Well Tutorials

Happy Pongal

2011-01-14T08:26:00.000+05:30

How to Create a Stylish Media Player in Photoshop

2010-03-15T14:41:00.001+05:30

In this tutorial, we’re going to teach you how to replicate Apple’s iPod Nano. Not only will we recreate it’s signature body form, but also the headphones and put them in a unique setting that makes it pop. This an easy to follow step-by-step tutorial, and altering the final appearance should be a piece of cake, especially if you’re a Plus member! Changing the appearance is only a metter of picking a few different colors or adding your own textures as skins!

Final Image Preview

Let’s take a look at the image we’ll be creating. Want access to the full PSD files and downloadable copies of every tutorial, including this one? Join PSDTUTS PLUS for just $9/month.

Step 1

Create a new document with these settings like 1a. The first layer, call it “background” and fill any color. Then Open the Blending Options and settings (1b).

Step 2

Create a new folder, call it “ipod”. In this folder, create a new layer, call it “ipod” as well. Select the Rectangle Tool (U) to draw a rectangle shape like the one below (2a). Select the Pen Tool and click on the shape. After that, create four nodes of the shape as shown. At the top line, click to make a node between two top nodes. Then correct the top line of the curve by holding “Command” down, and clicking and dragging the node upward by a little (2b). Do the same with bottom line, but downward this time(2c). Then press Command + Enter to make the selection and fill that with color (2d).

Step 3

Open the Blending Options menu for “ipod” and adjust the settings like in image 3a. Create a new layer on top, call it “light ipod”. Use the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M) to make a rectangle selection and fill it with white (3b). Then reduce the Opacity to 30% (3c).

Step 4

Create a new layer on top, call it “screen bg”. Use Round Rectangle (set Radius: 5px) to draw a shape like one below and fill it black color (4a). Then open Blending Option and setting (4b).

Step 5

Use the Rectangular Marquee Tool to make the selection (5a). Press Command + J to duplicate this selection, rename the new layer “screen bg light”. Reduce the Opacity to 30% (5b). Then open the Blending Options and use the following settings (5c).

Step 6

Create a new layer on top, and call it “screen”. Use the same tool to make the rectangle selection right in the middle of the “screen bg” and fill it with black (6a). Then open Blending Options and use these settings (6b).

Step 7

Use the Polygon Lasso Tool to make the selection like in 7a. Press Command + J to duplicate this selection, rename the new layer “light screen”. Open Blending Options and use the specified settings (7b). Then reduce the Opacity to 30%.

Step 8

Create a new layer on top, call it “button bg”. Use Elliptical Marquee Tool to make the circle selection and fill it with white (8a). Then open Blending Options and use these settings (8b, 8c).

Step 9

Create a new layer over “button bg”, and call it “circle”. Use the same tool to make the smaller circle selection and fill it with white (9a). Then open Blending Options and copy these settings (9b, 9c). Add a button icon on “button bg” (9d).

Step 10

The right earphone is up next.

Create a new folder (outside “ipod” folder), call it “right earpiece”. Use the Elliptical Marquee Tool and the Pen Tool (P) to draw like in the steps below (10a). In turn, open the Blending Options of each layer and use these settings (10b, 10c, 10d).

Step 11

Create a new document (20 x 20px) with a transparent background. Choose the Custom Shape Tool, select the diagonal shape (11a). Draw and fill with black (11b). Then go to Edit > Define, name it “diagonal” and close this document (no need to save).

Step 12

Come back to the main document. Create a new layer under “right 03”, and call it “right 06”. While holding “Command” down click on the layer “right 03” to obtain its selection. Go to Select > Modify > Contract, put Contract by 2px. Go to Edit > Fill, at Contents select Pattern, at Custom select “diagonal”.

Step 13

The left earpiece.

Create a new folder (outside “right earpiece” folder) between “ipod” folder and “background”, call it “left earpiece”. Do the same steps of “right earpiece”.

Step 14

In the “left earpiece”, create a new layer on top, call it “shadow left” and according to the following images:

Step 15

Create a new layer under “left earpiece” folder, call it “line”. Use Pen Tool to draw like 15a. First, set Brush tool is hard brush 4px, black color. Then press U, click right mouse on the image, select Stroke Path to draw black line (15b). Open Blending Options this layer and setting (15c).

Step 16

Press Command + J to duplicate “line”, rename new layer “line shadow”. Move it under “line” and reduce Opacity to 40%. Then move this layer down a little.

Step 17

Create a new folder under “left earpiece” folder, call it “shadow”. Use Brush Tool, Pen Tool, and Elliptical Marquee Tool to draw accordin to the following images below:

Final Image

And that’s it for this device! For a quick makeover, download the source file and apply your own colors and skins!

How to Create a Realistic Fountain Pen

2010-03-15T14:37:00.001+05:30

In this tutorial, you’ll learn to design a realistic calligraphy pen from scratch. The tutorial involves a simple use of the Pen Tool and a few flexible Layer Styles. Lighting and reflection techniques are explained throughout the tutorial. This might be a quite useful for icon enthusiasts. Let’s dive in…

Step 1

Create a new document with these settings:

Step 2

Create a new layer set and name it “Pen”. Select Pen Tool (P) and draw a shape like one below. Before making the shape, make sure to select “Shape Layers” option from Options bar. Name this shape as "base" and give it a Gradient Overlay of gray shades.

Step 3

Draw another shape using Pen Tool and name it “body”.

Step 4

You need to add some reflections to the body. Create a new layer and Command-click on “body” layer, fill the selection on the new layer with white. Press Ctrl+T and reduce the width of the new layer to 75%. Now go to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur ,click OK after making the settings shown below. Finally, reduce opacity of the layer to 50% and give it a Gradient Overlay.

Step 5

Use Rectangle Tool (U) or Pen Tool (P) to make a shape like one below and name it “neck” for convenience. Give it Layer Styles as mentioned.

Step 6

Just like the body of the pen, add reflections to the neck but while doing so, change the opacity of first reflection layer to 75% and that of duplicate layer to 100%, keeping size reduction proportions same.

Step 7

Using Pen Tool (P), make a curved strip as shown.

The strip looks very smooth but actually it has got some aliasing which can create problems in the forthcoming steps. To fix this, right-click on the shape layer and select “Rastersize” from the menu. Now apply these filters to the layer:

Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur (Radius = 0.5 px)
Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen Edges

Next, give the strip these layer styles.

Step 8

Create a new layer (name it “shadow”) and place it below “strip” layer. Command-click on strip layer and go to Select > Modify > Expand, type 2 px and click OK. Now fill the selection with black on the “shadow” layer. Next, apply Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur (Radius = 0.5 px) to the layer.

A part of the shadow is overflowing on the pen’s body. To eliminate it, first Command + Click on the “body” layer, then Command + Shift + Click on the “neck” layer. Go to Select > Modify > Contract, type 1 px and click OK. With the “shadow” layer selected and the selection loaded, press Command + Shift + I and hit Delete.

Step 9

Create a shape like the one shown below using the Pen Tool (P) and give it a Gradient Overlay of the same colors as the ones we used for the “base” and “strip” layers.

Step 10

On a new layer, fill a selection with black using Rectangular Marquee Tool and Elliptical Marquee Tool as shown below. With the layer selected, go to Layer > Add Layer Mask > Reveal All. Drag a black to white gradient as directed.

Step 11

Use Step 7 and Step 8 to add a strip and its shadow over the nib, as shown.

Step 12

Right-click on the "Pen" layer set and select "Duplicate Layer Set" from the menu, click OK as the dialog box pops up. With duplicate layer set selected, hide the original layer set (as a backup copy) and press Command + E. By doing so, all the visible layers of the layer set will be merged into one layer. Go to Edit > Transform > Rotate, rotate the layer by 45 degrees clockwise. Finally, give some layer styles to the pen.

That’s it . I hope you learned something new from this tutorial.

Design a Mystical Miniature Scene with a Fairy Girl

2010-03-15T14:28:00.000+05:30

Ok get your images together. For this pic I used the following:

Go ahead duplicate all the pics and use masks to single out your selections

Once you make your selections delete the back grounds and hide the original layer

Open a new file, I used a large size like 3000 x 2500. And Cropped it at the end. Drag and place all your elements onto the page. Hide everything but the girl. Because the color of her clothes don’t match the theme of the pic we will have to adjust it. Start out by desaturating her. Go in and make separate selections masks for her skin, shirt, shorts and hair and save them.

Choose colors that fit the theme. Green and brown in this case, I also added small details to the shirt and shorts. I made her hair a richer color to match the other over saturated colors in the pics. I gave her some eyebrows and lashes using the burn tool.

