Table Of Contentffffiirrss..iinndddd vvii 88//2299//22001122 55::3355::3311 PPMM
Mastering
Autodesk 3ds Max 2013
® ®
Jeffrey M. Harper
ffffiirrss..iinndddd ii 88//2299//22001122 55::3355::2288 PPMM
Acquisitions Editor: Mariann Barsolo
Development Editor: Gary Schwartz
Technical Editor: Jon McFarland
Production Editor: Dassi Zeidel
Copy Editor: Linda Recktenwald
Editorial Manager: Pete Gaughan
Production Manager: Tim Tate
Vice President and Executive Group Publisher: Richard Swadley
Vice President and Publisher: Neil Edde
Book Designers: Maureen Forys, Happenstance Type-O-Rama; Judy Fung
Proofreader: Sara Wilson; Sarah Kaikini, Word One New York
Indexer: Ted Laux
Project Coordinator, Cover: Katherine Crocker
Cover Designer: Ryan Sneed
Cover Image: Jeffrey M. Harper
Model: aXYZ vehicles, Autodesk 3ds Max 2013 Sample Files Subscription download.
Objects: Autodesk 3ds Max AEC Extended objects. Xfrog Inc. objects, seek.autodesk.com.
Copyright © 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
ISBN: 978-1-118-12971-5
ISBN: 978-1-118-22567-7 (ebk.)
ISBN: 978-1-118-23847-9 (ebk.)
ISBN: 978-1-118-26307-5 (ebk.)
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechan-
ical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act,
without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the
Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for per-
mission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011,
fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy
or completeness of the contents of this work and specifi cally disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fi tness for a
particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein
may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal,
accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be
sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Web site is
referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher
endorses the information the organization or Web site may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that
Internet Web sites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.
For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department
within the U.S. at (877) 762-2974, outside the U.S. at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002.
Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions
of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in
the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley prod-
ucts, visit www.wiley.com.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2012942051
TRADEMARKS: Wiley, the Wiley logo, and the Sybex logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its
affi liates, in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. Autodesk and 3ds Max are registered
trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated
with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ffffiirrss..iinndddd iiii 88//2299//22001122 55::3355::3300 PPMM
Dear Reader,
Thank you for choosing Mastering Autodesk 3ds Max 2013. This book is part of a family of
premium-quality Sybex books, all of which are written by outstanding authors who combine
practical experience with a gift for teaching.
Sybex was founded in 1976. More than 30 years later, we’re still committed to producing
consistently exceptional books. With each of our titles, we’re working hard to set a new standard
for the industry. From the paper we print on, to the authors we work with, our goal is to bring
you the best books available.
I hope you see all that refl ected in these pages. I’d be very interested to hear your comments and
get your feedback on how we’re doing. Feel free to let me know what you think about this or
any other Sybex book by sending me an email at nedde@wiley.com. If you think you’ve found
a technical error in this book, please visit http://sybex.custhelp.com. Customer feedback is
critical to our efforts at Sybex.
Best regards,
Neil Edde
Vice President and Publisher
Sybex, an Imprint of Wiley
ffffiirrss..iinndddd iiiiii 88//2299//22001122 55::3355::3300 PPMM
This book is dedicated to my family and friends
for always encouraging me in my endeavors, for
providing their emotional support, and for their
understanding when I missed events or disappeared
from the face of the earth to fi nish projects such as
attempting to complete this book on schedule.
ffffiirrss..iinndddd iivv 88//2299//22001122 55::3355::3311 PPMM
Acknowledgments
I would like to acknowledge the support of everyone at Wiley/Sybex in helping write and
update MasteringAutodesk3dsMax2013. I would also like to acknowledge Mariann Barsolo, Pete
Gaughan, Connor O’Brien, Jenni Housh, Dassi Zeidel, Gary Schwartz, Jon McFarland, Linda
Recktenwald, and everyone else on the Wiley/Sybex team who helped keep me on schedule,
assisted with graphics and fi gures, and made edits and corrections.
I would like to thank Jon McFarland, one of the original authors of this book, for coming on
board as technical reviewer on the book.
I would also like to thank Scott Onstott for allowing us to use his models as examples for a
number of chapters in this book. Thanks also go out to Brian P. Skripac, former architectural
consulting expert at IMAGINiT Technologies, for the Revit model used in Chapter 5. I would
like to thank Curtis Waguespack for the two Autodesk Inventor fi les from his MasteringAutodesk
Inventor book. I would also like to thank Jennifer O’Connor for the MAXScript information.
And, of course, a big thanks to Tom Hudson, Gary Yost, Dan Silva, Rolf Bertteig, and Jack
Powell for creating 3D Studio, and the folks at Autodesk who continue to make 3ds Max such a
fun and compelling creativity tool, for without them, we all wouldn’t be here.
I have to thank my family and friends again for all their love, support, encouragement, faith,
and patience.
ffffiirrss..iinndddd vv 88//2299//22001122 55::3355::3311 PPMM
ffffiirrss..iinndddd vvii 88//2299//22001122 55::3355::3311 PPMM
About the Author
Jeffrey M. Harper started using Autodesk products (initially AutoCAD® 9 software) in his
architectural drafting classes when he was in high school. Jeff was very excited to see AutoCAD
add 3D modeling to its toolset, and he merged this with his love of photography and started
thinking cinematographically, creating renderings of his AutoCAD fi les with AutoShade. Soon
he began using 3D Studio R3 (for DOS) to help visualize his projects while he studied architec-
ture at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He quickly upgraded to R4 for DOS when it came
out. Jeff immediately upgraded to 3D Studio Max 1.0 for Windows when it was released, and
he has used every version of 3ds Max since. He has also used Lightscape 3.2 and a few versions
of Autodesk VIZ. Jeff also regularly uses Lightwave 3D, Vue, and many of the Adobe Master
Collection products including Photoshop Extended, Adobe Illustrator, Premiere Pro, After
Effects, Audition, and Encore.
Jeff has used 3ds Max to create architectural and civil engineering visualizations from a com-
bination of aerial and terrestrial LiDAR, USGS NED data, high-resolution digital orthophotog-
raphy, stereo-compiled mapping data, and CAD fi les from different packages and disciplines.
He has also used 3ds Max to create models, stills, animations, and interactive components used
in computer-based training programs for aircraft maintenance. Jeff has even used 3ds Max to
design and create a stereo-lithography (STL) fi le used to build a rapid-prototyped form from
which he hand-pressed ceramic tiles that were glazed and fi red and then used in the backsplash
of a kitchen remodeling project. Jeff also uses 3ds Max to create visual effects elements for a
variety of media. His work on the short fi lm RandomNaturalOccurrence won the Brad Carvey
Award for Best Visual Effects at the 2010 Duke City Shootout fi lm festival.
As a CADD manager and data manager for a large multistate, multidiscipline engineer-
ing fi rm, Jeff wrote a number of workfl ow/training documents to assist users with CAD and
GIS functions, and he assisted users with AutoCAD, Revit® Structure, Civil 3D®, MicroStation,
InRoads, Adobe Photoshop, ArcGIS, and GeoMedia.
Jeff is also an avid photographer and graphic/multimedia designer and editor. He recently
helped rebrand one of the best talent agencies in the southwest and is managing the social
media presence for Tim’s Place (www.facebook.com/timsplaceabq), a local Albuquerque
restaurant.
ffffiirrss..iinndddd vviiii 88//2299//22001122 55::3355::3311 PPMM
ffffiirrss..iinndddd vviiiiii 88//2299//22001122 55::3355::3311 PPMM