3dsMaxCL

OUDt
utor
ial
F
aki
ngr
ay-
mar
chi
ngus
inggr
adi
ent
sanddi
st
ance-
bas
edl
i
ght
ing

2007J
onasUs
sing

I
nthi
stutor
ial
youwil
ll
earnt
ocreateafl
y-t
hroughofar
eal
i
sti
ccl
oudt
unnel
thatr
ender
srel
ati
vel
yfas
t,us
ing3DS
tudi
o
Maxwithnoplugi
nsor3r
dpart
yrender
ers.

Butf
ir
st,al
i
ttl
etheor
y..
.ther
estoft
het
uti
sbas
edont
his
,sonof
airs
kippi
ngahead!

T
hepr
obl
em ofr
ay-
mar
chi
ngandvol
umet
ri
cs
T
hebas
icphys
icsofl
i
ghtmovi
ngthroughagaseouscl
oudhasnot
hingt
odowi
tht
radi
ti
onal
pol
ygonl
i
ght
ing,andt
her
ein
l
i
est
hemainchall
engewhenrenderi
ngcl
ouds
.

Cloudpar
ti
clesar
etrans
lucent
,andwi
l
lbevi
si
blef
rom al
l However
,li
ghtdecaysi
nst
rengt
hasi
tpas
sest
hrough.
s
ideswhenil
l
uminated.

Thi
swil
lmakethebacks
ideofacloudil
lumi
natedonl
yby Notet
hattheangleofacloudparti
cle
ssur
faceiscom-
how f
arthr
oughthecl
oudthesunli
ghthast
ravel
l
ed. pl
etel
yir
rel
evant
,contr
arytonor
malpolygonli
ghti
ng.

Wewi
l
lnow moveon,knowi
ngt
hatt
hephot
oreal
i
sti
clookofacl
oudi
sdependantondecayi
ng,non-
pol
ygonl
i
ght
ing.

Page1
3dsMaxCL
OUDT
utor
ial Page2

1.T
hecot
tont
eapot
Bef
oremovi
ngont
oal
argercl
oudf
ormat
ion,we
llt
aket
het
heor
yfr
om aboveandappl
yitt
oas
impl
eshape.

1.1.Cr
eateateapotwi t
haradiusof40inthePer
specti
ve 1.
2.Pr
ess6toopenPar
ti
cleView.Createafl
ow wi
tha
vi
ewpor t
.Ri
ght-
cli ePr
ck,choos opert
ies
,andde-s
elect Bi
rt
hevent,Posi
ti
onObj
ect,ShapeFacingandMateri
al
Renderabl
e.Pr
essCTRL+C t
ocr eat
eacamer ainthe St
ati
c.
vi
ewpor t
.

1.3.I
ntheBirt
hEvent,setEmi
tSt
opto0,andAmountt nPos
o1000.I it
ionObject
,sel
ectt
heteapotasEmit
terObj
ect.I
n
ShapeF aci
ng,selectt
hecamerainthesceneasL
ookatObj
ect etSi
,s zet
o20ands ectRandom or
el ient
ati
on.I
ntheDis
-
playevent,setT
ypet o
Geomet ry.

1.4.Now,i
nyourf
avori
tepai
ntprogr eas
am,us of
tbrus
h 1.5.I
n3dsMax ,creat
eamat er
ial
wihas
t ol
i
dwhi t
ecol
or,
tomakeapopcor nshapedblobthatl
ookssomet
hingli
ke thatusesyourpopcor mageasOpaci
ni t
yMap.Dragthi
s
this
.Makesur
eit
swhit
eonblackbackground. totheMat er
ialS
tati
ceventi
nthePart
icl
eView.

2007J
onasUs
si
ng,www.
duck.
dk
3dsMaxCL
OUDT
utor
ial Page3

1.
6.IntheMateri
alEdi
tor
,makesuret
hepopcornmapi s 1.7.Cli
ckt heMaps lot
,andchoos eGr adi
entRampf rom
open.Cli
ckonBitmap,ands ectMas
el kf
rom theMap theMapBr owser.SetGradientTypet oRadial
.Ri
ght-cli
ck
Br
ows er
.ChooseKeepoldmapass ub-
mapint heRe- theleftfl
ag,choos eEditpropert
ies
andchanget he
pl
aceMapdi al
og.I
nthenew Maskmater
ial
,yourpop- colorfrom blackt owhite,ri
ght-
cli
ckthecent erf
lagand
cornmapi ss
etasMap,s odragt
hatdotheMas ksl
ot, choos eDel ete,andright-
cli
ckther i
ghtfl
agandchoos e
andchoos eSwap. Editproper t
ies
.

