Book Image

3ds Max Speed Modeling for 3D Artists

By : Thomas Mooney
Book Image

3ds Max Speed Modeling for 3D Artists

By: Thomas Mooney

Overview of this book

Production of 3D art is an exciting medium, but the task of modeling requires intense attention to detail, so speed and efficiency are vital. This book breaks down speed modeling workflow in 3ds Max into stages you can easily achieve, with a focus on hard surface modeling and methods you can apply to your own designs."3ds Max Speed Modeling for 3D Artists" will help level up your 3D modeling skills. It focuses on hard surface modeling, and shows the range of tools and techniques in 3ds Max 2013.This book shows content creation methods aimed at 3ds Max modelers preparing to show their skill to the industry. The key feature of modeling that artists must exhibit is speediness while preserving technical accuracy. The author helps you follow set project guidelines while pushing creativity and outlines the entire workflow from concept development to exporting a game-ready model.The book begins with introductions for new users to the interface and modeling tools, and progresses to topics aimed at users already familiar with 3ds Max, who want to improve their content creation process. You'll also see ways 3ds Max content is used with other applications, like sculpting software and game editors, and learn features of speed modeling, efficient workflow, re-use of content, and tips on getting more done, more quickly.By the end of this book you will have learned key topics in modeling, ready to face professional level work with elan.
Table of Contents (17 chapters)
3ds Max Speed Modeling for 3D Artists
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Shape construction and interpolation


An important aspect of generating geometry from shapes is the Interpolation value of the shape. Interpolation is similar to subdivision. In 3D, a curve is really a composite of straight segments, and the more you have the rounder your curve will look. A 16-sided cylinder, for example, looks quite chunky, but is still recognizably round. If you subdivide it once, you get a better idea of its roundness, yet the model is still only made of straight lines. Each Spline has an Interpolation parameter, which defaults to 6. In most cases the value is too high, especially if you are making a low-poly model that will be subdivided later. In the following example, we'll cover construction of shapes in more depth and also see how a change in interpolation affects the final model result. We'll use the Sweep modifier, which uses a path Spline and a profile Spline to generate a rail.

  1. Open the scene \Packt3dsMax\Chapter 04\SweepDemoStart.max. The vehicle we've been working...