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7/31/2019 Scene Setup in 3ds Max
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Scene Setup
by Ian Ibbotson
Contents
Introduction
Before attempting to create a scene it is important to understand global settings pertaining to any scene that
will make modelling more efficient together with settings that pertain to individual scenes and stages in scene
development. This tutorial explains Viewport Configuration options, Scene Settings and basic MAX / VIZ
Configuration.
Download Sample Data
In order to follow this tutorial, you may want to use the supplied files. Please read thesample data instructions
before downloading.
kf102_files.zip(1mb)
module_1_maps.zip(11kb)
Top of page
Viewport Configuration
MAX / VIZ uses viewports to:
Navigate around the project and display different parts in different viewports
Transform objects on different planes when using the viewport reference coordinate system
Display object elements in a variety of ways to aid modelling
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At this stage in Key Fundamentals it is important to understand that in MAX / VIZ you have to deal with two
types of rendering.
1. What you see in the viewport, or Display Rendering
2. What you produce as an output image or animation or Output Rendering
Open Render types.max. This scene contains a box and a tree. What you see is the Display
Rendered
On the Main Toolbar press Quick Render This produces an Output Rendered image
The following two sections explain how to alter certain display rendering and output rendering settings to help
you model efficiently
The Viewport Menu and Viewport Configuration dialog are used for altering the display render as shown
below:
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Viewport Menu
To Open the Viewport Menu right click on the viewport text (eg'Perspective') to the top left of any viewport you
need to configure. The following menu appears. Commonly used items are shaded in the image below:
Smooth + Highlight / Wireframe
Open Viewport configuration.max. This scene contains a tree on a box object
Viewport Menu > Smooth + Highlights - the objects are now displayed as Smooth and
Highlighted
Press Wireframe - this reverts back to Wireframe display mode
Explore Others - these other options are sometimes used as a modellings display aids
TIP: Toggle between Wireframe and Smooth and Highlight display mode frequently when modelling. Usually
only one viewport (two at most) are kept in Smooth and Highlight mode when modelling to save on system
resouces
Keep the same scene open to explore the next three options
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Show Grid
Viewport Menu > Show Grid - notice the grid is turned off. Practice turning the grid on and off
Grids are a modelling aid, often used to 'snap' vertices and even objects to when creating a scene. However,
they have limited use in landscape work due to two main issues
1. A large proportion of surface boundary detail and object positioning is done in AutoCAD
2. Grids tend to complicate the view when working with many landscape surface meshes
The grid displayed in this scene is the default Home Grid and all geometry is created by default at the level of
the home grid. However, grids can be created, moved and used as modelling aids
TIP: Use the Show Grid toggle as a visual aid at the start of modelling to quickly view how far a surface or
object is above 0
Show Safe Frame
Viewport Menu > Show Safe Frame - use this toggle to show what will be rendered in the
Output Render
NOTE: This is usually kept off and just used as a reference when needed so that the modelling viewing area is
maximised
Viewport Clipping
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Viewport Menu > Viewport Clipping This displays the viewport clipping controls
Move the bottom control gently upwards to see the objects in the scene clipped
TIP: This can be a useful technique for cutting into the landscape to show a section view
Texture Correction
Open Texture correction.max. The scene has a box object (zero Z value) with a flag texture
assigned to it. Notice that the texture looks badly tiled
Viewport Menu > Texture Correction - the texture now looks as it is meant to look in the
Perspective viewport
NOTE: MAX / VIZ defaults this to Off to save on system resources. Paving materials are often better viewed in
the viewport with this set to On and unfortunately this has to be set every time the scene is opened
NOTE: If another graphics driver is selected other than the Software Z-Buffer option, the texture may display
correctly in the viewports
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Views
MAX / VIZ has a number of different default views to choose from. Briefly explore the different views available
(apart from Camera View)
Open Viewport configuration.max
Viewport Menu > Views > User
Viewport Menu > Views > Front
Viewport Menu > Views > Back
Viewport Menu > Views > Top
Go as far as Right and practice toggling between the different views
NOTE: Views are changed in other ways later in the tutorial
Top of page
Viewport Settings
Before starting modelling certain environment settings in the scene need attention together with some viewport
settings
For the background colour of output renderings (as oppose to the display render) and ambient light the
Environment dialog is used. For display options to aid the modelling process the Viewport Configuration
dialog is used. These dialogs are both used in the initial setup of a scene
Render Background Colour and Exposure Control
The background colour of output renderings needs changing as the default colour is black and for now
Exposure Control needs setting to 'no exposure control'
Open Environment.max
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Press Quick Render Note that the output render has a default black background and the
scene objects are rather 'washed out'
Rendering > Environment - this displays the Environment and Effects dialog
Click on the Background Color swatch and move the Hue selector to top blue and the
Whiteness down
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On the Exposure Control rollout change the Exposure control from the default Logrithmic
Exposure Control to no exposure control. Exit the dialog
Press Quick Render - notice that the output render has a light blue background and the objects
are not 'washed out'- better for test rendering. However, the scene does now look a little dark.
