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..::3ds max articles and resources::..

A number of tips, tricks, techniques, answers to questions and tutorials I have written over the past few years for various publications. This list will grow, expand and possibly be modified over time, so check back occasionally! The text contained within is un-modified from the the day it was written and may be slightly different from the text in the publications, due to editing for space, terminology or daft schpelling mishtakes.

The articles are mini-tutorials (in a fashion), and instruct how to create a specific effect by description as opposed to a step by step methodology. This way enables the reader to use their brain and actually figure out the terminology and exact settings, therefore learning a great deal more than repeating the steps word for word. Saying that, there's the classic step-by-step tutorials at the bottom of the page; most are hosted here, but others are hosted on other sites. If any of the tutorials I have written that are hosted on the other sites have broken links or missing text to accompany steps, please let me know so I can notify the relevant people to get these fixed. Some of the more recent ones (those further towards the top of each section) contain further resources, such as max files, sample mpeg movies (etc).

If you like what you see here and would like me to write a tutorial for a publication or a bespoke training package, please get in touch.

Copyright / Legal bumph: All content is copyrighted and may not be redistributed without expressed permission in writing. Articles and resources (3ds max files, zip files contained on this site etc) may not be re-edited, translated and/or published elsewhere or in any other medium or format without the author's permission.

Many thanks to Cris over at 3D-Palace.com for hosting these tutorials!! My bandwidth has got higher and higher every year and my hosting company threatened to shut the site down as I was well over my monthly allocation (which went in about a couple of days!), but Cris came to the rescue and provided me with space to drop these articles and assets on his server! Many thanks mate - all you lot should jump over there forthwith and have a butchers at the ace tutorials he's got!

Download the free sample tutorial and all assets!! Deconstructing the Elements with 3ds max 6 - Sample Tutorial - Grasses (39Mb zip file including reference material & PDF)

articles (descriptive content plus few steps to reproduce)

Car Modelling Tips
Automatic Shield Generator
Growing Plants
Bullet Impacts
Handheld Camera Motion
Pseudo HDRI
Tyre Tracks in Mud
Brushed / Lathed Metal
Wrapping Vine
Tinfoil material
Starfield (Nebula 1/2)
Nebula 2/2
Oil Slick
Automatic Engine Firing
Timelapse Construction
PFlow Object "Construction"
Watercolour Effect
Crash Landing
Splat Gun
Refraction Colours
Faked Sub Surface Scattering
Photoshop CS Tips
Flocking Birds
Feedback Effect
Cityscape
Terracotta Material
Sun 1/2
Sun 2/2
Tyre Tread
Refractive Caustics
Entering Atmosphere
Bunsen Burner
Pin Art
Reflective Caustics
Raindrop Ripples
Snowy Terrain
Galaxy
Dissolving Planet
HDRI
Fish-Eye Lens
Engineering Material (cross- hatching)
Gaseous Fire
Icey Age
Football
Raytraced Area Shadows
Moonlight
Stream
Terrain
Pearlescent Spray Paint
Stormy Sea Motion
Blending Landscapes Into the Horizon
Electron Microscope
Scene Construction Effect
Earth Planet Material
Non Photorealistic Rendering (NPR)
Eyelid Modelling and Animation
Escalator Steps
Global Illumination
Automatic Particle Explosion Timing
Pilot's Point of View Camera Motion
Space Clouds
Bullet Time
Cellshader
Volumetric smoke
Scattering Objects Over a Sphere
Skydome Bitmap Animation
50 Ways to Work Faster in 3ds max
   

tutorials (descriptive content plus large amount of steps to reproduce)

School of Fish (Crowd Control)
Blood Spatter
Canyon
Volumetric Style Clouds
Electric Gun
Kitchen Modelling & Lighting
MPV Cellshade
Colliding Asteroids
Bot
When Worlds Collide
Hair
Plasma Plane
Perfect Stormy Wave
Fire Breathing Dragon (fire effect)

Logo Tutorial for Plasma (originally hosted on Cre@te Online's Site before magazine retirement)

Egg Cell Tutorial

All articles, tutorials and resources are Copyright © Pete Draper

Reproduction without permission prohibited.

www.xenomorphic.co.uk