3ds Max 2010: Viewing a Background Image When Using a Daylight System and a Mental Ray Physical Sky
Jan 8, 2010 3DS MAX, Rendering, latest
Hey All. My Pratt class ended a few weeks ago and there was one thing that I couldn’t quite get to work in the last class. We were using a daylight system and mental ray physical sky, but wanted to use our own, custom, background image. I promised the students I would research the problem and let them know how to do it. I immediately did some research and found, ironically on a the blog of a friend of mine, the solution. His name is Roger Liucci and his website is Revit Zen at http://revitzen.blogspot.com. Roger gave me permission to write-up his posting so I thank him for that.
First of all, I’m going to assume that you have already added a daylight system and have therefore had 3ds Max automatically insert an mr Physical Sky into the environment map. Once you do this, if you hit render (after adding a plane and box with basic, light-gray materials, and set the time of day to 2pm), it would look like this:
That looks pretty good. If I change the time of day, month, year, geographic location, etc., that background would change accordingly. To change that background to an image of our choice, we need to modify the mr Physical Sky that was placed into the environment map. Here’s how:
1. Click the Rendering pull-down menu and click Environment (you could also have tapped the 8 key on your keyboard).
2. Next, click the Material Editor icon 
(you could also have tapped the m key on your keyboard).
3. Within the Environment and Effects dialog box, left-click and hold on the ( mr Physical Sky ) button and drag and drop it onto an empty slot within the Material Editor:
4. When the Instance (Copy)… dialog box appears, select Instance and click OK. You select Instance because you want all settings that you change in the Material Editor to have the same settings as the mr Physical Sky within the Environment Map.
5. Select the map you just added to the Material Editor and, when the settings appear below, select the box to the left of the Use Custom Background Map option and then click the None button.
6. When the Material/Map Browser appears, double-click Bitmap.
7. Locate the image file you’d like to use as a background and double-click it.
Roger now writes, “One would think this is all that’s necessary, but it still won’t show up correctly.” He’s absolutely right. If we render it right now, it looks like this:
The next step that Roger wrote was exactly what I had left out when I taught my students (so pay attention):
8. Back within the Environment and Effects dialog box, within the mr Photographic Exposure Control group, underneath where it says Physical Scale, select Unitless and set the value to 100000. If we render it now, it looks like this:
This looks better, but you probably notice that the original horizon is cutting through the image. To get rid of this, follow these steps:
9. Reselect the daylight system and, on the Command Panel, switch to the Modify tab.
10. Scroll down and, within the mr Sky Advanced Paramters group, remove the check next to Aerial Perspective:
This is what it’ll look like if we render it now:
If you find that your image is too large, needs to be cropped or needs to be shifted, return to the bitmap settings within the Material Editor and edit any of the settings highlighted within the following image:
Again, thanks VERY much to Roger Liucci of RevitZen (and by the way, here’s the direct link to his post: http://revitzen.blogspot.com/2009/01/visualization-in-max-takes-practice.html). I hope this was helpful to you all and especially to my four students from the Fall ‘09 semester.
3ds Max 2010: Containers
Hey all. Sorry for the loooong delay in posts. I really don’t have an excuse, so I’ll just get into this post. Last week I taught the new feature in 3ds Max 2010 called containers. I really like this new feature but I’m not sure if I agree that much with it’s implementation. Containers, I think, act very much like xrefs…that is, xrefs in AutoCAD. One of the options it has is edit in place. This has been incorporated into xrefs in AutoCAD for quite some time, but not 3ds Max. I think for this release, the best parts of xref scene, xref objects, groups and containers should have been combined into this single tool. Let’s go over how containers work and, as we go, I’ll mention what I think should be done differently.
1. First, I’ve started a new file, created a few objects and saved the file:
2. Next, to make this file’s objects available to be linked into other files, I must create a container. Since a container is considered a helper, I go to the Helper tab on the Command Panel and click Container:
3. Now, click and drag and an open box will appear (as seen above).
Opinion: Notice that you don’t have any options for the Container on the Command Panel right now. I don’t really understand this. We have to switch to the Modify tab to see them.
4. On the Modify tab, within the Local Content group, click the Add button.
5. When the Add Container Node dialog box appears, click any objects you want to be included within the container and click the Add button.
Opinion: This seems very much like xref objects as in, which objects do you want to bring in, in the xref objects process?
6. Once again, on the Command Panel, within the Local Content group, within the When Content is Inherited group, select the Allow Edit in Place option.
Opinion: This is exactly what happens in AutoCAD when you select an xref, right-click, and select Edit Xref in Place.
7. Still in the same Local Content group, click the Save button and save the file to your computer.
Opinion: Notice the new file extension: *.maxc. It would seem to me that creating a separate file when the objects are already accessible within this file is unnecessary.
