John wiley sons 3ds max 7 bible (2005) lotb

Features a diverse selection of 3D models just right for your own projects, the Max files for every tutorial, and a searchable PDF version of the book with all Inside, you’ll find comple

professional-quality animations with Max It covers every feature, with special emphasis on features new

to this version Best of all, it teaches you to use this versatile software in a context designed to spark your

creativity, with full color examples of 3ds max creations that will inspire you.

Please see the “About the CD-ROM” Appendix

for details and complete system requirements.

CD-ROM

Includes a selection of 3D models you can use in your own projects, plus a searchable, full-color PDF version of the book

Bonus CD-ROM included!

Features a diverse selection of 3D models just right

for your own projects, the Max files for every tutorial,

and a searchable PDF version of the book with all

Inside, you’ll find complete coverage of 3ds max 7

• Use the special Quick Start tutorial chapter to create your

first 3D animation project right away

• Explore new modeling features, including the Edit Poly

modifier and new Skin Wrap and Skin Morph modifiers

• Add details to low-polygon models with Max’s new normal

mapping feature

• Discover how the new Deformation Paintbrush features can

push and pull mesh objects to add smooth details

• Animate characters and crowds with the integrated Character

Studio features

• Learn from tutorials that teach you key concepts in ten steps

or less and provide figure examples to study and compare

Build detailed models using meshes, polys, patches, NURBS, and mesh painting Animate complex characters easily with Max’s integrated Character Studio features

Render 3D scenes using radiosity, ray- tracing, and the advanced mental ray rendering engine

Animate a friendly space alien Use the Physique modifier to create realistic characters

and professional CG artists alike.”

— Richard Rosenman, Digital Animation Director

3ds max ®

7 Bible

Kelly L Murdock

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 NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT

Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

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) 750-4744 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, E-Mail: brandreview@wiley.com

For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within theU.S at 800-762-2974, outside the U.S at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002

For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats Some content that appears in print may not be available inelectronic books

Library of Congress Control Number: 2005920577

Trademarks: Wiley and the Wiley Publishing logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

and/or its affiliates 3ds max is a registered trademark of Autodesk, Inc All other trademarks are the property of theirrespective owners Wiley Publishing, Inc is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book

About the Author

Kelly Murdock has been authoring computer books for many years now and still gets

immense enjoyment from the completed work His book credits include various Web,

graph-ics, and multimedia titles, including four previous editions of this book, 3ds max 7 Bible Other major accomplishments include Master VISUALLY HTML and XHTML, JavaScript Visual

Blueprint, gmax Bible, Adobe Atmosphere Bible, Maya 6 Revealed, and co-authoring duties on

two editions of the Illustrator Bible (for versions 9 and 10) and the Adobe Creative Suite Bible.

With a background in engineering and computer graphics, Kelly has been all over the 3Dindustry and still finds it fascinating He’s used high-level CAD workstations for productdesign and analysis, completed several large-scale visualization projects, created 3D modelsfor feature films, worked as a freelance 3D artist, and has even done some 3D programming.Kelly’s been using 3D Studio since version 3 for DOS

In his spare time, Kelly enjoys the outdoors while rock climbing, mountain biking, or skiing

He has recently formed a design company with his brother, Chris, called Logical ParadoxDesign

Graphics and Production Specialists

Andrea Dahl Sean Decker Lauren Goddard Jennifer Heleine Heather Pope Heather Ryan Ron Terry

Quality Control Technicians

Laura Albert Leeann Harney Brian H Walls

Permissions Editor

Laura Moss

Media Development Specialist

Angela Denny

Proofreading and Indexing

TECHBOOKS Production Services

Cover Image

Anthony Bunyan

I grew up chasing the wind You were faster than me, and I had to work two or three times harder just to keep up.

You were bigger than me, so I had to stretch and reach for everything You were stronger than me, so my load always seemed greater You were smarter than me, so there was so much for me to learn.

It wasn’t always easy, but it taught me to persevere.

It wasn’t always fun, but the tears taught me patience.

It wasn’t always happy, but sorrow made me determined.

It wasn’t always perfect, which made me desire perfection After years of following, I found an inner strength that comes only from enduring a

struggle, so I thank you for not pulling any punches, for clearly marking the path to follow, for making it mean something when I won, for being there for the time that you were You’ve been my friend, my enemy, my confidant, my rival, my teammate, my competition, my supporter, my critic, my teacher, my student, my comrade, and my foe.

Blood made us brothers, time has made us equals.

As a child, I called you older, but now I just call you brother.

To Mike and Kevin, 2004

Every time I enter the computer room (which my wife calls the dungeon), my wife stillsays that I am off to my “fun and games.” I, as always, still flatly deny this accusation, say-ing that it is serious work that I am involved in But later, when I emerge with a twinkle in myeye and excitedly ask her to take a look at my latest rendering, I know that she is right.Working with 3D graphics is pure “fun and games.”

My goal in writing this book was to take all my fun years of playing in 3D and boil them downinto something that’s worthwhile for you—the reader This goal was compounded by the factthat all you Max-heads out there are at different levels Luckily, this book is thick enough toinclude a little something for everyone

The audience level for the book ranges from beginning to intermediate, with a smattering ofadvanced topics for the seasoned user If you’re new to Max, then you’ll want to start at thebeginning and move methodically through the book If you’re relatively comfortable makingyour way around Max, then review the table of contents for sections that can enhance yourfundamental base If you’re a seasoned pro, then you’ll want to watch for coverage of the fea-tures new to Release 7

If you’re so excited to be working with Max that you can’t decide where to start, then headstraight for the Quick Start The Quick Start is a single chapter-long tutorial that takes youthrough the creation of an entire scene and animation This Quick Start was included inresponse to some feedback from readers of the first edition who complained that they didn’tknow where to start For those of you who were too anxious to wade through a mountain ofmaterial before you could create something, this Quick Start is for you

Another goal of this book is to make it a complete reference for Max To achieve this goal, I’vegone into painstaking detail to cover almost every feature in Max, including coverage of everyprimitive, material and map type, modifier, and controller

As this book has come together, I’ve tried to write the type of book that I’d like to read I’vetried to include a variety of scenes that are infused with creativity It is my hope that theseexamples will not only teach you how to use the software, but also provide a creative spring-board for you in your own projects After all, that’s what turns 3D graphics from work into

“fun and games.”

Who Is Max?

Max is coming of age Now with the number 7 attached to its name, it is starting to showsome maturity I’d say that version numbers are akin to dog years, which would place Max inits late 40s

Before we go any further, I should explain my naming convention The official name of the

product in this release is 3ds max 7 with a lowercase m, but I simply refer to it as Max with a capital M This reference is a nickname given to a piece of software that has become more

familiar to me than the family pets (whose names are Fuzzy, Curious, Parakeetsta, and Chip orChirp depending on the day) Note: I have not been successful in training Max to come when Icall or to sit on command, but it will on occasion play dead.