1.
8.Pr
esst
heNones l
ott
oopentheMapBrows
erand 1.9.Cr eateaT ar
getDi r
ectlightinthetopvi ewpor t
,soit
eSmoke.I
choos ntheSmokeMapset
ti
ngs
,ent
erSi
ze5, l
ightsthet eapotf r
om behi nd,andpl acet hetargeti nthe
andExponent1. cent erofthet eapot .Ont hel i
ghtsInt
ensit
y..
.roll
out,
activateUs eFarAt tenuat i
on,andadj ustt
heNearandF ar
valuess otherangecover sthewhol eteapotandt hepar -
ti
cles.UnderDi recti
onal Paramet er
s,adjustthe
Hotspot/Beam s oal lthepar ti
clesarecover ed.Now f or
themagi c:i
nt helight
sAdvancedS ett
ingsrol
lout,cli
ck
Ambi entOnl y.Thiswi l
lmaket heli
ghtignorethepol y-
gons angles,whichi sex actlywhatwewant .

1.10.Rendert
hatoutt
os eethef
luf
fi
estteapot!
(hint
:swit
chtoMentalRaytodoubl
er enderspeed)

Whatwevedonehereisf
akeray-
marchi
ng.T
hefakepar
tist
hatweignor
ehow fart
heli
ghthastr
avel
l
edins
idet
he
cl
oud,andins
teadconcentr
ateonl
yonhow f
art
heli
ghtt
ravel
sins
pace.Forourpur
pos
es,i
t
sclos
eenough.

2007J
onasUs
si
ng,www.
duck.
dk
3dsMaxCL
OUDT
utor
ial Page4

2.F
li
ghtpat
h
Fi
rs
t,wel
lcr
eateacamer athatchas
esanai r
planet
hroughat unnel
.Later
,wel
ltur
nthatt
unnelint
ocl ouds
.Ifyout
hink
youveal
readyspentt
oomanyhour sofyourl
if
ecreati
ngtunneleff
ects,moveontochapter3,butski
m chapter2to
makeanot eofthedimensi
onsused.

2.1.Del
etetheteapotandtheli
ghtfr
om before,butkeep
thecamer a,par
ti
clesys
tem andthemater
ial.

2.2.Createans -
shapeds pli
nel i
kethis
,usingfourbez ier T
op L
eft
points
.Notethes hapeint heT opandL eftvi
ewpor ts
.Be
carefulwit
hthebez i
erhandl esnos har pcorners!And
si
ncewedon twantanyj itt
eri
ngi nthecamer a,i
ncreas e
theinter
polat
iont o20,andde- checkOpt i
mize.(
act uall
y,
wedowantj i
tter
ing,butnott hiski
nd..
.mor eont hisl
at er
!)

2.3.Thefi
rstpoi
ntinmycur veisat0,0,0,andthelas
tisat
50,400,
-100.Thi
sis
ntcruci
al,butthecloseryours
caleist
o
this
,theeas i
eri
twillbetomat cht hesi
zesofpart
icl
esand
procedur almapslaterint
het ut
orial
.

2.4.Selectthecamera,andaddaPat hConstr
aintby
goingt otheMot i
onroll
out
,expandtheAs s
ignControll
er
roll
out,cli
ckPosi
ti
on,cli
ckAss
igncontr
oll
eranddoubl e-
cli
ckPat hCons t
rai
nt.

2.5.InthePat hParametersrol
lout,cli
ckAddPat hand
cli
ckt hes pl
i
neinavi ewport.Now thecamer afol
l
owst he
l
engt hoft hepathdur i
ngthewhol elengthoftheanima-
ti
on,butwewanti tt
ohaveadi s
tancet othecamer a
target,sogot othefinalf
rame,act ivateAutoKey,setthe
Def aultTangenttoli
near,andt ypei n90% i
nthe%Along
Pathf i
eld.

2.6.Createadummy,andaddaPat hConst
rai
nttomake
i
tf ol
low t
hesamespli
ne,butnow (
wit
hAut
oKeyon)got o
fr
ame0andt ypei
n10% i
nthe%AlongPat
hfi
eld.T
urnof
f
Aut oKey.