The next step is to alter the ambient light colour in the scene
Keep the scene open for the next stage
Ambient Light, Global Lighting Level
Ambient light is light that is reflected from all objects in the real-world environment. For starting a scene and to
add a lighter ambient tone to the scene in both the display and output renders, lighten the ambient colour as
described below:
Keep Environment.maxopen (if not open again and change the background colour)
Press Quick Render Note that the objects in the scene look dark
Rendering > Environment - this displays the Environment dialog
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Move the Whiteness slider down to just below half way then exit the two dialogs. Notice that the
objects in the viewports look brighter (if default lighting is not used in the viewports)
NOTE: The objects in the scene will not look brighter if default lighting is used in the viewports. The setup is
changed to not use default lighting a little later in the tutorial when the ambient lighting effects can be seen in
the viewports
Press Quick Render - notice that the output render looks much brighter
Change the Global Lighting Level to 1.2. - notice that the output render look even brighter
Practice altering settings for Background colour, Ambient light and Global Lighting Level,
testing the effect using the viewport display and Quick Render
Keep the scene open for the next exercise to determine viewport layouts
Viewport Layout
The layout of viewports are a personal preference. You can change the layout at any time in the Viewport
Configuration dialog
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Open Environment.maxif not already open and adjust the background colour and ambient light
settings as before
Viewport Menu > Configure - on the Viewport Configuration dialog select the Layout Tab
From the viewport layout thumbnails select a new layout
Left click in any of the viewports in the viewport image to display a dropdown menu and select
another view from this menu
Press OK to implement the viewport layout
Practice changing the viewport layout, then change it back to the one displayed in the image
above
Changing the View in the viewport
Right click in any viewport to make it active (the active viewport will have a yellow border)
On the keyboard type T for Top, L for left, F for Front, P for Perspective, U for User
Force 2-Sided
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The Rendering Tab of the Viewport Configuration dialog is where you use three particular settings that aid
the modelling process (Force 2-Sided, Default Lighting and Shade Selected Faces). Force 2-Sided is
explained below:
Open Force 2-Sided.max. This scene contains a model of a bamboo plant
Notice in the User viewport that some stems and leaves appear to be missing
Press Quick Render - notice that in the output render some stems and leaves are missing.