One way we humans develop our personalities is to incorporate desirable personality traitsfrom those around us Max’s personality is developing as well—every new release has incor-porated a plethora of desirable, new features Many of these features come from the manyadditional plug-ins being developed to enhance Max With Release 7, many features that wereavailable as plug-ins for previous releases have been adopted by Max Several new featureshave been magically assimilated into the core product, such as Character Studio These addi-tions make Max’s personality much more likable, like a human developing a sense of humor.Other personality traits are gained by stretching in new directions Max and its developershave accomplished this feat as well Many of the new features are completely new, not only toMax, but also to the industry As Max grows up, it will continue to mature by adopting newfeatures and inventing others I just hope Max doesn’t experience a mid-life crisis in the nextversion

About This Book

Let me paint a picture of the writing process It starts with years of experience, which is lowed by months of painstaking research There were system crashes and personal catastro-phes and the always-present, ever-looming deadlines I wrote into the early hours of themorning and during the late hours of the night—burning the candle at both ends and in themiddle all at the same time It was grueling and difficult, and spending all this time staring atthe Max interface made me feel like well like an animator

fol-Sound familiar? This process actually isn’t much different from what 3D artists, modelers, andanimators do on a daily basis, and like you, I find satisfaction in the finished product

Tutorials aplenty

I’ve always been a very visual learner—the easiest way for me to gain knowledge is by doingthings for myself while exploring at the same time Other people learn by reading and com-prehending ideas In this book, I’ve tried to present information in a number of ways to makethe information usable for all types of learners That is why you see detailed discussions ofthe various features along with tutorials that show these concepts in action

The tutorials appear throughout the book and are clearly marked with the “Tutorial” label infront of the title They always include a series of logical steps, typically ending with a figurefor you to study and compare These tutorial examples are provided on the book’s CD-ROM

to give you a firsthand look and a chance to get some hands-on experience

I’ve attempted to “laser focus” all the tutorials down to one or two key concepts All tutorialsare designed to be completed in 10 steps or less This means that you probably will not want

to place the results in your portfolio For example, many of the early tutorials don’t have anymaterials applied because I felt that using materials before they’ve been explained would onlyconfuse you

I’ve attempted to think of and use examples that are diverse, unique, and interesting, whilestriving to make them simple, light, and easy to follow I’m happy to report that every exam-ple in the book is included on the CD-ROM along with the models and textures required tocomplete the tutorial

The tutorials often don’t start from scratch, but instead give you a starting point Thisapproach lets me “laser focus” the tutorials even more; and with fewer, more relevant steps,you can learn and experience the concepts without the complexity On the book’s CD-ROM,you will find the Max files that are referenced in Step 1 of most tutorials.

In addition to the starting point files, every tutorial has been saved at the completion of the

tutorial steps These files are marked with the word final at the end of the filename If you get

stuck in a tutorial, simply open the final example and compare the settings

I’ve put lots of effort into this book, and I hope it helps you in your efforts I present this book

as a starting point In each tutorial, I’ve purposely left most of the creative spice out, leavingroom for you to put it in—you’re the one with the vision

Fifth time around

This book is now in its fifth edition and, like aged cheddar cheese, is getting better with time

This edition is packed with the maximum number of pages that can be bound into a back book, so if you’re planning on taking a book to read on a subway ride, take this book andleave all the others behind I’d hate to think that I caused some loyal readers back pain

paper-Several changes have been made in this edition First of all, many of the older tutorials havebeen retired to make room for the new features I’ve also included a new Quick Start thattakes you through constructing an entire character and using the Character Studio tools I’vealso made room for an entire part covering Character Studio and several other new chapterscovering the new features To make room for the new Editable Poly features, I’ve taken away achapter covering Editable Mesh objects and I’ve split the modifiers into several chapters,making them easier to locate and use

How this book is organized

Many different aspects of 3D graphics exist, and in some larger production houses, you might

be focused on only one specific area However, for smaller organizations or the general byist, you end up wearing all the hats—from modeler and lighting director to animator andpost-production compositor This book is organized to cover all the various aspects of 3Dgraphics, regardless of the hat on your head

hob-The book is divided into the following parts:

✦ Quick Start—This single chapter (which is actually a chapter in Part I) is an entire

ani-mation project presented in several focused tutorials It is designed to whet yourappetite and get you up to speed and producing animations immediately

✦ Part I: Learning the Max Interface—Whether it’s understanding the interface, working

with the viewports, dealing with files, or customizing the interface, the chapters in thispart get you comfortable with the interface so you won’t get lost moving about thismammoth package

✦ Part II: Working with Objects—Max objects can include meshes, cameras, lights,

Space Warps, and anything that can be viewed in a viewport This part includes ters on how to reference, select, clone, group, link, transform, and modify these variousobjects It also introduces modifiers and the Modifier Stack

chap-✦ Part III: Modeling—Max includes several different ways to model objects This part

includes chapters on working with spline shapes, meshes, polys, patches, NURBS, pound objects like Lofts and Morphs, and particle systems

com-✦ Part IV: Materials and Maps—With all the various materials, maps, and parameters,

understanding how to create just what you want can be difficult These chaptersexplain all the various material and map types and how to use them

✦ Part V: Cameras and Lighting—This part describes how to control cameras and use

the camera utilities and the Multi-Pass Camera effects It also includes coverage on how

to create and control the standard lights, as well as coverage on advanced lighting,radiosity, and global illumination

✦ Part VI: Animation—To animate your scenes, you’ll want to learn about keyframing,

Animation modifiers, the Track Views, constraints, and controllers This part includes achapter specifically on expressions

✦ Part VII: Character Studio, Rigging, and Inverse Kinematics—I cover creating and

working with bipeds, characters, bone systems, rigging, and character crowds in thispart I also provide complete coverage of the various inverse kinematics methods

✦ Part VIII: Dynamics and reactor—This part includes coverage of Space Warps, the

Dynamics utility, and all the cool features found in reactor

✦ Part IX: Rendering and mental ray—To produce the final output, you can render the

scene as described in this part In addition, this part discusses environments, RenderElements, Render Effects, network rendering, raytracing, and mental ray This part alsodescribes the compositing process using the Video Post interface

✦ Part X: MAXScript and Plug-Ins—This part provides details on using Max’s scripting

language, MAXScript, and on using plug-ins

✦ Appendixes—At the very end of this book, you’ll find four appendixes that cover the

new features of Max 7, installation and system configuration, Max keyboard shortcuts,and the contents of the book’s CD-ROM

Using the book’s icons

The following margin icons are used to help you get the most out of this book:

Notes highlight useful information that you should take into consideration

Tips provide an additional bit of advice that will make a particular feature quicker or easier

to use

Cautions warn you of a potential problem before you make a mistake

Caution Tip Note

The New Feature icon highlights features that are new to Release 7.

