MatChInG Your sCene to a baCKGround IMaGe | 557 2. Select Camera Match from the Helpers drop-down list. 3. In the Object Type rollout, click the CamPoint button. 4. Make sure that the Snaps Toggle is active; then click the bottom-front corner of the Alignobject box, as shown in Figure 10.39. You’ve just added a CamPoint to the scene. 5. Back in the Command panel, change the CamPoint001 name in the Name and Color roll- out to Front Bottom. This will make it easier to identify the CamPoint you just created. 6. Next, click the top-front corner of the Alignobject box, as shown in Figure 10.39. 7. Change the name in the Name and Color rollout to Front Top. 8. Place the rest of the CamPoints—Left Top, Left Bottom, and Right Top—shown in Figure 10.39, as you did for the Front Top CamPoint. Click the location in the design; then change the newly added CamPoint’s name to reflect its location. Maintaining a Standard Naming Convention Always make sure you have a logical naming convention for the objects in your scenes. A common practice is to prefix all similar objects similarly. For example, prefix all lights with “Light” or all CamPoints with “CamPoint.” Using this method will ensure that all objects of the same type will be located near each other in the Select Object dialog box. You now have five CamPoints in place. That is the minimum number that 3ds Max needs to align a scene with a background image. The more camera match points that you can accurately place, the more precise the camera match will be. You’ve seen how the Alignobject box helps make quick work of placing the CamPoints in the design. You can also place the CamPoints in your design by entering their coordinates using the Camera Match Keyboard Entry rollout. But using geometry like the Alignobject box is a bit more straightforward. Hide the Alignobject Box When Rendering The Alignobject box was created specifically for this Camera Match operation and isn’t really part of the building, so remember to hide it when you are rendering the model. Aligning the Camera Match Points to the Background Image The following steps will require some care. You will locate the places in the background image that correspond to the CamPoints you’ve just created. 1. Click the Utilities tab in the upper-right corner of the Command panel. 2. Click the Camera Match button. You’ll see the CamPoint Info rollout appear with a list of the CamPoints you just created. 558 | CHAPTER 10 usInG the 3ds Max CaMera 3. Click the Front Bottom entry in the list box at the top of the CamPoint Info rollout; then click the Assign Position button at the bottom. 4. Click the location (shown in the background image) that corresponds to the Front Bottom CamPoint in the scene (see Figure 10.40). A small cross appears at the point you click. Try to be as precise as you can in placing the cross. If you don’t like the location, you can con- tinue to click points until you have the cross placed in a location that satisfies you. 5. Because this is the first point you are aligning, you’ll see a Camera Match warning mes- sage. Click Yes. 6. Select Front Top from the list in the CamPoint Info rollout; then click the Front Top corner location in the background image, as shown in Figure 10.40. 7. Repeat step 6 for each of the remaining three CamPoints. 3ds Max now has enough information to create a camera that matches the design geometry to the background image: 1. Scroll down the Command panel so that you can see the Camera Match rollout clearly. 2. Click the Create Camera button. You will see a camera appear in the viewports and a value appear in the Current Camera Error message in the Camera Match rollout. When you click the Create Camera button, 3ds Max creates a camera that matches the view of the design with the background image. An Allowable Current Camera Error A good value for the Current Camera Error is any value from 0 to 1.5. Figure 10.40 Click the CamPoint name in the Cam- Point Info rollout; then, with the Assign Position button active, click the points shown in the figure. Front Bottom Front Top Left Top Right Top Left Bottom MatChInG Your sCene to a baCKGround IMaGe | 559 3. To see how the camera matching worked, right-click the Perspective viewport label in the upper-left corner of the viewport and choose Views  Camera01. This is the camera that the Create Camera button created. The box will move into position over the image. 4. Unhide the hidden components of the building. The rest of the building appears in the viewport, as shown in Figure 10.41. 5. Hide the Alignobject box; you don’t want it to appear in the rendered view. 6. Click the Render Production button on the Main Toolbar. The apartment is rendered with the background, as shown in Figure 10.42. Adjusting the Camera To adjust the camera, reassign the CamPoint positions and then, with the camera selected, click the Modify Camera button in the Camera Match rollout. You can also adjust the camera manually, changing the position, rotation, FOV, and so forth to improve the camera match. Figure 10.41 The apartment building in position Figure 10.42 The rendered apart- ment building with the background 560 | CHAPTER 10 usInG the 3ds Max CaMera Once you have a rendering matched to a background, your work isn’t completely finished. As you see in Figure 10.42, the building obscures some of the objects that are in the foreground (note the fire hydrant and the street sign). You can use an image-editing program, such as Adobe Photoshop, to bring those parts of the image back into the foreground. Fine-Tuning a Camera-Matched