Category: 3DSMax

This time we’ll be taking a first look at how to introduce exceptional lighting into your scenes with HDRI, or High Dynamic Range Imaging. HDRI is the best way to add lighting to your scene that is as realistic as it gets.

All dynamic range refers to is the fact that even if you are rendering your scene with the widest range of colors, with the best video card, on the best monitor, it will still not have the range of colors and brightness that your eye can detect.

To start, we’ll just insert a plane into the scene and give it a V-Ray material that has its diffuse channel set to a simple checker pattern. I use this pattern because it is the easiest way to see precisely how your objeccts are inter-relating to/with each other and their environment.

Continue reading “Easy HDRI”

Glass is just another one of those 3d things that brings visualizations to life. If you mess up the glass, the best of models is completely unbelievable. Glass isn’t as hard as water, but it is often overlooked as an unnecessary element.

For this tutorial, we’ll be all V-Ray. Materials and renderer will be all V-Ray. Firstly, therefore, select V-Ray as your renderer. Because we’ll be doing glass, turn on “Caustics” in the V-Ray::Caustics rollout. Caustics involve the computations for light that travels through something.
Continue reading “Easy Glass with V-Ray and Caustics”

This example is best done by simply providing the material. It’s a v-ray material that has depth and density, so water can be done accurately when depth is required. The material is here. Click on any image for the full size image.

Continue reading “Easy Water (part 2)”

Water is one of those cool things you first want to do with any 3d program-especially one designed to make such realistic images as 3ds Max. There are a number of ways to do water, and water has more than one mood! In this tutorial, we’ll do simple water that you would use in calm scenes, and those with architectural visualization at the front of the stage.

Continue reading “Easy Water (part 1)”

I’ve noticed that folks are still suggesting that doors and windows inside walls still be done with box primitives for walls and boolean subtract those walls with other boxes for windows & doors. With 3ds Max, this is not necessary, nor suggested if you are modeling for speed and flexibility. The solution is to use AEC (Architecture, Engineering and Construction) in 3ds Max.

AEC in 3ds Max is more than a collection of ready-to-go 3d walls, windows, stairs, doors, and other construction components. A few reasons to use them instead of manually boolean-ing include:

Continue reading “Don’t Boolean!”