Now shrink her to fit the rest of the elements.

Now concentrating on the wings. You can see they don’t quite match the angle of her shoulders. Separate each wing and use the rotate and distort tool, to match the wings to the girl’s angle.

(The upper pair shows the adjustments made to the wings)

Ok show the main elements and readjust anything that needs it. I moved the background over cause I didn’t like how the tree stuck out from the top if her head.

OK duplicate your mushroom a couple of times. Use the Free transform tool to create different shapes with the shrooms.

On a new layer, with the ellipse tool I made a selection and inverted it. Now take a large soft brush with a 40 % opacity and blacken the edges.

(save the selection)

Hide the black edge layer for now. Using the same selection go through the layers you have so far and soften the edges with the blur tool in an effect to create a shallow depth of field…kinda…

Now make a duplicate layer of all mushrooms, the girl and the wings. Set all the layers to the Difference blend mode

Now turn each Difference layer to 70% Opacity. This will leave the layers in a soft shadow. Now take a soft brush eraser set to 20 % opacity and remove all areas you want light to hit making sure to preserve any where a shadow will hit. If you were to turn everything off and only left the difference layers up this is what it should look like.

However with all the layers on it looks like this. Lastly add your moss layers. Place then where you want. Again use a 20 % opacity eraser to erase a little at a time to soften the edges and blend then in with the rest of the pic.

And you’re done! If you have any question do ask!

Create a Beautiful and Creative Blog Design in Photoshop

2010-03-15T14:09:00.001+05:30

By: NxGenDesign | 9 Comments

EXPERT

Pen Tool, Brush tool, Masking, Gradient, and some Transform Options

In this tutorial you'll learn how to Create a Beautiful and Creative Blog Design in Photoshop and you will learn the use of Pen Tool, Brush tool, Masking, Gradient, and some Transform Options.

Take a look at the image we'll be creating.

Getting Started

Step 1:

First create a new blank document and give a standard size as per website layout standards like 980x1000 (this size will give you the best view in 1024x768 resolution), now we can start with this design.

Step 2:

In Order To create a beautiful blog design first we will work on it's footer (the lower bottom of blog) as shown below, after completing this we will go for header part and overall design of the layout.

Step 3:

To start with footer of the blog we will use an image or clip part to give a beautiful look, in the below image you can see a nice hut so we will select the hut and remove the background, this is a perfect hut for our blog.

Step 4:

select out the hut image, by using pen or lasso tool , this hut will be used to make our footer a natural green feel, you can use any other image.

Step 5:

Now place the hut image into the footer of the layout as shown below, we will use more image to make a complete composite and cool look bottom.

Step 6:

Now we are using another image like above, in this image we can use this fences and this ground. Just select it out as we done earlier with your preferred selection tool.

Step 7:

And now use this image to select out gate for our footer image, one thing make sure we are using only half part of gate as we don't want to show the hut and ground behind the whole gate because that doesn't make any sense.

Step 8:

Using all three images i.e. hut , Fences ground and gate now we have this wonderful composite image of a hut with gate and fences around now its time to complete our footer, now we want some lush green vine ...

Step 9:

Now here you see green vine with flowers you can use these vines over ground and gate to decorate as our design required.

Step 10:

Just cut the part of vine you want to use actually we can use every part of flower vine, so select out image as shown below.

Step 11:

Now use this vine over fence ground and gate as everything seems natural and give us a feel of greate design, let's give image a personal touch so it will look more beautiful.

Step 12:

Now give some professional touch to the bottom part, in order to do this use your brush tool and make some tiny dots over bottom fence as red arrow is showing.

Step 13:

So now that’s it our blog's footer is ready and we can move to the remaining part of the layout.

Step 14:

Lets start with the Header as we have complete our footer part.

Step 15:

For header first we have to make an impressive title, the title of this blog is GREEN BLOG and we will give this title in a script (busorama Md BT) font with green color, also arrange them as shown in the image below into the upper corner of header.

Step 16:

Now its time to use some layer effect to make title attractive, I am using Drop shadow >75% opacity> %px distance with white stroke of 3px position of stroke should be outside of layer as settings below

Step 17:

Now use same settings for "blog" text but make stroke dark green to make a good match of color and footer combination.

Step 18:

Use guidelines to make alignments and this will give you a rough idea what we are doing and what will be the next thing we go to draw or design in the layout, now we need handmade color background for our blog and header.

Step 19:

Now we are using brush tool with brush opacity 75% and flow 50%, to show a feel of painted background, I am using brush type> charcoal large smear to give the look of a painted background.

Step 20:

Use this painted background into your blog you can lighten the color background using it's layer opacity down to 61% .

Step 21:

Our header looks bit empty as compare to our footer ,create a new layer name your layer "wind" and draw a curve wit theh help of pen just like below, create this path and convert it selection using CTRL+ENTER ,fill this selection with white color.

Step 22:

Now create this path and convert it selection using CTRL+ENTER ,fill this selection with white color as we done in the below image.

Step 23:

Now add a layer mask to the wind layer and hide bottom of the curve use brush tool and gradient to do so, make sure your background and foreground color are black and white.

Step 24:

Select move tool and drag wind layer with ALT key ( ALT+Drag) to make another copy of wind and place it as per design requirement.

Step 25:

Now your final title should look like this .i add some white puffy dots through brush tool as we done previously in order to give it a frosty look.

Step 26:

But this is not a final header so let's add some Buttons and images to make things complete.

Step 27:

For making menu bar i used rounded corner rectangle and give it some layer styles like inner glow and stroke use same settings as below to make a proper bar . this is where we put our blog’s menu with links.

Step 28:

Then write the name of menu buttons as you need with verdana font. font should be readable and simple, its time to make icons for our buttons to give them more visibility.

Step 29:

Use some custom shapes through custom shape tool to put the shape in your design as you want to use ,now fill all the shapes with white color

Step 30:

In custom shapes you may not be able to find a proper shape for twitter button so i am making shape of my own using pen tool , you can also browse internet and trace twitter icon for your use.

Step 31:

Again fill the entire icon with white color and now we have our main link bar ready to use.

Step 32:

Now add some balloons to our header so it will give you feel of sky with balloons, we have used new clip part to give a natural look to this layout

Step 33:

Place balloons accordingly where you fine suitable as per design requirement like image below, now it's time to make rest of our blog where we will put our discussions and comments, images, etc.

Step 34:

In order to do this i am using this vine cutout and place it in our blog template according to guidines we made earlier it give us a basic layout to put the content in the page.

Step 35:

Place it we have this lovely blog design where vine branches are out, your vine arrangement should look like image below ,but we want to show that our vine is long enough to reach sky and cloud, so the thing is now missing is clouds. Lets make clouds for our header.

Step 36:

Create a new layer and draw some random clouds with help of brushes, Play with opacity and flow in brush tool option to draw a cool puffy clouds like below

Step 37:

Place your cloud over vines braches so it looks vines zooming into clouds from ground. you can use cloud in middle of blog and in bottom footer for giving some fog effect.

Step 38:

This the final backdrop of our green blog , your final output might be bit different, now you have complete template just add your text and images where you want them to add.

Step 39:

Your final Blog should look like image below you can do other things to make things more interesting, you can add more buttons and links etc.

Create a Face of Sweet Pea in Adobe Photoshop

2010-03-15T13:21:00.002+05:30

By: NxGenDesign | 7 Comments

EXPERT

Layers, Brush Effects, Box Tool, Gradient, Filter (Flood), Polygonal Lasso / Tranform Tool, Image and Hue/Saturation.

We’ve created another concept for our readers, and this time we’ve created it using something that we’re all familiar with. There’s a reason behind why we got inspired to make this tutorial. One day, I went to a supermarket to buy some vegetables and I noticed some Peas at stall and it suddenly grabbed my attention. On my way back to home, I had some ideas running through my mind to do something creative with the Peas and we’ve tried to do something new and unique with our imagination. We have used some images of Pea along with some relative things like Masking & Gradient Tool and some new Filters that you will come to learn about in this tutorial. So let’s get started with the process

Take a look at the image we'll be creating.

Getting Started

Step 1:

To start with tutorials, take a new stage with 1000x1000 px and save this file with name of "Face of Sweet Pea"

Step 2:

Follow the instructions below:
1. First draw a new box with the help of box tool.
2. Then make sure that box layer has been Rasterized as shown below.

Step 3:

Now shift the box towards the top of the stage and then:
1. Make the background and foreground color combination to use with Gradient Tool.
2. Now we have filled the Gradient color in the box as you can see below.

