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3DS Max 6
Polishing 3D Animation
Several new features and those added in the past two versions havebeen reorganized in Max 5 for a cleaner, more comprehensiveworkflow.
3ds Max is software for 3D modeling, animation, rendering, and visualization. Create stunning game environments, design visualizations, and virtual reality experiences. Join over a half a million Autodesk Maya and 3ds Max artists. Find 3D tutorials, blogs, forums, and a 3D gallery of film, VFX, games, and design work.
Discreet 3ds Max 7.0 (CD-ROM) From the Manufacturer The world's most popular animation modeling, and rendering solution for film, television, games and design visualization. 3ds max contains the essential high-productivity tools required for creating eye-catching film and television animation, cutting-edge games, and distinct design visualizations.
3ds Max version 5.0 is a solid addition to this highly popular 3Danimation system. The new features are carefully chosen and implementedto refine the already impressive tool set and improve workflow andusability. There are a few big-ticket items, such as the addition of aglobal rendering system and the inclusion of Reactor, the third-partydynamic system. But for the most part this new version of Max polishesexisting areas of the program for increasingly demandingprofessionals.
If that sounds less exciting than a list of all-new capabilities,it’s not. Discreet has chosen the right path by making the product moreefficient and answering some long-time criticisms of critical areas ofMax, such as the F-Curve Editor, Track View, and character rigging.Frankly, Max is not lacking in features. Like the other top-tier 3Dapplications, 3ds Max has developed a feature set that covers theessential capabilities required of professional 3D animation and visualfx software. However, Max has needed to integrate its existingcapabilities (particularly third-party plug-ins) into a more consistentand robust workflow.
Interface
3D artists spend much of their time manipulating objects in a 3Dapp. 3ds 5 has redesigned Move, Rotate, and Scale gizmos, and thelatest versions are the most efficient. For example, Rotate now uses atrackball metaphor: Three axis rotation handles surround any selectedobject (colored R,G,B/x,y,z axes) and constrain rotation to a singleaxis. Clicking and dragging within the circle invokes the trackballeffect, allowing free rotation in all axes. Rotating an object morethan 360 degrees is indicated by a darker shade within the rotationalfield. Numeric feedback is displayed when the cursor is moved over thecontrol handles.
Scale uses a pyramid/triangle-shaped gizmo with colored x,y,zhandles similar to those used for Rotate. Individual handles constrainthe scale change to a single axis. This is indicated by the gizmo,which stretches along the appropriate axis while you drag the cursor.To scale an object uniformly, you simply select and drag within thepyramid icon.
The Move tool uses a similar three-axis gizmo except that the gizmobase is a cube. As with Rotate and Scale, dragging the x,y,z handlesconstrains motion to a single axis. However, click inside on one faceof the cube and the object is constrained to motion within that plane.All three gizmos have many options that are user-definable, includingreverting to conventions of the Max 4 Transform tools.
Other interface improvements are smaller Quad menus, a new Lassoselection tool, a Curve Editor that can be selected as an alternativeto the Track Bar and Time Slider, and Snap Buttons that have beenrelocated to the top menu bar.
Rigging
I have heard complaints about the character rigging in Max datingback to 3.0. While some improvements appeared in 4.0, they seemed to bequick fixes until a total rethinking of the character tools could beimplemented. Version 5.0 is the fulfillment of this necessary overhauland introduces an entirely new workflow beginning with a feature setcalled Character Assembly.
An assembly is designed to manage the complex attributes andcomponents contained in a sophisticated character that normally wouldbe scattered across different parts of the program. For example, skinadjustment, loading and saving animation, and switching between low-and high-res models can now be managed in Character Assembly.
Assemblies are groups of objects referenced by a “head”object represented by an icon. You can move the character by moving theicon or opening the Character Assembly user interface by clicking onit.
Among the many new features to be found in Character Assembly isSkin Pose mode. This is the neutral character pose in which thecharacter and skeletal positions are the same as the character mesh.Changes or adjustments to a character rig must be made in thisposition. But what if you are in the middle of an animation withseveral keyframes set? Skin Pose provides an easy way to step out ofthe animation workflow temporarily, make changes to the rig, and returnto your animation seamlessly. In the past, changing a rig in the middleof an animation sequence could cause big problems.
Character Assembly is also the one-stop interface location to createclips of reusable animation sequences, reset the animation sequence bydeleting animation to all of a character’s members, and insert pre-madeclips into other animation sequences. Kudos for not wasting mytime.
Character menu is where you will find the latest refinement of theBone Tools. Again, the workflow has been consolidated so that severaloperations — such as assigning bones to the chain root, adjustingbones to fit the character mesh, and adding, deleting, and removingbones — can all be done in a single Bone Tools dialogue.
