Introduction

In this tutorial, we will make a 3D model building from still images (non-orthographic). We can very easily make a 3D model if we have any information on the measurements. For the first step, we will examine the minimum reference image and try to extract any information and measurements of this particular building.

Creating Guide Scene: Setting up the Guide Scene

We have two pictures as our reference. These picture show a train station which is located in Semarang, built during the Dutch colonial era in Indonesia. I don’t have any information about its measurements whatsoever.

Reference Images:
[Reference Image 1]
[Reference Image 2]
Open MAX,

Displaying the Background in the Viewport.

Open viewport background window
view>viewport bacground..(alt+b)

Viewport ” front”.

background set in front viewport.
we can use any orthographic viewport, because we just need 2d view.

Click “Files..” button.

select ref image.

Check Lock zoom/pan.

background autoresize when zoom/pan.

Match Bitmap

background aspect ratio.

Background Texture Size

we need fine detail in viewport background.
Costumize>preferences>configure driver>background texture size>check match bitmap as close as possible.
but if ref image resolution is 1024, i prefer using 1024. so uncheck match bitmap size.

Maximize your viewport and you can turn off the grid.

press”G” to show/hide grid

Point Perspective & Horizon [line_setup]

Use Line to find Vanishing Point.
enable in renderer enable in viewport.

Vanishing Point

Look at the edge of the object from ref image, find the VP within the picture area and draw a line by continuing from the edge. You will get all red line from edges, parallel to y axis(world coordinate system).
Now we have a vanishing point/point perspective, its location must be around there.
For the next step, we should look for other vanishing point/point perspective. But with this ref image, it will be quite difficult to find. There are approximately 3 point perspectives on that ref image. You should familiarize yourself with the point perspective system ( one point perspective – six point perspective ). Scroll to the bottom to see links and references for more info.

To solve the problem of seeking out other the point perspectives, draw lines that form the basic shape of the building.

Additional Line Guide

Add additional lines.

Horizon

Approximate the location of the horizon.(because we can’t see the horizon in the ref image).
The horizon will be parallel to the X axis (world coord. system). Most photographers will keep a horizon horizontal.
Create a box as a line (a box is horizontal by default). We can estimate the position of the horizon. Position of horizon and vanishing point are not in a line — is my estimation of the horizon wrong?

Set up a rendering background

Set ref image as environment map.
On the menu bar choose Rendering > Environment>Environment Map> pick Bitmap>select picture.

RENDER (same as ref image resolution, ex 1024×768)

Save as Blueprint1.jpg
Save MAX, we might need it later.

Additional Guide Scene

Reset MAX
Repeat prev steps, there are different point perspective or vanishing point that you can extract out of the scene.
use mousescroll to enlarge canvas.
Look for the horizon position by using a box. Lengthen box until you pass the VP.
Horizon cuts the VP, that is good forerunner.

Additional scene is ready now.
Set up a rendering background
RENDER. Save as Blueprint2.jpg
Save Max.

Camera Matching Part 1 To match the perspective of a camera to a photograph, we will need accurate scene measurements.
However, if we don’t have any information on the measurments, we can still make an estimate and matching the perspective to ref image.

Measurements

Reset MAX
In the frontview, use ref image as background.
Analyze ref image, find any object which can be used as a measure or will give us a sense of comparison – I used the elderly man in the ref image. We can guess the height of the man to be about 155cm (a little too short..not a problem)
Create a box with height as high as the building (line guide). Rotate the box corresponding to Z axis perspective. add segs box, height of segs according to height of the people – we’ll get 7 segs.

Ctrl+N in any numeric field. to display Numerical exp ev. as a calculator.
155cm x 7 = 158.7V
10.85m = 158.7V
V = 0.0678
we get h = 10.85m, V = 0.0678
press cancel to dismiss.
we can display a calculator called the Numerical Expression Evaluator ctrl+N in any numeric field. but You can’t use Variables in the Expression Evaluator, but you can enter the constants pi (circular ratio), e (natural logarithm base), and TPS (ticks per second). These constants are case-sensitive.

Create a box according to the width of the building.
Position the box as close as possible to the horizon.
We’ll get 304.8
304.8 x V = width.
304.8 x 0.0678 = 20.665m
We get w = 20.665m

Camera Matching Part 2 Reset MAX

Displaying the Background in the Viewport.

Select perspective viewport. add “blueprint1.jpg” (we’ve made before) in viewport background.

Creating Basic Object

Create a box, w = 20.669m, h = 10.85m and l = any size
don’t forget to change unit display.
Costumize>unit setup>display unit scale>metric.

Length

We’ll estimate the length which will depend on the additional line helper/guide we’ve made.
We can assume the length is 30m.
Though the length depends on you..

Setup Camera Matching

right click on 3D snap, check only vertex. then click snap to activate (S).

Create>helper>Camera Match>Campoint.

Camera Point helper/3D Point.

Create point wth clockwise, so we can easily remember.
Open box object properties, uncheck backface cull. and check see-through.
Now we can see box backface.