This is due to the fact that MAX / VIZ by default only renders one side of any face (covered in a
later module) in the viewport display and output renders. With landscape work, using objects
from various sources and geometry from AutoCAD you often need to tell MAX / VIZ to render
both the display and output render as Force 2-Sided. This is because the imported geometry
often has faces which face the wrong way
NOTE: MAX / VIZ renders one sided by default to save system resources, so if the scene does not need Force
2-Sided leave these options checked off
NOTE: As well as changing this setting in the viewport and render settings, you can configure any material to
display 2-Sided. This is covered in 'KV04 Lighting, Materials and Production'
Right click in the User viewport to make it active
Viewport Menu > Configure - on the Viewport Configuration dialog select the Rendering
Method Tab
Rendering Options group > Force 2-Sided
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Press OK - notice that the bamboo in the User viewport now displays all stems and leaves,
although in the other viewports the display rendering is still one-sided
Press Quick Render - notice that the output render is still missing faces. This setting is dealt
with later in this tutorial when you look at output render settings
NOTE: On the Viewport Configuration dialog on the Rendering Method Tab notice that you can apply any
changes to all viewports under the Apply To groupsection
Default Lighting
MAX / VIZ provides default lighting unless a light object is inserted into the scene. Creation of real-world
lighting often happens later in the modelling process. There are options, however, to alter the default lighting in
the scene
Open Default lighting.max. This scene contains a tree and a box
Viewport right click menu > Configure On the Viewport Configuration dialog select the
Rendering Method Tab
Rendering Options group > Default Lighting
NOTE: When having inserted lighting objects later, you may find that the basic lighting effects are not shown in
the viewports. This is because you have left the default lighting options on. Turn these options off when using
MAX / VIZ lighting objects
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Shade Selected Faces
The last main setting in the Viewport Configuration dialogis the option to shade selected faces. This is so
you can see them whilst modelling in sub-object mode
Open Shade selected faces.max. The scene contains a simple box and the viewport is in
wireframe mode
Viewport Menu > Configure -on the Viewport Configuration dialog select the Rendering
Tab
Rendering Options group > Shade Selected Faces
Press OK
Select the box by left clicking over one of the lines
Modify Panel > Editable Mesh - click the + sign to the left of this text
Select Face
In the viewport select one of the sides of the box and notice a red triangle appear. This is a
selected face that is displayed with 'Shade Selected Faces' turned on
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Top of page
Scene Settings
The following scene settings need attention before starting the modelling process:
Configure Paths
MAX / VIZ references many asset files such as images used in materials, photometric files amongst others.
Part of the setup of a scene is to review where files are kept and if needed configure the file paths for these
assets. You can also tell MAX / VIZ to start looking in certain folders for AutoCAD drawings and scene files etc
Customize > Configure Paths > General Tab
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On the General Tabselect the particular path needing configuring. The main paths that need
configuring in any scene are highlighted in blue. For this exercise you will configure paths for
scenes and import of drawing files, configuring MAX / VIZ to look in your training files folder
Select Scenes
Press Modify and on the next dialog and navigate to your training folder containing relevant
scenes
Press Use Path. This new path appears in the General list
Repeat for Import, this time configuring the path to your training folder containing relevant
AutoCAD drawings - now MAX / VIZ will start looking in these folders when opening tutorial
scenes and tutorial drawings for import
Configuring bitmap paths
Customize > Configure Paths > External Files Tab
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Press Add - navigate to your training folder's 'Maps' folder and press Use Path. This will make
sure that MAX / VIZ will 'see' the bitmaps used in the tutorial scenes
NOTE: Whenever a warning dialog appears showing 'Missing Maps', this means that either the maps (usually
bitmaps) do not exist on your system or that the external file paths need configuring on your computer.
Archiving a scene makes sure that all referenced files such as bitmaps are collected with the scene in one zip
file. When opening the scene on another computer it is common practice to configure paths to the bitmaps so
that the scene can 'see' them
Spinner Snap
Spinners are prevalent everywhere in MAX / VIZ for quickly changing values in settings. To explore the correct
way to use spinners and the extra need for adjusting spinner snap work through the following tutorial
Open Spinners.max. This scene contains a simple box that you will parametrically change its
height, length and width using spinners
Select the Box01
Modify Panel > Parameters rollout - look at the spinners for Length, Height and Width
In the Height value box type 20 then Enter - the box's height is changed to 20
Use the Length spinner, clicking with single clicks to increase or decrease the length
Notice that stepping up or down incrementaly takes the value up or down in 0.5, or 1 intervals. Usually, if
accuracy is needed, then the 'spinner snap' needs altering to suit
Left click over a spinner and hold to speed up the changes
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Left click and drag the mouse up or down to affect the changes very quickly
To alter Spinner Snap
Customise > Preferences > General tab > Spinners
Exit the Preferences dialog and use the spinners again. The increments will be 0.01
Notice on the Snaps Toolbar the end button 'Spinner Snap' is depressed. When needing to use Spinner Snap
for more accurate input make sure that this button is depressed (this actually checks the 'Use Snap' checkbox
on the Preferences dialog)
Top of page
Render Settings for Modelling
Before modelling configure some basic render settings for carrying out simple initial renders whilst modelling
Rendering > Render
Common Tab
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Check Single Frame
Choose 640x480 initially. Output size depends on how fast and at what detail you need to
render and can be increased dramatically when you need high resolution images or movies
Check Force 2-Sided
Renderer Tab
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Mapping and Shadows checked
Antialiasing and Filter Maps checked
Raytracer Tab
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Uncheck all Raytracing options
Uncheck Show Progress Dialog and Show Messages checkboxes
NOTE: When rendering, often a Raytracing progress dialog pops up even if these settings have been made.