Watch for the Cross-Reference icon to learn where in another chapter you can go to findmore information on a particular feature

This icon points you toward related materials that are included on the book’s CD-ROM

The book’s CD-ROM

Computer book CD-ROMs are sometimes just an afterthought that includes a handful of ples and product demos This book’s CD-ROM, however, includes a diverse selection of 3Dmodels that you can use in your projects if you choose Many of these models are used in thetutorials The CD-ROM also includes the Max files for every tutorial

exam-If you haven’t noticed yet, most of this book is printed in black and white This can make ing the details (and colors) of the figures difficult The CD-ROM includes a complete search-able version of the book along with all the figures in color

see-Color insert pages

The possibilities of Max are endless, but many individuals and groups have pushed the ware a long way As a sampling of the finished work that can be created, I’ve included a set ofcolor insert pages that showcase some amazing work done with Max The 3D artists repre-sented in these pages give you some idea of what is possible

soft-On the CD-ROM

Cross-Reference

New

Feature

me to set up an older computer that has Max installed, and after spending several hoursengrossed in his work, I was curious what he had accomplished He responded sheepishlythat he’d been playing a game left on the computer I guess there is a time to play and a time

to create

In the first edition, the task at hand was too big for just me, so I shared the pain with two authors—Dave Brueck and Sanford Kennedy (both of whom have gone on to write books oftheir own) I still thank them for their work, which, although overhauled, retains their spirits

co-In a later edition, I again asked for help, a request that was answered by Sue Blackman Sueprovided several excellent examples that show off the power of the Track View interface.Thanks for your help, Sue

Major thanks to the editors and personnel at Wiley I’d like to specifically thank Tom Heine,who has been great to work with as always Huge thanks go to Marty Minner, who has onceagain managed the entire editing process, and to Gwenette Gaddis Goshert for her excellentcopy editing input I’d also like to thank Chris Murdock for taking on the technical editingeven though he felt like playing with another version of Max Thanks to Abby also—we havethe whole family covered, although Max’s name appears most often What a great virtualteam we have here Additional thanks go out to Laura Moss and her co-workers in the MediaDevelopment department for chasing down the required permissions and for compiling theresources for the CD-ROM, and finally, to the entire staff at Wiley who helped me on this jour-ney Of particular note are the cover designers who have been delightfully stuck on reptilesand amphibians for the covers to the last several editions I’m starting to refer to the titles bytheir cover creature, i.e “hand me the frog book next to the lizard book.”

The various people who work in the graphics industry are amazing in their willingness tohelp and support I’d like to thank first of all David Marks and the entire Discreet beta teamfor getting me the product when I needed it I’d also like to thank the talented people atZygote Media, Curious Labs, and Viewpoint Digital Media for many of their models, whichmake the examples much more interesting (you can only do so much with the teapot afterall) Thanks to Tom Avikigos at Digimation for help in securing a new set of Viewpoint models.Additional thanks go out to David Mathis, Sue Blackman, and Chris Murdock for completingmodels used in some of the tutorials

Finally, I’d like to thank the many artists who contributed images for the color insert pagesfor sharing their talent, knowledge, and vision with us They are an inspiration to me

Contents at a Glance

Preface vii

Acknowledgments xiii

Part I: Learning the Max Interface 1

Quick Start: Creating and Animating a Three-Fingered Gaaboot 3

Chapter 1: Finding Your Way — Exploring the Max Interface 23

Chapter 2: Seeing It All — Working with the Viewports 41

Chapter 3: Saving Your Scene — Working with Files and XRefs 69

Chapter 4: Customizing the Max Interface and Setting Preferences 99

Part II: Working with Objects 129

Chapter 5: Creating and Editing Primitive Objects 131

Chapter 6: Selecting Objects and Setting Object Properties 161

Chapter 7: Transforming Objects — Translate, Rotate, and Scale 187

Chapter 8: Cloning Objects and Creating Object Arrays 215

Chapter 9: Grouping and Linking Objects 237

Chapter 10: Working with the Schematic View 251

Chapter 11: Introducing Modifiers and Using the Modifier Stack 269

Part III: Modeling 303

Chapter 12: Modeling Basics and Working with Subobjects 305

Chapter 13: Drawing and Editing 2D Splines and Shapes 323

Chapter 14: Using Editable Poly Objects 363

Chapter 15: Painting Deformations 391

Chapter 16: Working with Mesh Modifiers 397

Chapter 17: Surface Modeling with Patches and NURBS 411

Chapter 18: Building Compound Objects 453

Chapter 19: Creating Particles and Particle Flow 491

Part IV: Materials and Maps 525

Chapter 20: Exploring the Material Editor 527

Chapter 21: Creating Simple Materials 547

Chapter 22: Creating Advanced Multi-Layer Materials 563

Chapter 23: Adding Material Details with Maps 581

Chapter 24: Controlling Mapping Coordinates 615

Chapter 25: Creating Baked Textures 629

Part V: Cameras and Lighting 643

Chatper 26: Working with Cameras 645

Chapter 27: Basic Lighting Techniques 673

Chapter 28: Advanced Lighting, Light Tracing, and Radiosity 701

Part VI: Animation 717

Chapter 29: Animation and Keyframe Basics 719

Chapter 30: Using Animation Modifiers 741

Chapter 31: Wiring Custom Attributes 765

Chapter 32: Animating with Constraints and Controllers 775

Chapter 33: Using the Expression Controller 813

Chapter 34: Working with the Track View 829

Part VII: Character Studio, Rigging, and Inverse Kinematics 865

Chapter 35: Creating and Animating Bipeds 867

Chapter 36: Using Physique to Add Skin to a Biped 885

Chapter 37: Controlling Biped Crowds 905

Chapter 38: Manually Rigging a Character 913

Chapter 39: Working with Inverse Kinematics 929

Part VIII: Dynamics and reactor 947

Chapter 40: Using Space Warps 949

Chapter 41: Creating a Dynamic Simulation 973

Chapter 42: Animating with reactor 983

Part IX: Rendering and mental ray 1005

Chapter 43: Rendering Basics 1007

Chapter 44: Using Atmospheric Effects 1033

Chapter 45: Using Render Elements and Effects 1045

Chapter 46: Raytracing and mental ray 1067

Chapter 47: Network Rendering 1087

Chapter 48: Using the Video Post Interface 1109

Part X: MAXScript and Plug-Ins 1137

Chapter 49: Automating with MAXScript 1139

Chapter 50: Expanding Max with Third-Party Plug-Ins 1175

Appendix A: What’s New with Max 7 1181

Appendix B: Installing and Configuring 3ds max 7 1185

Appendix C: Max Keyboard Shortcuts 1193

Appendix D: What’s on the CD-ROM 1207

Index 1211

End-User License Agreement 1253

Preface vii

Acknowledgments xiii

Part I: Learning the Max Interface 1 Quick Start: Creating and Animating a Three-Fingered Gaaboot 3

