3. 3ds max (Computer file) I. Title. NA2728.M426 2009 720.2840285’536--dc22 2009025051

TRADEMARKS: Wiley, the Wiley logo, and the Sybex logo 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 of Autodesk, Inc. 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.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Dear Reader,

Thank you for choosing Mastering Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2010. This book is part of a family of premium-quality Sybex books, all of which are written by outstanding authors who combine practical experience with a gift for teaching.

Sybex was founded in 1976. More than 30 years later, we’re still committed to producing consistently exceptional books. With each of our titles, we’re working hard to set a new standard for the industry. From the paper we print on, to the authors we work with, our goal is to bring you the best books available.

I hope you see all that reflected in these pages. I’d be very interested to hear your comments and get your feedback on how we’re doing. Feel free to let me know what you think about this or any other Sybex book by sending me an email at [email protected]. If you think you’ve found a technical error in this book, please visit http://sybex.custhelp.com. Customer feedback is critical to our efforts at Sybex.

Best regards,

Neil Edde Vice President and Publisher Sybex, an Imprint of Wiley

This book is dedicated to my wife Rhonda, who puts up with me; to my four children, Kai, Sakina, David, and Sam, who bring me so much joy; and to my grandson Mateo, may he enjoy the future. And to my mother and father who gave me the encouragement to do whatever I wanted, no matter how wacky it seemed at the time.—M.G.

This book is dedicated to my family and friends, for always encouraging me in my endeavors, providing their emotional support, and for their understanding when I had to miss events or disappear from the face of the Earth to finish projects such as completing this book on schedule.

I would also like to dedicate this to Mr. Gil Moscatello, for introducing me to AutoCAD back in 1989 in his Architectural Drafting classes, for tolerating my enthusiastic investigation and critiquing of the software, and for his guidance and encouragement which has and will continue to help me throughout my career.—J.H.

To my wife Lucy and our two sons, Zach and Jacob—J.M.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to everyone at Wiley/Sybex for their continued support over the years. Big thanks to Tom Hudson for pursuing his dream that turned into this software, and Gary Yost, Dan Silva, Rolf Bertteig, and Jack Powell for creating a program that has turned into my life’s work. I’d like to acknowledge Frank Moore, for getting me into this mess by hiring me at Autodesk in 1990. And my gratitude goes to Gary Rackliff for hiring me exactly at the right moment in my life. Thanks to Jeff Harper for incredibly hard work under the gun. And double thanks to my wife Rhonda, for keeping me sane when my computer was driving me otherwise.

—Mark Gerhard

I would like to acknowledge the support of Mark Gerhard in recommending me for editing and updating the Mastering Autodesk VIZ 2008 book to make it appropriate for the new 3ds Max Design 2010 software, and for his help in updating the content. I would also like to acknowledge Willem Knibbe, Denise Lincoln, Pete Gaughan, Liz Britten, and everyone else on the Wiley/Sybex Team who helped keep me on schedule, assisted with graphics and figures, and made the edits and corrections.

Thanks go out to Jon McFarland, Scott Onstott, and George Omura, who worked on the previous editions of Mastering Autodesk VIZ. They provided a very thorough framework on which to build. I would also like to thank Scott Onstott for allowing us to use his models as examples for a number of chapters of this book. Thanks also go out to Michael Clamp for the use of his wonderful photograph of Notre Dame de Haut in Chapter 4 and to Brian P. Skripac, former Architectural Consulting Expert at IMAGINiT Technologies, for the Revit model used in Chapter 15.

I have to thank my family and friends again for all their love, support, encouragement, faith, and patience.

