10 Top Tips for 3ds max

I’ve just read the latest issue of 3D Artist (issue 16). An article on page 34 provides some useful tips for various 3D applications, one of them 3ds max. Although It has some decent tips, there are a few I found lacking which I’ve adopted into my daily workflow. Most of the below tips and tricks have helped my efficiency and management of scenes, maybe it can be of some use to you.

1.Use Shortcuts

Besides the positive side affect of minimising Repetitive Strain injuries, using shortcuts will quicken the way you work as they have done for me. I have roughly 11 shortcuts I constantly use. Get to know them and you’ll see improvements.

• W move
• E rotate
• R scale
• P perspective
• Z zoom extents
• C camera
• S toggles snap
• A toggles angle snaps
• Alt Q isolate
• F3 toggles between Wireframe and Smooth & Highlight
• F4 toggles Wifreframe while in Smooth & Highlight mode

2. Instancing object

Instead of copying like objects together and then having to indivually edit their properties afterwards, create instanced objects instead. Editing one object will affect the rest. Beside this saving time later on, it also helps reduce memory consumption in 3ds max.

3. Make instanced objects unique

Say you have just instanced 5 columns but middel column needs to be unique while you want the rest still to be linked to each other. By clicking Make Unique on the Modify Panel, under the modifier stack,  you can detach that single object from the other instanced objects. This makes the object independent again while maintaining its modifiers.

4. Maximize your viewport (alt W)

I, for one, can’t keep track of four views at once. If you are working on a complex scene 3ds max will also battle to keep the viewports constantly updated. So unless your model process requires it, drop the other viewports and maximize on your viewport realestate.

5. Incremental save

Instead of saving over the same file again and again, which isn’t smart, allow max incrementally save a new version everytime you save your scene. Some tidying up is require of course, but when your scene becomes corrupt you’ll be glad that you have an earlier versions to fall back on.  Menubar > Customize > Preferences >Files (tab) > under File Handling, tick the increment on save box.

6. Archive

A clever habit to get into when finishing a project. The Archive function collects all links and relavent files and zips them. No more missing textures. Archive can be found under under File > Archive

7. Wireframe = Slow

get to know your graphics card. Viewing scenes in wireframe are more taxing on a graphics card then viewing it in Smooth & Highlights.

8. Resolutions

Know when you can cut corners, producing work at 300 dpi is not always ideal. Find out what size your illustration needs to be and compensate for that. I know that a 4000 pixels wide image will have a decent resolution (200dpi) at a max width of 500mm.

9. Ctrl C (create camera from view)

Very helpful when you need to create a camera view from a perspective view.

10. Isolating

Isolate objects you want to edit in complex scenes. This makes editing easier, not only for max but also you.

This list could go on forever, but I decided to hold it at ten (these are my ten most useful) but I’ll return with other tips that have been of use and maybe explain some of the above tips in depth.

Hope this helps.