Visiting an Alien World — Planning the Production 3

Modeling the Main Character 4

Tutorial: Modeling the Gaaboot’s body and head 5

Tutorial: Modeling the Gaaboot’s hands and feet 6

Tutorial: Adding face details 8

Tutorial: Connecting body parts 8

Creating the Landscape 11

Tutorial: Creating a lunar surface 11

Tutorial: Loading a background image 12

Adding Materials to Objects in the Scene 13

Tutorial: Applying materials 13

Tutorial: Adding eye pupils using vertex colors 15

Animating a Character 16

Tutorial: Creating and fitting a biped 16

Tutorial: Attaching the character skin to a biped 18

Tutorial: Animating a character’s motion 19

Rendering the Final Animation 20

Tutorial: Creating a preview animation 20

Tutorial: Rendering the final animation 21

Summary 22

Chapter 1: Finding Your Way — Exploring the Max Interface 23

The Interface Elements 24

Using the Menus 26

Using the Toolbars 27

Learning the main toolbar 28

Viewing the floating toolbars 31

Using the Viewports 31

Using the Command Panel 31

Working with rollouts 32

Increasing the Command Panel’s width 32

Tutorial: Rearranging the interface for lefties 34

Using the Lower Interface Bar Controls 35

Interacting with the Interface 36

Gaining quick access with the right-click quadmenus 36

Understanding the button color cues 37

Using drag-and-drop features 37

Controlling spinners 37

Finding keyboard shortcuts 38

Using strokes 38

Understanding modeless and persistent dialog boxes 38

Getting Help 38

Browser-based reference guides 39

Online help 39

Summary 40

Chapter 2: Seeing It All — Working with the Viewports 41

Understanding 3D Space 41

Axonometric versus Perspective 42

Orthographic and Isometric views 42

Learning viewports in Max 43

Using the Viewport Navigation Controls 44

Zooming a view 45

Panning a view 45

Walking through a view 45

Rotating a view 46

Controlling viewports with a scroll wheel 47

Controlling camera and spotlight views 47

Tutorial: Navigating the active viewport 47

Using the Views Menu 49

Undoing and saving changes made with the Viewport Navigation Controls 49

Viewing grids 50

Displaying various viewport items 50

Disabling and refreshing viewports 50

Maximizing the active viewport 51

Configuring the Viewports 52

Setting the viewport rendering method 53

Altering the Viewport layout 59

Using Safe Frames 60

Understanding Adaptive Degradation 62

Defining regions 63

Working with Viewport Backgrounds 64

Loading viewport background images 64

Loading viewport background animations 65

Tutorial: Loading reference images for modeling 66

Summary 67

Chapter 3: Saving Your Scene — Working with Files and XRefs 69

Working with Max Scene Files 69

Saving files 70

Opening files 71

Merging and replacing objects 72

Archiving files 73

Getting out 73

Setting File Preferences 73

Handling files 73

Backing up files 76

Tutorial: Setting Auto Backup 76

Maintaining log files 77

Importing and Exporting 77

Importing supported formats 77

Import preference 78

Exporting supported formats 78

Exporting utilities 82

Referencing External Objects 84

Using XRef scenes 84

Using XRef objects 88

Tutorial: Using an XRef proxy 90

XRef objects in the Modifier Stack 92

Configuring XRef paths 92

Using the File Utilities 92

Using the Asset Browser utility 93

Finding files with the Max File Finder utility 94

Collecting files with the Resource Collector utility 94

Using the File Link Manager utility 95

Using i-drop 95

Accessing File Information 96

Displaying scene information 96

Viewing file properties 96

Viewing files 97

Summary 98

Chapter 4: Customizing the Max Interface and Setting Preferences 99

Using the Customize User Interface Window 99

Customizing keyboard shortcuts 99

Tutorial: Assigning keyboard shortcuts 100

Customizing toolbars 101

Tutorial: Creating a custom toolbar 102

Customizing quadmenus 104

Customizing menus 106

Tutorial: Adding a new menu 107

Customizing colors 107

Customizing Modify and Utility Panel Buttons 108

Working with Custom Interfaces 109

Saving and loading a custom interface 109

Tutorial: Saving a custom interface 110

Locking the interface 110

Reverting to the startup interface 111

Switching between default and custom interfaces 111

Configuring Paths 112

Selecting System Units 113

Using Custom and Generic units 114

Rescaling world units 115

Setting Preferences 115

General preferences 115

Files panel preferences 117

Viewport preferences 118

Gamma preferences 123

Rendering preferences 124

Animation preferences 124

Inverse Kinematics preferences 126

Gizmos preferences 126

MAXScript preferences 126

Radiosity preferences 126

mental ray preferences 126

Summary 127

Part II: Working with Objects 129 Chapter 5: Creating and Editing Primitive Objects 131

Creating Primitive Objects 131

Using the Create menu 131

Using the Create panel 132

Naming and renaming objects 133

Assigning colors 134

Using the Color Clipboard 136

Using different creation methods 137

Using the Keyboard Entry rollout for precise dimensions 139

Altering object parameters 139

Recovering from mistakes and deleting objects 139

Tutorial: Exploring the Platonic solids 140

Exploring the Primitive Object Types 141

Standard Primitives 141

Extended Primitives 145

Modifying object parameters 155

Tutorial: Filling a treasure chest with gems 155

Architecture Primitives 156

Using AEC Objects 156

Tutorial: Add stairs to a clock tower building 158

Summary 159

Chapter 6: Selecting Objects and Setting Object Properties 161

Selecting Objects 161

Selection filters 162

Select buttons 163

Selecting with the Edit menu 164

Selecting multiple objects 167

Using the Paint Selection Region tool 167

Tutorial: Selecting objects 168

Locking selection sets 169

Using named selection sets 170

Editing named selections 170

Isolating the current selection 171

Selecting objects in other interfaces 171

Setting Object Properties 172

Viewing object information 173

Setting display properties 173

Setting rendering controls 175

Enabling Motion Blur 176

Using the Advanced Lighting and mental ray panels 176

Using the User-Defined panel 176

Hiding and Freezing Objects 177

Using the Display Floater dialog box 177

Using the Display panel 178

Object Culling Utility 179Tutorial: Hidden toothbrushes 180Using Layers 181Using the Layer Manager 181Using the Layer List 184Tutorial: Dividing a scene into layers 185Summary 186

Chapter 7: Transforming Objects — Translate, Rotate, and Scale 187

Translating, Rotating, and Scaling Objects 187Translating objects 187Rotating objects 188Scaling objects 188Using the transform buttons 189Working with the Transformation Tools 189Working with the Transform Gizmos 189Using the Transform Type-In dialog box 192Using the status bar Type-In fields 192Understanding the Transform Managers 193Tutorial: Landing a spaceship in port 198Using Pivot Points 199Positioning pivot points 199Aligning pivot points 200Transform adjustments 200Using the Reset XForm utility 201Tutorial: A bee buzzing about a flower 201Using the Align Commands 203Aligning objects 203Using the Quick Align tool 203Aligning normals 204Tutorial: Aligning a kissing couple 204Aligning to a view 205Using Grids 206The Home Grid 206Creating and activating new grids 206Using AutoGrid 207Tutorial: Creating a Spyglass 207Using Snap Options 208Setting snap points 209Setting snap options 210Using the Snaps toolbar 211Tutorial: Creating a lattice for a methane molecule 211Summary 213