—Jeff Harper

About the Authors

Mark Gerhard is a 3ds Max Guru. He has devoted the past two decades to this software in all its forms. Mark was one of the first artists hired by Autodesk in 1990 to test the first version of 3D Studio on MS-DOS. In his 14-plus years at Autodesk he worked as an instructor, product manager, demo artist, application engineer, and technical writer. He wrote many of the tutorials that shipped with 3ds Max from versions 3 to present. He has been an ATC instructor, teaching 3ds Max to countless individuals at high schools, community colleges, and universities around the world. He has been the technical editor on numerous books on 3ds Max for New Riders, Wiley/Sybex, Friends of ED, Apress, 3DATS, and Focal Press. He has been co-author of several books as well.

Currently Mark teaches 3ds Max to architects and engineers across the United States and Canada. He is also a Forum Assistant on The Area, Autodesk’s forum for all things 3D.

Mark holds a bachelor’s degree in Practice of Art from University of California, Berkeley, with a focus on painting and sculpture. He is the author of the children’s book “The Elf of the Shelf Sees Himself” (Push Press, 1983). He is also a trained musician, proficient in the tradition of North Indian Classical Music, having studied tabla with Ustad Shankar Ghosh and Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh of Calcutta. He has also studied vocal music with Ustad Ali Akbar Khansahib. He is also a student of Indian folk music, having studied and performed with the Bauls of Bengal (Babukishan Das Goswami Baul).

Jeff Harper started using Autodesk products (initially AutoCAD 9) in his architectural drafting classes when he was high school. Jeff was very excited to see AutoCAD add 3D modeling to its toolset and starting thinking cinematographically, creating renderings of his CAD files with AutoShade. Soon he began using 3D Studio R3 (for DOS) to help visualize his projects while he studied Architecture at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He upgraded to 3D Studio Max 1.0 for Windows when it was released, and he has used every version since, he also used LightScape 3.2 and a few versions of Autodesk VIZ.

He has used 3ds Max to create architectural and civil engineering visualizations from a combination of aerial and terrestrial LiDAR, USGS NED data, high-resolution digital orthophotography, stereo-compiled mapping data, and CAD files from different packages and disciplines. Jeff has also used 3ds Max to create models, stills, and animations used in Computer-Based Training programs for aircraft maintenance. Jeff has even used 3ds Max to create an STL file used to create a rapid-prototyped form from which he hand-pressed ceramic tiles used in the backsplash for a kitchen remodeling project.

As a CADD Manager and Data Manager for a large multistate, multidiscipline engineering firm, Jeff wrote a number of workflow/training documents to assist users with certain CAD and GIS functions and assisted users with AutoCAD, Revit Structure, Civil 3D, MicroStation, InRoads, Adobe Photoshop, and ArcGIS.

Jon McFarland lives in Cleveland, Ohio. He manages a design department at a property development company, where he uses AutoCAD and 3ds Max to create visualizations of proposed facility construction and expansions. He has authored five books and teaches AutoCAD and 3ds Max courses at the university level.

Introduction

A significant portion of your work as a designer will involve sketching and drawing throughout the design process. These visual explorations will not only help convey your ideas to others, but they will also help you see problems with a design and help you refine your ideas. 3D computer modeling and animation take design visualization beyond hand-drawn sketches and foam-core models, by allowing you to create a complete replica of your design and study it from any point of view in any lighting condition.

With 3ds Max Design 2010, you can apply color, texture, lighting, and other effects to see how variations of these elements affect your design. You can get a realistic look at your design to help you make better decisions as you progress through the design process.

Mastering 3ds Max Design 2010 is intended to help architects, designers, and visualization artists present their designs through 3D models, rendered stills, and animations. This book focuses on the use of 3ds Max Design 2010 as a modeling and presentation tool. Because Mastering 3ds Max Design 2010 is focused on design issues, you will not find information about character animation or advanced special effects. You also not find descriptions of every single tool or function available in 3ds Max Design 2010.

In this book you will find step-by-step tutorials covering the primary functions of the software that you will use in the process of visualizing designs. These tutorials are based on years of experience using 3ds Max on real projects with real requirements and deadlines. By completing the tutorials, you will learn how to construct complex geometric forms and how to apply realistic textures and lighting to study a design. You will also learn how to create effects to help emphasize parts of your design for presentations.

