3ds Max Modeling Fundamentals

Course Overview
Hello and welcome to 3ds Max Modeling Fundamentals. My name's Josh, and I'll be your instructor for the next few hours taking you through the modeling process in 3ds Max. We'll use a project-based approach as we cover the basics of modeling looking at some commonly used tools and talking about some time-saving tips and techniques that I've picked up in production. We'll begin by looking at the various types of geometry available to you. We'll learn how to organize your model into hierarchies and keep your scene clean and efficient. We'll also take a look at several modeling tools including polygon modeling tools like Extrude and the Swift Loop tool for adding resolution, spline modeling techniques for creating smooth surfaces, and many other tools and techniques as well. We'll also take a look at using a smoothing or subdivision workflow and use modifiers to help shape our models. Now we're going to take a slightly different approach to this fundamentals course in that we're not going to talk about all of 3ds Max modeling tools but, rather, focus on the tools that you're going to find most useful as you begin the modeling process. Now once you have a better understanding of how these tools work together, you'll be able to create your own modeling solutions and really come up with a workflow that's comfortable to you. Now with that said, let's get started by taking a look at the various kinds of geometry that you'll work with inside of 3ds Max.

Modeling Basics Overview
Hi! I'm Joshua Kinney, and welcome to 3ds Max Modeling Fundamentals. In this module, we're going to get an overview of the modeling basics. During this module, what we're going to do is we're going to talk about how to work with geometry. This is going to be crucial for us because we need to know things like, What is a vertex? What are edges? What is a polygon? What are triangles? What are quads? And what are ngons? And we're going to discuss a lot of these different terms that come up with geometry. We're also going to learn how to work with splines. Splines are a really important part to modeling because they can help us to get complex shapes, and they can help us to create shapes that can be a little tedious in any other way. And then we're also going to learn about smoothing workflows. Now later on in this particular course, we're going to talk all about smoothing and what we can do with that. But smoothing in general is not just applying a smoothing algorithm, but it can be things like smoothing groups, and it could be adding more resolution just to make an object look smoother. And we'll talk more about those. And then, finally, we're going to talk about organization and hierarchy. This is going to be very important to parenting and linking and also grouping and keeping your scenes organized. And then we'll also end with setting up reference images. Reference images are really helpful to help us during the process of modeling. They can give us guidelines. We don't have to stick to reference images specifically, but they do give us a good place to start, and they can help us to stay on track. So with that said, let's go ahead and get started with our first lesson.

Blocking in Basic Forms: Part 1
Hi! I'm Joshua Kinney, and welcome back to 3ds Max Modeling Fundamentals. In this module, we're going to learn the process of blocking in a mesh to get started with our models. So to do this, what we would use is what's called a box modeling technique. Now box modeling is not necessarily starting out with a box. It's starting out with a primitive. And what we do is we add segments to it to create our forms. Now throughout this module, we're going to be using lots of different primitives, and we're going to learn how to add segments in lots of different ways. But we're also going to learn about the common modeling tools that we're going to be using throughout our entire career as modelers. So some of those tools are going to be Extrude, Chamfer, Ring and Connect, Cut, Attach, and we'll also learn how to Weld and Target Weld. Now these are just a few of the tools, but these are some of the most common tools that you will use throughout your entire career. So with that said, let's go ahead and move into our project and start modeling our drone.

Blocking in Basic Forms: Part 2
Hi, I'm Joshua Kinney and welcome back to 3ds Max Modeling Fundamentals. In this next module, we're going to dive further into blocking in the basic form of our mesh. But we're going to do that by taking a look at a couple different ways of doing it. So we're going to look at some alternative modeling techniques, like using Booleans and also using splines. These are great ways to create complex shapes without using a lot of time to model out each individual polygon. We'll also learn about non-destructive modeling techniques, 'cause this is going to be very helpful to us as we create a product that is going to need to be changed later on and it can make it very flexible. And it's also just something that it's just a good practice, especially whenever you're using something that could have iterative design. And then after that, we're going to look at some more unique modeling tools. Some of these tools will include Swift Loop, Bridge, Inset, and Hinge from Edge. Now there are going to be lots of other tools that we use in the meantime. And we're also going to be building on top of those common modeling tools that we learned in the last module. And so with this, we'll finish out the basic form of our drone. So let's go ahead and get started with it next.

Detailing and Smoothing Workflows
Hi! My name is Joshua Kinney, and welcome back to 3ds Max Modeling Fundamentals. In this module, we're going to learn about detailing our mesh and some smoothing workflows. So to get started with this, we're going to learn the process of adding geometry detail. Geometry detail is going to be things that go along with what we've already built, things like seams and maybe screws and things like that that will go into the product that actually need to physically be modeled. Now we're also going to learn about the process of using the OpenSubdiv smoothing algorithm. In my opinion this is probably the best smoothing algorithm to use in 3ds Max because it is very versatile. It allows us to control things with our UVs, and it allows us to crease and to just give us a better smoothing result altogether. Now along with the OpenSubdiv modifier, we're also going to learn how to use the CreaseSet modifier because I think that they work in tandem with one another, and they're very, very well suited for one another. And so we'll talk about how to regain the volume that we created originally with the smoothing algorithm because when we add that smoothing, it is going to take that volume away. But the CreaseSet modifier is going to be a great way to get that back while also giving us a great look to our models. So let's go ahead and take a look at our drone and begin smoothing and detailing out.

Surfacing and Texturing
Hi! My name is Joshua Kinney, and welcome back to 3ds Max Modeling Fundamentals. In this module, we're going to take a look at the process of surfacing and texturing our model getting it ready for a portfolio presentation. So in this module, we're going to look at some of the core things that are helpful to creating materials and textures for our models. So we're going to start off by talking about the basics of UV mapping. Now this course is not going to dive into everything about UV mapping, but we are going to start understanding why we need to do it. After that, we will take a look at how to export a UVW template, so that way we can take it into Photoshop and create a custom texture. Now what we're going to do is we're actually going to create a bump map for extra detail. So in the last module, we talked about creating geometry detail where we actually modeled that out. But we can use things like a bump map to create that extra detail like other seams that are really hard to model, but we can fake it out with what's called a bump map, which is really, really helpful. And then after that, we're going to talk about the process of adding materials and manipulating and creating materials. And then we'll also learn how to create a very simple render. And this is going to get it ready for you to turn in as an assignment or even to add into your portfolio. So with that said, let's go ahead and get started with our next video. We'll start in with the process of UVing.