2.7.Al
i
gnthecamerat
argett
othedummy,andt henli
nk
thecameratar
gett
othedummy.Playtheanimati
on,
anddoublecheckt
hatyounow haveaniceanimati
on
ofacamer af
oll
owi
ngthecameratargetataconst
ant
dist
ance.

2.8.Whyus et hedummyandnotappl yt
hePat hCon-
str
aintdir
ectlytothecamer at arget?Remembert hatji
t-
teri
ngwewer etalki
ngabout ?Selectthecamer atar
get,
andas si
gnt heNoi sePosit
ioncont r
oll
ertoit
,ins
teadofthe
PathCons tr
aint.IntheNois eCont roll
erdi
alog,de-sel
ect
FractalNois
e,ent er0,2asF r
equency,and2, 0asX,Yand
ZS t
rength.Thisgi
vesani cet urbulentbouncet othe
camer a.

2007J
onasUs
si
ng,www.
duck.
dk
3dsMaxCL
OUDT
utor
ial Page5

2.9.Createacylinderwi
thRadius45,Height440,Hei
ght
Segment s40,Si
des15,andal i
gnittothepath(posit
ion
andr otat
ion)usi
ngtheAligntool
.Right-
cli
ckthecyli
nder,
got oProperti
esandde-selectRenderable.Al
so,make
surethecyli
ndersBackf
aceCul li
st nedof
ur f
.

2.10.I
ntheModi fypanel,opent heModi f
ierrol
l
out,and
selectPathDef
orm( WS M).I
t
sver yi
mortantthatyou
choos etheWor l
d-SpaceModi f
ierversi
on( WSM),andnot
j
us tt
henor malPathDeform.Sel
ectt hepat h.

2.11.Now youcans eet hecyli

nderstr
etchi
ngal ongt he
pat h.I
fyourpat hcoor dinatesdeviat
edr adical
lyfrom t
he
onesIdes cr i
bedear li
er,youwillneedtoadj us
tyour
cyli
ndersL ength,Radiusetc.Playtheanimat i
oni nthe
camer avi ewpor t
,andi tshouldlooksomethingli
kea
tunneleffectf r
om anAmi gademo,butwi thoutthe
plasma!

2.12.Foranex t
ratouch,addabankingeffectt
ot he
camer a:setDefaultT
angentst
oauto,acti
vateAut oKey,
selectthecamer a,andpres
sF12.Gotoframe25,ands et
Rollto-25.Gotof r
ame75ands etRol
lto25.Got oframe
100ands etRol
lto0.

2.
13.I
fyouwant,now istheti
metomer geyourf
avour i
te
ai
rcr
aftmodeli
ntothes cene,andaddt hes
amePat h
Const
rai
ntoncemor e.Again,gotoframe0ands etthe
%Al
ongPathto10.Act i
vateFol
l
ow andBank,s etthe
BankAmountto2,andt heS moothnessto1.

2.
14.Al
so,l
oadi
nas tandardenvi
ronmentmap,f orin-
st
ance,CHROMBLU.J
PG fr
om theMaxl i
brary(
notthat
wel
lbesei
ngalotofbackground,buti
tsbet
terthan
bl
ack)

Enoughwi
tht
hef
lyi
ngl
ess
ons
!Let
smakecl
ouds
!

2007J
onasUs
si
ng,www.
duck.
dk
3dsMaxCL
OUDT
utor
ial Page6

3.Cl
oudt
unnel
3.
1.Coll
apsethet
unnel (
Cyli
nder01)
,addaT ur
boS moot
h
modif
ier
,andsetI
terat
ionst
o2.ThenaddaNoi s
emodi f
ier
ontop.Sett
heNoiseScaleto40,acti
vateF
ractal,s
etI
t-
er
ati
onsto2,andsetX,YandZS trengt
hto40.

3.
2.AddaPus hmodi fi
erands eti
tto-10tomaket hewal
l
s
bul
geouti nrounds hapes(ifyouthi
nkthepol ysare
movingint hewr ongdi r
ecti
onwhenyouus ethePush
modifi
er,keepi nmi ndthatwear ewat chingtheinsi
deof
acyli
nder ,andal l
thepol ysarebackfacing).

Thecyl
inderi
snow ar
epr
esent
ati
onofwher
ethecl
ouds
wil
lbe.