How to Use This Book

The goal of this book is to give you the appropriate skills to produce professional-level presentations of your ideas, from conceptual designs to finished renderings and animated walkthroughs. Once you have mastered those fundamental skills, you will be equipped to confidently explore 3ds Max Design 2010 and its robust set of tools and options on your own.

To get the most value from this book, you should read the chapters sequentially from front to back, doing all the exercises as you go. Each chapter builds on the skills you learned in previous chapters, so you can think of this book as your personal, self-paced course on 3ds Max Design 2010. As you are doing the exercises, don’t be afraid to try things not in the tutorials. 3ds Max Design is too robust and complicated a piece of software to completely teach in one volume.

The first three chapters of this book will help you become familiar with how 3ds Max Design 2010 works and how it is organized. If you are already familiar with 3ds Max, 3ds Max Design, or Autodesk VIZ, you may want to skim these chapters to become accustomed to the new user interface and to be introduced to the some of the new features of 3ds Max Design 2010. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 will show you how to build fairly complex geometry using a variety of tools. These chapters introduce you to the more common methods of constructing and modifying objects in 3ds Max Design 2010. Chapters 7 through 10 show you how to use lights, materials, and cameras. Chapter 11 covers the mental ray rendering system. Chapters 12 and 13 introduce and then expand on animation topics. Chapter 14 covers using the built-in particle effect and dynamics systems in 3ds Max for enhancing your visualizations. Chapter 15 covers bringing data from other Autodesk programs into 3ds Max.

At the back of the book there are a set of appendices that offer general reference information on some of the more common tools used in 3ds Max Design 2010. Once you have completed the first few chapters of the book, you can use the appendices as an aid in your own exploration of 3ds Max. You can then refer to the appendices as you continue to work through the rest of the book.

Before you start going through the tutorials in this book, you need to go to the Sybex website (www.sybex.com/go/mastering3dsmaxdesign2010) and download the compressed files with the content. You must extract the chapter archive files to a folder on your computer that you will use to complete the tutorials in the book. You will need those files to complete the exercises in the book.

Connecting 3ds Max to the Chapter Files

It is important that you configure 3ds Max Design 2010 to recognize the location of the tutorial files from the Sybex website (www.sybex.com/go/mastering3dsmaxdesign2010). Make sure that you perform the instructions given in the section titled “Adding a Map Path to Help 3ds Max Find Bitmaps” in Chapter 8. If you like, you can set up 3ds Max as described in that section right after you have extracted the files.

What You’ll Find

To give you a better idea of what you’ll find in this book, here is a summary of the chapters and their contents.

Chapter 1: Getting to Know 3ds Max Design 2010 In Chapter 1, you will get an introduction to 3ds Max Design 2010 and the new User Interface, and you’ll get a first look at 3ds Max objects and how they are created. Toward the end of Chapter 1 you will be introduced to the different ways you can view your designs in 3ds Max Design 2010.

Chapter 2: Introducing 3ds Max Objects Chapter 2 delves deeper into the workings of 3ds Max objects. You’ll learn about the different types of objects available in 3ds Max Design 2010 and how you can use them to create the shapes you want. You will learn how to manipulate 3ds Max’s core set of shapes, called primitives, and turn them into more complex shapes. You will also learn about the different methods you can use to duplicate shapes, and how these methods can help you quickly complete your design.

Chapter 3: Creating Shapes with Splines In Chapter 3 you will look at how you can create complex forms from simple lines. Here you will learn how to manipulate a basic type of object called a spline shape and turn it into a wineglass. You will look at creating walls and 3D text objects as well.

Chapter 4: Editing Meshes and Creating Complex Objects Chapter 4 introduces you to object and editing methods that are common to architectural projects. You will start modeling a well-known building, using a hand-drawn sketch as a template. You will also focus on drawing objects that have unusual shapes.