View Not all of your camera-matching projects may go as smoothly as the previous example. Due to site restrictions or other limitations, you may be able to get only three or four points to match instead of the required five points. In these situations, you have to rely more on your knowledge of the site conditions, camera locations, and camera settings. Perhaps the most important item to record is the position of the camera in relation to the site, both in plan and elevation. If you can accurately place a camera in your scene, you can usually reconstruct a camera-matched view by fine-tuning your view using the Dolly, Field-of-View, and Roll Camera tools in the Camera Controls section of the user interface. It helps to have topographical information and, if possible, aerial photographs or satellite imagery, although good site plans will work as well. Matching the Design Image Quality to the Background You may find that a building doesn’t quite match up with the background image in ways other than orientation and size. For example, the contrast in the building may be too low compared with the contrast in the background, or there may be a grain in the background that isn’t present in the rendered building. These differences can cause the design to stand out from the back- ground, making it obvious that it is a computer rendering superimposed onto a photograph. You can make adjustments to the lighting and materials in the scene to compensate for con- trast and lighting differences, but noise in the background image has to be handled differently. You can deal with both noise and contrast by taking an alternative approach to the final render- ing of the design. Now that you’ve got the design aligned with the background image, you can go ahead and render the image without the background. You can then use Photoshop or another image- editing program to merge the rendered design into the background image. By doing this, you have control over the rendered image of the building apart from the background. You can add noise or adjust the contrast and color tint of the rendered design in Photoshop to match the background before the two images are merged. Figure 10.43 shows the rendering redone using this method. Compare it with the rendering in Figure 10.42, where the background and building were combined and rendered into a single image in 3ds Max. You can also apply the Film Grain rendering effect through the Add button in the Effects tab of the Environment and Effects dialog box. Be sure to click the Ignore Background option so that only the 3ds Max objects and not the background image receive the grain, as shown in Figure 10.44. Rendering without the Background Image To set up 3ds Max to render a view without the background, choose Rendering  Environment and turn off the Use Map option in the Background group. You can always turn the background back on by reversing this procedure. MatChInG Your sCene to a baCKGround IMaGe | 561 Standard Cinematic Terminology As a design visualizer, it’s a good idea to learn the standard language used to describe camera shots in the film-making world. These shot names are usually abbreviated, and the shortcut names are often used on storyboards and script treatments. The shots that describe the framing of the scene include the following: Wide shot/extreme long shot A shot from a distance. Humans are very small. This is fre- quently used as an “establishing shot” that sets the location of the film. Aerial shot Also called a crane shot or overhead shot, this is often from a plane or helicopter. Long shot The characters/humans are seen from head to toe. Figure 10.43 The rendered apartment com- posited with the background in Photoshop Figure 10.44 Adding a Film Grain effect to the image as it is rendered 562 | CHAPTER 10 usInG the 3ds Max CaMera Mid shot The characters are seen from head to waist. You can identify the actions of the actors in a mid shot. Medium close-up shot The framing of the actors is from head to chest. Close-up shot shot (CU) This shows head and shoulders only. Extreme close-up (ECU) Only part of the character’s face is shown. Other shot terminology describes the relationship of characters in the scene: Two shot A shot with only two characters Point-of-view shot (POV) A shot from the viewpoint of one character Over-the-shoulder shot (OTS) A shot of two characters, from the point of view of over the shoulder of one, looking at the other. There are many good sources for more information on cinematic terminology and usage. One excellent book is called Setting Up Your Shots, by Jeremy Vineyard (Michael Wiese Productions, 2008). This book will teach you everything you need to know to be knowledgeable about tradi- tional camera shots and moves. The Bottom Line Understand the 3ds Max camera The virtual cameras in 3ds Max follow the analogy of real-world SLR cameras. You can set the focal length, set the field of view, and adjust several other parameters. Targeted cameras are oriented by moving a target object, and free cameras are oriented using the Rotate transform. Master It Create a new camera that focuses on the lower-level main entranceway, flanked by the tall, thin windows. Switch between a target and a free camera to familiar- ize yourself with manipulating each type. Set up an interior view Interior cameras are more difficult than exterior cameras to prop- erly place. The scene must be framed properly while maintaining an acceptable field of view and working within the space limitations frequently found indoors. Master It Make two clones of the