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15 Tips

This document provides 15 tips and tricks for avoiding common mistakes and improving efficiency when working in 3D Studio Max. Some key tips include using soft shadows and realistic dimensions to improve render realism, optimizing polygon counts and image sizes to decrease render times, using editable poly objects over editable mesh for advanced modeling, and ensuring spline shapes are closed without overlapping segments to prevent errors when extruding. The tips also cover how to troubleshoot issues like disappearing vertices or panels by converting object types or resetting interface customizations.

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Jaiprakash Sekar
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52 views

15 Tips

This document provides 15 tips and tricks for avoiding common mistakes and improving efficiency when working in 3D Studio Max. Some key tips include using soft shadows and realistic dimensions to improve render realism, optimizing polygon counts and image sizes to decrease render times, using editable poly objects over editable mesh for advanced modeling, and ensuring spline shapes are closed without overlapping segments to prevent errors when extruding. The tips also cover how to troubleshoot issues like disappearing vertices or panels by converting object types or resetting interface customizations.

Uploaded by

Jaiprakash Sekar
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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15 Tips&Tricks for 3D Studio Max ***

15 Tips&Tricks for 3D Studio Max of the FLORENCE DESIGN ACADEMY


+ Here you have 15 of the most used Tips&Tricks of the FLORENCE DESIGN
ACADEMY (www.florencedesignacademy.com) to avoid mistakes, errors and
imperfections in your projects.
Tip 1.)
Did you know that "architectural materials" and "self illuminated" materials are light
emitting (for Mental Ray & Vray) ? If you apply them on a box you will get a similar
effect as a "photometric area light" or a "Vray light".
Tip 2.)
Try to use always soft shadows in your renderings if possible. Hard shadows are
looking always very fake. In "Mr Omni/Spot" scale the size of the light in the area
light parameters (mental ray).
In Mental Ray you have to use the "RAYTRACED shadows" !
In Vray enable in the Omni/Spot the "area shadow" and scale the size of the light.
Soft shadows will take more render time !
Tip 3.)
To have perfect shadows it is necessary to create all objects with real dimensions.
Tip 4.)
How to decrease render time for test-renderings:
a) the main setting to decrease the render time is the image size. Normally I use
150x112 pixels as size. It is too small to see the object's details but its is perfect to
understand the light conditions.
b) Lower the Shadow quality !
c) Reduce the polygon number of the objects (try to use the optimize modifier if you
don't have any meshsmooth modifier on the objects)!
d) Reduce the photon number or/and the "sample" settings in the render engines.
Vray/MentalRay/Brazil RS/FinalRender/ etc.
e) Be careful with the amount of lights (too many lights will make the rendering very
slow)!
Tip 5.)
Do not use editable MESH but ALWAYS editable "POLY".
Editable Poly is optimized for advanced modeling , creates less errors than editable
mesh and has many more settings than editable mesh.
If you were working on a object with editable mesh , you can without problems
convert it to an editable Poly object.
Tip 6.)
Instead to meshsmooth a box, use from the "extended primitives" a "chamfer box"...
the result is the same, but the chamfer box" has less polygons !
Tip 7.)
Sometimes all your Vertexes disappear during modeling of an object.
To fix this bug try this options:
a) Convert your object again to an editable poly.
b) Convert your object to an editable mesh and then to an editable poly.
c) Save the file, Exit from 3D studio and open again the file.
d) Save the file, Exit from 3D studio and merge the object in a new file.
Tip 8.)
The best light to create Highlights is the Omni light (or MR Omni).
Tip 9.)
Do not use "area shadows" in Mental Ray, they are very slow and not optimized for
Mental Ray.
The best/fastest result is visible when you use Raytrace shadows.
If you are working with the "light-tracer" than you can use "area shadows". The
result is the same as in MentalRay with Raytrace shadows.
Tip 10.)
(for beginners) When you are working sometimes you can't anymore move your
object.
Probably you have pressed the key X. Press again X to enable the move tool
(GIZMO).
Similar problem: You can select only one object, all other objects can't be selected
anymore: probably you have pressed SPACE and locked the object. Press again
SPACE to unlock it.
Tip 11.)
When you create a "loft" object it can happen that the end or beginning of the object
has an error.
To fix the problem you should choose "CORNER" vertex on the first and last vertex of
your spline.
Tip 12.)
Download ALWAYS the last service-pack for your 3D Studio Max version. It will fix
important bugs.
Tip 13.)
There can be only 2 mistakes when your extruded (spline + extrude modifier) object
has an error:
a) you have overlapping segments in your spline.
b) the shape is not closed-check where you did not weld the vertexes-.
Tip 14.)
If you use splines to create shapes, try to use a very small number of vertexes.
If you convert the vertexes in smooth/bezier/bezier-corner you can create very
organic and round shapes without a too high number of vertexes (same tip for loft in
deformations-scale-panel).
Tip 15.)
If your interface/panel disappeared You have this options to fix the problem:
a.) Maybe You are in the "expert" mode...press CTR+x...
b.) Customize > Customize User Interface > Toolbars Tab > Reset!
c.) "Start"button on windows > Autodesk > 3D Studio Max > change graphics
mode !
d.) There should be a 3dsmax.ini file in ur max folder...delete it and start 3D Studio
Max again...
e.) Customize > load custom UI scheme.

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