Assign Position/2d point.

utility>Camera match>assign position.
Warning,”background image ratio should be set to that of the renderer, fix?” yes, ok.
A red plus sign will appear on the bitmap.
If a red/green plus does not appear, you might be using an OpenGL/direct3d driver. Press ` to redraw the viewport. If the red plus doesn’t appear, change display driver.
Costumize>preferences>viewport tabs>display driver>choose driver>software>restart MAX

Create camera.
We can see that the box does not match with what we expected. That means the estimation of our length is wrong or position of vanishing point is not accurate.

Fixing

Change position of 2D point and assign new position. We just need to assign new positions for campoint05 and campoint06.
A good camera error range is about 0 – 1.5
Change the position of the path at the line guide we’ve made.

With camera selected, click modify camera.
At camera modifier, check show horizon.
The horizon is not paralell to X axis(world coord system) since the photographer wasn’t a professional (it was my sister:) ).
Almost perfect, just a bit more to fix.

Now that we are satisfied with match result, we can see the camera positions that have been made.
The photographer height is about 165cm and camera position is about 160cm..

Camera Matching Part 3

Camera matching for the second image.

We should hide the 6 campoints we have made into their different layer.
Selection filter>helper
select all>Layer Manager>create new layer.
rename helper1>hide.

On the other viewport (say a left viewport), change to perspective view.
add viewport background with “blueprint2.jpg “.
Create new layer. rename with helper2.
Create campoint.
Assign position.
warning again, ok..
Before we create camera, uncheck “use this point” at campoint 1-6, because we don’t need it now.
utilities>camera match>uncheck use this point.
Create camera,
Error, not enough points, so we need to make 2 additional points.
The problem is, where can we determine the position of the 2 additional points.

Open blueprint2.max, create additional line guide. and render>save as blueprint3.jpg.

Switch to matching work, change viewport background with blueprint3.jpg.
re-set selection filter>all
select box> add length segs.
Create campoint11 and campoint12. Don’t forget to activate snap.
Assign campoint11-12 position.
Create camera, fix it.
A good camera error range is about 0 – 1.5

Create a new basic object and match with blueprints.
We can added more campoints if needed.
I hope this tutorial was useful for you. And trust yourself.

Workflow:

Software Used: Autodesk 3ds Max

Author: M.Thoriq YR “Torrikabe”

Email:fabolousview@yahoo.com

::GFXZoOM|Source:9jcg.com::

Introduction

The aim of this tutorial is to model a pillow. This model would be created with simple and easy steps. At the end of this tutorial you will be able to create a pillow as in image below. In fact, this image is rendered from this tutorial max files only. The max file for this tutorial is available on request.

1. Draw a BOX. Notice the multiple segments. The number of segments may vary as per requirement. These settings were optimum for this tutorial.

2. Goto modifier panel, expand the Modifier list and select “RELAX”. Set the parameter values as in the image below. This will smooth the box edges.

3. Goto modifier list and select FFD(box) modifier. Set the number of control points. These values can be chosen differently for different level of control over the resulting mesh.

4. Switch to front view. Select in modifier stack the FFD modifier. Expand it to select “Control Points” sub object. Select the Top right control points (see a in image) by making a selection window. All the control points on this edge would be selected. Hold down CONTROL key and select control points at Top-Left as in (b). You now have both edge points selected.

5. Select “MOVE” from tool bar and move the selected control points down. Bring them near to mid-height of the box.

6. Now select control points at Lower Left and Lower Right corners by making selection window. Make sure that you do not select any control point in mod. Notice the arrow marks A and B in the image below. Then move the control points a bit toward end as marked C and D.

7. Switch to left view and repeat the step 5 and 6.

8. The model should look like the image below. You may consider moving other control points up/down to avoid and bulge if visible. The base pillow is done.

9. We will now add a frill or strip to the pillow to make it look more real. Goto command panel-> shapes -> SECTION . Pick and create a section plane over the pillow.Make sure to place in exactly at the mid-height (pivot point) of the pillow. You can use ALIGN tool on the tool bar to do so. Set Section Boundary to ON (see a) and resize the section to cover the pillow entirely. Now hit the button “Create Shape” (see b). This will create a spline showing exact profile of the pillow at center.

10. Select and delete the SECTION object. Select Pillow, right click and choose “Hide selected”. You now can see the profile spline created by the Section object. We need to create an offset of this spline.

11. Select spline goto modifier stack and select Editable Spline -> Spline and select the profile spline again. This will change it to RED. Scroll down the parameter tab on the modifier panel to locate the “OUTLINE” parameter. Enter a value of -10 and hit ENTER. This will add another spline to the profile parallel to the original one.

12. Now select in the modifier stack, the Editable Spline->Vertex. Clean up some vertexes near end on the outer spline and pull some vertexes to create a sharp cornier like in the image. Do same for all the ends. You must not move or delete ANY vertex on the inner spline.

13. The spline should look something like this now:

14. Select the spline, right click and choose Convert To: ->Convert to Editable Patch. This will create a patch mesh between two splines in the profile.

15. Select Editable Patch-> Vertex. Select some random vertex on outer edge only and move them up or down to get the wavy look.