Step 4:

We would like to add some water in the bottom of the stage, so we are going to use a new Filter (Flood). You can get this Filter through download option.

Step 5:

Now you can see the Filter options as we have shown below. We require some good water effects in bottom of the stage so make some adjustments in the options and get the desired water effects.
Note:
1. Make the changes in Filter values as per your requirement.
2. Make sure that the foreground and background color is a combination of blue and green color.

Step 6:

Now you will get the water effect with some green color because our requirement is to make most of the graphics in green color.

Step 7:

Delete the top part of the stage, which is filled by green color.

Step 8:

Go in the >Edit Menu and select the Transform Tool to make some adjustments with water layer and fix it in the bottom.

Step 9:

As you can see, we have fixed the water in the bottom of the stage.

Step 10:

1. Select the box tool from the Tool Pallet.
2. Then take a new box with blue color to fill the background of the stage.

Step 11:

Make sure that the box layer has been Rasterized.

Step 12:

We need to merge the background color with water so as to make it look more beautiful.
1. Select the Gradient Tool with black & white color option.
2. Then Select the blue color layer and mask this layer with layer pallet option as shown below.
3. Apply the Gradient color on the masked layer so it gets merged with the background and the water.
Note: Make sure that you select the black & white color combination in Gradient Tool.

Step 13:

We can see that our colors are merged with each other with the help of Gradient and mask options.

Step 14:

Now we are going to use an image which is the face of a character. We will use this as the face of Pea.

Step 15:

We need to select the face of the character by following the options below:
1. First select the Polygonal Lasso Tool or press (L) to select this Tool.
2. Make a shape around the face so it will get selected as we can see below.

Step 16:

Now we need to copy this image so press (Ctrl+C) or select the >Edit Menu and copy the face of the character.

Step 17:

Now Paste the face on our work stage with help of >Edit Menu

Step 18:

Now open >Edit menu and select Transform Tool to make some adjustments with the character’s face.

Step 19:

Now we are going to use another image of Peas. Select the >File menu and click on Open to get a new image.

Step 20:

We can see that the background of the Pea is white, which we can select with Magic Wand Tool.
1. Select the Magic Wand Tool through Tool Pallet or press (W) to select the Tool.
2. Fix the Tolerance 40 or as per your requirement to select the same color background in any image.

Step 21:

Then make the selection inverse through >Select menu or press (Ctrl+Shift+I) to do the same process.

Step 22:

Copy the selected Pea through >Edit menu and select the copy option or press (Ctrl+C) as we have done before.

Step 23:

Now paste the picture of Peas on the original artwork through >Edit menu and Select Paste option or press (Ctrl+P)

Step 24:

Now, we need to match the color of the face with Peas’ color so we can select the character’s face layer.

Step 25:

Open >Image menu and select Hue/Saturation option to do some color adjustments on the character’s face.

Step 26:

You can see that we have made some color adjustments in Peas’ color and that's the requirement of this artwork.

Step 27:

Now select the Peas layer because we need to have the shadow shown in water. Again we will use Flood Filter to do the process.

Step 28:

Open the >Filter menu and select the Flood Filter to show the shadow in water as you can see below.

Step 29:

As you can see the Peas shadow in the water, this is the look that we require to make it more beautiful.

Step 30:

Now, select a Pea with the help of Polygonal Lasso Tool as we have used before.

Step 31:

Now, copy and paste the Peas to fill blank space around the neck of the character so it will look covered with Peas.

Step 32:

Now, we are using another image of Pea bean for character’s ears, so let's open the new image through >File menu and click on open option.

Step 33:

Again, we will do the same process as we have done before the face of the character to cut from it's background.
1. Select the Polygonal Lasso Tool as you can see in the image below.
2. Make a selection around Pea Bean to cut it from its background.

Step 34:

Now fix this Pea bean on the character’s ear to give the desired look of a Pea Face.

Step 35:

Right now this is not matching with color of the face so we need to make some adjustments with it. Please select the Pea Bean Layer.

Step 36:

So we are going to use a new Filter and I hope you will like it. This Filter will give the right color adjustments to this Peas bean. Open >Filter menu and select the Tachyon and you will get the correct color adjustments.

Step 37:

Now you can see that the Pea bean is looking more natural and having more symmetry with the face.

Step 38:

Again, make a copy of the same layer and fix this one to the left ear of the character.

Step 39:

Make some adjustments with the layer in layer pallet and take it behind the face so it appears to be the left ear of the character’s face.

Step 40:

Now do some decoration on the ear to make it more beautiful.
1. Again select the Polygonal Lasso Tool and make selection on a Pea.

Step 41:

Now we follow the same process, copy and paste the Pea through >Edit menu as you can see below.

Step 42:

And now press (Shift+Alt) from the Keyboard and make copies of the Pea as we have done below:
Note: We are making earrings for character’s face, so make the copies in round shape.

Step 43:

Now you can see that we have created an earring shape from peas. This will give a great look to the face and enhance its features.

Step 44:

Now go to the first layer of the Pea from where we started.

Step 45:

Select all the layers that we have created through (Shift+Alt) option and open >Layer menu to merge all the layers into one layer.

Step 46:

Now fix this layer to the right ear of the face as we have done below and make another copy of the same layer.

Step 47:

Make some adjustments with the second earring through Free Transform Tool as we have used before in this artwork.

Step 48:

Fix the second earring on the left ear as we have done below. Now our face is looking more beautiful as we are trying to do in this artwork.

Step 49:

Let's use some more Pea bean to make it more beautiful. Open a new image of Pea bean.

Step 50:

We need to make some color adjustments with this bean so open >Image menu and select Hue/Saturation option.

Step 51:

Make some color adjustments with Pea bean to match with our artwork.

Step 52:

Make some adjustments through Free Transform Tool for >Edit menu as you can see below.

Step 53:

Fix this behind our character’s face as we have done below.

Step 54:

Now we are going to use another new Filter and you will also like this one. Open >Filter menu then select Flexify Filter to match our Pea bean with artwork background.

Step 55:

Now you can see that we have merged it in our artwork background.

Step 56:

Again we will apply Flood Filter on this as you can see below.

Step 57:

Fix the values in Flood Filter as per our requirement so it will match in our artwork background.

Step 58:

Now you can see that we have made a good combination of Peas and our creativity.

Step 59:

Now we will try to decorate our entire artwork by adding some Pea leaves. So we’re going to use another image of Pea leaves.

Step 60:

Through > File menu open a new image of Pea leaves as you can see below and make a selection around leaves through Polygonal Lasso Tool.

Step 61:

Remove the background and paste it on our original artwork. We need to make some color adjustments on this so we can follow the same process for Hue/Saturation from >Image menu.

Step 62:

Fix this leaf somewhere in the artwork as required and write down "SWEET PEA." This is the title of our artwork.

Step 63:

Again, do the same process to make copies of Pea.
1. Select Polygonal Lasso Tool for Tool Pallet.
2. Make selection on the Pea as we have done below.

Step 64:

Make some adjustments with its size through Free Transform tool.

Step 65:

Again, do the same process as we have done for earrings of the character. Trace the "SWEET PEA" title form Pea copies.
Note: To make copies of Pea press(Shift+Alt) and drag the Pea as required.

Step 66:

For more decoration, we are going to use another image of Pea bean.

Step 67:

Now do the same process with it as we have done before.
1. Select the Magic Wand Tool for Tool Pallet.
2. Select the white background with help of Magic Wand Tool.
3. Now open the >Select menu and click on inverse or press (Ctrl+Shift+I) to make inverse selection on the Pea bean.

Step 68:

Before proceeding to our decoration part, we will add some clouds with the help of filters. First make sure your foreground color is sky blue and background color should be white.
1. Create a new layer to make some clouds as you can see below.
2. Open the Filter menu and select the Render option so your selected layer will get filled with cloudy effects as we have done.

Step 69:

Now we need to merge our clouds with water so please follow the options below:
1. Select the water layer to merge it with our background.
2. Make sure you have applied the Multiply Mode on the water layer so it will get merged in background.

Step 70:

As we have decorated leaves on our artwork, same needs to be done with Pea bean that we did in the previous step.

Step 71:

Now you can see that we have decorated our artwork with leaves and Pea beans that we had done above. Now this is looking more beautiful and eye-catching compared of our initial steps. We can do more things depending on our creativity.

Step 72:

Now we have achieved our desired look that we are trying to create. I hope you will like it because you will learn some new Filters and combination of images.

