Chapter
2 - Viewports and Cameras in 3D Studio MAX
( 3ds max ) (Viewport
& Camera tutorial, lessons)
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Author - Saju Asokan
Last Updated: Aug 02 2008
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Tutorial
on the Basics of Viewports in 3D Studio
MAX ( 3ds max )
Lets Zoom
You
have already had an idea about what
a viewport is from Chapter 1 of
this 3D Studio MAX ( 3ds max ) tutorial
& training series. Please make
sure all the ideas explained in
Chapter 1 are clear before proceeding
furthur. First of all, lets load
the scene that we saved in the previous
Chapter. "chap1-teapot.max".
You can download
the scene here. Click on File
> Open and choose the file from
the folder where you saved it. Shall
we begin?
As we
already mentioned, a viewport is just
like a window through which we view the
scene. Imagine that the scene is real
with an actual teapot placed in space.
If your home has a window and you are
watching the teapot through that window,
you get a view. The view changes as the
direction at which the window faces the
teapot changes. Got it? When you look
from the top, you get a Top Viewport view
in 3D Studio MAX ( 3ds max ). Similarly
with Front, Left etc. Ok? Also keep in
mind that the area you look through the
window is only a part of the whole scene.
The boundaries of the viewport hides the
unwanted regions and shows only that part
of the scene which is relevant for you.
Now
suppose you got a Zoom lens in
your hands. You can zoom your
view at the teapot. Right? 3D
Studio MAX ( 3DS MAX ) gives you
a handy Zooming tool. First you
click any where inside the perspective
viewport except on any object,
to select the viewport. Now the
viewport will have a boundary
highlighted. This shows that the
"perspective" viewport
is currently active.
Now click on the Zoom Tool
from among the Viewport Tools
located at the bottom-right corner
of the window. .
Clicking on the 'Zoom Tool' highlights
it and makes it active. Now simply left
click and drag your mouse in the perspective
viewport. Dragging your mouse up, zooms
the view in and dragging down zooms out
your view. It is as simple as that. Try
it a few times. Now try the same tool
in other viewports in 3D Studio MAX (
3ds max ).
Now
suppose you need to zoom all the viewports
together. We've got a solution. Simply
click on the Zoom All tool
from the Viewport tools. Now click and
drag inside any of the viewports. The
viewport zooms in and out but notice the
difference. All the viewports zoom in
and out together. Its a very handy tool
at times. Learn more about viewports in
the next page
.
Clicking on the 'Zoom Tool' highlights
it and makes it active. Now simply left
click and drag your mouse in the perspective
viewport. Dragging your mouse up, zooms
the view in and dragging down zooms out
your view. It is as simple as that. Try
it a few times. Now try the same tool
in other viewports in 3D Studio MAX (
3ds max ).
from the Viewport tools. Now click and
drag inside any of the viewports. The
viewport zooms in and out but notice the
difference. All the viewports zoom in
and out together. Its a very handy tool
at times. Learn more about viewports 
