| Using
the Extrude Modifier- Making the
Table top look 3D - Tutorial / Lesson |
What we have created till now
is a 2D curve that defines the
shape of our table top. We need
to convert this to a 3-D object
in 3D Studio MAX ( 3ds max ).
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To
do that, inside the Modify
panel click on the Modifier
List drop down 
and from the list, choose
a new modifier Extrude.
Notice that the new modifier
also gets added to the modifier
stack in 3D Studio MAX (
3ds max ). Now when you
look at the perspective
viewport, you will see the
extruded object of our curve.
But we need some more thickness
to our table top. Inside,
the Extrude
modifier's parameters, within
the modify panel, change
the Amount
to 10.
This increases the extrusion
height. Congratulations.
You have just created the
tabletop using 3D Studio
MAX ( 3ds max ). |
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One of the greatest
advantage of the modifier stack
in 3D Studio MAX ( 3ds max ) is
that you can go down any level
in the hierarchy at any point
of time. Simply selecting the
Edit spline modifier
within the modifier stack lets
you go back to the vertex level
editing of the line. After making
the required changes to the line,
when you click back on the Extrude
present in the stack, you'll see
the extruded figure of the shape
that you changed. ie: even though
you add a large number of modifiers
one over the other, we can still
go back to the previous modifiers
by selecting it from the stack. |
| Removing
a modifier from the Modifier stack
in 3D Studio MAX ( 3ds max )- Tutorial |
You
can remove any modifier from the
modifier stack in 3D Studio MAX
( 3ds max ), by selecting it and
clicking on the Remove
modifier 
icon. |
Constructing
the table legs in 3D Studio MAX
( 3ds max ) - Tutorial / Lesson |
Our
table will have three legs having
an angle of 120° between them.
First, you go to the create panel
in 3D Studio MAX ( 3ds max ) and
click on the button cylinder.
Now click and drag the mouse in
the top viewport to define the
radius of the cylinder. When you
are satisfied with the radius,
release the mouse button, and
simply move the mouse up or down
to define the height of the cylinder.
This process, need not be accurate,
since we are going to modify these
attributes. Now that we have created
the cylinder, go to the modifiy
panel in 3D Studio MAX
( 3ds max ) . Change the radius
to 3.0 and height to 100.0. Now
from the Modifier list, choose
Taper. Set the
amount to -0.3 and press Enter.
now create another cylinder having
the radius 40 and height -12.
Now go to the modify panel and
add the Taper
modifier to the new cylinder.
Change the taper amount to -1.0.
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Aligning
the Legs in 3D Studio MAX ( 3ds
max ) - Tutorial / Lesson |
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Now
we have already created
the tabletop, one of the
legs, and the base on
which the leg is placed.
We have to align all these
elements properly in the
3D Studio MAX ( 3ds max
) scene. Move both the
cylinders, so that they
are positioned as shown
in the figure. The thinner
cylinder needs to be rotated
slightly, so that the
leg will look connected
to the table with a slightly
slanting angle. The results
need not be exact. Use
your own imagination. |
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We need three legs
to support the table.
All we're going to do
is duplicate and rotate
the legs that we have
created. Before performing
rotation, we need to
group the two cylinders
that form the leg. Click
on the first cylinder
to select it. While
holding down the control
key on the keyboard,
click on the second
cylinder that forms
the base. Now both the
cylinders are selected
in the 3D Studio MAX
( 3ds max ) scene. The
click on Group
> Group.
Click OK in the Grouping
dialog box that appears.
This causes both the
cylinders to be grouped
together. Grouping one
or more objects, helps
us to select them as
a single unit in 3D
Studio MAX ( 3ds max
).
Now click on any one
of the cylinders to
select the group. Now
select the rotate
tool, and while
holding down
the shift key,
rotate the cylinder,
to an angle of around
120° in the top
viewport along the Z
axis. The Angle of rotation
will be displayed, while
you rotate the cylinder.
When you release the
mouse button after rotation,
a Clone Options
dialog box appears (since
you pressed down the
Shift key). In the dialog
box, choose the number
of copies, to 2
and click OK. This creates
two more duplicates
of the cylinder group
in the 3D Studio MAX
( 3ds max ) scene. Now
you rotate, the newly
created cylinder groups
and position them, so
that the whole table
looks, roughly like
that shown in the figure
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