Description

Book Synopsis
Start animating right away with this tutorial-based guide to Autodesk 3ds Max 2016

Autodesk 3ds Max 2016 Essentials is your perfect hands-on guide to start animating quickly. Using approachable, real-world exercises, you''ll master the fundamentals of this leading animation software by following full-color screen shots step by step. Each chapter opens with a quick discussion of concepts and learning objectives, and then launches into hands-on tutorials that give you firsthand experience and a good start on preparing for the 3ds Max certification exam. You''ll learn the basics of modeling, texturing, animating, and visual effects as you create a retro-style alarm clock, animate a thrown knife, model a chair, and more. Whether you''re a complete beginner or migrating from another 3D application, this task-based book provides the solid grounding you need in Autodesk 3ds Max 2016.

  • Model your character with polygons, meshes, and more
  • Add motion with si

    Table of Contents
    Introduction xxi

    Chapter 1 The 3ds Max Interface 1

    Navigating the Workspace 1

    User-Interface Elements 1

    Viewports 4

    ViewCube 6

    Mouse Buttons 6

    Quad Menus 7

    Displaying Objects in a Viewport 8

    Viewport Navigation 10

    Transforming Objects Using Gizmos 11

    Graphite Modeling Tools Set 13

    Command Panel 14

    Object Parameters and Values 14

    Modifier Stack 15

    Objects and Sub-Objects 15

    Time Slider and Track Bar 16

    File Management 16

    Setting a Project 16

    Version Up! 18

    Now You Know 18

    Chapter 2 Your First 3ds Max Project 19

    Setting Up a Project Workflow 19

    Exercise 2.1: Setting Up a Project 20

    The Secret to Accurate Modeling: Reference Material! 20

    Exercise 2.2: Setting Up the Modeling Reference 21

    Building a Simple Model 24

    Exercise 2.3: Starting with a Primitive 24

    Exercise 2.4: Modeling in Sub-Object Mode 25

    Exercise 2.5: Bringing on the Bevel 29

    Exercise 2.6: Chamfering Time 32

    Creating Details Using Splines 38

    Exercise 2.7: Building the Handle 38

    Lathing, Extruding, and Beveling to Create 3D from 2D 45

    Exercise 2.8: Lathing to Make a Whole 45

    Exercise 2.9: Creating the Clock Numbers and Hands 48

    Bringing It All Together 54

    Exercise 2.10: Using Merge 54

    Now You Know 56

    Chapter 3 Modeling in 3ds Max: Architectural Model Part I 57

    Setting Up the Scene 58

    Exercise 3.1: Setting Up Units 58

    Exercise 3.2: Importing a CAD Drawing 59

    Building the Room 63

    Exercise 3.3: Creating the Walls 63

    Exercise 3.4: Creating the Doors 66

    Exercise 3.5: Creating the Window 69

    Exercise 3.6: Adding a Floor and a Ceiling 71

    Adding Special Details to the Room 74

    Exercise 3.7: Creating Baseboard Moldings 75

    Now You Know 82

    Chapter 4 Modeling in 3ds Max: Architectural Model Part II 83

    Modeling the Couch 83

    Exercise 4.1: Blocking Out the Couch Model 84

    Exercise 4.2: Using NURMS to Add Softness 86

    Exercise 4.3: Building Detail on the Couch Model 89

    Exercise 4.4: Creating the Chaise Lounge 92

    Exercise 4.5: Modeling the Couch Feet 95

    Modeling the Lounge Chair 97

    Exercise 4.6: Creating Image Planes 98

    Exercise 4.7: Adding the Images 99

    Exercise 4.8: Building the Splines for the Chair Frame 100

    Exercise 4.9: Building the Chair Cushion 106

    Exercise 4.10: Creating the Chair’s Base 108

    Bringing It All Together 113

    Now You Know 115

    Chapter 5 Introduction to Animation 117