2009-12-08T19:03:00.002+05:30

"Using Character Studio - The Basics

Introduction:

After spending weeks teaching myself Character Studio, I’ve decided to make a tutorial on it in the hope that others won’t need to suffer the same frustration. I’ll try to make each step as simple and straight forward as possible -- basic knowledge of 3D Studio Max is recommended, however.

1. Creating and Positioning a Character Studio Biped

Go into CREATE, SYSTEM, and BIPED. Now click-and-drag inside a VIEWPORT, and a CS biped skeleton will be created.

It’s possible to set the name of the Biped, which will apply to every piece of it, although I usually leave it as the default as I’m lazy :)

Now edit the settings to create whichever kind of biped you want. I personally find it best to set the amount of Spine Links to 3 or 4, as any more than that can become a pain when rigging or animating.

It’s possible to change the settings later, though in some cases you can run into problems with this, so it’s generally always best to do it now.

With a piece of the biped selected, go into MOTION, PARAMETERS, and FIGURE MODE – now you can set the default position of the CS biped (usually used for matching the CS biped to a mesh before rigging).

Click the thin BAR and it will bring out a new rollout of tools – if you select RUBBER BAND MODE, you can stretch or shrink parts of the biped.

With the COPY/PASTE parameters, you can save and load biped positions and animations – page 2 has more details on their use.

While in FIGURE MODE, you can change the settings of your biped – doing so can cause problems with existing animations or rigs, thus it’s best to arrange all your settings early on. Once you’ve finished setting up your biped, click FIGURE MODE again to exit it, then turn to page 2 for the next part of the tutorial.

2. Character Studio Parameters Overview

We already went over the basics of FIGURE MODE on page 1, so now let’s have a look at some of the other Character Studio tools. I suggest that you try each tool out after reading the description for it.

SAVE and LOAD – saves or loads a CS biped.

MOVE ALL MODE – use this if you want to relocate your biped, together with any existing animation.

BIPED PLAYBACK – good for viewing your CS animations in realtime.

BAR – click this to open a new rollout.

IN PLACE MODE – keeps the pivot of the biped in place (which can be handy when making stuff like walk or run animations). If you hold the mouse button down on it, you can also choose a single axis to keep in place.

TRAJECTORIES – this displays lines in the viewport which represent your biped’s movement, with small dots to represent each keyframe. A very useful tool when you’re refining your animation.

BODY CONTROLS – these let you swap between the movement and rotation tracks of your biped’s pivot. More about this below.

SYMMETRICAL – if you click this while a limb is selected, the opposite limb will be selected also.

OPPOSITE - if you click this while a limb is selected, the opposite limb will be selected instead.

PLANTED KEY – when applied to a hand or foot, this tries to keep it in place.

SLIDING KEY – when applied to a hand or foot, this tries to keep it in place, but still allows you to animate it.

FREE KEY – turns off PLANTED or SLIDING KEY

CREATE KEY– sets a normal keyframe

DELETE KEY – deletes a keyframe if one is set at the time

Next is the COPY/PASTE ROLLOUT, which allows you to copy a biped position or animation, and paste them later on.

POSTURE – used for when you just want to copy a piece of the biped (e.g. just the fingers, so you can swap between an open or closed fist).

POSE – used for when you want to copy a pose for the entire biped.

TRACK – used for copying the biped’s animation.

SAVE/LOAD – saves or loads copied biped files.

COPY – copies the biped's POSTURE/POSE/TRACK. First select whichever part of the biped you want to copy.

PASTE – pastes biped positions and animations you’ve copied.

PASTE OPPOSITE – pastes a mirrored version of biped positions you’ve copied (e.g. a pose copied from the right arm would be pasted to the left arm).

LIST – brings out a drop down menu of all the biped positions you’ve copied. Also lets you rename them.

PREVIEW WINDOW – shows you a preview of the pose.

DELETE SINGE/ALL – deletes one, or all, of the copied biped positions from the List.

MOVEMENT/ROTATION TRACKS – use these to select which pivot tracks (horizontal movement, vertical movement, rotation) you want to copy or paste.

LAYERS ROLLOUT

CREATE LAYER – creates a new layer which you can animate on.

NEXT/PREVIOUS LAYER – swaps between layers.

DELETE LAYER – deletes the current layer

COLLAPSE – merges layers together

Animating Tips:

1. The CS biped cannot be moved without AUTO KEY/ANIMATE turned on (or while in FIGURE MODE).

2. By default, much of the biped shares keyframes (i.e. if you have a keyframe for the left hand, it will also create keyframes for the left fingers, arm and shoulder). In the picture on the right, I’ve colour coded which parts are shared.

3. The entire biped is dependent on the pivot, which is inside the Pelvis (see image below).

By default, the pivot’s VERTICAL MOVEMENT, HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT, and ROTATION tracks are each separate (so moving it won’t make rotation keys, and rotating it won’t make movement keys).

Alternately, you can choose which track you want to animate it in under TRACK SELECTION in the Character Studio PARAMETERS (once again, see the image below).

Another thing to remember is that becoming comfortable with the technical side of Character Studio (or any other program for that matter) is a great thing, since it means you then don’t need to spend as much time thinking about the technical stuff while you’re trying to express yourself. What’s even more useful in the long run, however, is learning animation theory.

For anyone who’s at all serious about animation and hasn’t already, I fully recommend buying The Animator’s Survival Kit by Richard Williams (probably the best book ever written on animation), and The Illusion of Life by Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas (also extremely good).

Thanks for reading my tutorial and I hope it was useful to you!

Flash Sound On/Off Button

2009-12-08T19:01:00.000+05:30

In this tutorial you will learn how to create a simple Flash music on and off button using Flash actionscript. Fla download is also included.

This tutorial starts with the music on. On clicking the button music goes off (as seen in the demo). You can start the music again at any point during the movie.

STEPS TO FOLLOW

To start with, make 2 buttons. 1 for ON and another, for OFF

Demonstration

Download the .fla

Next you need to create 2 Movie clips.

For sound
For buttons

Okay let's start with the Sound Movie clip

Create three keyframes.
Insert stop action to all the keyframes.
Insert your music into frame1.

NOTE:

In frame2 insert the following code,

gotoAndStop(1);
In frame3 insert the following code,

gotoAndPlay(1);

Now you are through with your Sound Movie clip.

Next, Lets start with the Button Movie clip

Create 2 keyframes.
Insert stop actions to both the keyframes.
Insert OFF button into frame1.
Select your OFF button and insert the following code,

on (release) {
tellTarget ("../music") {
stopAllSounds();
}
}
on (release) {
nextFrame();
}

Insert ON button into frame2.
Select your ON button and insert the following code,

on (release) {
tellTarget ("../music") {
nextFrame();
}
}
on (release) {
prevFrame();
}

Insert your Sound Movie clip into your movie and name it "music" in your instance panel.
Insert your Button Movie clip into your movie.
Now press ctrl+enter to play your movie.

Download the .fla

Flash Analog Clock

2009-12-08T18:43:00.002+05:30

This tutorial will teach you how to create an Analog Clock in Flash MX 2004. The free download .fla file is also included at the end of the tutorial.
Please note:
1. You need to have Flash Player 7.0 installed to view the Flash animation.
2. Flash MX 2004 or higher must be installed in your system to download the .fla file.

Are you ready? Just follow the steps below.

STEPS TO FOLLOW

Create a background for your clock, You can either draw it in fireworks or photoshop and import it onto your stage or draw it in flash itself.
Add 5 Layers in your Timeline window.
Name them - interface, sec, min, hour and actions. Similar to the Timeline window shown below.
Import your clock background design into your interface Layer if you had created it else where.
Draw a line in your sec Layer. Select the line and press F8 to convert it to Symbol. Call this Symbol sec_mc, choose Movie clip behavior and select the bottom center square in registration. Similar to the Symbol window shown below.

Press OK.
In your sec Layer, place sec_mc right at the center of your clock background design. Name it "sec" in instance text box of your property window. This is going to be your seconds needle.
Drag sec_mc into your min Layer from your library. If your library window is not open, press (Ctrl+L) to open it. Reduce sec_mc's height, may be by 3pix. Place it right at the center of your clock background design. Name it "min" in instance text box of your property window. This is going to be your minutes needle
Drag sec_mc into your hour Layer from your library. Reduce its height, may be by 5 to 6pix. Place it right at the center of your clock background design. Name it "hour" in instance text box of your property window. This is going to be your Hours needle.
Copy and Paste the code given below in your actions window of actions Layer.

Now go to second frame of each layer and press F5 to insert new frame.

Your clock is ready. Press Ctrl+Enter to view your clock.

