3DS Max Basic

Autodesk 3ds Max, formerly 3D Studio MAX, is a modeling, animation and rendering package developed by Autodesk Media and Entertainment. It has modeling capabilities, a flexible plugin architecture and can be used on the Microsoft Windows platform. It’s frequently used by video game developers, TV commercial studios and architectural visualization studios. It is also used for movie effects and movie pre-visualization.

In addition to its modeling and animation tools, the latest version of 3ds Max also features shaders (such as ambient occlusion and subsurface scattering), dynamic simulation, particle systems, radiosity, normal map creation and rendering, global illumination, a customizable user interface, and its own scripting language.

Module 1: Interface

User Interface and Viewpoints
Command Panel and Viewpoint UI Elements

Module 2: Files & Objects

Scene File Manipulation
Simple Geometry Creation & Pivot Points
Object Orientation and Modifying Standard Objects
Selecting Objects and Organization of Objects in a Scene

Module 3: Transforms

Transform Tools and Transform Base Point
Coordinate Systems and Align
Cloning Objects and Other Transforms

Module 4: Applying Modifiers

Concepts of the Modifier Stack
Modifiers and Collapsing the Stack

Module 5: Low-Poly Modeling

Objects and Sub-Objects
Sub-Object Levels and Smoothing Groups
Using Subdivision Surfaces

Module 6: Shapes

Shape Definitions
Basic Shape, Creation Functions
Editing Splines and Adding Splines from a Shape
Segment Editing and Vertex Editing
Using Shape Modifiers

Module 7: Compound Objects

Booleans and ProBoolean Operations
Lofts and Scatter Tool

Module 8: Modeling Lab

Creating an Underwater Scene