    Animating the Ball 118

    Exercise 5.1: Setting Keyframes 118

    Exercise 5.2: Copying Keyframes 120

    Exercise 5.3: Using the Track View - Curve Editor 121

    Reading Animation Curves 124

    Refining the Animation 126

    Exercise 5.4: Editing Animation Curves 127

    Exercise 5.5: Squash and Stretch 129

    Exercise 5.6: Setting the Timing 131

    Exercise 5.7: Moving the Ball Forward 132

    Exercise 5.8: Using the XForm Modifier 135

    Exercise 5.9: Animating the XForm Modifier 136

    Exercise 5.10: Correcting the Rotation 137

    Now You Know 138

    Chapter 6 Animation Principles 139

    Anticipation and Momentum in Knife Throwing 139

    Exercise 6.1: Blocking Out the Animation 139

    Exercise 6.2: Working with Trajectories 142

    Exercise 6.3: Adding Rotation 144

    Exercise 6.4: Adding Anticipation 146

    Exercise 6.5: Following Through 148

    Exercise 6.6: Transferring Momentum to the Target 149

    Now You Know 152

    Chapter 7 Character Modeling Part I 153

    Setting Up the Scene 153

    Exercise 7.1: Creating the Image Planes 154

    Exercise 7.2: Adding the Images to the Planes 155

    Blocking Out the Alien Model 156

    Exercise 7.3: Forming the Torso 157

    Exercise 7.4: Creating Symmetry 161

    Exercise 7.5: Blocking Out the Arms 162

    Exercise 7.6: Blocking Out the Leg 167

    Exercise 7.7: Refining the Body 172

    Exercise 7.8: Building the Neck 179

    Now You Know 184

    Chapter 8 Character Modeling Part II 185

    Creating the Alien Head 185

    Exercise 8.1: Blocking Out the Head 185

    Exercise 8.2: Building the Nose and Eye 188

    Building the Alien Hand 194

    Exercise 8.3: Building the Palm of the Hand 194

    Exercise 8.4: Beveling the Fingers 196

    Building the Foot 203

    Exercise 8.5: Blocking Out the Foot 203

    Exercise 8.6: Beveling the Toes 205

    Completing the Alien 208

    Exercise 8.7: Attaching to the Body 208

    Exercise 8.8: Using Symmetry 214

    Exercise 8.9: Finishing the Head 215

    Now You Know 220

    Chapter 9 Introduction to Materials 221

    Navigating the Slate Material Editor 221

    Identifying the Standard Material 223

    Standard Materials 223

    Identifying the mental ray Material 224

    Identifying Shaders 224

    Building Materials for the Couch 225

    Exercise 9.1: Creating a Standard Material 225

    Exercise 9.2: Applying the Material to the Couch 226

    Exercise 9.3: Adding a Bitmap 228

    Exercise 9.4: Mapping Coordinates 230

    Exercise 9.5: Adding Materials to the Feet 232

    Exercise 9.6: Applying a Bump Map 234

    Building Materials for the Lounge Chair 236

    Exercise 9.7: Creating a Leather Material for the Chair Cushion 236

    Exercise 9.8: Creating a Reflective Material 238

    Building Materials for the Window 241

    Exercise 9.9: Creating a Multi/Sub-Object Material 242

    Now You Know 247

    Chapter 10 Textures and UV Workflow: The Alien 249

    Defining UVs on the Alien’s Body 250

    Exercise 10.1: Seaming the Alien’s Body 250

    Unwrapping UVs on the Alien’s Body 256

    Exercise 10.2: Unwrapping the Alien’s Arm 257

    Exercise 10.3: Unwrapping the Alien’s Body 261

    Exercise 10.4: Arranging the Alien’s UVs 263

    Building and Applying Material to the Alien 266

    Exercise 10.5: Applying the Color Map 266

    Exercise 10.6: Applying the Bump Map 267

    Exercise 10.7: Applying the Specular Map 269

    Now You Know 271

    Chapter 11 Character Studio: Rigging 273

    Character Studio Workflow 273

    General Workflow 274

    Associating a Biped with the Alien Model 276

