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View Full Version : what's the best way to learn 3d max on ur own?

meiji41
08-22-2005, 09:39 PM
http://www.3dm3.com/tutorials/car3/index2.php

hi all, i am a beginner in 3d max. i have a hard time to learn just how to model.
now i am trying to model a car, i followed the steps in the website above and i encountered some problems:

1) how to make the object material transparent in the viewport (without applying the materials with the material editor)? so that i can see through the car bitmap on the planes..

2) how to lock the planes? so that i wont accidently move it..

3) how to add an extra vertex on a plane, and the vertex is actually sticking to the segment on the plane..

4) and how to break a segment on a plane into 2 different segments by putting an extra vertex on the segment.

thanks for helping =)
yofreetime
08-23-2005, 01:16 AM
The best way to learn Max on your own is to follow the tutorials that come in the help file with Max. They give good basic information about how to use all the tools including how to model, texture, and rig a character. They teach spline tools, NURBS and poly modeling. That is my recommendation.

Brad
rrhea
08-23-2005, 01:49 AM
What version are you using? I recommend any book by Michele Bousquet. Most of her stuff is on the older versions, like v5 and 6, but even if you're using 7 the basics she teaches are more than applicable.

The two Books I can defintely recommend (because I have them) are "Harnessing 3ds max 5" and "Mastering the Art of Production with 3ds Max 4". The last book (Art of Production) will teach you so much about modeling (even though it only covers v.4). Trust me, it's awesome.

My only warning is that some of the application features have changed or have been renamed (especially in Editable Poly), but it is pretty easy to figure out where the new tool is or the equivilent when using these books.

You can find these on Amazon, or at most book stores (at least in the USA... not sure about Canada).

Ryan

p.s.
I can help you with questions 1 and 2:

1. select the mesh and press ALT-X to make it transparent, same to change it back.

2. select anything you want to "lock" and right click it... from the Quad Menu that pops up select "Freeze Selection". This will imobilze the object until you un-freeze it. Do this by right clicking in any veiwport and selecting "Unfreeze All", or go to the Display tab and under Freeze you can Unfreeze By Name.

Good luck!
DoubleSupercool
08-23-2005, 01:54 AM
For the first one (transparent), a good trick is to make a new material in the material editor ("m" key). Turn on "Autokey" and make sure you are at the first frame. Change the material's opacity to 0. Move the time slider at the bottom of the screen to the last frame (usually 100) and change the opacity to 100. Turn off Autokey. Also, click the checkbox for "faceted" so it has sharp edges. Apply that material to your object. Now, by moving the time slider you can change it's opacity by percentage, not just on/off.
robinb
08-23-2005, 09:48 AM
Just a quick addition to the above comment about freezing objects. If you do this for background planes by default they will turn grey. Not much use as templates huh? Well Right click on the objects and select 'properities'. There's a toggle in there for 'display frozen as grey' which is toggled on by default. Turn it off and when you freeze the object it will stay textured. You can select multiple objects to do this with at the same time.
azozel
08-23-2005, 12:43 PM
Yeah I'd have to say the big blue book that comes with the software is still the best for learning.
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