This is due to the use of Raytrace materials which MAX / VIZ by default has in the Material Editor. This can be
stopped by making sure that the Material Editor just displays Standard Materials and no Raytraced materials
(unless needed) are used in the scene. Landscape scenes can do without raytraced materials unless needed
for particular effects. There is a 'trade off' between the use of these materials and the annoyance of messages
and rendering time. Ref: 'KV04 Lighting, Materials and Production' for more information regarding Render
Presets and changing the types of materials in the Material Editor. At this stage in Key Fundamentals the
above settings will do fine
Press Render to render the active viewport
Press the Quick Render icon to implement output renders with the current settings and without having to open
the Render Scene dialog
Top of page
MAX / VIZ Configuration
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In order to make modelling more productive and the viewport display easier on the eye, a few elements of the
interface need configuring. You can even save your own interface in a CUI file
NOTE: The changes described in this section apply to all new and saved scenes
Viewport Background Colour
It is important to make the background colour of the viewports as comfortable to the eye as possible. Unlike
AutoCAD 2D work, the 3D environment requires visual depth and most modellers choose a mid grey
background colour. Make it a habit to change the tone of the viewport background to suit the task at hand
Right click on a grey area on the Main Toolbar
Select Customize
On the CustomizeUser Interface dialog select the Colours Taband under Elements choose
Viewport Background
Click on the colour swatch and pull the Whiteness slider up or down to change the tone of
grey
Close the two dialogs and notice that the viewport background has changed
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NOTE: MAX / VIZ is extremely customisable. Explore this dialog to see just what can be changed. Most users,
however leave the interface as default apart from the viewport background colour
Toolbars
A toolbar are a handy place to store your favourite commands. These are configured again in the Customise
User Interface dialog
Open the Customise User Interface dialog
Under Group choose Main UI (for example) and under Category choose All Commands
Press New and name the new toolbar in the pop up dialog
Drag and drop commands from the Action Window onto the new toolbar
If the command has an icon next to it in the Action Window then this icon will be displayed. If
not, the text will be displayed. The icon can be edited by right clicking on it and choosing Edit
Button Appearance (ref MAX / VIX help)
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When the toolbar has been created elect to show or hide the toolbar by selecting it in the dropdown list and
checking or unchecking the Hide checkbox
Undos
Change the number of undos available thus
Customize > Preferences
This is usually defaulted to a low number to save system memory
NOTE: Modern computers can cope with many more undos than the default 20
Modifier Button Sets
Modify Panel > Configure Button Sets icon > Configure Modifier Sets. This opens the
Configure Modifiers Sets dialog
Under Sets type in a new Set Name eg 'General Modelling'
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Change the Total Buttons amount to 6
Under Modifiers choose a modifier and left click and drag onto one of the buttons to either
replace an existing modifier or to place one on an empty button
Press Save and then exit the dialog
Press Configure Button Sets icon again and on the menu notice that the General Modelling
set has been added to the list.
Select any of the Modify Button Sets to display the appropriate Modify Buttons (a tick appears
next to the current Modifier Set)
Elect to show or not to show buttons by selecting Show Buttons
CUI Files
MAX / VIZ allows you to save your own interface in a CUI (Customer User Interface) file. This file has a .cui
extension and you can load your own customised interface on any computer running the MAX / VIZ
Open the Customise User Interface dialog
On any of the tabs press Save
Save the CUI File to your training folder
Press Load - select 3dsmax7/UI/Default.cuiand Open - notice the Interface change
Press Load - load your save CUI File to carry on working
TIP: Keep a copy of your CUI File on disk - handy for using MAX / VIZ on other computers
Top
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