    Exercise 11.1: Creating and Modifying the Biped 276

    Exercise 11.2: Adjusting the Torso and Arms 283

    Exercise 11.3: Adjusting the Neck and Head 285

    Skinning the Alien Model 287

    Exercise 11.4: Applying the Skin Modifier 288

    Exercise 11.5: Testing the Model 288

    Exercise 11.6: Tweaking the Skin Modifier 290

    Exercise 11.7: Testing the Alien Model Rig 294

    Exercise 11.8: Controlling the View 296

    Now You Know 298

    Chapter 12 Character Studio: Animation 299

    Animating the Alien 299

    Exercise 12.1: Adding a Run-and-Jump Sequence 300

    Freeform Animation 302

    Exercise 12.2: Moving the Head 302

    Exercise 12.3: Moving the Arms 305

    Exercise 12.4: Completing the Motion Sequence 307

    Modifying Animation in the Dope Sheet 308

    Exercise 12.5: Adding Footsteps Manually 308

    Exercise 10.6: Using the Dope Sheet 309

    Now You Know 314

    Chapter 13 Introduction to Lighting: Interior Lighting 315

    Recognizing 3ds Max Lights 315

    Standard Lights 316

    Target Spotlight 316

    Target Direct Light 318

    Free Spot or Free Direct Light 319

    Omni Light 320

    Lighting a Still Life 321

    Exercise 13.1: Setting Up the Basic Lights for the Scene 322

    Exercise 13.2: Adding Shadows 325

    Exercise 13.3: Adding a Fill Light 326

    Exercise 13.4: Setting Up the Fill Light Attenuation 328

    Selecting a Shadow Type 330

    Atmospherics and Effects 332

    Exercise 13.5: Creating a Volume Light 332

    Volume Light Parameters 337

    The Light Lister 338

    Now You Know 339

    Chapter 14 3ds Max Rendering 341

    Navigating the Render Setup Dialog 341

    Common Tab 342

    Choosing a Filename 343

    Rendered Frame Window 344

    Render Processing 344

    Assign Renderer 345

    Rendering a Scene 346

    Exercise 14.1: Rendering the Bouncing Ball 346

    Working with Cameras 348

    Exercise 14.2: Creating a Camera 350

    Exercise 14.3: Animating a Camera 352

    Exercise 14.4: Clarifying Safe Frames 354

    Raytraced Reflections and Refractions 356

    Exercise 14.5: Creating Reflections with Raytrace Material 357

    Exercise 14.6: Raytrace Mapping 359

    Exercise 14.7: Using the Raytrace Material to Create Refractions 360

    Exercise 14.8: Using Raytrace Mapping to Create Refractions 363

    Rendering the Interior and Furniture 365

    Exercise 14.9: Adding Raytraced Reflections 365

    Exercise 14.10: Outputting the Render 367

    Now You Know 368

    Chapter 15 mental ray 369

    Navigating the mental ray Renderer 369

    Exercise 15.1: Enabling the mental ray Renderer 369

    mental ray Sampling Quality 370

    Navigating the Final Gather Parameters 372

    Basic Group 373

    Advanced Group 374

    The mental ray Rendered Frame Window 375

    Navigating mental ray Materials 376

    Exercise 15.2: Setting Up the Material Editor 376

    Exercise 15.3: Using Arch & Design Material Templates 377

    Exercise 15.4: Creating Arch & Design Materials 381

    Exercise 15.5: Using the Multi/Sub-Object Material and Arch & Design 383

    Using Photometric Lights with mental ray 385

    Exercise 15.6: Using Photometric Lights in mental ray Renderings 385

    Using the Daylight System 391

    Exercise 15.7: Using the Daylight System in mental ray Renderings 391

    Now You Know 396

    Appendix Autodesk 3ds Max Certification 397

    Index 401

Autodesk 3ds Max 2016 Essentials

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RRP £38.99 – you save £3.90 (10%)

Order before 4pm tomorrow for delivery by Sat 27 Dec 2025.

