INSIDE 3DS MAX® 7 [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

New to 3ds max 7 is the ability to use the mental ray rendering option with the Render To Texture feature. In previous versions, only the Default Scanline Renderer could be used for this.

1.

Open the file Giant_01.max from the DVD. This very nice model is available courtesy of Sami Sorjonen, s-s@sci.fi, www.cgmill.com/ss. Its face count has been reduced for this exercise.

2.

There are currently no lights available in the scene and very basic materials applied. Ensure that the camera_shot1 viewport is active; then render the scene (Figure 13.22).

Note that the scene renders in square patches in the Rendered Frame Window, rather than from top to bottom as you might expect from the Default Scanline Renderer. This is because mental ray is the renderer assigned to the scene, and this render pattern is a feature of mental ray called bucket rendering. Bucket rendering renders groups of nearby pixels rather than horizontal scanlines.

Our subject, the giant, is surrounded by some type of organic structure while he remains fixated on the crystal floating overhead. With only the default lighting available, the scene looks flat and unappealing. We'll start by adding a key light to bring the focus to the giant.

3.

In the Top viewport, create a target spotlight to the left of the camera. Drag and release to place the target centered on the giant (Figure 13.23).

4.

In the Left and camera_shot1 viewports, raise the light so that it is slightly higher than the character's head and place the target even with his hips.

5.

Select the Spotlight. In the Modify panel's General Parameters rollout, enable Shadows and choose mental ray Shadow Map from the drop-down list. With mental ray as the renderer, we can take advantage of the speed and quality of the shadows that are specific to mental ray.

6.

In the Intensity/Color/Attenuation rollout, check the Use check box for Far Attenuation. Set the Start value to 275 and the End value to 900 to force the light to decrease nicely as it passes through the scene.

7.

In the Spotlight Parameters rollout, decrease the hotspot until it just barely encompasses the giant. Set the Falloff value to roughly twice the Hotspot value. The large variance between the hotspot and the falloff will give the shadows a nice soft edge (Figure 13.24).

8.

Rename this light Light_Key; then render the scene (Figure 13.25).

1.

In the Top viewport, select Light_Key. Hold down the Shift key, then drag the light to the right and slightly behind the character. In the Clone Options dialog, choose Copy and rename the light Light_Fill. The new light's placement should be similar to what you see in Figure 13.26.

2.

In the Left viewport, move the fill light downward until it is just above the floor; then move the target until it's even with the middle of the character's chest.

3.

Leave the light's parameters as they are for now. You won't be able to see the effect of the fill light from the camera_shot1 viewport, so activate the Cam Close viewport and render the scene (Figure 13.27).

The two-light configuration that we currently have is easily manageable. A scene with many lights quickly becomes unwieldy as you try to select and adjust each light. Luckily, 3ds max has a toolthe Light Listerthat makes adjusting the most common light parameters a great deal easier.

4.

Open the Tools menu from the menu bar, and choose Light Lister. The Light Lister dialog will open, showing a list of all the lights in the scene as well as the most commonly adjusted parameters (Figure 13.28).

Tip

When two or more lights are instances, only one at a time will show in the Light Lister. To see the list of instances, click the down arrow button, located next to the clone's name. This expands the list of instances.

5.

Set Light_Key's Multiplier to 0.95. Select the same light's color swatch to open the Color Selector; then set the color to a very pale red. RGB values of (255, 222, 219) work well.

Tip

One of the best features of the Light Lister is that the light being adjusted does not need to be selected.

6.

Select the Light_Fill's Multiplier and set it to 0.5we'll keep it brighter than fill lights usually are because of the number of faces that are obstructing the light. Open the Color Selector, and give the light a pale gray-green color, somewhat like (216, 225, 214). This will give the impression of color bleed from the surrounding foliage.

7.

Clone the Rendered Frame Window, then render the Cam Close viewport and compare the two images (Figure 13.29).

1.

In the Top viewport, create an omni light. Its specific location is not important.

2.

With the light still selected, click the Align tool in the Main toolbar. Before the Align Selection dialog opens, you need to select the object to which the light will be aligned. Press the H key to open the Pick Object dialog, then select Sphere01 from the list.

3.

In the Align Selection dialog, check the X, Y, and Z Position check boxes and select Pivot Point in both the Current Object and Target Object areas. This will place the omni light at the center of the crystal (Figure 13.30). Click OK to execute, and close the dialog.

4.

Rename the light Light_Crystal. In the Modify panel, turn Shadows on. Also, make sure mental ray Shadow Map is selected. Set the Multiplier to 1, and change the light's color to a light blue, similar to (162, 165, 225).

5.

Select Sphere01, right-click in the viewport, and choose Properties from the Quad menu. In the Rendering Control area, uncheck Cast Shadows. This will prevent the crystal from obstructing the light that is cast from the omni. The crystal is also a light source in the scene and should not cast shadows from other lights.

6.

Render the scene.

The omni light's shadows are definitely not what we need in the scene (Figure 13.31). Omni lights spread rays in all directions and often cast improper shadows onto complicated surfaces.