Chapter 8: Cloning Objects and Creating Object Arrays 215

Cloning Objects 215Using the Clone command 215Using the Shift-clone method 216Tutorial: Cloning dinosaurs 216Understanding Cloning Options 217Working with copies, instances, and references 218Tutorial: Creating instanced doughnuts 218Tutorial: Working with referenced apples 219

Mirroring Objects 221Using the Mirror command 221Tutorial: Mirroring a robot’s leg 221Cloning over Time 223Using the Snapshot command 223Tutorial: Creating a tower of cubes 223Spacing Cloned Objects 225Using the Spacing tool 225Tutorial: Stacking a row of dominoes 226Using the Clone and Align Tool 227Aligning source objects to destination objects 227Tutorial: Cloning and aligning objects 228Creating Arrays of Objects 229Linear arrays 230Tutorial: Building a white picket fence 230Circular arrays 232Tutorial: Building a Ferris wheel 232Working with a ring array 233Tutorial: Using Ring Array to create a carousel 234Summary 236

Chapter 9: Grouping and Linking Objects 237

The Group Menu 237Working with Groups 237Creating groups 238Ungrouping objects 238Opening and closing groups 238Attaching and detaching objects 238Tutorial: Grouping a plane’s parts together 238Building Assemblies 240Adding lights to assemblies 240Wiring Luminaire helper objects to light objects 241Tutorial: Creating a flashlight assembly 241Understanding Parent, Child, and Root Relationships 243Building Links between Objects 243Linking objects 243Unlinking objects 244Tutorial: Creating a solar system 244Displaying Links and Hierarchies 245Displaying links in the viewport 245Viewing hierarchies 246Working with Linked Objects 247Selecting hierarchies 247Linking to dummies 248Tutorial: Circling the globe 248Summary 249

Chapter 10: Working with the Schematic View 251

Using the Schematic View Window 251The Graph Editors menu options 251The Schematic View interface 252Working with Schematic View nodes 256

Working with Hierarchies 260Using the Display floater 260Connecting nodes 261Copying modifiers and materials between nodes 262Assigning controllers and wiring parameters 262Tutorial: Linking a character with the Schematic View 263Setting Schematic View Preferences 264Limiting nodes 264Working with grids and backgrounds 265Display preferences 266Tutorial: Adding a background image to the Schematic View 266Using List Views 267Summary 268

Chapter 11: Introducing Modifiers and Using the Modifier Stack 269

Exploring the Modifier Stack 269Understanding Base Objects 269Applying modifiers 270Other Modifier Stack entities 270Using the Modifier Stack 270Reordering the Stack 273Tutorial: Creating a molecular chain 273Holding and fetching a scene 275Collapsing the Stack 275Using the Collapse utility 276Using gizmo subobjects 277Tutorial: Squeezing a plastic bottle 277Modifying subobjects 278Topology dependency 278Exploring Modifier Types 278Object-Space versus World-Space modifiers 280Tutorial: Learning Object-Space versus World-Space order 280Selection modifiers 281Parametric Deformer modifiers 284Free Form Deformer modifiers 300Summary 302

Part III: Modeling 303

Chapter 12: Modeling Basics and Working with Subobjects 305

Exploring the Modeling Types 305Parametric objects versus editable objects 306Converting to editable objects 307Tutorial: Creating trumpet flowers with various modeling types 307Modeling for Games 309Enabling a polygon count 309The Polygon Counter utility 309The Level of Detail utility 310Modeling Architecture 311Understanding Normals 311Viewing normals 311Tutorial: Cleaning up imported meshes 312

Working with Subobjects 313Using Soft Selection 314Tutorial: Soft selecting a heart shape from a plane 315Applying modifiers to subobject selections 317Tutorial: Building a superhero logo 317Modeling Helpers 318Using Dummy and Point objects 318Measuring coordinate distances 319Tutorial: Testing the Pythagorean Theorem 320Summary 321

Chapter 13: Drawing and Editing 2D Splines and Shapes 323

Drawing in 2D 323Working with shape primitives 324Tutorial: Drawing a company logo 333Tutorial: Viewing the interior of a heart 334Editing Splines 335Editable Splines versus the Edit Spline modifier 336Making splines renderable 336Selecting spline subobjects 337Controlling spline geometry 339Editing vertices 342Editing segments 348Editing Spline subobjects 350Using Spline Modifiers 355Spline-specific modifiers 355Moving Splines to 3D 358Summary 362

Chapter 14: Using Editable Poly Objects 363

Understanding Poly Objects 363Creating Editable Poly Objects 364Converting objects 365Collapsing to a mesh object 365Applying the Edit Poly modifier 365Editing Poly Objects 365Editable Poly subobject modes 366Selection rollout 366Tutorial: Modeling a clown head 367Edit Geometry rollout 369Editing Vertex subobjects 377Editing Edge Subobjects 379Editing Border subobjects 381Editing Polygon and Element subobjects 382Surface properties 385Tutorial: Modeling a tooth 388Summary 390

Chapter 15: Painting Deformations 391

The Basics of Deformation Painting 391Using the Deformation Brushes 393Controlling the deformation direction 393Limiting the deformation 393

Committing any changes 393Using the Relax and Revert brushes 393Tutorial: Adding veins to a forearm 394Setting Brush Options 395Summary 396

Chapter 16: Working with Mesh Modifiers 397

Primitive Maintenance Modifiers 397Edit Mesh modifier 397Edit Poly modifier 398Edit Geometry Modifiers 398Cap Holes modifier 398Delete Mesh modifier 399Extrude modifier 399Face Extrude modifier 399Tutorial: Extruding a bullet 400Optimize modifier 401MultiRes modifier 402Tutorial: Creating a MultiRes hand 403Smooth modifier 403Symmetry modifier 404Tutorial: Creating symmetrical antlers 404Tessellate modifier 405Vertex Weld modifier 406Miscellaneous Modifiers 406Edit Normals 406Normal modifier 407STL Check modifier 407Subdivision Surface Modifiers 407MeshSmooth modifier 408TurboSmooth modifier 408Tutorial: Creating a heart-shaped NURMS 408Summary 410

Chapter 17: Surface Modeling with Patches and NURBS 411

Introducing Patch Grids 411Creating a patch grid 412Tutorial: Creating a checkerboard 412Editing Patches 413Editable patches versus the Edit Patch modifier 414Selecting patch subobjects 414Working with Patch Geometry 416Editing vertices 417Editing handles 420Editing edges 421Editing Patch and Element subobjects 423Tutorial: Creating a maple leaf from patches 426Using Modifiers on Patch Objects 427Patch Select modifier 427Edit Patch modifier 428Delete Patch modifier 428Using the Surface tools 428