camera that focuses on the outside of the entranceway. Move the new cameras and, if necessary, the targets inside the structure. Manipulate each camera so that each displays one side of the entranceway. Show as much of the windows as possible without excessive distortion. Create an environment Most image formats can be used as the background for a rendered scene. Once an image map is selected, it can be positioned and manipulated through the parameters found in the Material Editor. Master It Select another sky image map and replace the map used in this chapter. Choose another map provided with 3ds Max Design 2011 or create your own with a digi- tal camera. Use the controls located in the Output rollout to change a darkened sky to a brighter one, or vice versa. Render elements for compositing 3D still images and animations must often go through a postproduction compositing process to achieve a higher level of quality or realism. Using the the bottoM lIne | 563 Render Elements feature, you can automatically create many of the required element types at the same time the images are being rendered. Advanced image-processing software, such as Autodesk Combustion, can manipulate and composite the different images and create the final output. Master It Open the most recent Savoye scene and create two more render elements: one for the shadows and one for the reflections. Use the Camera Match utility When a building’s model must be incorporated into a back- ground image, you must match the 3ds Max virtual camera to the camera that took the back- ground picture. This is accomplished by placing CamPoint helper objects in the scene and using the Camera Match utility. Master It What is the difference between adding a CamPoint helper in the scene and assigning the position of a CamPoint helper in the scene? A. Nothing. The terms are interchangeable. B. Adding the CamPoint helper consists of locating the object accurately in the scene, while assigning the position of the CamPoint helper refers to selecting its proper location rela- tive to the background image. C. Assigning the position of the CamPoint helper consists of locating the object accurately in the scene, while adding the CamPoint helper refers to selecting its proper location rela- tive to the background image. D. None of the above. Chapter 11 Organizing Objects and Scene Management The term scene in 3ds Max refers to all of your models, materials, effects, and externally referenced files contained within a single .max file. In this chapter, you’ll look at ways you can access and utilize your scenes while developing your renderings and animations. 3ds Max offers a variety of ways that can help you improve your workflow. You can divide a file into smaller pieces and recombine them while keeping those pieces unique. This can help you manage large scenes that require the work of several artists. Other tools let you quickly update objects in your scene or per- form what-if scenarios to try different options. In this chapter, you’ll experiment with various ways of bringing in some additional furni- ture from the Sybex website. In the process, you’ll learn how you can combine and access your scenes. In this chapter, you will learn to: Use external references •u Use the Rendered Frame Window options•u Use the Asset Browser•u Create a panorama•u Publish a scene to the DWF format•u Gaining Access to Materials and Objects from Other Files In this section, you’ll be working with groups as you did in Chapter 2, “Introducing 3ds Max Objects.” You’ll also use a feature called an external reference, or XRef, to transfer the modified fabric material from the Mybigchair.max file to the Mycouch.max file. XRefs are a way to include other 3ds Max files in your scenes without having to combine file data into a single file. For example, you may want to create a file that contains the furniture arrangement for an office, but you may want to keep that furniture data separate from the office design file. You can XRef the furniture file into your office scene so that you can accurately locate the furniture. Because the furniture data is stored as another file, changes made to the furni- ture file will be updated automatically in the office file when you reload the XRef. Then, when you’re done, you can remove the XRef of the office design in a single step. The furniture file then maintains its independence from the office design file. This approach avoids duplication of data 566 | CHAPTER 11 orGanIzInG objeCts and sCene ManaGeMent and reduces your disk storage space requirements. You can then XRef the furniture file into the office design file whenever you need to show furniture. XRefs can be used as organizational tools to help reduce the complexity of large models by segregating similar types of objects into separate files. XRefs are also useful for dividing work between members of a design team. In an interior design project, for example, one designer can work on a floor layout while another designer works on floor patterns or lighting. 3ds Max offers two ways to use XRefs. The XRef Scenes dialog box lets you combine whole scene files into a single file. It also allows you to divide portions of a scene into separate files so that they can be edited by several individuals. Collaborating on a Project Only one individual may read and write any 3ds Max file on a local area network (LAN) at any given time. External references are a way of combining the files from several people into a master scene. If you think you might need to edit objects brought in as XRefs, you can use the XRef Objects dialog box. You can apply transforms and modifiers to individual objects that have been imported using this dialog box, although such changes won’t affect the source file. As an introduction to XRefs, you’ll use the XRef Objects dialog box in the following exercise to import a material into the MyCouch.max file. XRefs aren’t necessarily the only way to import materials, but you’ll use the XRef Objects dialog box in this way to see firsthand how this dialog box works. 