8. Now, let’s bring the container into a new file. Once in the new file, click the 3ds Max symbol at the top-left, expand References, and click Inherit Container:
9. After selecting the .maxc file you exported earlier, you’ll now see the objects came into the new file at the same coordinates they did in the original file. Also, just next to them, you’ll see a closed container box (see above).
Opinion: Just as with xref scene objects, I cannot select any of the imported objects. I can, however, select the container box, go onto the Modify tab, click the Edit in Place button and then select and edit them. Why not just let me select an object, right-click, and then click Edit in Place…just as I can in AutoCAD?
10. As stated in the above opinion, select the container box, go to the Modify tab and click the Edit in Place button.
11. The container box will now open and the objects will be both editable as well as selectable. You can edit them, select the container box, and then click the Save button (which will save the changes back to the original file).
Opinion: Why not just let me select any of the objects, right-click, and click Save (similar to selecting any object from within an open group and clicking Group –> Close)?
Overall, I think the idea of a container as a collaborative tool is really great. I think, however, that the xref scene, xref objects, groups and containers tools can be combined into a single tool that does the same thing. What do you think? Are you using containers? Has it replaced the xref scene or objects tool for you? Let me know!
Tags: 3DS MAX
Pratt Class Updates
Jun 18, 2009 3DS MAX, AutoCAD, Commentary, Revit, latest
Take a look at the top-right of this page and you’ll notice a new section. It’s primarily for students who take my class at the Pratt Institute, Center for Continuing Education, but I’m happy to have anyone follow along if it might encourage you to sign up for my class for an upcoming semester. It describes what we’ll go over during our next class and also provides a link to a PDF of the latest version of the syllabus. While it’s too late to sign up for this semesters class, the class will occur again this fall. Click here to view the course description (you may need to click in the middle of the page after it loads to have it appear). Please let me know if you have any questions.
Tags: 3DS MAX, AutoCAD, Commentary, Revit
3ds Max 2010: 4 Customizations
Jun 16, 2009 3DS MAX, Customization, latest
Not many software companies give you as much access to customize the user-interface as does Autodesk (although not as many as I’d like…that’s right Revit…I’m looking at you!). While AutoCAD gives you access to more of it than any other program I’ve scene, 3ds Max also lets you adjust some of its UI so your work process is more efficient. In this post I’ll talk about 4 of them:
1. There are several commands that I use very often and like to have access to in my right-click menu. Since I work in a lot of other applications, I frequently have to import files into 3ds Max. Additionally, when I import 2D work from AutoCAD, the first thing I like to do is group all of the objects I just imported. Here’s how to add the Import and Group commands:
a. Click Customize –> Customize User Interface.
b. When the CUI dialog box opens, click the Quads menu.
c. In the middle of the dialog box you’ll see four squares, one of which is yellow. You need to select the square of the quad where you want the new command to appear. For this example, I’ll click the top-left square. Within the window just below, you’ll see a list of all of the commands that will appear when you either right-click alone or right click while holding down Shift and/or Control and/or Alt:
d. To the top-left of the dialog box, you’ll notice that Group is set to Main UI and Category is set to All Commands. With this combination of settings, the Action list below shows all commands available in 3ds Max. Scroll down in this list until you see the Import File command. Drag and drop it from this list, into the list the right, underneath Sub-object Menu [FLAT] and above the separator line. If you right-click in gray space now, you’ll see where it appears:
e. This is a good time to name this quad. Within the dialog box, next to where it says Label: I usually like to type my initials.
f. Now, to separate the Import File command from the Group commands that we’ll add in a moment, drag and drop the Separator line below the Import File command.
g. Next, we’ll drag on a few of our frequently used Group commands (which, in my case, is all of them).
h. After finishing, click the X at the top-right of the dialog box. If you right-click now, you’ll see the following quad menu:
2. The next customization I like to set are Modifier Sets. This lets you create buttons for your frequently used modifiers. Here’s how to turn them on and set them:
a. On the Modify tab, click the Configure Modifier Sets button below and to the right of the Modifier Stack:
b. When the menu appears, select Show Buttons.
c. Click the icon again and, this time, click Configure Modifier Sets.
d. When the dialog box appears, for this example, change the number next to Total Buttons to 20.
e. To the left, you see a list of all available modifiers. Find the ones you want and drag and drop them onto the available buttons to the right.
f. When you’re finished click OK. Now, just above the Modifier Stack on the Modify tab, you’ll see all the modifiers you just selected:
3. Next, we’ll look at how to add commands to the Quick Access Toolbar. The only commands that can be added to it come from the Ribbon:
a. Simply right-click on the command you want to add and, when the menu appears, click Add to Quick Access Toolbar:
b. Once the command is added, if you want you can right-click on it and then remove it, or you can click Add Separator to add a vertical line between the commands.