Creating NURBS Curves and Surfaces 432NURBS curves 432NURBS surfaces 433Converting objects to NURBS 434Editing NURBS 436Attach and Import 436Display options 436Surface and Curve Approximation 436The NURBS Creation Toolbox 438Using NURBS subobject editing tools 441Working with NURBS 442Lofting a NURBS surface 442Tutorial: Creating a U Loft NURBS spoon 442Creating a UV Loft surface 443Lathing a NURBS surface 443Tutorial: Lathing a NURBS CV curve to create a vase 444Creating a 1-rail and 2-rail sweep surface 444Tutorial: Creating a flower stem 445Sculpting a rectangular NURBS surface 446Tutorial: Creating a NURBS leaf 446Tutorial: Sculpting a flower petal 448NURBS modifiers 449Summary 451

Chapter 18: Building Compound Objects 453

Understanding Compound Object Types 453Morphing Objects 454Creating Morph keys 455Morph objects versus the Morph modifier 455Tutorial: Morphing a woman’s face 455Creating Conform Objects 456Setting a vertex projection direction 457Tutorial: Placing a facial scar 458Creating a ShapeMerge Object 459Cookie Cutter and Merge options 459Tutorial: Using the ShapeMerge compound object 460Creating a Terrain Object 462Coloring elevations 462Tutorial: Creating an island with the Terrain compound object 463Using the Mesher Object 464Working with BlobMesh Objects 465Setting BlobMesh Parameters 466Tutorial: Creating icy geometry with BlobMesh 466Creating a Scatter Object 467Working with Source objects 468Working with Distribution objects 469Setting Transforms 470Speeding updates with a proxy 470Loading and saving presets 470Tutorial: Covering the island with trees 470Creating Connect Objects 471Filling object holes 471Tutorial: Creating a park bench 472

Modeling with Boolean Objects 474Union 474Intersection 474Subtraction 474Cut 475Tips for working with Booleans 475Tutorial: Creating a Lincoln Log set 475Creating a Loft Object 477Using the Get Shape and Get Path buttons 477Controlling surface parameters 478Changing path parameters 478Setting skin parameters 479Tutorial: Designing a slip-proof hanger 480Deforming Loft objects 481The Deformation window interface 481Scale Deformation 484Twist Deformation 484Teeter Deformation 484Bevel Deformation 484Fit Deformation 485Modifying Loft subobjects 486Comparing shapes 487Editing Loft paths 487Tutorial: Creating drapes 488Loft objects versus surface tools 489Summary 489

Chapter 19: Creating Particles and Particle Flow 491

Understanding the Various Particle Systems 491Creating a Particle System 492Using the Spray and Snow Particle Systems 493Tutorial: Creating rain showers 494Tutorial: Creating a snowstorm 495Using the Super Spray Particle System 495Super Spray Basic Parameters rollout 496Particle Generation rollout 496Particle Type rollout 497Rotation and Collision rollout 502Tutorial: Basketball shooting practice 503Object Motion Inheritance rollout 504Bubble Motion rollout 505Particle Spawn rollout 505Load/Save Presets rollout 506Using the Blizzard Particle System 506Using the PArray Particle System 507Splitting an object into fragments 508Tutorial: Creating rising steam 508Using the PCloud Particle System 509Using Particle System Maps 509Using the Particle Age map 510Using the Particle MBlur map 510Tutorial: Creating jet engine flames 510

Controlling Particles with Particle Flow 511The Particle View window 511The Standard Flow 512Working with actions 513Tutorial: Creating an avalanche 515Using Particle Flow helpers 517Wiring events 517Tutorial: Moths chasing a light 517Debugging test actions 518Tutorial: Firing at a fleeing spaceship 519Tutorial: Creating a black hole using Particle Flow 521Summary 522

Part IV: Materials and Maps 525

Chapter 20: Exploring the Material Editor 527

Understanding Material Properties 527Working with the Material Editor 529Using the Material Editor controls 529Using the sample slots 532Naming materials 535Getting new materials 535Assigning materials to objects 536Picking materials from a scene 536Selecting objects by material 536Previewing materials and rendering maps 536Setting Material Editor options 537Resetting materials 539Removing materials and maps 539Using the Fix Ambient utility 539Tutorial: Coloring Easter eggs 539Using the Material/Map Browser 541Working with libraries 543Tutorial: Loading a custom material library 543Using the Material/Map Navigator 544Summary 545

Chapter 21: Creating Simple Materials 547

Using the Standard Material 547Using Shading Types 547Blinn shader 548Phong shader 550Anisotropic shader 551Multi-Layer shader 551Oren-Nayar-Blinn shader 552Metal shader 552Strauss shader 552Translucent shader 553Tutorial: Making curtains translucent 553Accessing Other Parameters 554Extended Parameters rollout 554SuperSampling rollout 555

Maps rollout 556Dynamic Properties rollout 556mental ray connection rollout 557Tutorial: Coloring a dolphin 557Using External Tools 558Creating material textures using Photoshop 558Capturing digital images 560Scanning images 561Tutorial: Creating a fishing net 561Summary 562

Chapter 22: Creating Advanced Multi-Layer Materials 563

Using Compound Materials 563Blend 564Composite 565Double Sided 565Shellac 566Multi/Sub-Object 566Tutorial: Creating a patchwork quilt 567Morpher 568Shell 569Top/Bottom 569Tutorial: Surfing the waves 569Using Raytrace Materials 570Using the Matte/Shadow Material 570Matte/Shadow Basic Parameters rollout 570Tutorial: Ballooning in New York 571Using the Ink ‘n’ Paint Material 572Controlling paint and ink 572Tutorial: Cartooning a turtle 573Using Architectural Materials 574Using the DirectX 9 Shader 576Applying Multiple Materials 576Using material IDs 576Tutorial: Mapping die faces 576Using the Clean MultiMaterial utility 578Material Modifiers 578Material modifier 578MaterialByElement modifier 578Tutorial: Creating random marquee lights with the

MaterialByElement modifier 578Summary 580

Chapter 23: Adding Material Details with Maps 581

Understanding Maps 581Understanding Material Map Types 5822D maps 5823D maps 592Compositor maps 599Color modifier maps 601Reflection and refraction maps 601

Using the Maps Rollout 605Ambient Color mapping 605Diffuse Color mapping 605Diffuse Level mapping 606Diffuse Roughness mapping 606Specular Color mapping 606Specular Level mapping 606Glossiness mapping 606Self-Illumination mapping 606Opacity mapping 606Filter Color mapping 606Anisotropy mapping 607Orientation mapping 607Metalness mapping 607Bump mapping 607Reflection mapping 607Refraction mapping 607Displacement mapping 607Tutorial: Creating space textures 608Tutorial: Aging objects for realism 610Using the Map Path Utility 611Using Map Instances 612Summary 613

Chapter 24: Controlling Mapping Coordinates 615

Mapping Modifiers 615UVW Map modifier 615Tutorial: Using the UVW Map modifier to apply decals 617UVW Mapping Add and Clear modifiers 618UVW XForm modifier 618Map Scaler modifier 618Camera Map modifier 619Using the Unwrap UVW modifier 619The Edit UVWs interface 619Tutorial: Controlling the mapping of a covered wagon 625Relaxing vertices 627Summary 628