Download the .fla file

Flash Digital Clock

2009-12-08T18:40:00.000+05:30

This tutorial will explain how to create a digital Clock in Flash MX 2004. The download .fla file is also included at the end of the tutorial.
Please note:
1. You need to have Flash Player 7.0 installed to view the Flash animation.
2. Flash MX 2004 must be installed in your system to download the .fla file.

It is very simple to build a digital clock. All you need to do is follow the steps given below.

STEPS TO FOLLOW

Insert 3 layers in your timeline window and name them, "background", "text" and "actions". Similar to the one shown below
Select Frame1 of background layer, Design the framework for your digital clock.
Select frame2 and press F5
Now go to Frame1 of your text layer and insert Dynamic text field in your work area. Select frame2 and press F5

To insert a Dynamic text field- Select text tool from your tool box,
Select Dynamic text from Text pop-up menu in the Property inspector.
Click on your work area wherever you want the digital clock to appear.
Name this Dynamic text field instance as "clock_txt"

Go to frame1 of actions layer. Copy and paste the below mentioned script in the action panel

time=new Date(); // time object
var seconds = time.getSeconds()
var minutes = time.getMinutes()
var hours = time.getHours()
if (hours<12) {
ampm = "AM";
}
else{
ampm = "PM";
}
while(hours >12){
hours = hours - 12;
}
if(hours<10)
{
hours = "0" + hours;
}
if(minutes<10)
{
minutes = "0" + minutes;
}
if(seconds<10)
{
seconds = "0" + seconds;
}
clock_txt.text = hours + ":" + minutes + ":" + seconds +" "+ ampm;

Now go to frame2 of actions layer and press F6 to insert a new keyframe.
Still keeping the play head on the frame2, go to action panel and copy paste the below mentioned script.

gotoAndPlay(1);

Congratulations!! your digital clock is ready.
Press Ctrl+Enter to view your clock.

Download the .fla file

Flash Timeline Preloader

2009-12-08T18:39:00.000+05:30

This tutorial will explain how to create Timeline Preloader in Flash MX 2004. The download .fla is included at the end of the tutorial.

Please note:
1. You need to have Flash Player 7.0 installed to view the Flash animation.
2. Flash MX 2004 must be installed in your system to download the .fla file.

STEPS TO FOLLOW

Create a Graphic Symbol

First and foremost type "LOADING" on your center stage. Select the word LOADING and press F8 to convert it to a symbol.
Name the symbol "loading", choose Graphic behavior and press OK.

Create a "LOADING" Movie clip

Press Ctrl+F8 to create a new Movie clip.
Name this Movie clip "loading_mc", choose Movie clip behavior and press OK.
Insert your loading Graphic Symbol in Frame1.
Press F6 to insert keyframe in frame5 and in frame10
Now go back to frame5. Select "LOADING", still keeping the playhead in frame5, choose Alpha 0 from color pop-up menu of your property panel.
Choose any frame between 2 and 4 and select Motion from the tween pop-up menu in the Property inspector.
Choose any frame between 6 and 9 and select Motion from the tween pop-up menu in the Property inspector.
Your Movie clip is ready, Now come back to Scene1.

Create Bar Preloader

Insert 5 layers and name them as shown below.
Now go to frame1 of loading layer, drag loading_mc to your center stage. Center Align the movie clip. Press F5 on your 40th frame of loading Layer.
Select frame1 of your mask layer and draw a rectagle as shown below.

Press F5 in frame 40
Double click on this rectangle, Copy ( Ctrl+C), go to Layer bar and press (Ctrl+Shift+V) to paste it exactly in the same position. Now select only its border, Cut (Ctrl+X) and paste (Ctrl+Shift+V) in frame1 of your border layer.
Press F5 in frame 40 of border layer
Now come back to your bar layer, Push the rectangle to the left as shown below
Go to Frame 40, keeping playhead on frame 40, pull the rectangle onto the other side as shown below
Now select any frame between 2 and 39 and select Shape from the tween pop-up menu in the Property inspector.
Now go back to layer mask, right click on the label and select mask.

Insert script in the action panel

Go to action Layer, insert keyframe in 1st,2nd,5th,6th,10th,11th,15th,16th,20th,21st,25th,26th,30th,31st,35th,36th and 40th Frame

Copy & Paste the following script into the action panel of Frames mentioned below.

ifFrameLoaded ("s1") { x = 1; play (); }	Frame 1
ifFrameLoaded ("s2") { x = 2; play (); }	Frame 5
ifFrameLoaded ("s3") { x = 3; play (); }	Frame 10
ifFrameLoaded ("s4") { x = 4; play (); }	Frame 15
ifFrameLoaded ("s5") { x = 5; play (); }	Frame 20
ifFrameLoaded ("s6") { x = 6; play (); }	Frame 25
ifFrameLoaded ("s7") { x = 7; play (); }	Frame 30
ifFrameLoaded ("s8") { x = 8; play (); }	Frame 35
gotoAndPlay ("start");	Frame 40

if (x != 1) { gotoAndPlay(1); }	Frame 2
if (x != 2) { gotoAndPlay(5); }	Frame 6
if (x != 3) { gotoAndPlay(10); }	Frame 11
if (x != 4) { gotoAndPlay(15); }	Frame 16
if (x != 5) { gotoAndPlay(20); }	Frame 21
if (x != 6) { gotoAndPlay(25); }	Frame 26
if (x != 7) { gotoAndPlay(30); }	Frame 31
if (x != 8) { gotoAndPlay(35); }	Frame 36

Your preloader is now ready. You can start building your main movie from the 41st frame and call the 41 frame "start" . After your main movie is ready. Divide the total frames used by your main movie by 8. Name them s1, s2, s3 and so on.

Download the .fla file

Simple Flash Preloader

2009-12-08T18:37:00.000+05:30

This tutorial will explain how to create a simple Preloader in Flash MX 2004. The download .fla is included at the end of the tutorial.

Please note:
1. You need to have Flash Player 7.0 installed to view the Flash animation.
2. Flash MX 2004 must be installed in your system to download the .fla file.

STEPS TO FOLLOW

Create a Movie clip.

Draw a borderless rectangle.
If your color mixture panel is not open press Shift+F8 to open it.
Select your rectangle, go to color mixture panel and choose linear from the drop down menu.
Now change your linear fill accordingly, with white on right end and your background color on the other end.
Select this rectangle and press F8 to convert this rectangle to a symbol. Name this symbol "Bar" and choose Graphic behavior. Press OK.
Press Ctrl+F8 to create a new movie clip for preloader effect.
Call it "preloader_mc". Choose movie clip behavior and press OK.
Draw a borderless zigzag as shown below on the first frame and press F5 on the 90th frame.
Insert a new layer and pull it below Layer1.
Insert the bar graphic symbol into this new layer "Layer2".
Adjust the height of the bar such that its height is equal or little more than the zigzag height.
Position this bar graphic as shown below.
Press F6 on the 35th frame. Keeping framehead on 35th frame, pull the bar graphic onto the other side of zigzag as shown below.
Select any frame between Frames 2 and 34 and select Motion from the tween pop-up menu in the Property inspector.
Select frame 40 and press F6 to insert a new keyframe on the 40th frame.
Keeping the framehead on the 40th frame select bar graphic and go to main menu,
Modify>Transform>Flip Horizontal.
Select frame 85 and press F6 to insert a new keyframe on the 85th frame.
Keeping the framehead on the 85th frame pull the bar graphic symbol to its initial position as in frame 1.
Select any frame between Frames 41 and 84 and select Motion from the tween pop-up menu in the Property inspector.
Select frame 90 and press F5.

Adding Preloader to your Scene1

Now go to your Scene1.
Insert 3 new layers.
Drag "preloader_mc" from your library onto your working area. Place it at the center of your working area. Press F5 on the 2nd frame
Type in "LOADING" on the 1st frame of your 2nd layer.
Copy and Paste the below script in the action panel of your 1st frame of 1st layer.

ifFrameLoaded ("end") {
gotoAndPlay ("start");
}
Press F6 on the 2nd frame of 1st layer and insert the below script in the action panel of your 2nd frame of 1st layer.

gotoAndPlay (1);

Start your Main movie from the 3rd frame onwards.
Name the 1st frame of your main movie "start" and the last frame "end".

Download the .fla file

Scrolling Content in Flash

2009-12-08T18:36:00.000+05:30

Demonstration

Learn how to scroll content in Flash using the ScrollPane Component. The free .fla download file is included at the end of the tutorial.
Please note:
1. You need to have Flash Player 7.0 installed to view the Flash file.
2. Flash 8.0 must be installed in your system to download the .fla file.