4. Finally, you can create your own toolbars with not only frequently used commands but, as of release 2010, recorded scripts of frequently completed processes:
a. Once again, click Customize –> Customize User Interface.
b. When the dialog box appears, click the Toolbars tab.
c. To the top-right, click the New… button and name the new toolbar. An empty toolbar will now appear:
d. Within the long Action list to the left, drag and drop the command you want onto the toolbar.
e. If you see a large button with words on it (instead of an icon), you can right-click on it and select Edit Appearance. Then, select the Image Button radio icon and select the icon image you want.
f. Now lets add a recorded script to the new toolbar. Press F11 on your keyboard to launch the MAXScript Listener.
g. Next, we’ll go through the actions we’d like to record. Here’s a simple example:
* Create a box.
* Change it’s dimensions to 2′ x 2′ x 2′.
* Convert it to an editable poly.
h. If you expand the top section of the MAXScript Listener, you’ll see a script of what you just did. Highlight the code that should be added to the command icon:
i. Drag and drop this selection onto the toolbar:
j. As described in step e, you can customize the look of the icon.
I hope these customizations help and I would love to hear how you customize 3ds Max for your own use.
Tags: 3DS MAX, Customization
It Would Be Really Cool If…The Scene Explorer, Material Explorer, Material Editor and Light Lister Were Combined into a Single Dialog Box in 3ds Max
Jun 5, 2009 3DS MAX, Commentary, latest
Don’t ya think? I really liked the introduction of the Scene Explorer, but I think they should have gotten rid of the Select by Name dialog box as a result. The Scene Explorer lets you adjust some settings of objects, which got me thinking, wouldn’t it be great, as far as lights go anyway, if the settings available for the Light Lister were available in the Scene Explorer? Then they could get rid of the Light Lister. In release 2010, with the introduction of the Material Browser, I think it could be further developed to include the rest of the features of the Material Editor and then that editor could be gotten rid of. Next, in my head anyway, the Scene and Material Explorers are so similar, it would just seem to make sense to combine them into a single dialog box that acts sort of like a dashboard for everything.
Actually, now that I think about it, I might end up creating multiple versions of this Super Explorer to just show me the the information I want in each. I guess that takes us back to the original set up of multiple dialog boxes to show multiple things.
OK, I’m a little dizzy now. Anyway, I do think that these dialog boxes can at least be made similar like maybe a single dialog box that can be customized to show different object types as well as have all of their settings adjustable. Basically, I’d like to see an Object Explorer, a Material Explorer, a Lights Explorer, a Camera Explorer, etc. Each of which would have all available settings and adjustments.
Tell me what you think?
Tags: 3DS MAX, Commentary
3ds Max 2010: Control Viewport Lighting with Layers
Jun 1, 2009 3DS MAX, Rendering, latest
I’ll admit it, I don’t use layers much in 3ds Max for architectural visualization. A new feature of release 2010, however, will most likely get me to change my ways. As I’ve mentioned before, the quality of lighting, shadows and exposure control within the viewport is greatly improved over version 2009. You can now use the Layer Manager to enable and diable the viewport rendering effects of groups of lights (it will also effect your renderings). In the following scene – I’ve got three rooms, each with 2, shadow-casting, photometric lights and a cylinder:
The above image is from the viewport and not a rendering. It can be achieved by turning on the settings in the following image:
Each of the lights, for each room, were placed on their own layers (the targets for those lights were separated out onto a single layer called lightTargets):
Now, by clicking the teapot icon in the Render column of either the Layer Manager or the Layer pull-down menu, you can control whether or not those light are active in the viewport (as well as in renderings). For example, if I turn off the rendering feature for the lights within room 1, I get the following result:
This feature can be particular helpful to speed up viewport response time as well as render length. Also, by applying this technique to lights imported from Revit (via FBX), you can have greater control over those lights as well.
Revit and 3ds Max Share Features (because my mom always told me that sharing is caring)
May 21, 2009 3DS MAX, Rendering, Revit, latest
New features within the rendered frame window, part of 3ds Max’s Reveal 3 technology, are what are known as Quality Control Knobs. These knobs, which are actually slider bars, help you quickly change the mental ray-related settings of your renderings without having to go into the Render Setup dialog box or the Material Editor. The values in these two dialog boxes, however, will change as you adjust the knobs since these are global settings. With the Material Editor, or more specifically actual materials, values will change. For example, adjusting the Glossy Refractions Precision knob within the rendered frame window will also adjust the Glossiness setting of all mental ray-based materials. Additionally, you can drag the knobs all the way to the left to turn that particular feature off. Here’s what they look like:
As I stated in my previous post, many more of the features of this version have extensive tool tips. The Quality Control Knobs are no exception. For example, here’s what you see if you put you mouse over the slider knob for Glossy Reflections Precision:
As I was playing with these feature, I suddenly had the feeling that I had seen them before. I had…in Revit:
It’s really great to see this feature being migrated over to 3ds Max (although it would be nice to have the same example images that appear in Revit). In both programs, the Quality Control Knobs really let you continue to work without spending too much time trying to figure out which, for example, number values which will get you the results you want.
