When using 3D Studio Max, its always important to become more efficient the more you progress. A keyfactor in that is learning hotkeys. Autodesk will give you a handy dandy reference cube when you order 3D Studio Max 2009, with a bunch of common hotkeys and shortcuts on each one of the six sides. I have listed out a few of those hotkeys and shortcuts so you can use this as a quick reference while using 3ds Max. Main UI Angle Snap Toggle - A Auto Key Mode Toggle - N Camera View - C Display as See-Through Toggle - Alt + X Fetch - Alt + Ctrl + F Hold - Ctrl + H Grid Toggle - G Material Editor Toggle - M Maximize Viewport Toggle - Alt + W Perspective User View - P Render - Shift + Q Redraw All View - Single Quote Redo Scene Operation - Ctrl + Y Redo Viewport Operation - Shift + Y Set Keys - K Show Edges - F4 Smooth + Highlights/Wireframe Toggle - F3 Transform Gizmo Toggle - X Undo Scene Operation - Ctrl + Z Undo Viewport Operation - Shift + Z Zoom Extents All - Shift + Ctrl + Z Zoom Extents All Selected - Z Toggle SteeringWheels Feature (only for 2009) - Shift + W Toggle ViewCube Visibility (only for ...

1.The ocean floor Start by creating a plane 300 x 300, 30 length and width segments Put a noise modifier on the plane, this will add the irregularities to the ground. Scale 40. Change the Z strength to 8.0. You can add a sand texture to the ground to add more realism. Right click on the ground plane and choose freeze selection. This will prevent you from accidentally moving the plane. 2. Camera is a must Place a camera in your scene to a desirable view. I chose this angle to place my camera. You want to get a view that doesn’t allow you to see the outer edges, don’t worry about the far edges, we will next add a fog effect to the scene so that they wont be visible. 3. Setting fog If you don’t have any objects to place in your underwater scene, just create a teapot and a couple of boxes so that you can properly test the fog effect. Set up three objects so that one is close to the camera, the next one is further away, and last one is the farthest away. Hit 8 to bring up the Environment and Effects dialog box. Under atmosphere select add and ...

Chances are you have seen the cool effects of ray tracing. You may have even had your computer crash due to overuse of this advanced technique. But what exactly is going on when a ray trace solution is occurring? There is no doubt that ray tracing is a rendering technique used in 3d software that creates photorealistic images. The reason ray tracing creates such realistic images is because it literally calculates every ray of light and follows each and every one of them until they hit the camera. That means for each pixel, there is a calculation going on, tracing, the ray, hence the name, ray trace. What is a ray? In 3d terms, a ray is a line that travels through 3 dimensions and collects data to be rendered. As this ray travels though space, it bounces off various objects, collecting more data as it reaches its end goal, the camera. It mimics how real light behaves as it hits our eyes. You can think of our eyes as the camera, and light as the rays. Because the amount of rays in any given scene is quite numerous, the ray tracing calculation is reversed to that of real light. Only ...

If you have ever used 3d Studio Max you know that using the software can be challenging. Many problems can arise that interfere with efficiently using the software. Getting used to the graphical user interface, lighting, texturing and rendering all pose their challenges. Even the experienced users can find themselves stuck trying to remember 3d Studio Max’s comprehensive interface or waiting hours for a render. Because of these problems, efficiency can suffer and many users can find themselves taking three or four more steps than needed. Luckily there are ways to become more efficient using 3d Studio Max. 1. Learn hotkeys This may seem like an obvious, but using hotkeys are the quickest way to efficiency in 3ds Max. You should learn the hotkeys for anything you consistently do in 3ds Max. The best way to learn a hotkey is to literally stop what you are doing, and actually learn the hotkey. Write it down and keep a cheat sheet near your workstation. Eventually using hotkeys will become second nature to you. For example of the top of my head I know that ALT W will maximize your view port, T, L, F, and P will toggle to top, left, front ...