All of the above reorganization is a much needed cleanup of featuresthat were added over the past two versions. It’s as if the usercommunity said, “OK, take the old features, add these new ones,but this time base the UI on the way we work.” At last thecharacter workflow begins to make sense.
Selection Sets and Layers
Two related organizational areas, one old and one new, are NamedSelection Sets and Layer Properties Dialog. Selection sets are not newto 3ds Max, but they are more powerful and easier to use in 3ds 5. Theenhanced Selection Sets are created by selecting objects in theviewport and clicking the Create New Set button in the toolbar. Setsappear in a list with convenient drag-and-drop portability, and includeall the editing features you would expect, such as Create New Set,Remove, Select Objects, and of course, Cut, Copy, and Paste.
A related feature borrowed from the CAD world is layers. Whenbuilding a complex model such as a detailed, furnished house it becomesvery useful to be able to hide entire classes of objects. For instance,you might assign the walls to one layer, windows and doors to a secondlayer, and furniture to a third layer. Layers in 3ds 5 let you hidelayers, select a color for all objects in a layer, and control aspectsof their rendering. However, an object in a layer can be made exemptfrom a layer’s properties by selecting Object Property dialogue. Thenext time you build a street scene, layers will be a hugetimesaver.
Track View
Track View has also been overhauled and now consists of two editors,Curve Editor and Dope Sheet Editor. For me, the biggest advance isrealtime update when adjusting curves. In the past, when changing theposition of a character’s arm by adjusting the object’s f-curve, nochange would be seen in the viewport until the Bezier handle of thecurve was released. This made setting positions for animation a matterof guesswork and one of my biggest complaints. In the new Curve Editora character model is updated as you adjust the f-curve. This is a hugeimprovement.
Discreet 3ds Max 4
Keys can now be color-coded and values can be clamped on f-curves sothat setting a particular maximum value will be respected. In the pastan f-curve might arc beyond the point you thought you were setting. Thenew Track View takes longer to launch, but that’s a minor price to payfor the gains in workflow speed.
Rendering and Lights
A welcome addition to 3ds Max 5 is the Advanced Lighting tool set.Over the past few years there has been back-channel chatter thatDiscreet was going to integrate the technology of its standaloneLightscape rendering system to 3ds Max. That’s exactly what hashappened.
Max 5 now has Photometric Lights that behave like lightinginstruments in the real world, with correct fall off and distribution.Photometric Lights calculate the light energy of a lighting instrument.Artists can download the photometric specifications of lightinginstruments (in the .ies file format) from a manufacturer of lightinginstruments and preview how that light will interact in the real worldusing Max 5.
The new Photometric Lights in Max 5 work in conjunction with two newrendering methods to achieve more realistic lighting: Light Tracer andRadiosity. Light Tracer is the simpler solution, but is not physicallyaccurate. It’s a good solution for daylight scenes and simpleenvironments. Radiosity is best for architectural studies of lightingsetups in an interior location. As everyone in CGI knows, radiosityproduces great results, but adds tremendous rendering overhead. Max 5offers the usual “cheats” to keep rendering times down whenusing radiosity, such as “baking” a rendering solution intoa texture (Max calls this Render to Texture), as well as shadows withprogressive fall-off and soft edges using approximations.
While Light Tracer is intended as the “quick” soft lightsolution, it actually calculates every frame of an animation.Conversely, Radiosity can solve the light solution once and have theresults baked into the geometry. The first calculation is slower thanLight Tracer on a frame-by-frame comparison, but is only performed oncefor a scene. In the right situation Radiosity may actually be fasterthan Light Tracer. There are also some issues with the ray sampling inLight Tracer. The artist has to find the right balance between thenumber of rays used to obtain an accurate solution and avoidingnoticeable sampling artifacts. In a single image they are notnoticeable, but in an animation extra time has to be spent adjustingparameters to eliminate noise-like ray artifacts.
Max has some of the best high-end mapping tools, including theability to select edges and faces, and not just vertices.
Max 5’s implementation of radiosity is presented with a logicalinterface, but aimed at Max’s large architectural user base. Forarchitectural users, analyzing actual lighting designs accurately for aplanned building is a huge feature.
This will be of some value to the motion picture industry, but acomprehensive photographic approach to light and exposure would be ofmore value to visual FX artists. To some extent, this is a matter ofnomenclature, and perhaps we will see f-stops and actual lens data(T-stops) integrated into the photometric workflow.
In any event, Max 5’s Radiosity was easy to follow and as intuitiveas a radiosity solution is likely to be considering that tweakingsettings is a slow process. Using Radiosity requires more preparationin making maps and setting up a scene than Light Tracer, but theresults are worth the extra effort.
