Chapter 51 Max and Visualization 1179

Figure 51-3: The AEC Objects category makes adding structural objects like stairs easy.

Using Architectural materials

If you look in the Material/Map Browser, you’ll notice an Architectural material. This material is specifically designed for creating realistic materials that can be applied to architectural scenes. The Architectural material uses predefined Templates to create almost any type of material that you’d find in a building, including ceramic, fabric, metal, glass, stone, wood, and water.

New	The Architectural material, although it is found in VIZ, is new in 3ds max 6.
Feature

A complete list of available Templates includes Glazed Ceramic Tile, Fabric, Clear Glass, Translucent Glass, Ideal Diffuse, Masonry, Metal, Brushed Metal, Flat Metal, Polished Metal, Mirror, Flat Paint, Gloss Paint, Semi-gloss Paint, Paper, Translucent Paper, Plastic, Stone, Polished Stone, User Defined, User Defined Metal, Water, Unfinished Wood, and Varnished Wood.

Materials are created by selecting the Architectural material type from the Material/Browser and then selecting a Template from the Templates rollout, shown in Figure 51-4. After a template is selected, the parameters found in the Physical Qualities and Special Effects rollouts are set automatically to the default values. These parameters can be modified manually to tweak the material, and maps can be applied to most of them just like the other material types.

1180 Part XIII Max in Action

Figure 51-4: Selecting the Architectural material type in the Material Editor makes several templates available.

The Templates all use the same basic parameters in the Physical Qualities rollout, shown in Figure 51-5, including Diffuse Color, Diffuse Map, Shininess, Transparency, Translucency, Index of Refraction, and Luminance. The Set Luminance from Light icon sets the material to emit as much light as the light selected in the scene.

Figure 51-5: The Physical Qualities rollout includes standard properties that control the look of the material.

The Special Effects rollout includes several additional parameters: Bump, Displacement, Intensity, and Cutout. For each of these parameters, you can assign a map that creates a bump, displacement, or cutout effect.

Chapter 51 Max and Visualization 1181

Summary

Several Max features can help as you begin to model projects for architectural visualization. This chapter explains the following topics:

Importing and exporting HDRI images

Creating AEC Objects including plants, railings, doors, and windows

Creating an array of materials using the Architectural material

One more chapter to go, and what a way to finish the book: with a close look at special effects.

Max and Special

Effects

Special effects are called “special” for a reason. It is the same use of the word that McDonald’s employs when it describes its “special sauce.” The key is a secret recipe. Knowing how to create certain

effects makes all the difference.

Special effects add some pizzazz to an otherwise lackluster scene or animation. In this chapter, I present a sampling of some extra “special” special effects. These effects focus on using many of the features that are new to 3ds max 6.

Tutorial: Creating a Black Hole

Using Particle Flow

Particle systems are one of the best sources for special effects, and with the Particle Flow interface you can control them more easily. In this tutorial, we create an array of particle systems and have all their particles flow together to form a black hole.

To create a black hole using the Particle Flow interface, follow these steps:

1.Select Create Particles Particle Flow Source, and drag in the Left viewport to create the icon. The icon’s direction arrow should point to the right in the Top viewport. With the icon selected, click the Affect Pivot Only button in the Hierarchy panel and move the icon to the origin location in the Top viewport. Then click the Affect Pivot Only button again to disable pivot mode.

2.Select Create Standard Primitives Sphere, and create a small sphere in the Top viewport at the grid origin in the center of the viewport.

3.Click the Auto Key button at the bottom of the interface, and drag the Time Slider to frame 100. Then select the sphere object in the Left viewport, and move it downward a little. Then select the Particle Flow Source icon in the Top viewport, and rotate it about 60 degrees. Then disable the Auto Key button to leave key mode.

52C H A P T E R

In This Chapter

Using Special Effects

Creating a black hole with Particle Flow

Covering objects in

BlobMesh ice

Using caustic photons to create a disco ball

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4.With the Particle Flow icon selected, click the Particle View button in the Modify panel (or press the 6 key) to open the Particle Flow window. Select the Birth event, and change the Emit Stop value to 100 and the Amount to 200. Select the Shape event, and change the Shape to Sphere and the Size value to 2.0. In the Display event, change the Visible % to 10.

5.Drag the Speed by Surface event from the Depot window, and drop it on top of the Speed event in the Event node. Select the Control Speed Continuously option from the drop-down list, enable the Speed option, and set the Speed value to 100 and the Speed Variation to 20. Then click the Add button, and select the small Sphere object in the Top viewport.

6.Select the Particle Flow icon; with the Shift key held down, rotate the icon about 52 degrees and enter 6 for the Number of Copies in the Clone Options dialog box that appears.

This creates particle flow icons that surround and feed the black hole.

Figure 52-1 shows the resulting black hole without any materials or Render Effects applied after the Particle Amount is set to 500. For materials, I recommend using the Particle Age map along with a high Self-Illumination value and a Glow Render Effect.

This same structure can be modified to produce a tornado or hurricane.

Figure 52-1: One spiraling black hole accomplished with the Particle

Flow interface