1 3Ds Max Tutorial Mountain in 3ds Max Fri Sep 24, 2010 4:03 am
Admin
Admin
3D Mountain in 3ds Max
26 Apr 2010
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]In this 3ds Max tutorial we’re going to create a simple 3d mountain. The mountain geometry will be created from a simple plane with the displace modifier and it will be textured with a combination of procedural maps. The image will be finalized by strong sidelight and some volumetric clouds. I’m using 3ds Max 2011 but many older versions should work just as well.
Step 1 Mental Ray Renderer
We’re going to render the mountain with the Mental Ray. By default 3ds Max uses the Scanline renderer so we have to change that. Change the renderer to the Mental Ray ( Rendering > Render Setup… > Common tab > Assign Renderer > Production > mental ray Renderer ).
Step 2 3D Mountain Geometry
Create a Plane ( Create panel > Geometry > Standard Primitives > Plane ) in the top viewport . Modify the Plane ( Make a selection > Modify panel ) according to the following parameters :
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
( We need a dense (80k faces) mesh because we’re going to deform it with the displace modifier and Gradient Ramp map. )
Step 3 Mountains with the Displace Modifier
Add Displace modifier to the Plane ( Make a selection > Modify panel > Modifier List > Object-Space Modifiers > Displace ) and apply the following parameters:
Image
Map: Gradient Ramp
</LI>
Open Material Editor ( Rendering > Material Editor > Compact Material Editor ). Drag and drop the Gradient Ramp map from the Displace modifier into a material slot in Material Editor and select ‘instance’ when asked. Apply the following parameters to the Gradient Ramp map:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Finally go to the ‘Output’ section, click ‘Enable Color Map’ and adjust the color map according to the picture below. ( to adjust a point, right-click on it and change it to ‘Bezier-Corner’ point. )
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Tip: To adjust the small details of the mountain you can change the ‘ Phase’ in the Noise settings.
Step 4 Mountain Material
We’re going to create a snowcapped mountain with snow also at the base. The material will be created from scratch and it will use only procedural maps found in 3ds Max. We’ll utilize Gradient Ramp diffuse map to create color variations and Composite bump map to create lots of small scale details. So let’s select an empty material slot and create the material. You can just copy the settings from the picture or read the explanations below the picture.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
( We combined three different maps to create large, medium, and small scale details to the bump map. This method produces more realistic bump map than a single map would. )
Make a test render to see how the 3d mountain looks like with the diffuse and bump maps. At the moment there are several problems with the rendered image:
Next we’re going to fix these issues.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Tip. If you’d like to create vegetation to the base of the mountain you could change the color values of Flags 5 and 6 ( in the Gradient Ramp map) to green.
Step 5 The Lighting
Soon we’re going to create more serious renders so let’s create a camera. Create a Target camera ( Create panel > Cameras > Target ) in the top viewport and place it according to picture below. Right-click on the Perspective view and press C in the keyboard to change it to the Camera view.
We rely heavily on the bump map so we desperately need more interesting illumination for the mountain. Create ‘mr Area Spot’ ( Create panel > Lights > Standard > mr Area Spot ) in the top viewport, place it according to picture below, and apply the following settings to it.
Intensity/Color/Attenuation
Multiplier: 2,5
Color: RGB 255, 248, 221
( These settings create really strong light with warm yellowish color )
Spotlight Parameters
Hotspot/Beam: 15,2
Falloff/Field: 17,2
( Just big enough to cover the mountain. Increase values if needed. )
Area Light Parameters
Type: Disc
Radius: 250
( the higher the value, the softer the shadows. If you do a high resolution render and experience graininess in the shadows you can increase the ‘Samples’ values to fix it )
</LI>
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Render your mountain to see the effect of the Mental Ray area spotlight.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Now the left side of the mountain is completely black and it fades into the background. Let’s fix that by adding a fill light. Create ‘Omni’ light and place it to the left side of the mountain and apply the following setting to it:
Render a test image to see the effect of the fill light. Move the Omni light if necessary.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Compare this to the render in step 4 to understand the importance of lighting.
