Assignment 1: Getting Started

Launch 3DS Max 7 and save a scene (working file) called [yourLastName].assn1.max. Fill in your last name.)

Add to your scene at least four objects. Three of these may be basic Max primitives selected from the Create menu.

One object must be a Boolean compound: that is, a combination of two primitives using the Boolean object found under Compound objects on the Create menu. You'll get the best visual effect if you choose a Subtraction option.

Once you have populated your scene with objects, render five views from distinct viewpoints. Use the Quick Render button (last item on the right of the main toolbar at the top of your screen) to generate renders, then click on the diskette icon above the render window to save. Select JPEG as file format and name your images [yourLastName].[number].jpg, where [number] runs from 1 through 5. Save at highest quality.

Pay close attention to file naming conventions -- they may seem like tedious details, but large-scale teamwork becomes impossible if they are not observed. You will lose points for incorrect file names. Include your .max file along with the five JPEGs. You may submit your work in one of three ways:

1. Upload to the instructor station during class (details will be explained).
   
   
2. FTP to your directory on student-iat.ubalt.edu (details likewise explained).
   
   
3. On a clearly labeled CD-ROM. Label must include your name and "Assignment 1".

Suggestions: Try to create something that looks like more than a random collection of computer-generated objects; in choosing viewpoints, go beyond the basic options presented in the viewport windows; experiment with lighting, texturing, and even lathing or mesh editing if you feel ambitious (read ahead).

Suggestions: Try to create something that looks like more than a random collection of computer-generated objects; in choosing viewpoints, go beyond the basic options presented in the viewport windows; experiment with lighting, texturing, and even mesh editing if you feel ambitious.

One possible solution to Assignment 1: L-Stair object, sphere, torus, pyramid, and Bolean box with interior cutout. Textures and non-default lighting added.

A second suggestion, again using non-default lighting. Cutouts in the pink box were made with mesh editing, a technique we will cover later in the course. The palm trees and fence are all primitives. Though this suite of objects does not include a Boolean, several of the components could have been made that way, including the green pipe.

A third solution: a tall box with cylindrical cutouts (the Boolean element), where various primitives have been stacked. Multiple Booleans were created to allow for the cutouts. Lighting is a Free Spot positioned above the box and angled down.

This project also employs a non-default camera to establish the viewpoint -- again, beyond the basics, and the standard terms of the assignment.