Chapter 5: Creating AEC Objects Chapter 5 will introduce you to the parametric AEC (Architectural, Engineering, Construction) objects included with 3ds Max Design 2010, such as walls, windows, doors, stairs and railings, and foliage objects.

Chapter 6: Organizing and Editing Objects In Chapter 6 you will continue working on the main scene from Chapter 5 by exploring ways to organize the components of the design. You will learn how to use object names and layers to help identify parts in the design. You will also continue your exploration of modeling complex forms by creating additional objects and modifying existing objects to add detail and depth to the scene.

Chapter 7: Light and Shadow Chapter 7 uses another well-known building to introduce you to the concepts of lighting and rendering your digital models. You will also learn about the different types of lighting and shadows and how to use them together. In addition, you will learn how you can create more realistic renderings by the careful placement of additional lights in strategic locations.

Chapter 8: Enhancing Models with Materials In Chapter 8, you will continue to build on what you learned in Chapter 7 by exploring materials. You will experiment with the many properties of materials and maps in 3ds Max Design, such as diffuse color, bump map textures, and reflections. You will learn how to align a texture to a surface, and you will be introduced to methods for adding entourage, such as trees and people, to scenes.

Chapter 9: Using the 3ds Max Camera Chapter 9 discusses placing cameras in your model and creating environments to surround your models. You will learn how to control the background to affect the mood of your renderings. You will also experiment with rendering only selected portions of your scene to save time.

Chapter 10: Working with External Files Chapter 10 shows you different ways to use 3ds Max files. You will learn how to combine different files efficiently to allow you to work collaboratively with other members of a design team. You will discover ways to share data between project files. You will also see how you can share your models on the Internet.

Chapter 11: Using mental ray In Chapter 11 you will use the mental ray rendering system. The mental ray system offers you the capability to create incredibly realistic renderings. You will learn how to set up and use global illumination, create and use mr Proxy objects, the Multi-Sub-map material, create contour renderings with the Material Override feature, and perform Lighting Analysis on your projects.

Chapter 12: Understanding Animation Chapter 12 offers you an introduction to animation in an architectural context. You will learn to create and control the animation of a camera to create a flyby of one of the buildings you worked on in earlier chapters. You will also learn how to edit an animated object’s motion, create previews of your animation, and control lights over time.

Chapter 13: Creating Animations Chapter 13 continues your look at animation by exploring the options for outputting your animations to files, creating shadow studies, adding other animated elements to add to the realism of your visualizations, and creating effective walkthroughs of your designs.

Chapter 14: Atmospheres, Effects, reactor, and Particles In Chapter 14 you will learn how to use the built-in particle systems, effects, and dynamics system to add atmosphere to your visualizations.

Chapter 15: Using Other Autodesk Applications with 3ds Max Design 2010 Chapter 15 shows you how to take advantage of files created in other Autodesk products, capitalizing on their unique strengths to reduce the time and effort you need to expend to create high-quality finished models in 3ds Max Design 2010.

In addition to the main chapters in this book, there are two appendices.

Appendix A: The Bottom Line Appendix A has the solutions for the Master It exercises found at the end of each chapter.

Appendix B: Modifiers and Materials Appendix B is a reference for the Modifiers and Materials found in 3ds Max Design 2010.

System Requirements

This book assumes that you already have Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2010 and a PC that can properly run the software. Additionally, you should perform a complete installation of 3ds Max Design 2010, including the optional tutorials and plug-ins. Many of the extra and demonstration plug-ins are not covered in this book; however, you should experiment with them on your own. The following list shows you the minimum system requirements necessary to run 3ds Max Design 2010; you should exceed these values whenever possible for better system performance and stability.

