Tradigital 3ds Max: A CG Animator's Guide to Applying the Classic Principles of Animation

277 Pages·2011·50.49 MB·English

by  Richard Lapidus

Tradigital 3ds Max
Tradigital 3ds Max
A CG Animator’s Guide to Applying
the Classic Principles of Animation
Richard Lapidus
AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON • NEW YORK • OXFORD
PARIS • SAN DIEGO • SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO
Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier
Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier
225 Wyman Street, Waltham, MA 02451, USA
The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford, OX5 1GB, UK
© 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Details on how to seek permission, further information about the Publisher’s permissions policies and our arrangements
with organizations such as the Copyright Clearance Center and the Copyright Licensing Agency, can be found at our website:
www.elsevier.com/permissions.
This book and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by the Publisher (other than as may
be noted herein).
Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our understanding,
changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary.
Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any information,
methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their
own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility.
To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors, assume any liability for any injury
and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of
any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lapidus, Richard.
Tradigital 3ds Max: a CG animator’s guide to applying the classic principles of animation / Richard Lapidus.
p. cm.
Summary: “Applying the 12 basic principles of animation introduced by animation legends Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas is
now easier than ever. With great relevance for today’s digital workflows, Richard Lapidus presents innovative 3ds Max controls
to the classical principles of animation like squash and stretch, anticipation, staging and more. Move beyond these fundamental
techniques and explore both the emotion and technical sides of animation with character appeal and rigging. Finally bridge the
gap between software-specific instruction and the world of classical animation with this easy to utilize, one-of-a-kind reference
guide, perfect for professionals and beginners alike”—Provided by publisher.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-240-81730-9 (pbk.)
1. Computer animation. 2. 3ds max (Computer file) I. Title.
TR897.7.L376 2011
777'.7—dc23
2011032054
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978-0-240-81730-9
For information on all Focal Press publications
visit our website at www.elsevierdirect.com
Printed in the United States of America
11 12 13 14 15 5 4 3 2 1
Typeset by: diacriTech, Chennai, India
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
When I first started thinking about writing this book, the last thing that I
wanted to provide the reader with was a series of instructions which required
extra plug-ins or scenes so complex that it couldn’t render. In addition, I
wanted to avoid long detailed technical explanations which couldn’t be
immediately applied to providing solutions. That really is the key to learning
such a power program like 3ds MAX. Instead of merely learning a new tool
by clicking through a tutorial, you need to understand along the way why
things work the way they do. I’ve lost track of the number of professionals
that have entered my classes looking for an explanation of how to go beyond
the tutorials. In a nutshell… “it’s always just one button”. Many tutorials out
there instruct the reader to make changes without an explanation of why it is
being done.
I’ve been developing my college credit classes over the last 15 by paying close
attention to the problems that professionals were encountering in the field.
Having the opportunity to work as a Certified Instructor in an ATC and as a
college professor has been truly invaluable. Hopefully you will develop an
understanding of a few new methods for animating within 3ds MAX, and the
workflow for problem solving your own unique solutions.
Special thanks to Chris Tedin for stepping in toward the end of this books
production to coauthor several chapters. Murphy’s Law kicked in several
times with family emergencies and a trip to hospital myself with a broken
collar bone.
  iixx
About the Authors
About the Authors
Rick Lapidus, Author
Rick started his art career with a BFA in Sculpture from Washington University.
Having spent the last 25 years immersed in the 3d world using animation
programs, his recent artwork is a synthesis between the sculpture and 3d
visualization. Currently he is pursuing an MFA in Electronic Media at Governor
State University.
Rick started his career in 3d animation back in the early 90’s with the first 3d
studio program.
Currently working as an Associate Professor teaching 3d animation at
Moraine Valley Community College. In addition to credit courses, Rick has
