| Animation
controls in 3D Studio MAX ( 3DS
MAX ) - Tutorial / Lesson |
Before getting our hands into
some real animation, let's know
what all controls 3D Studio
MAX ( 3DS MAX ) have in store
for us.
|
Ever
wondered, what kind of animation
we are going to use to make the
ball bounce? It is the key frame
animation. You guessed it right.
We call it by that name because,
it is the keyframes that we define
in this kind of animation. We
mark the position of our objects
in these keyframes and lets 3D
Studio MAX ( 3DS MAX ) interpolate
the rest for us.
in 3D Studio
MAX ( 3DS MAX ), the animation
controls are located near the
bottom of the main window. The
snapshot of the animation controls
is given in the figure below.
Have a look |
|
Let's
see each item briefly:
1. Time:
The long horizontal region
pointed to by the arrow is the
Time representation in 3D Studio
MAX ( 3DS MAX ). Usually the time
is represented in frames. We can
change it to seconds or what ever
we need in the Time Configuration,
that we'll see soon
2. Time
Slider: The Time Slider
in 3D Studio MAX ( 3ds max ) is
a long button having the current
frame as well as the total no:
of frames written on top of it.
0/100 means you are now at the
0th frame and the Time represents
a total of 100 frames currently.
We can drag the Time slider to
any frame position. Just give
it a try.
3. Set
Key: This button toggles
the Key setting on/off in 3D Studio
MAX ( 3ds max ). In fact we have
to turn this on to set keys manually.
ie we need this to be on, if we
need to animate
4. Auto
Key: An alternative to
Set Key. When Set Key is on, we
use the button having the key
symbol on top of it to manually
set keys. On the other hand, if
Auto key is on, we need not do
any manual key setting. When ever
the current objects, position,
direction etc changes, a key will
be set automatically. Switch it
on, only if you are sure that
you want to set keys automatically
in 3D Studio MAX ( 3ds max ). |
|
5.
Set Keys manually: This
button has the icon of a key on
top of it. When Set Key
button is in active mode (Toggle
SetKey), we use this large button
to set keys. Don't worry if all
these buttons confuse you. The
idea gets clearer when you apply
them. ok?
6. Playback
controls: This section
in 3D Studio MAX ( 3ds max ) would
need no explanation. All controls
are similar to your media player
controls. We use it to view the
animation in the scene.
7. Time
Configuration: This button
in 3D Studio MAX ( 3ds max ) brings
up the Time Configuration dialog.
We will see more about it shortly
8. Position/
Orientation: Three fields
X, Y, Z represent the position
of the currently selected object
in scene. It has no direct relation
with the animation controls. But
I'm mentioning it here, because
it takes the place among the animation
controls. You can modify the position
of the currently selected object
in 3D Studio MAX ( 3ds max ) by
entering the X, Y, Z values manually.
If you are in Move Tool mode,
X, Y, Z represents position. When
you make Rotation Tool active,
the X, Y, Z values represent the
rotation axis in degrees. Understood? |
Before
we start with the animation, we
need to make the Time
set to 50 frames total
duration. This is because we are
planning to make the ball fall
down, and bounce back within 50
frames. Reducing the Time slider's
total frame length from 100 to
50 will help us manage the animation
more efficiently. We can modify
the Time representation in the
Time Configuration dialog box.
Click on the Time Configuration
button to bring it up in 3D Studio
MAX ( 3ds max ). Set the fields
in the Time Configuration dialog
box exactly as shown below |
|
|
The
Frame Rate field
in 3D Studio MAX ( 3ds max ) can
be used to choose different standard
frame rates. Or you can specify
your own frame rate in the FPS
field. The Time Display
section in 3D Studio
MAX ( 3ds max ) tells you how
the time will be represented in
the Time Slider. Enabling Real
Time in Playback lets
you play the animation in exactly
the same frame rate as you specified.
If you uncheck it, every frame
will be played in the viewports.
If the scene is complicated, the
animation may get slow, but all
the frames will be displayed before
you. The Speed choice
lets you choose how fast you want
the animation to be played in
3D Studio MAX ( 3ds max ). If
you choose 2x the animation will
be played at double speed. The
Start Time and End Time lets you specify the
length of the animation. The other
fields adjusts itself accordingly.
Enter 50 as the
End Time. Now click OK to close
the dialog box. The Time slider
will reflect the changes. |
Tip:
You can open the Time
Configuration dialog box in 3D
Studio MAX ( 3ds max ), by right-clicking
on the Playback controls
|
| Lets
do the real keyframing in the
next page>> of this tutorial. |