Step 6 More Polished Look
Next we’re going to increase the quality of the mountain geometry and adjust the sampling settings to get more polished render. Go to the render setup and increase antialiasing quality by increasing Mental Ray’s sampling values ( Rendering > Render setup… > Renderer > Sampling Quality ):
Filter
Type: Mitchell ( For most scenes the Mitchell filter gives the best results. )
</LI>
Select the mountain, go to the modify panel, and add TurboSmooth modifier to smooth out the hard edges of the model. Render your mountain to see the effect of these adjustments.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Step 7 Volumetric Clouds Around the Mountain
As a final thing we’re going to add some clouds around the mountain to create more depth and better sense of scale. Create four sphere gizmos ( Create panel > Helpers > Atmospheric Apparatus > SphereGizmo ) in the top viewport. Apply the following settings to the gizmos:
SphereGizmo002
Radius: 47
Hemisphere: YES
SphereGizmo003
Radius: 79
Hemisphere: YES
SphereGizmo004
Radius: 50
Hemisphere: YES
</LI>
Place the gizmos according to the picture below. SphereGizmo001 is on the left and SphereGizmo004 is on the right.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Let’s go to the atmosphere settings ( Rendering > Environment… > Atmosphere ) to add some clouds:
Volume:
Color: RGB 255, 248, 221 ( The same as in the spotlight )
Max Steps: 200 ( Increases the quality of the effect )
Noise:
Type: Turbulence
Size: 40
</LI>
Just hit render and your 3d mountain image is complete. I made some small adjustments in Photoshop:
Contrast
+25
</LI>
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
I hope you enjoyed it! I’d love to hear how the tutorial is working for you!]
26 Apr 2010
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]In this 3ds Max tutorial we’re going to create a simple 3d mountain. The mountain geometry will be created from a simple plane with the displace modifier and it will be textured with a combination of procedural maps. The image will be finalized by strong sidelight and some volumetric clouds. I’m using 3ds Max 2011 but many older versions should work just as well.
Step 1 Mental Ray Renderer
We’re going to render the mountain with the Mental Ray. By default 3ds Max uses the Scanline renderer so we have to change that. Change the renderer to the Mental Ray ( Rendering > Render Setup… > Common tab > Assign Renderer > Production > mental ray Renderer ).
Step 2 3D Mountain Geometry
Create a Plane ( Create panel > Geometry > Standard Primitives > Plane ) in the top viewport . Modify the Plane ( Make a selection > Modify panel ) according to the following parameters :
- Length: 200
- Width: 200
- length Segs: 200
- Width Segs: 200
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
( We need a dense (80k faces) mesh because we’re going to deform it with the displace modifier and Gradient Ramp map. )
Step 3 Mountains with the Displace Modifier
Add Displace modifier to the Plane ( Make a selection > Modify panel > Modifier List > Object-Space Modifiers > Displace ) and apply the following parameters:
- Displacement
- Strength: 100
Open Material Editor ( Rendering > Material Editor > Compact Material Editor ). Drag and drop the Gradient Ramp map from the Displace modifier into a material slot in Material Editor and select ‘instance’ when asked. Apply the following parameters to the Gradient Ramp map:
- Double click on the Flag #1 and change the color to white
- Double click on the Flag #3 and change the color to black
- Gradient Type: Radial
- Noise: Amount: 0,3
- Noise: Size: 6
- Noise: Turbulence
- Noise: Levels: 10
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Finally go to the ‘Output’ section, click ‘Enable Color Map’ and adjust the color map according to the picture below. ( to adjust a point, right-click on it and change it to ‘Bezier-Corner’ point. )
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Tip: To adjust the small details of the mountain you can change the ‘ Phase’ in the Noise settings.