3.3.Press6toopentheParti
cleView.Changet he
Amountt o2000,andselectCyl
inder01i
nPosi
ti
onObj ect
.
Yourt unnelshoul
dnow bepopul at
edwi t
hbil
lboardpar-
ti
cles.Makeat es
trenderoft
hat,toseehow youre
doing.

Notbad,butwerestil
lusi
ngt r
adi t
ional l
ighting,basedon
polygonangl
es-thatstheonlyr eas onfort hegrey
shadesyoucanseei nther ender.T hisi
sntal i
ablesol
u-
ti
on,becausewhent hebi l
l
boar dst urntof oll
ow the
camer a,t
hei
rangl
er elati
vetot hel i
ghts ourcewi ll
change,ands owil
ltheirbr
ightness.

3.4.Butbef
orewebegi nli
ghtingthecl
oudtunnel,l
et
s
wor konthecolor.Wecan tapplyanypolygon-mapped
textur
e,butwecanmakel argechunksofcol
orvariat
ion.
I
nt hecloudmat eri
al,cl
i
ckt heDiff
useCol
orsl
ot,and
selectNoi
sefr
om t heMapBr owser.

3.
5.Choos eF r
actal
,Hi
gh=0,8Low=0,2Levels=10and
Si
ze=100.Ins
teadofblack,use60,90,115.Turnt
hecloud
materi
alsSel
f-i
l
lumi
nati
onupt o100,andr ender.

Whatwehavecr eatedi sal argewor ld-spacet exture

vari
ation.Ther easonwecan tus epol ygon- mapped
bit
mapt extureswithbil
lboar dpar ticlesist hatwhent hey
tur
nt ofoll
ow t hecamer a,t heywi llintersectinandoutof
eachot her,andt het extureswi ll
popi nandout .But
wit
hawor ld-spacet exture,twoi nter sectingpol ygonsare
guaranteedt ohavet heexacts amecol orinfor
mat ionat
theinter
sect i
onpoi nt
,sot hei ntersectioni sinvis
ible.

(T
echnicall
y,world-
spacet extur
esarentper f
ectei
ther
,
becausewhent hebil
lboardsturn,t
heirsurf
acewill
move
t
hrought heworld-s
pacet extureinf
ormat i
on,andthetex-
t
urewil
l appeartocrawlovert hes ur
face.Butwit
ha
patt
ernthisl
arge,it
snotapr oblem)

3.6.I
nt het
opvi
ewport,cr
eateaTar
getDi
rectl
i
ghtt
hat
l
ightsthecl
oudtunnel
from t
hes
ide.

2007J
onasUs
si
ng,www.
duck.
dk
3dsMaxCL
OUDT
utor
ial Page7

3.7.Ri
ght-cli
ckTop- >Views- >Dir
ect01toseethes cene
fr
om t heli
ghtsourcespointofview.UnderDir
ectionalPa-
ramet er
s,adjustt
heHot spot/Beam unti
lthepart
iclesar
e
total
lyvis
ibl
ef r
om theli
ghts ource.

3.8.Rendert
hes
cenefr
om theli
ghtspointofvi
ew.S
ave
theimage,andl
oaditi
ntoyourfavouri
tepainti
ngpr
o-
gram.

Yourpart
icl
eswi
l
lpr
opabl
ylookal
lf
latandweir
dbecause
they
repoint
edatt
hecameraandnottheli
ghtsour
ce,
butthat
sOK.

3.9.Inthepai ntprogram,paintovertheparti
clessothey Or
igi
nal Pai
ntover
getcover edwi t
hagr adientl
ikethi
s,andsavet hei
mage.
Thei deaist hatanywhereinthecylinder
,thecloudpar -
ti
cleswi l
lhaveagr adi
entfrom toptobottom.We r
e
fakingray- marchingofli
ghtcomi ngfr
om thetop.

Ihaveused170,220,240f
orthebri
ghtcol
or,50,90,
110for
thedar
kcolor,and80,140,170ast
hebackgr oundbase.

3.
10.Backi
n3dsMax,cl
i
cktheMaps l
otinthel
i
ght
sPr
o-
j
ectorMaprol
l
out
,andchooseyourpaint
overi
mage.Re-
membertocheckAmbientOnl
y!