16. Un-Select the patch, right click and choose “Unhide All:”. The base pillow will be visible like shown. Add some nice fabric texture and you have the pillow ready to add more reality to your interior renders.

Author: Harjeet Singh info@virses.com

Company Website: http://www.virses.com/

::GFXZoOM|Source:9jcg.com::

Application Used: Autodesk 3ds max

Author: Jonas Ussing

Author Website:http://www.duck.dk/

.::GFXZoOM|source: en.9jcg.com::.

In this cell shading tutorial I cover a method of doing cell shading in 3DS MAX with the scanline renderer. Of course cell shading can be done by using Mental Ray’s Ink’n Paint material but in this tutorial I concentrate on a method that is very fast and works with both scanline renderer and Mental Ray.

Default Rendering in 3DS MAX

Picture 2. A rendering in 3DS MAX with the default settings of the scanline renderer. The picture is illuminated by one Omni light.

In picture 2 you see a standard rendering in 3D Studio MAX. All material settings have default values except for the diffuse value which has been adjusted to get some color. The model is illuminated with one Omni light. So if you are trying cell shading according to this tutorial, please do the following preparations:

• Open a simple 3D model.
• Apply materials (adjust only the diffuse color).
• Create one Omni light with default settings.
• Change background color to pure white

Remove shading

Picture 3. Self-Illumination is changed to 100. As a result there is a rendering with no shading. In other words there are no darkness variations in any single color.

The first thing to do is to get rid of the shading. At the moment the model is clearly shaded. There is a lot of color variation that depicts the levels of darkness. Shading can be removed from material by changing Self-Illumination to 100 (Blinn Basic Parameters > Self Illumination: 100). The result is shown in Picture 3. (If you are familiar with 3DS MAX you might wonder why we even created the Omni light. At the moment the light has no effect at all but in the end it will have.)

Add Composite Map

Picture 4. Composite map is the basis for cell shaded material.

We will be using two separate maps to achieve cartoon rendering:

• Falloff Map for the cell shading
• Mask Map for the black edges

We will use Composite map to combine these two maps into one material. So first add Composite as Diffuse Color Map according to picture 4.

Add Cell Shading

Picture 5. Falloff map is used to achieve toon shading in 3DS MAX.

Picture 6. The upper color is the color on the shadow side and the lower color is the color on the side of the light source.

Picture 7. Cell shading is easily achieved by adjusting the Mix curve.

Picture 8. Cartoon rendering in 3DS MAX.

The actual cell shading is achieved by using Falloff map. Click on Composite map and add Falloff as Map 1 according to picture 5. Click on Falloff map and make the following adjustments to it:

• Select colors for your model (picture 6). The upper color is the color on the shadow side and the lower color is the color on the side of the light source. So the both colors should have the same hue but upper color should be darker.
• Change the Falloff Type to Shadow / Light (picture 6)
• Adjust the Mix Curve according to picture 7. Add two new control points to the curve and place them according to the picture. (The staircase falloff curve combined with the Self Illumination is the key to cell shaded graphics.)
  Now is a good time to make a test rendering with the cartoon shader. At the moment the cell shading should look like in picture 8.

Cell Shading with Borders

Add Mask

Picture 9. Add Mask to Map 2 in the Composite map.

Picture 10. Noise map is used just to produce a black color.

Picture 11. Noise map’s output is just black color.

Picture 12. Black borders for the cartoon shading are achieved by combining black color (Noise) with a mask (Falloff).

Picture 13. Staircase Mix curve controls the thickness of the black edges.

Let’s add black edges to our cell shader. Go back to the Composite Map and add Mask as Map 2 according to picture 9. (In rendering the Map 2 is displayed on top of Map 1. The purpose of Map 2 is only to produce back edges. Mask is needed because we want to show Map 2 only partly (edges)).

Add Noise Map

Next click on Mask. There are two slots: One for Map and one for Mask. First we need to place black color to the Map slot. Let’s do that with a Noise map. Choose Noise as Map according to picture 10.

Click on Noise and change the white color to black according to picture 11. This way the output of this Noise map is just black color. (We could have achieved the same output also with several other maps)

Add Falloff Map

Go back to Mask and add Falloff as Mask according to picture 12. We’ll use Falloff map to mask unwanted parts away.

Click on Falloff and adjust the Mix Curve according to picture 13. Add two new control points and place them according to the picture. (The placement of the stair controls the thickness of the black edges.)

Cell Shaded Rendering

Picture 14. Cell shading with Super Sampling.

Render to test your cartoon shader. The rendering style should look similar to picture 14. If you render a large picture you will see many jagged edges. To fix this just turn Super Sampling on. If you have several materials you might want do that globally in Renderer’s settings. Picture 14 is rendered with Super Sampling. (The effect of Super Sampling is hardly visible in such a small rendering but in large renderings the effect is clearly visible).

Cell Shading With Three Colors

Usually two color shades is suitable for cell shading but sometimes you might want more. If you need more color shades just add one or more steps to the Falloff Map’s Mix Curve. Just make sure you adjust the right Falloff map. It’s the one with color.

::GFXZoOM |source:secondpicture.com::