7.

Select the omni light, and change it into a target spotlight. Correct the orientation by moving the target behind the giant. His head should be centered in the beam of light.

8.

Turn on Use for Far Attenuation, and set Start to 30 and End to 72. This will cause the light's intensity to fall off quickly from his head to the middle of his chest. In the Spotlight Parameters rollout, make sure that the hotspot is wider than the giant's spread arms; then turn on Overshoot so that the light will illuminate the area around the character.

9.

In the mental ray Shadow Map rollout, increase the Map Size value to 1024 pixels, then render the scene again. Figures 13.32 and 13.33 show the scene from both of the cameras.

1.

Continue with your current scene, or open the file Giant_VertexPaint.max from the DVD.

2.

Make the Cam Close viewport active. Use the Dolly Camera tool in the viewport controls to move the camera back far enough to see the giant's torso. Use the Truck Camera tool to pan the image until it looks similar to Figure 13.34.

Note

The VertexPaint modifier in 3ds max 7 is not completely compatible with the same modifier from previous versions. If a scene containing the VertexPaint modifier from a previous version of max is opened in max 7, the older version of the modifier will be loaded into the scene.

3.

Maximize the Cam Close viewport so that it will be easier to work in. Then turn off Edged Faces mode.

4.

Select the cage2 object; this is the green foliage that is binding the right side of the giant's body. We want to attach the two cage objects to create a single object to paint, but they are currently instances of each other. In the toolbar under the modifier stack, click the Make Unique button to change the instances into independent objects.

5.

In the Modify panel's Edit Geometry rollout, click the Attach List button next to the Attach button. In the Attach List dialog, choose cage1 from the list, then click the Attach button. Rename the object "cage".

6.

Expand the Modifier List and apply a VertexPaint modifier to the cage object. This will open the VertexPaint Paintbox, where you will find tools for all of your vertex painting needs.

We want to start by darkening the portions of the cage above the character's left and right shoulders that aren't receiving enough light. We'll start by adjusting the brush size and the paint color.

7.

At the top of the Paintbox, click the Vertex Color DisplayUnshaded button. Click the color swatch and choose a dark gray color; then set the Size value to 2.

8.

Click and drag the cursor over the surfaces above the giant's left shoulder. The brush will appear as a circle with a vector pointing away from the surface. 3ds max will always keep the brush's face perpendicular to the surface normals of each triangle. Repeat the process on the areas above the right shoulder (Figure 13.35).

9.

Select the giant, add a VertexPaint modifier, and add shadows where you feel they are best suited.

The VertexPaint modifier has adjustments for precise control over the brush, including using pressure data from a pen stylus to dictate variances of the brush's width. The controls can be found in the Painter Options dialog, which opens when you click the Brush Options button.

1.

Open the file entitled Giant_VertexPaint.max from the DVD. This is similar to the project that was completed at the end of the previous exercise, except that the model is broken into two pieces, giantHead and giantBody.

2.

Select giantHead, then open the Material Editor and highlight an unused slot. Click the Get Material button in the horizontal toolbar.

3.

In the Material/Map Browser, select Selected in the Browse From section, then double-click giant_skin to place that material into the selected material slot (Figure 13.36).

Look at the material and you will notice that it is an uncomplicated material with a Falloff map in the Diffuse Color slot.

4.

With giantHead still selected, add a UVW Map modifier and set the Mapping type to Shrink Wrap. Use the Edit UVWs dialog to stitch the appropriate edges together. (Check the texturing chapters in this book for more on UV mapping.)

5.

Click Rendering > Render To Texture from the 3ds max menu bar. This opens the Render To Texture dialog (Figure 13.37). This dialog will determine the object to be baked, the output location for the new maps generated, what objects to consider in the rendering, and the type of map to be baked.

6.

In the Output section of the General Settings rollout, click the "…" button; then assign the folder in which the new map will be placed.

7.

In the Objects to Bake rollout, check the Enabled check box in the Selected Object Settings section; then choose All Selected at the bottom of the rollout. These settings will cause max to consider the lighting effect of all the objects in the scene when generating the map for the giant's new material.

8.

In the Output rollout, click the Add button to open the Add Texture Elements dialog. This dialog, similar to the Render Elements feature discussed earlier, will allow you to choose which features of the rendering will be added to the new map. Select CompleteMap from the Available Elements list (Figure 13.38). In the Target Map slot, select Diffuse Color from the drop-down list.

9.

In the Selected Element Common Settings section of the Output rollout, select Diffuse Color from the Target Map Slot drop-down list and set the Map Size to 1024. This will allow more definition to be spread across the surface of the model.

10.

Click the Render button at the bottom of the dialog. 3ds max will show several progression bars as the texture is being rendered. Once completed, a new Shell material is created and applied to the giant. The newly rendered map, including shadows, will appear in the viewport, while the original material shows during true renderings.

11.

An Automatic Flatten UVs modifier is now at the top of the stack. In the Display section, choose Show No Seams to hide any bright green seam indicators that will obstruct your view. Your Cam Close viewport should look like Figure 13.39.