A Paperback / softback by Dariush Derakhshani, Randi L. Derakhshani

15 in stock


    View other formats and editions of Autodesk 3ds Max 2016 Essentials by Dariush Derakhshani

    Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc
    Publication Date: 23/10/2015
    ISBN13: 9781119059769, 978-1119059769
    ISBN10: 1119059763

    Description

    Book Synopsis
    Start animating right away with this tutorial-based guide to Autodesk 3ds Max 2016

    Autodesk 3ds Max 2016 Essentials is your perfect hands-on guide to start animating quickly. Using approachable, real-world exercises, you''ll master the fundamentals of this leading animation software by following full-color screen shots step by step. Each chapter opens with a quick discussion of concepts and learning objectives, and then launches into hands-on tutorials that give you firsthand experience and a good start on preparing for the 3ds Max certification exam. You''ll learn the basics of modeling, texturing, animating, and visual effects as you create a retro-style alarm clock, animate a thrown knife, model a chair, and more. Whether you''re a complete beginner or migrating from another 3D application, this task-based book provides the solid grounding you need in Autodesk 3ds Max 2016.

    • Model your character with polygons, meshes, and more
    • Add motion with si

      Table of Contents
      Introduction xxi

      Chapter 1 The 3ds Max Interface 1

      Navigating the Workspace 1

      User-Interface Elements 1

      Viewports 4

      ViewCube 6

      Mouse Buttons 6

      Quad Menus 7

      Displaying Objects in a Viewport 8

      Viewport Navigation 10

      Transforming Objects Using Gizmos 11

      Graphite Modeling Tools Set 13

      Command Panel 14

      Object Parameters and Values 14

      Modifier Stack 15

      Objects and Sub-Objects 15

      Time Slider and Track Bar 16

      File Management 16

      Setting a Project 16

      Version Up! 18

      Now You Know 18

      Chapter 2 Your First 3ds Max Project 19

      Setting Up a Project Workflow 19

      Exercise 2.1: Setting Up a Project 20

      The Secret to Accurate Modeling: Reference Material! 20

      Exercise 2.2: Setting Up the Modeling Reference 21

      Building a Simple Model 24

      Exercise 2.3: Starting with a Primitive 24

      Exercise 2.4: Modeling in Sub-Object Mode 25

      Exercise 2.5: Bringing on the Bevel 29

      Exercise 2.6: Chamfering Time 32

      Creating Details Using Splines 38

      Exercise 2.7: Building the Handle 38

      Lathing, Extruding, and Beveling to Create 3D from 2D 45

      Exercise 2.8: Lathing to Make a Whole 45

      Exercise 2.9: Creating the Clock Numbers and Hands 48

      Bringing It All Together 54

      Exercise 2.10: Using Merge 54

      Now You Know 56

      Chapter 3 Modeling in 3ds Max: Architectural Model Part I 57

      Setting Up the Scene 58

      Exercise 3.1: Setting Up Units 58

      Exercise 3.2: Importing a CAD Drawing 59

      Building the Room 63

      Exercise 3.3: Creating the Walls 63

      Exercise 3.4: Creating the Doors 66

      Exercise 3.5: Creating the Window 69

      Exercise 3.6: Adding a Floor and a Ceiling 71

      Adding Special Details to the Room 74

      Exercise 3.7: Creating Baseboard Moldings 75

      Now You Know 82

      Chapter 4 Modeling in 3ds Max: Architectural Model Part II 83

      Modeling the Couch 83

      Exercise 4.1: Blocking Out the Couch Model 84

      Exercise 4.2: Using NURMS to Add Softness 86

      Exercise 4.3: Building Detail on the Couch Model 89

      Exercise 4.4: Creating the Chaise Lounge 92

      Exercise 4.5: Modeling the Couch Feet 95

      Modeling the Lounge Chair 97

      Exercise 4.6: Creating Image Planes 98

      Exercise 4.7: Adding the Images 99

