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

1.

Open the file 9_robot_blind.max (Figure 9.66).

In this scene, you already have a simple jointed robot character, but he needs some eyes.

2.

In the Left viewport, create a Sphere primitive from the Standard Primitives category. Set the Radius value to 15 and leave the Segments value set to 32. In the Front viewport, maneuver the sphere so it's roughly where you'd like the robot's left eye to be (Figure 9.67). (You can also apply the Eye material from the Material Editor to make the eye easier to distinguish in the next few steps.)

3.

With the sphere still selected, hold down Shift and click once to bring up the Clone Options dialog. Leave the Object Type set to Copy and the Number of Copies set to 1.

4.

With our newly cloned sphere selected, let's create some eyelids. First, apply the Metal material from the Material Editor to it. Then, in the Modify panel, set the Radius value to 16, making it just a little larger than our eyeball.

5.

Check the box labeled Slice On and enter the following settings:

• Slice From = 200

• Slice To = 340

6.

You can open and close the eye, but the robot can't quite see yet. In the Front viewport, create another sphere roughly where you would like the pupil to be. Make the radius as large or as small as you likeI'd go for around 2. Apply the Pupil material.

Note

Many aspects of a character can be conveyed by the eyes, specifically the shape and scale of the pupils. Smaller pupils tend to give a more startled or focused look, while larger pupils often make a character look cuter or more childlike. This isn't always the case, but it's a good guide. Look at some of the early Disney films to see where the artists used larger eyes for cuter creatures.

7.

You want the pupil to sit flat on the surface of the eyeball. First, in the Left viewport, move the pupil so that it is in front of the eyeball; then, from the Create panel, go to the Geometry > Compound Objects subgroup and (with the pupil selected) choose Conform.

8.

Highlight the Pick Wrap-To Object button, and in the Front viewport, select the eyeball sphere. From the Modify panel, scroll down to the Update section of the rollout and check the box Hide Wrap-To Object (Figure 9.69).

If you move to the Perspective viewport, you can now see that the pupil has flattened to the surface of the eyeball. Another way to do this would be to create a separate texture map for the pupil and map it directly onto the eyeball.

9.

Now to keep everything together. If we're happy with the pupil, right-click and convert to an editable mesh. With the Select and Link tool, drag from the pupil to the eyeball itself. This means that when you rotate the eyeball, the pupil will follow. Use the Select and Rotate tool on the eyeball to move the direction of the robot's gaze (Figure 9.70).

10.

There's one more fairly obvious step, and that's duplicating the eye for the other side. Select the eyelids, eyeball, and pupil, and in the Front viewport, Shift-drag a clone onto the other side of the head.