That Was Easy (-er)
I have to say that since 3ds Max 9, the software as a whole has become signifigantly easier to use (especially mental ray). I think it was at least version 2008 (possibly even version 9) that some of the new mental ray materials gave you nice, clear sentences about what each of it’s settings controlled. For example, within an Architecutre and Design material, if I move my mouse, for an extra second, over the spinners next to the Reflectivity setting, I get the following tool tip:
New to version 2010 (I don’t believe this was available in 2009), more of these tool tips were added to the Indirect Illumination tab on the Render Setup dialog box. For example, if I move my mouse over the Interpolate Over Number of Final Gather Points, I get the folowing tool tip:
Well, Autodesk has taken this one steps further (and they did this in Revit, AutoCAD and, I would have to assume, other products as well). If I move my mouse over one of the commands on the ribbon, I first get the following, simple, entry from the Help file:
If I leave my mouse there for an extra second or two, the Help tip expands to give me more information:
Hopefully more of 3ds Max’s features will get both of these tool tips as future versions are released.
Tags: 3DS MAX
My Reaction to, “Revit is Too Limiting for Conceptual Design Work.”
Feb 13, 2009 3DS MAX, AutoCAD, BIM, Commentary, Revit, SketchUp, latest
I was asked this question in my class last night as I delayed starting in an effort to convince my students that Revit was the most important next thing for them to learn. The quick answer is, “just wait until Revit Architecture 2010. Things are about to get a lot more interesting.” The long answer is this, however, “so don’t use it for conceptual design work.” Autodesk owns enough software that it won’t be insulted if you use one piece of its software for one thing and another of something else. That being said, if you want to use non-Autodesk software, use it! We need to remember that the end goal here is good design and not loyal software use. When I was in grad school we had several computer labs whose workstations has differing specs. My department’s IT staff would continually say, “the right tool for the right job.” In other words, don’t use the fastest, most powerful computer in the school to write a document in Microsoft Word. In a recent meeting of Revit specialists, this concept was agreed upon, but one other point was added: all data must end in Revit.“ The reason for this, which I also agree with, is that Revit can calculate, quantify, coordinate and document. It’s relatively easy to bring data from most other pieces of software into Revit. In fact, SketchUp, for example, can be brought into Revit in it’s native form (ie. it requires no conversion). When I’m working, I like to think of what I’m using as a simple piece of software called, “Design.” It happens to have all of the individual pieces of software I use within it (Revit, AutoCAD, 3DS MAX, SketchUp, etc.) and they all have their own windows and icons. As an example, I often tell my students that 3DS MAX is not a drafting program. If you need to draw a two-dimensional shape with a high level of accuracy, and you’re familiar with AutoCAD, draw the shape there and bring it in. With an end goal of good design, use software that does two specific things, (1) offers you sophisticated, yet easy-to-use, tools that stimulate your creative juices and help you advance your design process efficiently and, (2) allows you to organize, analyze and document your data for easy recall and presentation.
What do you think?
My “Revit/3DS MAX Integration” chapter in “3ds Max Architectural Visualization – Advanced to Expert” (Summer 2009)
Jan 29, 2009 3DS MAX, FBX, Revit, latest
Coming this summer, a new book called 3DS MAX Architectural Visualization – Advanced to Expert is coming out within which I’m writing what appears to be my favorite topic of the moment: Revit Integration with 3DS MAX. To quote the description from the publisher’s website:
“…this book will be a collection of self-contained chapters, written by dozens of industry experts. The goal of this book is to take readers from an advanced level to an expert level by providing a straight-forward discussion of difficult subject matter not available anywhere else. It serves as a follow-on companion to the two previous books of the same title; the Beginner to Intermediate and Intermediate to Advanced editions.”
If you click here, you can now preorder the book with a discount. I think the great idea of this book is that the publishers have looked for individual authors who have advanced skills in a particular area. This means that each chapter will be highly researched and written by people who have real world experience with their particular topic. I would encourage you to take a look it (as well as the Beginner to Intermediate and Intermediate to Advanced books). Also, the Advanced to Expert book will be based on 3DS MAX 2010 being released later this year.