Steps to Follow :

Open Flash 8.0 and create a new Flash document
Create a movie clip called content_mc and in the symbol properties box check export for actionscript and Export in first frame. View the screenshot below.
Open the Components Panel by clicking on Window/Components
Select and drag the ScrollPane component into the stage
Select the ScrollPane component on the stage and in the properties inspector choose the Parameter tab and enter the height and width you would like for the scrolling content. In the contentPath property, type in the name of your content movie clip i.e. content_mc. The scrollpane is an in-built Flash component that scrolls the content in the movie clip specified.
Press Ctrl+Enter to test the file.

Congratulations! You have successfully learnt how to scroll content in Flash using the in-built Flash ScollPane component.

If the content is not loading, please check that you have typed the correct movie clip name in the contentPath and in the movie clip properties you have checked export for actionscript and Export in first frame.

Download the .fla file
Please note: You need Flash 8.0 to open the .fla file.

Loading External Images in Flash

2009-12-08T18:33:00.000+05:30

This tutorial will teach you how to load external images in Flash using the loadMovie actionscript function. The .fla free download file with the actionscript code is included at the end of the tutorial. Flash 8.0 must be installed in your system to download the .fla file.

The concept for loading external images in Flash is to create an empty movie clip which will load the external image through the loadMovie actionscript function.

Steps to Follow :

1. Create a folder which will have your .fla file, .swf file and your external image. Name the external image photo.jpg.

2. Create the photo and empty movie clips

Create an empty movie clip by clicking on Insert/New Symbol. Save the symbol as empty_mc.
Create another movie clip and save it as photo_mc. This movie clip is for any properties you would like to add to the photo, like a frame around the photo or background color etc.
Create a frame or background in this movie clip and drop the empty movie clip (empty_mc) inside the frame.
Give an instance name to the empty movie clip, call it empty. The external image will be loaded into this empty movie clip.
You should have photo_mc movie clip in the the main timeline, give this an instance name of photo.

3. Actionscript for loading the external image in the photo movie clip.

Create a new layer in your main timeline for adding the actionscript for loading the external image.
Choose the first frame in the actionscript layer and copy the following actionscript in the actionscript panel
loadMovie("photo.jpg", photo.empty);
This script loads the image photo.jpg which is saved externally in the same folder to the empty movie clip which is in the photo movie clip (instance names empty and photo).
The script can also be added to the photo movie clip timeline if you don't want to add it to the main timeline frame. You just need to change the actionscript to
loadMovie("photo.jpg", empty);
The above script can be added in the photo_mc timeline

Press Ctrl+Enter to test the file.

Congratulations! You have successfully learnt how to load external images in Flash using simple actionscript.

If the image is not loading, please check that the photo is saved as photo.jpg in the same folder and the instance names for the movie clips are correct.

Download the zip file
Please note: You need Flash 8.0 to open the .fla file.

Custom Cursor in Flash

2009-12-08T18:31:00.000+05:30

This tutorial will teach you how to create a custom cursor for your flash movie. Here we will be using movieclip symbol and little bit of actionscript to develop custom cursor. The .fla download file is included at the end of the tutorial

Please note:
1. You need to have Flash Player 7.0 installed to view the Flash animation.
2. Flash MX 2004 must be installed in your system to download the .fla file.

Demonstration

Well, I would like to start this tutorial assuming that the reader knows about Basics of flash such as different kinds of symbols used in flash.

Firstly, you will need to create a movieclip symbol for customized cursor design then you will have to type in few lines of code asking flash to hide the existing cursor and show the new cursor developed by you.

Create a movieclip symbol

Steps to Follow :

Press (Ctrl+F8) to create a new symbol.
"Create New symbol" window will appear
Name your symbol cursorNew_mc.
Click on movieclip behavior and then press "OK"
Now you would have entered your movieclip symbol
Draw anything you like to replace the existing cursor.
For example I drew an arrow as shown below
Now come back to "Scene 1" which is your main movie
To get back to "Scene 1", click on the "Scene 1" text on top of your timeline window as shown in the figure below

In "Scene 1" of your Main Movie

Drag your cursorNew_mc movieclip symbol from library onto your stage.
If Library window is not open, Press (Ctrl+L).
Name this Symbol "cursornew" in the instance text box of your property window.
Select 1st Frame of your "Layer1". Go to Actionscript panel ( If your actionscript panel is not open, Press "F9")
With Frame1 of your layer 1 still being selected, type the below mentioned script in your action panel.

Mouse.hide()
startDrag(cursornew,true)

Guess what! You have finished with customizing your cursor :), Press Ctrl+Enter to view customized cursor.

Below is an example which would give you more ideas to customize your cursor

Example

Download the .fla file

Bouncing Effect in Flash

2009-12-08T18:29:00.000+05:30

In the demonstration, the bouncing heart animation is created using motion tween and the shadow effect using shape tween.

TO CREATE MOTION TWEEN

Steps to Follow :

Create a Symbol

First draw an object for Motion Tween.
Like in the above demonstration I used heart.
Select the object you have drawn and press F8 to convert this object to a Symbol.
In the Symbol window which appears now. Name this object heart_mc, choose Movie clip behavior and bottom center square for registration. Press OK.

Create a Motion Tween

Double click on the Layer and type "Heart".
Select Frame 30 and press F6 to insert a keyframe.
Select Frame 15 and press F6 to add another keyframe.
With the playhead still on Frame 15, hold the Shift key to move the heart_mc in a straight line, and drag the heart_mc up.
Select any frame between Frames 2 and 14 and select Motion from the tween pop-up menu in the Property inspector.
Select any frame between Frames 16 and 29 and select Motion from the tween pop-up menu in the Property inspector.
Press Ctrl+S to save your changes.

Create a Shape Tween

Insert a new Layer and call it "Shadow".
Select the first frame in the Shadow Layer, draw borderless shadow relevant to your Symbol.
If your Color Mixture Window is not open, press Shift+F9 to open it.
Select Eyedropper tool from your Tool box. Click it on your shadow. Now go to Color Mixture Window and type 25% for Alpha value.
Select Frame 30 and press F6 to insert a keyframe, then select Frame 15 and press F6 to insert a keyframe.
With the playhead on Frame 15, select the Free Transform tool. Slightly reduce the size of the Shadow.
With Frame 15 still selected, select the Eyedropper tool in the toolbar, and then click on your shadow object. Now go to Color Mixture Window and change Alpha value to 10%.
Select any frame between Frames 2 and 14 on the Shadow layer. In the Property inspector, select Shape from the Tween pop-up menu.
Select any frame between Frames 16 and 29 on the Shadow layer. In the Property inspector, select Shape from the Tween pop-up menu.

Now its time for Final touch up

Select Frame 1 of the Heart layer. Press F6 to add a keyframe. A new keyframe is added, and the playhead moves to Frame 2.
Go back to frame 1, select the Free Transform tool from your toolbox.
Select the transformation center point (the small circle near the center of the movie clip) and drag it to the bottom of the heart. On the Stage, drag the upper middle transform handle down to slightly compress the heart shape.
Right-click Frame 1 of the heart layer and select Copy Frames from the context menu. Go to 29th frame and press F8 to insert a new keyframe. Right-click 29th frame and choose Paste Frame from the context menu.
Click on the Stage, away from any objects. Type "28" in the Frame Rate text box of your Property inspector window.
On the heart layer, select any frame between Frames 2 and 14. Then in the Property inspector, in the Ease text box, type 100. Similarly select any frame between Frames 16 and 29 in the same layer, then go back to Property inspector window and type -100 in the Ease text box. Do the same thing to the Shadow layer.

Press Ctrl+Enter to view your animation.

Download the .fla file

Blur Effect in Flash 8.0

2009-12-08T18:27:00.000+05:30

Demonstration

Learn how to blur images in Flash 8.0 using the in-built blur filter. The download .fla is included at the end of the tutorial.
Please note:
1. You need to have Flash Player 8.0 installed to view the Flash animation.
2. You need Flash 8.0 to get the in-built blur filter

Steps to Follow :

Step 1: Import an image and create a movie clip

Open Flash 8.0. Select New/Flash Document.
Import the image you would like to blur by clicking on File/Import to Stage and select the image.
Select the image on the stage and choose Modify/Convert To Symbol. Name the symbol blur and choose Movie Clip as Type.

Step 2: Create the blur effect

Select the blur symbol on the stage.
In the Properties Inspector, choose the Filters tab
Click on the '+' icon and choose Blur.
Choose 100 for Blur X and Blur Y and Quality as Medium.