Chapter 25: Creating Baked Textures 629

Using Channels 629Using the Channel Info dialog box 630Select by Channel modifier 630Rendering to a Texture 631General Settings 631Selecting Objects to Bake 632Output settings 633Baked Material and Automatic Mapping settings 633Tutorial: Baking the textures for a dog model 634Creating Normal Maps 635Using the Projection modifier 636Setting Projection Mapping options 636Tutorial: Creating a Normal map for a crocodile model 637

Using Vertex Colors 638Assigning vertex colors 638Painting vertices with the Vertex Paint modifier 639Tutorial: Marking heart tension 641The Assign Vertex Color utility 642Summary 642

Part V: Cameras and Lighting 643

Chapter 26: Working with Cameras 645

Learning to Work with Cameras 645Creating a camera object 646Creating a camera view 646Tutorial: Setting up an opponent’s view 647Controlling a camera 648Aiming a camera 650Tutorial: Watching a rocket 650Aligning cameras 650Tutorial: Seeing the dinosaur’s good side 651Setting Camera Parameters 653Lens settings and field of view 653Camera type and display options 654Environment ranges and clipping planes 654Camera Correction modifier 655Creating multi-pass camera effects 655Using the Depth of Field effect 656Tutorial: Applying a Depth of Field effect to a row of windmills 657Using the Motion Blur effect 659Tutorial: Using a Motion Blur multi-pass camera effect 659Matching a Camera to a Background Image 660Setting camera match points 661Tutorial: Driving in Rome 662Using the Camera Tracker Utility 663Loading a movie file 664Working with trackers 664Using the tracker gizmo 665Stepping through frames 665Automating the tracking process 667Matching the camera 667Smoothing the camera motion 668Pinning objects 668Tutorial: Tracking a camera zooming past traffic cones 669Summary 671

Chapter 27: Basic Lighting Techniques 673

Understanding the Basics of Lighting 673Natural and artificial light 673

A standard lighting method 674Shadows 675Getting to Know the Light Types 676Default lighting 676Ambient light 677Omni light 677

Spotlight 677Direct light 677Skylight 678Area Omni and Area Spot 678Creating and Positioning Light Objects 678Transforming lights 678Listing lights 678Placing highlights 679Tutorial: Lighting the snowman’s face 679Viewing a Scene from a Light 680Light viewport controls 680Tutorial: Lighting a lamp 681Altering Light Parameters 682General parameters 683The Intensity/Color/Attenuation rollout 684Spotlight and directional light parameters 685Advanced Effects 685Shadow parameters 685Optimizing lights 686Manipulating Hotspot and Falloff cones 687Working with Photometric Lights 687Target and Free photometric lights 687IES photometric lights 689Using the Sunlight and Daylight Systems 690Using the Compass helper 691Understanding Azimuth and Altitude 691Specifying date and time 691Specifying location 691Tutorial: Animating a day in 20 seconds 692Using Volume Lights 693Volume light parameters 693Tutorial: Showing car headlights 695Tutorial: Creating laser beams 696Using projector maps and raytraced shadows 697Tutorial: Projecting a trumpet image on a scene 698Tutorial: Creating a stained-glass window 699Summary 700

Chapter 28: Advanced Lighting, Light Tracing, and Radiosity 701

Selecting Advanced Lighting 701How light tracing works 702Enabling light tracing 703Tutorial: Viewing color bleeding 705Using Local Advanced Lighting Settings 706Tutorial: Excluding objects from light tracing 706Understanding Radiosity 707Lighting for radiosity 708Tutorial: Lighting an archway with radiosity 712Using Local and Global Advanced Lighting Settings 713Working with Advanced Lighting Materials 714Advanced Lighting Override 714Lightscape material 715

Using Lighting Analysis 715Summary 716

Part VI: Animation 717

Chapter 29: Animation and Keyframe Basics 719

Using the Time Controls 719Setting frame rate 721Setting speed and direction 721Using Time Tags 721Working with Keys 722Auto Key mode 722Set Key mode 723Tutorial: Rotating a windmill’s blades 723Creating keys with the Time Slider 724Copying parameter animation keys 724Deleting all object animation keys 725Using the Track Bar 725Viewing and Editing Key Values 726Using the Motion Panel 727Setting parameters 728Using trajectories 728Tutorial: Making an airplane follow a looping path 729Using Ghosting 731Animating Objects 731Animating cameras 732Tutorial: Animating darts hitting a dartboard 732Animating lights 733Animating materials 733Tutorial: Dimming lights 734Using IFL files 735Generating IFL files with the IFL Manager Utility 736Tutorial: What’s on TV? 736Working with Previews 738Creating previews 738Viewing previews 740Renaming previews 740Summary 740

Chapter 30: Using Animation Modifiers 741

Animated Skin Modifiers 741Using the Skin Modifier 741Using the Skin Wrap modifiers 749Using the Skin Morph modifier 751Animated Deformation Modifiers 752Morpher modifier 752Tutorial: Morphing facial expressions 753Using the Flex Modifier 755Melt modifier 759PatchDeform and SurfDeform modifiers 759Tutorial: Deforming a car going over a hill 760PathDeform modifier 761

Miscellaneous Animated Modifiers 761Linked XForm modifier 761SplineIK Control modifier 762Attribute Holder modifier 762Summary 763

Chapter 31: Wiring Custom Attributes 765

Adding Custom Parameters 765Collecting Parameters 767Wiring Parameters 770Using the Parameter Wiring dialog box 770Manipulator helpers 772Tutorial: Controlling a crocodile’s bite 772Summary 773

Chapter 32: Animating with Constraints and Controllers 775

Restricting Movement with Constraints 775Using constraints 776Working with the constraints 776Understanding Controller Types 786Assigning Controllers 787Automatically assigned controllers 787Assigning controllers with the Animation menu 788Assigning controllers in the Motion panel 789Assigning controllers in the Track View 789Setting Default Controllers 790Examining the Various Controllers 790Transform controllers 790Position track controllers 792Rotation and Scale track controllers 803Parameter controllers 804Summary 811

Chapter 33: Using the Expression Controller 813

Working with Expressions in Spinners 813Understanding the Expression Controller Interface 814Defining variables 815Building expressions 815Debugging and evaluating expressions 816Managing expressions 816Tutorial: Creating following eyes 817Understanding Expression Elements 818Predefined variables 818Operators 819Functions 820Return types 822Sample expressions 823Using Expression Controllers 824Animating transforms with the Expression controller 824Animating parameters with the Float Expression controller 824Tutorial: Inflating a balloon 825

Animating materials with the Expression controller 825Tutorial: Controlling a stoplight 826Summary 828