Step 4 Mountain Material
We’re going to create a snowcapped mountain with snow also at the base. The material will be created from scratch and it will use only procedural maps found in 3ds Max. We’ll utilize Gradient Ramp diffuse map to create color variations and Composite bump map to create lots of small scale details. So let’s select an empty material slot and create the material. You can just copy the settings from the picture or read the explanations below the picture.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
- Select the mountain and click ‘Assign Material to Selection’
- Diffuse Color: Gradient Ramp
Flag #1: Color: RGB 180, 180, 180 Position: 0
Flag #2: Color: RGB 180, 180, 180 Position: 15
Flag #3: Color: RGB 100, 100, 100 Position: 22
Flag #4: Color: RGB 100, 100, 100 Position: 39
Flag #5: Color: RGB 180, 180, 180 Position: 49
Flag #6: Color: RGB 180, 180, 180 Position: 100
( Click on the color gradient to add a new flag. Right-click on a flag to modify or delete it. )
Gradient Type: Radial
Noise Amount: 0,1
Noise Type: Turbulence
Noise Size: 1
Noise Levels: 10
( It’s a good idea to make a test render now to see how the diffuse map looks like ) - Bump: Composite ( The Composite map is used to combine several maps together )
- Add Smoke map to the first layer of the Composite Map ( large scale details )
Size: 5
# Iterations: 20 - Add second layer to the Composite map. Change the blending mode to Addition and Opacity to 70. Add Speckle map to the second layer ( medium scale details )
Size: 4
Color #1: white
Color #2: black - Add third layer to the Composite map. Change the blending mode to Addition and Opacity to 60. Add Speckle map to the third layer ( small scale details )
Size: 0,003
Color #1: white
Color #2: black
( We combined three different maps to create large, medium, and small scale details to the bump map. This method produces more realistic bump map than a single map would. )
Make a test render to see how the 3d mountain looks like with the diffuse and bump maps. At the moment there are several problems with the rendered image:
- The mountain looks really boring and flat
- Sampling quality isn’t high enough for the small scale details
- There are some unnaturally sharp edges in the outline of the mountain
Next we’re going to fix these issues.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Tip. If you’d like to create vegetation to the base of the mountain you could change the color values of Flags 5 and 6 ( in the Gradient Ramp map) to green.
Step 5 The Lighting
Soon we’re going to create more serious renders so let’s create a camera. Create a Target camera ( Create panel > Cameras > Target ) in the top viewport and place it according to picture below. Right-click on the Perspective view and press C in the keyboard to change it to the Camera view.
We rely heavily on the bump map so we desperately need more interesting illumination for the mountain. Create ‘mr Area Spot’ ( Create panel > Lights > Standard > mr Area Spot ) in the top viewport, place it according to picture below, and apply the following settings to it.
- General Parameters
- Shadows: ON
- Shadows: Ray Traced Shadows
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Render your mountain to see the effect of the Mental Ray area spotlight.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Now the left side of the mountain is completely black and it fades into the background. Let’s fix that by adding a fill light. Create ‘Omni’ light and place it to the left side of the mountain and apply the following setting to it:
- Intensity/Color/Attenuation
- Multiplier: 0,7
Render a test image to see the effect of the fill light. Move the Omni light if necessary.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Compare this to the render in step 4 to understand the importance of lighting.
Step 6 More Polished Look
Next we’re going to increase the quality of the mountain geometry and adjust the sampling settings to get more polished render. Go to the render setup and increase antialiasing quality by increasing Mental Ray’s sampling values ( Rendering > Render setup… > Renderer > Sampling Quality ):
- Samples per pixel
- Minimum: 4
- Maximum: 64
Select the mountain, go to the modify panel, and add TurboSmooth modifier to smooth out the hard edges of the model. Render your mountain to see the effect of these adjustments.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Step 7 Volumetric Clouds Around the Mountain
As a final thing we’re going to add some clouds around the mountain to create more depth and better sense of scale. Create four sphere gizmos ( Create panel > Helpers > Atmospheric Apparatus > SphereGizmo ) in the top viewport. Apply the following settings to the gizmos:
- SphereGizmo001
- Radius: 61
- Hemisphere: YES
Place the gizmos according to the picture below. SphereGizmo001 is on the left and SphereGizmo004 is on the right.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Let’s go to the atmosphere settings ( Rendering > Environment… > Atmosphere ) to add some clouds:
- Click ‘Add…’ , select ‘Volume Fog’, and click OK.
- Gizmos:
- Click ‘Pick Gizmo’ and click on the SphereGizmo001. Repeat for all sphere gizmos.
- Increase ‘Soften Gizmo Edges’ to 1.
Just hit render and your 3d mountain image is complete. I made some small adjustments in Photoshop:
- Smart Sharpen Filter
- Amount: 40%
- Radius: 0,5 pixels
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
I hope you enjoyed it! I’d love to hear how the tutorial is working for you!]