Intel Pentium®4 or AMD-based equivalent processor1GB of RAM (4GB recommended)1GB of swap space (more recommended)3GB of free disk space after 3ds Max Design 2010 software installationMicrosoft Internet Explorer 6 or higherGraphics card supporting 1024 × 768, 32-bit color display, 128MBDirectX 9.0c (included on the 3ds Max Design 2010 DVD)DVD-ROM driveA three-button mouse with the appropriate driver softwareMicrosoft Windows XP Professional (Service Pack 2 and higher) 32-bit or 64-bit, or Microsoft Windows Vista

Autodesk does not support running 3ds Max Design 2010 on Windows Me, NT 4.0, 98, or prior versions.

You can find the complete system requirements for 3ds Max Design 2010 on the Autodesk website, www.autodesk.com/3dsmaxdesign.

The 3GB of free disk space includes space for the sample files and general workspace for your projects. For later chapters, you may want to have AutoCAD 2007 or later installed and Adobe Photoshop CS or later. You can obtain a trial version of Photoshop from the Adobe website. You can also download a 30-day trial version of AutoCAD 2010 from the Autodesk website. These additional software applications are not crucial to have, but you may find them to be useful companions to 3ds Max Design 2010.

What’s on the Book’s Website

You will want to make sure that you have downloaded and extracted the sample files from the Sybex website (www.sybex.com/go/mastering3dsmaxdesign2010) that are mentioned throughout the book. The website includes the *.max and support files necessary to complete the exercises in this book in archive files.

Chapter 1

Getting to Know 3ds Max Design 2010

Welcome to Mastering Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2010. Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2010 replaces Autodesk VIZ 2008 and benefits from the development of its sister product, 3ds Max, to give architects and other design professionals an indispensable design and visualization tool. Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2010 gives designers cutting-edge rendering technology, easy-to-use architectural materials, improved communication with other related software, enhancements to modeling and animation tools, and better viewport interactivity than ever before.

This chapter introduces some of 3ds Max Design 2010’s special features and then gets you started working with the 3ds Max interface. In this chapter, you will learn to:

Navigate and configure the viewports Dock and float toolbarsCopy objects and use the Transform toolsCreate a named selection set

Introducing the New 3ds Max Design 2010 Features

3ds Max Design replaces Autodesk VIZ 2008 as Autodesk’s 3D modeling and visualization tool for the architectural industry. It is comparable to 3ds Max and is essentially the same product without the Software Developers Kit (SDK), which is used to develop plug-ins that give the programs additional functionality. In addition to having all the features that 3ds Max has, 3ds Max Design offers a new Exposure lighting analysis tool, which is used to help meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) 8.1 certification standards. The program is referred to as either 3ds Max or 3ds Max Design throughout the text.

Each new version of 3ds Max incorporates fresh and exciting tools to enhance your capabilities and workflow while also increasing the performance of the program on your computer system. Utilizing these new features is key to improving your skills and decreasing the time it takes to complete your projects. To help you find information, the 3ds Max Design 2010 Learning Movies dialog box (see Figure 1-1) includes links to essential skills movies, which teach many of the basic skills for using 3ds Max, as well as links to movies that explain the new features and additional 3ds Max–related tutorials.

Figure 1-1:The new Learning Movies dialog box

New Features and Essential Skills Movies/What’s New and Learning Path The new features and additional skills movies are located on the Autodesk website, and an active Internet connection is required to view them. When you no longer want the dialog box to appear as 3ds Max opens, simply uncheck the Show This Dialog at Startup option in the lower-left corner. The dialog box can then be opened by choosing Help Learning Movies from the menu bar.

Graphite Modeling Tools The new Graphite Modeling tools provide over 100 new modeling features for organic sculpting, texture painting in the viewports, and advanced polygon modeling. They are available on the new Graphite Modeling Ribbon. These tools bring a new level of interactivity to modeling in 3ds Max.

Containers Containers are a new toolset within 3ds Max designed to improve project collaboration and workflows by aggregating multiple objects into containers. Similar objects in a scene can be added to a container so you can interact with them as one unit. Containers can be loaded and unloaded from the viewports as necessary to improve the performance of 3ds Max Design 2010.