      Exercise 4.8: Building the Splines for the Chair Frame 100

      Exercise 4.9: Building the Chair Cushion 106

      Exercise 4.10: Creating the Chair’s Base 108

      Bringing It All Together 113

      Now You Know 115

      Chapter 5 Introduction to Animation 117

      Animating the Ball 118

      Exercise 5.1: Setting Keyframes 118

      Exercise 5.2: Copying Keyframes 120

      Exercise 5.3: Using the Track View - Curve Editor 121

      Reading Animation Curves 124

      Refining the Animation 126

      Exercise 5.4: Editing Animation Curves 127

      Exercise 5.5: Squash and Stretch 129

      Exercise 5.6: Setting the Timing 131

      Exercise 5.7: Moving the Ball Forward 132

      Exercise 5.8: Using the XForm Modifier 135

      Exercise 5.9: Animating the XForm Modifier 136

      Exercise 5.10: Correcting the Rotation 137

      Now You Know 138

      Chapter 6 Animation Principles 139

      Anticipation and Momentum in Knife Throwing 139

      Exercise 6.1: Blocking Out the Animation 139

      Exercise 6.2: Working with Trajectories 142

      Exercise 6.3: Adding Rotation 144

      Exercise 6.4: Adding Anticipation 146

      Exercise 6.5: Following Through 148

      Exercise 6.6: Transferring Momentum to the Target 149

      Now You Know 152

      Chapter 7 Character Modeling Part I 153

      Setting Up the Scene 153

      Exercise 7.1: Creating the Image Planes 154

      Exercise 7.2: Adding the Images to the Planes 155

      Blocking Out the Alien Model 156

      Exercise 7.3: Forming the Torso 157

      Exercise 7.4: Creating Symmetry 161

      Exercise 7.5: Blocking Out the Arms 162

      Exercise 7.6: Blocking Out the Leg 167

      Exercise 7.7: Refining the Body 172

      Exercise 7.8: Building the Neck 179

      Now You Know 184

      Chapter 8 Character Modeling Part II 185

      Creating the Alien Head 185

      Exercise 8.1: Blocking Out the Head 185

      Exercise 8.2: Building the Nose and Eye 188

      Building the Alien Hand 194

      Exercise 8.3: Building the Palm of the Hand 194

      Exercise 8.4: Beveling the Fingers 196

      Building the Foot 203

      Exercise 8.5: Blocking Out the Foot 203

      Exercise 8.6: Beveling the Toes 205

      Completing the Alien 208

      Exercise 8.7: Attaching to the Body 208

      Exercise 8.8: Using Symmetry 214

      Exercise 8.9: Finishing the Head 215

      Now You Know 220

      Chapter 9 Introduction to Materials 221

      Navigating the Slate Material Editor 221

      Identifying the Standard Material 223

      Standard Materials 223

      Identifying the mental ray Material 224

      Identifying Shaders 224

      Building Materials for the Couch 225

      Exercise 9.1: Creating a Standard Material 225

      Exercise 9.2: Applying the Material to the Couch 226

      Exercise 9.3: Adding a Bitmap 228

      Exercise 9.4: Mapping Coordinates 230

      Exercise 9.5: Adding Materials to the Feet 232

      Exercise 9.6: Applying a Bump Map 234

      Building Materials for the Lounge Chair 236

      Exercise 9.7: Creating a Leather Material for the Chair Cushion 236

      Exercise 9.8: Creating a Reflective Material 238

      Building Materials for the Window 241

      Exercise 9.9: Creating a Multi/Sub-Object Material 242

      Now You Know 247

      Chapter 10 Textures and UV Workflow: The Alien 249

      Defining UVs on the Alien’s Body 250

      Exercise 10.1: Seaming the Alien’s Body 250

      Unwrapping UVs on the Alien’s Body 256

      Exercise 10.2: Unwrapping the Alien’s Arm 257

      Exercise 10.3: Unwrapping the Alien’s Body 261

      Exercise 10.4: Arranging the Alien’s UVs 263

      Building and Applying Material to the Alien 266

      Exercise 10.5: Applying the Color Map 266

      Exercise 10.6: Applying the Bump Map 267

      Exercise 10.7: Applying the Specular Map 269