Step 3: Create the animation

In the timeline window right click on the 50th frame choose insert keyframe. Select the movie clip and change the blur filter X and Y values to 0 to remove the blur effect.
Select any frame between Frames 1 and 50 and select Motion from the tween pop-up menu in the Property inspector.
Press Ctrl+S to save your changes.

Press Ctrl+Enter to view your animation.

You can also blur only the X coordinates by removing the lock icon in the filters inspector and changing Blur X to 100 and Blur Y to 0. The effect can be seen below. You can try different blur effects by simply adjusting the blur X and blur Y values.

Demonstration for Blur X

Download the .fla file

Flash Ripple Effect

2009-12-08T18:25:00.000+05:30

Demonstration

This tutorial will teach you how to create a simple Ripple effect in Flash MX 2004. The .fla file also included at the end of the tutorial.
Please note:
1. You need to have Flash Player 7.0 installed to view the Flash animation.
2. Flash MX 2004 or higher must be installed in your system to download the .fla file.

STEPS TO FOLLOW

Create a Graphic Symbol.

Import an image to your work area upon which you would like to create ripple effect.
Press F8, to convert this image to a symbol.
Name this Symbol "girl_gr" and choose graphic behavior. Press OK.
Name this Layer "bg".
Select girl_gr and choose Alpha 99% from color list box in your property window.

Create a Movie clip.

Press Ctrl+F8, to create Ripple movie clip.
Name this symbol "ripple_mc" and choose Movie clip behavior. Press OK.
Drag girl_gr to your working area from Library (ctrl+L).
Select girl_gr and choose Alpha 0% from color list box in your property window.
Insert Keyframe (F6) into the 5th frame.
Remaining on the 5th frame, Select girl_gr and choose Alpha 99% from color list box in your property window.
Now select 1st frame, choose Motion Tween from Tween list box in your property window.
Insert Keyframe into 15th frame and later to 20th frame.
Remaining on the 20th frame, Select girl_gr and choose Alpha 0% from color list box in your property window.
Select 15th frame, choose Motion Tween from Tween list box in your property window.
Insert a new layer above this layer, call it "Layer 2".
Select frame 1 of Layer 2 and draw a borderless square or rectangle depending on the type of ripple effect you want.
In the above demonstration, I have used rectangle with 15 pix as its height.
Place this vector wherever you want the ripple to begin. Make sure that the vector belongs only to layer 2.
Insert Keyframe into the 20th frame of Layer 2.
Place the vector wherever you want the ripple to end or ebb.
In the above demonstration, I have placed it right at the bottom and reduced the height to 5 pix.
Select 1st frame, choose Shape Tween from Tween list box in your property window.
Right click on Layer 2 and select Mask.
Save (ctrl+S). Make it a habit to save your work after each step you do.

Insert Ripple Movie Clip onto Scene 1

Now go back to Scene 1.
Insert a new layer above bg layer and call it ripple1.
Insert new Keyframe (F6) into the 10th frame of ripple1 layer.
With 10th frame of ripple1 layer selected, Drag ripple_mc movie clip onto the working area. Place it appropriate to girl_gr. Make sure that this movie clip is placed exactly where you had placed your square or rectangular vector in ripple_mc Movie clip.
Insert frame (F5) into the 30th frame of ripple1 layer. This is just to make sure that the ripple _mc runs only for 20 frame.
Insert another new layer above ripple1 layer and call it ripple2
Insert Keyframe into the 20th frame of ripple2 layer.
With 20th frame of ripple2 layer selected, Drag ripple_mc movie clip onto the working area. Place it appropriate to girl_gr just the way you did in step 4.
Insert frame (F5) into the 40th frame of ripple1 layer. This is just to make sure that the ripple _mc runs only for 20 frame.
Insert frame (F5) into the 40th frame of bg layer.

Here you go!! Your movie is ready. Press Ctrl+Enter to view your movie. Wasn't it simple.

Okay now few things to Note - In the above demonstration I have created a subtle ripple effect. If you want the ripples to be more prominent, you can add few more layers of ripple_mc movie clip and reduce the Keyframe differences between layers. Like in the tutorial above, ripples appear every 10 frames. You can reduce this period and make it appear every 5 frames, which would make the ripple effect more prominent.

Download the .fla file

Photo Slideshow Gallery in Flash 8.0

2009-12-08T18:23:00.000+05:30

Learn how to create a Photo slideshow in Flash 8.0 using the in-built Flash Photo Slideshow template.
Please note:
1. You need to have Flash Player 8.0 installed to view the Flash animation.
2. You need Flash 8.0 to use the in-built Photo Slideshow template

Steps to Follow :

Step 1: Create and export your images

Each image should have a size of 640 x 480 pixels.
Export the images in a numbered sequence. For example, for three files, the names could be photo1.jpg, photo2.jpg, and photo3.jpg. We recommend .jpg format for photographs.

Step 2: Create the photo slideshow file and import the images

Open Flash 8.0. Click on File/New. Chose the Templates tab. Select Photo Slideshows. Click on OK. You will see a ready-made Flash photo slideshow created. Press Cntrl+Enter to view the file. Press the auto play button to view the slideshow.
To replace the images with your own, select the bottom layer called picture layer and click on the trash can icon to delete it.
Create a new layer by clicking the Insert Layer button, and name this new layer My Photos. Make sure that this new layer is the bottom layer.
Select the first blank keyframe in the My Photos layer, select File > Import > Import to Stage, and locate your photo sequence. Select the first image in the series, click Add, and click Import. Flash recognizes that your image is part of a series and asks you to import all files in the series. Click Yes to complete the import process. Flash places each image on separate keyframes. You can move the images so they are centered in the stage or you can choose the images on the stage and make the X and Y coordinates 0 so they are centered in the stage.
Your images appear in the Library panel and can be replaced later if needed by double clicking on the image in the library window and clicking on the import button to select the new image file.
You can safely delete the old images that were included in this document from the library if you wish, they are saved in the photos folder.
If you have more than four images, make sure that all the other layers have an equal number of frames. Select the frame and click on F5 to add new frames.
Change the captions for the images, by replacing the text in the Captions layer and adding new keyframes with text for the new images. You do not have to worry about the photo number field. The template automatically determines how many images are in your document and indicates which photo you are currently using.
Change the title in the Title, Date layer.

Press Ctrl+Enter to view the completed Flash Photo Slidshow. Congratulations! You have successfully created a Flash photo slideshow in a few simple steps using the in-built Flash 8.0 Photo slideshow template.

The Photo Slideshow template also has a built-in autoplay mode that automatically changes the photo after a set delay. The template is set to a default delay time of 4 seconds, but you can change this setting easily.

Steps to adjust the delay:

Unlock the _controller layer.
Select the controller component.
Display the Parameters tab in the Component inspector by selecting Window > Component Inspector. The Parameters tab is selected by default.
Select the delay and change this value to a new delay value in seconds.
Save and publish your document.

2009-12-08T18:18:00.002+05:30

Masking is revealing portion of your picture or graphic in the layer below.

While surfing through net you might have come across lots of beautiful Flash effects such as ripple effict , some wording with sky background or glitter bordering an object, and wondered "How? What is the logic behind this". The answer for all this is masking.

This tutorial will teach you the basics of masking in Flash MX 2004. The download .fla file is also included at the end of the tutorial.

Please note:
1. You need to have Flash Player 7.0 installed to view the Flash animation.
2. Flash MX 2004 must be installed in your system to download and view the .fla file.

Okay! if you are ready, just follow the steps given below.

STEPS TO FOLLOW

Inserting Layers and Naming them

By default you will have a layer in your timeline window. Insert one more layer, totally you need two layers to mask an object.
Rename the top layer to "Mask" and the layer below that to "background".

Creating Shape Tween

Import your picture to the "background" layer.
Using Oval tool from your tool box, draw a circle in your "Mask" layer and delete it's border.
Drag the circle to one end of your picture.
Now go to"frame 40" of your "Mask" layer and press "F6" to insert a new keyframe.
Now go to "frame 40" of your "background" layer and press "F5" to insert frames, so that your background image is available all through your mask.
Select "frame 40" of your "Mask" layer, that is your new keyframe, Keeping the playhead on "frame 40" of "Mask" layer, drag the circle to other end of your picture.
Now go back to "frame 1" of your "Mask" layer, keeping the playhead on "frame 1" of your "Mask" layer, select Shape tween in your properties window.

Masking

Right click on the "Mask" layer (the area where you named the layer not where the frames exist) and select Mask.

