Monthly Archives: March 2016

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Modeling Complex Carvings And Shapes on Uneven Surfaces in 3ds Max

  By Denis Keman • March 24, 2016 , , , ,

In today’s post we will cover a bit of a complex topic and that is how to model complex shapes like carvings and such on uneven surfaces, or rounded ones. Generally from what i’ve seen many 3D artists do when they have to model some complex shape on an uneven surface, they go ahead and manually start building the model and move the vertecies one by one to get the carving to conform to the surface. Well that approach is not wrong, hell in some cases it’s the only option there is to take, BUT and this is a big but there is a way to work around issues like this and kinda cheat to save on time and nerves. This cheat that i am talking about is what this post is all about, but in order to be able to follow along you will need to download a script which you can get from the link below.

Download SlideKnit Script

OK so if you have already downloaded the script then you are all set. Now in case you don’t know how to install the script don’t worry as in the video below you will see me explain it step by step on how to install and how to make a custom menu inside 3ds Max and dock the plugin there. So after we go over how to install the script i’ll show you the model that i have in the scene that will help me showcase different types of scenarios for the SlideKnit script. You will see how you can wrap different types of geometry on different types of surfaces. Another important thing to note is that i will go and explain how you can unwrap rounded surfaces so they end up with planar UVW layout, which is actually quite important in our case. But enough with the intro, if what you saw here is something that might sound interesting to you go ahead and watch the video below.

So after watching the video i have to note one thing about myself personally, and that is that i was sick and coughing when i was making the video so if i didn’t edit out some place and maybe a cough slipped by i apologize. That aside i’m really hoping you guys had fun watching the video, and more importantly managed to learn something new. As you were able to see, SlideKnit is a small but yet very powerful script that can give you amazing results. Also i want to note it here one more time that I AM NOT THE MAKER of this script, so if you know who is leave a comment and i will leave a backlink to the creator as he really does deserve the kudos for making it.

And that would be it for this post, you know the drill by now, if you liked the video then like, comment and share it around so it can reach more people. So until next time …

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Adding Dust and Aging Effect with V-Ray

  By Denis Keman • March 16, 2016 , , ,

Today we have a new post, and the videos that will be part of the post will be a part of a new “category” of posts that i want to do. Namely i want to have videos that will be a sort of a quick tip type posts. The idea behind these kinds of posts will be to take a certain theme, or a question that i’ve been asked and dive straight to it without any additional explanation. The idea for this came from a few readers that asked for more direct approach to the issue which would result with shorter videos and more directed videos. Now i am well aware that these types of videos can’t be made for all the topics that i choose to cover, but for certain things it might actually work quite well.

For the very first crack at the quick tip video i chose to make a video and answer a simple question, How to add aging or fading effect to your V-Ray materials? This is a very basic thing that you might want to know as it’s always a plus knowing how to add some variance to your model, and in the approach that i will show you in the video you will see how you can get that result by using a procedural mask and VrayDirt material. So if you want to see how you can do this type of thing procedural opposed to unwrapping it and manually making a distressed texture then check out the video below.

The second video covers a topic that’s a bit similar to the first video, but instead of adding procedural damage or fading we will see how we can add some dust to our model. After that we will see how we can setup a second texture ID channel and use it to help us with giving the dust a more natural “disturbed” look. So again if this is something that you would like to know and you aren’t really sure how to go about doing it, then check out the second video.

Ok so if you’ve watched the videos and are still reading this then i would like to ask you guys to leave your comments either here, or on YouTube and tell me if you liked these shorter quick tip type tutorials. And for now that would be it, like always if you did enjoy them like and share them around and keep coming back for more.

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Studio Lighting in 3ds Max and V-Ray

  By Denis Keman • March 1, 2016 , ,

In today’s post we are going to deal with one of the fundamental things that anyone that wants to work with CG should know, and that is how to light up your models. Now i have to go and say it right from the start, lighting on it’s own is one colossal theme to tackle and if you really want to know how it works, then you will probably need to invest some time into some proper professional photography knowledge. So having clarified that i want to say that this post is going to be more about the technical part of Max and V-Ray and how to get the lights inside 3ds Max to behave like real life lights would do. So enough with the intro and lets jump down on explaining and watching the videos. Initially it was supposed to be one video, but instead of making it one long video i made it into two parts so it’s easier for you guys to follow it. (Yeah i know i’m good that way)

In the first video we will explain very briefly what a studio scene is, and then we will see a few examples. You will see me reference an image of a model lit up in different scenarios, and you can get the link to the reference image here. After the brief intro we will create a simple backdrop. Then we will go about creating light sources, control how the reflection is going to look like, how we can modify it so it ends up looking like a commercial body spray can, and we will even explain a bit about the three point lighting solution. At the end of the first video we will even explain a bit about the importance of the warm and cool lights. So if this sounds like something that you would like to see check out the video.

In the second video we will continue on the same scene as previously but that is where all similarities end. We will start by explaining what a reflector is and how and when would we use one in our scenes. After that we will explain what a diffuser is and how to construct one that we can use in 3ds Max, and right after that we will explain what a light box is and how to construct one as well. With the introduction of the diffuser and Lightbox we will end with with issues in the lighting of our scene that will derive from the GI pass so we will also go over how to deal with those issues and get them to provide us with a clean render. So all in all it should be an interesting video to watch, so if what you read up here sounds like something that might interest you go ahead and watch the second video.

And with this we are coming to an end of our post for today. It was fun making these videos, and depending on the feedback i get on this video i might make a few more about lighting as that is a theme that seems like an endless pit of information that always has something new to offer.

So like always subscribe, like and share and i’ll see you all in the next post.

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