Another part of the new Advanced Lighting features is the DaylightSystem, a big improvement over the relatively limited Sunlight systemin Max 4. The main difference is that the new feature takes advantageof Light Tracer and Radiosity. The Daylight Lights system is comprisedof three different solutions: Skylight, an approximation of the dome ofthe sky; IES Sky; and IES Sun. IES Sky and IES Sun are physically basedphotometric lights. As with lighting fixtures, these sunlightsimulators accurately predict outdoor light for an outdoor environment.In addition to control over the degree of cloud cover and sky color,date, time, and location can be entered into the Daylight System userinterface. This allows you to determine, for example, the angle of thesun and the length and the direction of shadows at the WashingtonMonument at 3 p.m. on July 4th. However, you will still have to guesswhat the weather will be like.
The entire Advanced Lighting package in Max 5 is a well-conceivedworkflow that delivers an inherently slow and complex rendering featurein a highly usable interface. Light Tracer, soft shadows, and Skylightwill immediately raise the quality of your renders in most situations,with minimum learning curve and rendering times, while the Radiosityfeature is available for highly photoreal results.
Another new rendering feature is a very robust toon shader calledInk and Paint, with complete control over all aspects of the fill andoutline. Max 5 has also added a translucency shader. While useful insome instances, the solution is a cheat compared with translucencycalculated using subsurface scattering, a more complex andtime-consuming method. Translucency is necessary for properly renderinglight transmitted by the wax at the top of a lit candle and bymaterials ranging from frosted glass to curtains and skin. The resultsfrom this new feature are usable in some instances, but lack thestartling reality that proper subsurface algorithms provide to aphotoreal scene.
Still More Stuff
There are many other new features, including an excellent Unwrap UVWmodifier. Max’s previous map-ping tools were quite good, but the newversion features the ability to quickly create a starting layout, whichgives Max some of the best mapping tools available in a high-end 3Dapplication. Specific enhancements include the ability to select edgesand faces, and not just vertices. A new selection gizmo formoving/rotating and scaling allows for faster, more accuratemanipulation of the UV map layout. Stitching is a new feature thatallows you to weld the vertices of one element, for example, the tailwing of an airplane, to the fuselage. This takes place on a flattenedUV map, not the model, and is useful in reorganizing the layout of amap. There is not enough space here to properly cover all the newmapping tools, suffice to say mapping objects in Max 5 makes a goodfeature better.
Conclusion
3ds announced its ambitions when Max took on Softimage and Maya inthe mid-1990s. The program has never been less than impressive, but isannoyingly loyal to the mid-level user. Over-dependence on third partyplug-ins (including Discreet’s own Character Studio product) stymied anoptimal integration of key features. That is still a lingering issue,but with version 5 the bases are covered and Max remains one of theeasiest professional 3D applications to learn.
This may still be the best application for small studios and one-manshops, the measure of which is the increasingly excellent work that Maxusers all over the world create daily.
Sidebar
3ds Max 6
It seems software product cycles are getting shorter and shorter.Traditionally, 3ds Max introduced new versions every 18 months, but nowMax 6 is shipping a scant 12 months after Max 5.
With Discreet’s shorter development cycles and its new subscriptionprogram that pre-releases software features before major releases, 3dsMax 6 is not as deep or comprehensive as 5. Many of the improvementsrightly continue a focus on workflow and efficiency. However, Max 6also has enough must-have features that an upgrade is a smallexpenditure for big-ticket items such as the newly redesigned SchematicView, Particle Flow, or HDRI support. (Users who buy Max 5 and thesubscription in the next few months will receive a free upgrade to Max6 when it releases in October.)
Some of the new features grew out of Discreet’s relationship withSega. Game-related features include the enhanced Schematic View, aswell as improvements to the already powerful Vertex Paint tool, such asthe ability to interactively resize brushes, and to paint or tint gameattributes directly onto a model.
Discreet 3ds Max 4
Schematic View has been completely rewritten, providing a node-basedscene graph with access to materials, object properties, controllers,modifiers, hierarchies, and hidden relationships such as wiredparameters and instancing.
HDRI support is a big win for visual effects studios as thisscene-based approach to realistic lighting increases in popularity.Both .hdr and .pic file formats are supported for 3ds Max import andexport.
As for the physical simulation and particle capabilities, in thepast Max offered a hodgepodge of third-party particle solutions and aweak internal particle system. Version 6 introduces four new featuresin this area: Particle Flow, BlobMesh, Ragdoll Dynamics, and VehicleDynamics. Perversely, my favorite new feature is Ragdoll Dynamics,which is basically the ability to set up a virtual stunt double thatreacts more or less realistically to all sorts of physical abuse.Better than worry beads.
In addition to improvements to 3ds’ production renderer, Mental Rayis now fully integrated into Max and includes one license (V3.2) ofthis world-class rendering software.
There are many other features that enhance modeling, mapping, sceneorganization, and rendering to be covered in a full online review inthe near future at millimeter.com.
— S.K.
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