      Now You Know 271

      Chapter 11 Character Studio: Rigging 273

      Character Studio Workflow 273

      General Workflow 274

      Associating a Biped with the Alien Model 276

      Exercise 11.1: Creating and Modifying the Biped 276

      Exercise 11.2: Adjusting the Torso and Arms 283

      Exercise 11.3: Adjusting the Neck and Head 285

      Skinning the Alien Model 287

      Exercise 11.4: Applying the Skin Modifier 288

      Exercise 11.5: Testing the Model 288

      Exercise 11.6: Tweaking the Skin Modifier 290

      Exercise 11.7: Testing the Alien Model Rig 294

      Exercise 11.8: Controlling the View 296

      Now You Know 298

      Chapter 12 Character Studio: Animation 299

      Animating the Alien 299

      Exercise 12.1: Adding a Run-and-Jump Sequence 300

      Freeform Animation 302

      Exercise 12.2: Moving the Head 302

      Exercise 12.3: Moving the Arms 305

      Exercise 12.4: Completing the Motion Sequence 307

      Modifying Animation in the Dope Sheet 308

      Exercise 12.5: Adding Footsteps Manually 308

      Exercise 10.6: Using the Dope Sheet 309

      Now You Know 314

      Chapter 13 Introduction to Lighting: Interior Lighting 315

      Recognizing 3ds Max Lights 315

      Standard Lights 316

      Target Spotlight 316

      Target Direct Light 318

      Free Spot or Free Direct Light 319

      Omni Light 320

      Lighting a Still Life 321

      Exercise 13.1: Setting Up the Basic Lights for the Scene 322

      Exercise 13.2: Adding Shadows 325

      Exercise 13.3: Adding a Fill Light 326

      Exercise 13.4: Setting Up the Fill Light Attenuation 328

      Selecting a Shadow Type 330

      Atmospherics and Effects 332

      Exercise 13.5: Creating a Volume Light 332

      Volume Light Parameters 337

      The Light Lister 338

      Now You Know 339

      Chapter 14 3ds Max Rendering 341

      Navigating the Render Setup Dialog 341

      Common Tab 342

      Choosing a Filename 343

      Rendered Frame Window 344

      Render Processing 344

      Assign Renderer 345

      Rendering a Scene 346

      Exercise 14.1: Rendering the Bouncing Ball 346

      Working with Cameras 348

      Exercise 14.2: Creating a Camera 350

      Exercise 14.3: Animating a Camera 352

      Exercise 14.4: Clarifying Safe Frames 354

      Raytraced Reflections and Refractions 356

      Exercise 14.5: Creating Reflections with Raytrace Material 357

      Exercise 14.6: Raytrace Mapping 359

      Exercise 14.7: Using the Raytrace Material to Create Refractions 360

      Exercise 14.8: Using Raytrace Mapping to Create Refractions 363

      Rendering the Interior and Furniture 365

      Exercise 14.9: Adding Raytraced Reflections 365

      Exercise 14.10: Outputting the Render 367

      Now You Know 368

      Chapter 15 mental ray 369

      Navigating the mental ray Renderer 369

      Exercise 15.1: Enabling the mental ray Renderer 369

      mental ray Sampling Quality 370

      Navigating the Final Gather Parameters 372

      Basic Group 373

      Advanced Group 374

      The mental ray Rendered Frame Window 375

      Navigating mental ray Materials 376

      Exercise 15.2: Setting Up the Material Editor 376

      Exercise 15.3: Using Arch & Design Material Templates 377

      Exercise 15.4: Creating Arch & Design Materials 381

      Exercise 15.5: Using the Multi/Sub-Object Material and Arch & Design 383

      Using Photometric Lights with mental ray 385

      Exercise 15.6: Using Photometric Lights in mental ray Renderings 385

      Using the Daylight System 391

      Exercise 15.7: Using the Daylight System in mental ray Renderings 391

      Now You Know 396

      Appendix Autodesk 3ds Max Certification 397

      Index 401

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