3.11.NOT E:thepur poseofthisl

ightsourcei stoil
luminat
e
thispar t
icularcloudandnot hi
ngel se,soifyouhavean
aircr
af ti
nt hes cene,got othel i
ghtsIncludelis
tandadd
yourcl oudPar ti
cleEvent,whichispr opablycal l
edPF
Source01- >Event01 .T
henyou regoi ngt ohavet oadd
new light stoli
ghtupyourai rcraft
,sogoaheadandadd
thes amePar t
icl
eEventt othoselightsExcludelist
.

3.12.Now i
t
sti
metotestt
heli
ght.Got othecloudmate-
ri
alandturntheSel
f-
il
lumi
nati
onto0,andt urnofft
he
NoiseMapi ntheDi
ff
useColorsl
ot.Render!

(note:t
hefir
stf
ew f
ramesmi ghthavepar
ti
clesr
ightupin
thecamer abecauseoft hecappedendsoftheemi t
ter
cyli
nder,s
odeletethos
ef acesonthecyl
i
nder,orgofor-
wardstoamor eint
erest
ingframe)

We
realmostt
here!Now al
lwehavetodoiscombi
net
he
wor
ld-
spacenois
emapwi t
hourl
i
ghtgradi
ent
.

3.
13.S
etSel
f-
il
l
uminat
iont
o50,andre-act
ivat
etheNoi
se
MapintheDif
fus
eColors
lot
.Renderagai
n!You
redone!

I
fyouwil
l
,adjus
ttheSelf-
il
l
uminat
ionandtheDi
ff
use
MapsAmountsl
idert
obl endbetweentheNoi
seMap
andthegradi
entli
ghtsource.

Now r
endert
hewhol
eani
mat
ionwhi
l
eyoumakeapotof
cof
fee..
.

2007J
onasUs
si
ng,www.
duck.
dk
3dsMaxCL
OUDT
utor
ial Page8

4.Hi
ghl
i
ght
sont
hes
unnys
ide

Remembert
hatri
mli
ght
/hal
olookt
hatcloudsgetwhent
hey
rebackl
i
t?S
ofarwe
ves
eennot
hingl
i
ket
hati
nthi
stut
ori
al,
butt
her
eisacheapanddir
tywaytofakeit.S
taywi
thme.

4.
1.Copyt
heemitt
er(Cyl
i
nder01)i
ntheTopvi
ewpor
t,
andmovethecopyjus
tafew uni
tsNor
th.

4.2.Pr
ess6t
oopenPar
ti
cleVi
ew,andcr
eat
eacopyof
Event01.

4.3.I
nEvent02,changet hePos i
ti
onObjectt
oCyl i
nder02.
Yous houl
ds eethedoublepar t
icl
esint
heTopviewport
l
ikethis
.Thiss
houldals
owar nyout hatt
heparti
clecount
hasdoubl ed,sopreparefors
lowerrender
s.
..

4.
4.Pr
essMtoopent
heMat er
ial
Edit
or,andcr
eatea
copyofthecl
oudmateri
al.Namet hi
scl
oud_hi
ghl
i
ght
.

ChangetheS elf
-i
ll
umi
nati
onto75,andchanget heDif
-
f
useMap sAmounts l
i
derto25.Thi
swil
lmakethehighl
i
ght
mater
ial
br i
ghterandmoreself
-i
ll
uminat
edthantherestof
t
heclouds,whichisexact
lywhatwewant .

Youcanfur
therenhancetheeff
ectbyl
ower
ingt
heor
igi
-
nalcl
oudmateri
al
sSel
f-
il
l
uminati
on.

4.5.Dr
agthecl
oud_hi
ghl
i
ght
mat
eri
alt
oEvent02
sMa-
teri
alS
tat
ics
lot
.

4.6.Renderagaintos
eet henew l
ook.Atfi
rs
tglance,it
mays eem muchbet t
er,butrememberthedisadvan-
tagesaboutt ex
tur
esandinters
ecti
ngbil
l
boards?T hey
ll
starts
howing,onceyourenderthewholeanimation.

T
HEEND

T
hat
sit
,Ihopeit
sbeeni
nfor
mat
ive.Ifyouf
oundthi
stut
o-
r
ialusef
ul,pl
eas
es t
opbymyCGS ocietypor
tfol
i
oorweb-
s
ite:

ht
tp:
//j
uss
ing.cgsociet
y.or
g/gues
tbook/
ht
tp:
//www. duck.dk/

-J
onas

2007J
onasUs
si
ng,www.
duck.
dk