Chapter 34: Working with the Track View 829

Learning the Track View Interface 829The Track View layouts 829Track View menus and toolbars 830Controller and Key panes 836Lower interface toolbars 837Working with Keys 838Selecting keys 839Using soft selection 839Adding and deleting keys 840Moving, sliding, and scaling keys 840Editing keys 840Using the Randomize Keys utility 840Displaying keyable icons 841Editing Time 841Selecting time and the Select Keys by Time utility 842Deleting, cutting, copying, and pasting time 842Reversing, inserting, and scaling time 842Setting ranges 842Editing Curves 843Inserting new keys and moving keys 843Tutorial: Animating a monorail 843Drawing curves 846Reducing keys 847Working with tangents 847Tutorial: Animating a flowing river 848Applying out-of-range, ease, and multiplier curves 849Tutorial: Animating a wind-up teapot 850Filtering Tracks 853Working with Controllers 854Using visibility tracks 855Adding Note Tracks 855Tutorial: Animating a hazard light 855Tutorial: Animating a checkers move 857Synchronizing to a Sound Track 860Using the Sound Options dialog box 861Tutorial: Adding sound to an animation 861Summary 863

Part VII: Character Studio, Rigging, and Inverse Kinematics 865

Chapter 35: Creating and Animating Bipeds 867

Character Studio Basics 867Creating a Biped 868Customizing a biped 870Modifying a biped 872

Setting the Biped display options 874Working with Postures and Poses 875Tutorial: Creating a four-footed biped 876Animating a Biped 877Using Footstep mode 877Tutorial: Making a biped jump on a box 879Converting biped animation clips 880Using Freeform mode 880Loading and saving biped animation clips 882Using Motion Flow mode 882Previewing a biped animation 883Moving a biped with its footsteps 883Introducing the Biped Apps 883Accessing the Motion Mixer 883Accessing the Animation Workbench 884Summary 884

Chapter 36: Using Physique to Add Skin to a Biped 885

Understanding Your Character 885The curse and blessing of symmetry 886Dealing with details 886Building Bodies 886Defining a structure 886Modeling techniques 890Using BlobMesh objects 894Working with hands and feet 895Modeling clothing 895Creating hair 896Tutorial: Adding hair to a head 896The Character menu 897Using the Physique Modifier 897Preparing a Skin Mesh 898Applying and initializing the Physique modifier 898Loading and saving Physique files 899Editing envelope subobjects 899Using the Bulge Editor 901Stretching skin with tendons 902Tutorial: Adding Physique to a character 902Summary 904

Chapter 37: Controlling Biped Crowds 905

Creating Crowds 905Using Crowd and Delegate helpers 905Scattering Delegates 905Setting delegate parameters 906Assigning behaviors 907Solving the simulation 908Tutorial: Navigating an array of cubes 908Creating a Crowd of Bipeds 910Associating delegates with objects 910Associating delegates with objects 910Tutorial: Seeking treasure 910Summary 912

Chapter 38: Manually Rigging a Character 913

A Rigging Workflow 913Building a Bones System 914Assigning an IK Solver 914Setting bone parameters 915Tutorial: Making a simple puppet using bones 915Using the Bone Tools 917Reordering bones 917Refining bones 918Coloring bones 918Adjusting fins 919Making objects into bones 919Creating Characters 919Saving and loading characters 921Destroying characters 921Working with Characters 922Defining character members 922Locking and unlocking characters 922Setting a skin pose 922Tutorial: Creating a frog character 923Saving and inserting character animations 925Merging animations 925Using Character Animation Techniques 926Summary 927

Chapter 39: Working with Inverse Kinematics 929

Forward Kinematics versus Inverse Kinematics 929Creating an Inverse Kinematics System 930Building and linking a system 930Selecting a terminator 930Defining joint constraints 931Copying, pasting, and mirroring joints 931Binding objects 931Understanding precedence 932Tutorial: Building an extensible arm linkage 932Using the Various Inverse Kinematics Methods 933Interactive IK 933Applied IK 936History Independent (HI) IK solver 937History Dependent (HD) IK solver 940Tutorial: Animating a spyglass with the HD IK solver 942

IK Limb solver 942Tutorial: Animating a character’s arm with the IK Limb solver 943Spline IK solver 944Tutorial: Building an IK Spline snake 945Summary 946

Part VIII: Dynamics and reactor 947

Chapter 40: Using Space Warps 949

Creating and Binding Space Warps 949Creating a Space Warp 949Binding a Space Warp to an object 950

Understanding Space Warp Types 950Force Space Warps 950Deflector Space Warps 958Geometric/Deformable Space Warps 961Modifier-Based Space Warps 967Combining Particle Systems with Space Warps 968Tutorial: Shattering glass 968Tutorial: Exploding a planet 970Tutorial: Making water flow down a trough 971Summary 972

Chapter 41: Creating a Dynamic Simulation 973

Understanding Dynamics 973Using Dynamic Objects 974Spring 974Damper 975Defining Dynamic Material Properties 977Using Dynamic Space Warps 978Using the Dynamics Utility 978Using the Dynamics rollout 979Using the Timing & Simulation rollout 980Editing simulation objects 980Optimizing a simulation 982Summary 982

Chapter 42: Animating with reactor 983

Using reactor 983The reactor process 984Tutorial: Filling a glass bowl 984Using reactor Collections 985Collection modifiers 987Setting object properties 987Tutorial: Throwing a shirt over a chair 989Creating reactor Objects 991Springs and dashpots 992Plane 992Motor and Wind 992Toy Car 993Tutorial: Driving a monster truck over a hill 993Fracture 995Tutorial: Smashing a gingerbread house 995Water 996Tutorial: Working with water 996Calculating and Previewing a Simulation 997Using the Preview window 998Creating animation keys 999Analyzing the scene 999Tutorial: Dropping a plate of donuts 999Constraining Objects 1000Using a Constraint Solver 1001Rag Doll constraint 1001Tutorial: Swinging into a wall 1002reactor Troubleshooting 1004Summary 1004

Part IX: Rendering and mental ray 1005

Chapter 43: Rendering Basics 1007

The Rendering Menu 1007Understanding the Max Renderers 1008Previewing with ActiveShade 1008Using the ActiveShade Floater 1010Enabling ActiveShade in a viewport 1010Render Parameters 1011Initiating a render job 1011Common parameters 1013E-mail notifications 1015Assigning renderers 1015Scanline A-Buffer renderer 1016Rendering Preferences 1018Creating VUE Files 1020Using the Rendered Frame Window 1021Using the RAM Player 1022Reviewing the Render Types 1024Using Command-Line Rendering 1024Creating Panoramic Images 1024Getting Printer Help 1025Creating an Environment 1026Defining the rendered environment 1026Setting exposure 1028Summary 1030

Chapter 44: Using Atmospheric Effects 1033

Creating Atmospheric Effects 1033Working with the Atmospheric Apparatus 1033Adding effects to a scene 1034Using the Fire Effect 1034Tutorial: Creating the sun 1037Tutorial: Creating clouds 1038Using the Fog Effect 1039Using the Volume Fog effect 1040Tutorial: Creating a swamp scene 1042Using the Volume Light effect 1043Summary 1043

Chapter 45: Using Render Elements and Effects 1045

Using Render Elements 1045Adding Render Effects 1047Creating Lens Effects 1049Global Lens Effects Parameters 1049Glow 1051Tutorial: Creating shocking electricity from a plug outlet 1054Tutorial: Creating neon 1055Ring 1056Ray 1057Star 1057Streak 1057