been providing training to professionals in a wide variety of fields including
Instructional Design, Broadcast, Interactive Media, Forensic Animation,
Architectural Visualization, and Product Design.
His basic philosophy of teaching is to approach each lesson from a problem
solving standpoint rather than merely clicking through a tutorial.
  xxii
About the Authors
Chris Tedin, Co-contributor
Born in Sitka, Alaska, Chris Tedin started his career as a painter and sculptor. He
has been working as an illustrator, graphic designer, and most recently as an art
director in Chicago, Illinois. He has been teaching game design and animation
for over 15 years. His students now work as animators and professional game
designers at Blue Sky Studios, Digital Domain, Aardman/Sony, Microsoft, and
as freelance independent artists. Many of his students are now college teachers
themselves. He started in the early days with Strata StudioPro, then 3ds
MAX version 1.0, Maya 2.0, Softimage 3.8, Houdini, before finally settling on
Softimage XSI, beginning with version 4.0 Foundation. Chris still sculpts and
paints and teaches part-time at Tribeca/Flashpoint Academy in Chicago.
 xii
About the Website
About the Website
Visit the companion website for Tradigital 3ds Max at www.tradigital3dsmax
.com for the source files for many of the examples in this book and hands-on
skill development to accompany the techniques and practical skills featured
in the chapters!
 xiii
CHAPTER 1
Introduction to the Interface 
and Seeing Animation in a 
New Way
Richard Lapidus
After Completing This Chapter, You Will be Able To:
• Start to develop the basics of visualizing animation in a 3d program.
• Understand the different ways to create and control animation.
• Have several choices in selecting and editing keys.
• Control how you see and control motion.
Every few years a study is done that correlates the benefits of playing
computer games and improved learning skills. I will wholeheartedly agree
that there are benefits that may include improving memory, problem-solving
abilities, and motor skills. Unfortunately, the areas that generally need work
have to do with visualization, perception of space, and a good sense of
timing. The goal is to create a world in which the viewer will be drawn in
Tradigital 3ds Max. DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-240-81730-9.00001-3
© 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.  1
Tradigital 3ds Max
FIG 1.1
and immersed with in the reality presented to them. As we journey through
this book together, hopefully you will develop the skills or at least a basic
understanding of how to start “perceiving” motion and using those skills
to create animation. Anyone can create motion with keyframes, but a true
animator will breathe life into a character and give it some level of realism
relative to its own reality. As a starting point, we will cover some of the basic
tools you need to control the 3d environment you are working in. Try to think
of the first few chapters as a quick start to understanding the basic workflow
of 3ds MAX. Instead of giving you a fully extensive explanation of every single
icon and command to start, I want to “pull you in” and get you moving toward
seeing how things work. The best analogy I can give you for not expounding
for 10–15 pages of parameters is relative to learning how to drive a car.
Although I know one or two people who have, most of us didn’t sit down and
read the owner’s manual of a car before learning how to drive.
The first thing I want you to do is change the user interface to look similar to
the images in this book. The “dark” version, which is the default, is nice in a
low-light environment, but it is hard to see the subtle changes to some of the
interface as you work.
1. Start up 3ds MAX and go to the Customize Menu. Choose User Interface
and select the AME Light Version. Hit OK to accept and the next time you
start 3ds MAX, it will be the default color scheme.
2. Notice how some of the icons and parts of the interface have a yellow
background or border. This indicates an active state. You should see the
Select icon; create geometry and the perspective view as being currently
active.
 2
Introduction to the Interface and Seeing Animation in a New Way
3. Let’s start by maximizing the perspective view. There are actually three
ways to do this. Those are with keyboard shortcut ALT+W, the min\max
icon, or dragging the upper left corner of the viewport. You will find that
there are usually three to five different ways to accomplish the same thing
with the program.
Command Panel with
Create Tab Active
FIG 1.2
Refer to Fig. 1.2 for steps 4–9
4. In the Command Panel, enable the Standard Primitive called teapot and
drag out an object of about 30-unit radius.
5. Right click the screen or choose one of the selection modes. (If you don’t turn
off Create mode, it is still active and you might endlessly be creating objects.)
6. Left click on the three select transform icons in the main toolbar and then
finally on the Select and Move transform. Notice how the transform gizmo
changes depending on if you are in Move, Rotate, or Scale mode.
 3