3ds Max and AutoCAD Similarities The 3ds Max XRef tools perform the same functions as the AutoCAD XRef tools, although 3ds Max uses a different set of dialog boxes. 1. Open the MyCouch.max file from your working folder from Chapter 2 or from this book’s accompanying web page, www.sybex.com/go/mastering3dsmaxdesign2011. It should look similar to Figure 11.1. Figure 11.1 The MyCouch scene [...]... C:\ProgramFiles \Autodesk\ 3ds Max Design 2011, as shown in Figure 11.14 Figure 11.14 The 3ds Max Design 2011 Asset Browser You can browse the contents of your computer and view thumbnail images of 3ds Max files and image files You can then drag and drop files into 3ds Max, just as you would from Windows Explorer One special feature of the Asset Browser is its ability to let you drag and drop 3ds Max components... lamp01 .max, tablelarge .max, tablesmall .max, and bruer .max Use Figure 11.16 as a reference to position the inserted objects Figure 11.16 torch1 lamp01 Objects inserted from the Asset Browser tablesmall tablelarge bruer | Chapter 11 Organizing Objects and Scene Management 582  Opening a Second 3ds Max Session You can use the Asset Browser to open a 3ds Max file in a second session of 3ds Max Design 2011. .. import 3ds Max ( .max) files through the Asset Browser Try importing a chair into the current scene using the Asset Browser: 1 In the Asset Browser, use the list box to the left to locate the folder containing the Chapter 11 sample files 2 Locate the Mybigchair .max file and select it 3 Move the Asset Browser so that you have a clear view of the 3ds Max viewports Then click and drag the Mybigchair .max. .. using the Asset Browser This time, try inserting a lamp into the Top viewport in 3ds Max: 1 Right-click the Top viewport, click the Maximize Viewport Toggle to enlarge it, and then click the Zoom Extents button 2 Go to the Asset Browser and locate the file called torch1 .max 3 Click and drag the torch1 .max file into the 3ds Max Top viewport; then select Merge File from the context menu 4 Adjust the... the 3ds Max Design 2011\ Maps\ProMaterials folder Again, you see a set of thumbnail views of the files Note that the Asset Browser shows you the content of image files as well as max files Turning On Thumbnail Views If all you see is a set of blank boxes, you can turn on the thumbnail views by choosing Thumbnails  Create Thumbnails You can drag and drop image files from the Asset Browser into a 3ds Max. .. use a 3ds Max scene file as if it were a material library Here are the steps to do this: 1 Click the Material Editor tool on the Main Toolbar 2 In the Material Editor window, click the Get Material tool 3 In the Material/Map Browser, click the drop-down arrow to the left of the Search by Name field Choose Open Material 4 In the Import Material Library dialog box, select Autodesk 3ds Max (* .max) from... into 3ds Max Before you look at the Asset Browser’s Internet capabilities, continue with the chair exercise to see how it works on your own computer To display all possible files, instead of filtering geometry, images, and so forth, you can choose Filter  All Files (*.*) from the Asset Browser’s menu bar 1 On the explorer bar on the left side of the Asset Browser, locate the \3ds Max Design 2011\ maps... box displays This is a typical Windows file dialog box 7 Locate and open the MyVillaCouch .max file you just created The Merge dialog box appears (see Figure 11 .7) Figure 11 .7 The Merge dialog box | Chapter 11 Organizing Objects and Scene Management 574   The Merge dialog box shows a listing of objects from the file you selected Because the Couch01 .max file contains only a single group, you see the group... objects easily from the Asset Browser to 3ds Max using the Windows taskbar as long as you insert the objects into a non-Perspective viewport If you must insert an object into a Perspective viewport, you can do so under two conditions You can click and drag into the 3ds Max button of the Windows taskbar if the Perspective viewport is expanded to fill the entire 3ds Max window If several viewports are displayed,... geometry | Replacing Objects with Objects from an External File   579 Importing Files with the Asset Browser Like the Merge command, the Asset Browser lets you import a file into the current file It doesn’t let you pick which parts of a file are imported, but it does perform other functions, such as opening 3ds Max files in a second 3ds Max session or browsing the Web for materials and geometry As an . between members of a design team. In an interior design project, for example, one designer can work on a floor layout while another designer works on floor patterns or lighting. 3ds Max offers two ways. www.sybex.com/go /mastering3 dsmaxdesign2011. It should look similar to Figure 11.1. Figure 11.1 The MyCouch scene GaInInG aCCess to MaterIals and objeCts FroM other FIles | 5 67 2. Press the. AutoCAD Similarities The 3ds Max XRef tools perform the same functions as the AutoCAD XRef tools, although 3ds Max uses a different set of dialog boxes. 1. Open the MyCouch .max file from your working