Your Mask is all ready. Press Ctrl+Enter to view your Mask.

Below is an example to give you more ideas on Masking.

Example

Download the .fla file

Working with Layers in Flash

2009-12-08T17:52:00.000+05:30

Demonstration

This tutorial will teach you how to work on layers using Flash MX 2004.

Please note:
1. You need to have Flash Player 7.0 installed to view the Flash animation.
2. Flash MX 2004 must be installed in your system to download the .fla file.

Steps to follow:

Open a new flash file (Ctrl+N).
New Document window will appear
Select General panel and choose Type: Flash Document . Press OK.
If your timeline window is not open, press (Ctrl+Alt+T).
Now you can see a single Layer called "Layer1" in your timeline Window.
Create a Shape Tween on Layer1. Similar to the one in Shape Tween Tutorial.
Single click on add new layer button.
A new layer gets added. By default it will be named "Layer 2".
Create a Motion Tween on Layer 2. Similar to the one in Motion Tween Tutorial. After creating two layers, your timeline will look something like the one shown below.
Now press (Ctrl+Enter) to view your motion tween.

2009-12-08T17:50:00.001+05:30

Shape Tween in Flash

Demonstration

Flash can create two types of tweened animation using timeline:

Motion Tween&
Shape Tween

Creation of Motion/Shape tween using timeline is the basics of Flash.

By tweening shapes, you can create an effect similar to morphing, making one shape appear to change into another shape over time. Flash can also tween the location, size, and color of shapes.

Please note:
1. You need to have Flash Player 7.0 installed to view the Flash animation.
2. Flash MX 2004 must be installed in your system to download the .fla file.

This tutorial will teach you a simple shape tween.

Steps to follow:

Open a new flash file (Ctrl+N).
New Document window will appear
Select General panel and choose Type: Flash Document . Press OK.
If your timeline window is not open, press (Ctrl+Alt+T).
Now you can see a single Layer called "Layer1" in your timeline Window.
Select the first frame. Now go to your working area and draw any object. To start off with, may be you can draw a circle.This is going to be your initial object.
In the above demonstration, my initial object is a short line.
Select frame 20 and press F6 to insert a new keyframe.
Still keeping playhead on frame 20, delete the object present in your working area. Now draw a different object, may be a square.
In the above demonstration, I have drawn a long line.
Select any frame between, 2 to 19 and select Shape from the tween pop-up menu in the Property inspector. Now your Layer will look something like the one shown below.
Now press (Ctrl+Enter) to view your motion tween.

In the above tutorial, you learnt how to create a simple shape tween. Believe me, using this logic you can create n number of beautiful things. Here is a simple example just to trigger your creativity.

Sparkling Glass Effect in Flash

2009-12-08T17:46:00.001+05:30

Sparkling Effect

This tutorial will teach you how to create a sparkling effect or twinkling star effect in Flash MX. This tutorial is for people who are comfortable with movie clips using Flash MX. You can try the Sparkling Effect on a diamond ring or on text also.
Please note:
1. You need to have Flash Player 7.0 installed to view the Flash animation.
2. Flash MX 2004 or higher must be installed on your system to open the .fla file.

STEPS TO FOLLOW

Import the Background Image
Open a new file. Go to File >New. Select Flash Document. Click OK.
Go to Modify > Document to give a file size of 180px by 400px. This is the same size as the Bitmap picture we have. Select the Bitmap pictures which you want to put as background and bring it to the Flash Library by clicking on Select File > Import to Library from the Menu Bar. Go to Window > Library, You can see the picture in the Library panel. Drag the picture named Bitmap to the Stage. Select the picture by clicking on it. This will be your first layer, name it background.

Now you have to create 7 movie clips. You have to have basic knowledge in FLASH MX to do this. As you know movie clips work independently, and you can use them whenever required.
Create a Rotating Star Movie Clip
Create a new layer. Name it sparkle.

Go to Insert > New Symbol. The 'Create New symbol' screen will appear. Name this movie clip ' star_mc'. Click OK. You will be directed inside the movie clip. Now select the PolyStar Tool. To select the Polystar tool , first go to the Rectangle tool and select it in the drop down menu as seen below.

Go to the Properties window. Go to Options. A screen called Tool Settings will appear.

Enter these values and click OK:
Style: Star
Number of sides: 4.
Star Point Size: 0.10.

Now draw the Star (without a stroke color). Make the star into a movie clip entitled star_mc. Now double click on it. On frame 1 you will see your star. Go to Properties>Tween. Select Motion from the drop down Menu. Name it as star_in_mc. Go to frame 10. Press F6 to insert a new keyframe. Select the star and go to Modify > Transform > Rotate CW. Repeat Modify>Transform>Rotate CW thrice. Your rotating Star movie Clip is ready. You will see it in the Library Window also. This movie clip star_mc will not be there in the sparkle layer but stored in the Library, we will use it later.
Create a movie clip with a small opaque circle that increases in size and becomes almost transparent.
Draw a circle with Oval Tool, choose the fill color as white and make it 2px by 2px. Select it. Go to Modify>Convert to Symbol from the Menu Bar. A dialog Box named Create New Symbol will appear. Give the name as shade_mc. Select Movie Clip. Click on OK. double click on it. You will be inside the Movie clip and in your first frame you will see the dot. Select it. Go to Modify>Convert to Symbol from the Menu Bar. A dialog Box named Create New Symbol will appear. Give the name as shade_in_mc. Go to Frame5. Press F6 to insert keyframe. Go to Properties>Tween. Select Motion from the drop down Menu. Go to Frame 10. Press F6 to insert keyframe. Now go to Frame 5. Select your movie clip. Increase the size to 14.3px by 14.3px. Go to Frame 1. Select the dot. Go to Properties. Select Color as Alpha in the drop down menu and give 100%. Go to Frame 5. Select the dot. Go to Properties. Select Color as Alpha in the drop down menu and give 10%. Go to Frame 10. Select the dot. Go to Properties. Select Color as Alpha in the drop down menu and give 5%. This movie clip shade_mc will not be there in the sparkle layer but stored in the Library, we will use it later.
Create another movie clip with a star which becomes smaller at a slower rate than our 1st star movie clip.
Go to Main Scene. Go to Insert > New Symbol. The Create New symbol screen will appear. We will name your first movie clip as star_mc. You will be directed inside the movie clip. Now go to PolyStar Tool. To go to polystar tool , first go to rectangle tool and select it in the drop down menu. Go to Properties window. Go to Options. A screen called Tool Settings will appear. Select Style, in the drop down menu as Star. Select Number of sides 4. Select Star Point Size as 0.10. Click on OK. Give color as white.
Now draw the Star. Give the size to 23px by 23px. Select the edge and delete them. Choose the star and make it a Movie Clip. Name it star_s_mc. Now double click on it. On frame 1 you will see your star. Go to frame 10. Press F6 to insert a new keyframe. Go to Properties>Tween. Select Motion from the drop down Menu. Go to Frame20. Press F6 to insert keyframe. Go to Properties>Tween. Select Motion from the drop down Menu. Now go to frame 10. Select your movie clip. Go to Properties. Give the size to 9px by 9px. This movie clip star_s_mc will not be there in the sparkle layer but stored in the Library, we will use it later.
Create the sparkle movie clip by combining the movie clips created above and place it where required.
You have already created 6 movie clips. Now we will create the last main movie clip. Go to Insert>New Symbol. The Create New symbol screen will appear. We will name your main movie clip as sparkle_mc. You will be directed inside the movie clip. Drag in here these 3 movie clips : star_mc, shade_mc , star_s_mc because when they are combined they will give the sparkle effect, and adjust them properly in the middle. Now go to your main scene. Go to layer sparkle. Drag the Main movie Clip sparkle_mc wherever you want the Sparkling Glass Effect to be seen. You can use it on a diamond ring, a golden jewelry or on sparkling text also.
Save your file as sparkle.fla. Press on Ctrl+Enter to see the Sparkling Glass Effect. This will create automatically sparkle.swf file.

Congratulations! Your Sparkling Glass Effect is ready.

Download the .fla file

Motion Guide in Flash

2009-12-08T17:43:00.001+05:30

What is Motion Guide?
Motion Guide is nothing but moving your symbol in a predefined path such as curves or circles. Learn how to move Flash objects in circular, zig zag or curved paths using Flash motion guide. Download .fla is included at the end of the tutorial.

This tutorial will explain on how to create motion guide in Flash MX 2004.

lease note:
1. You need to have Flash Player 7.0 installed to view the Flash animation.
2. Flash MX 2004 must be installed in your system to download the .fla file.

Steps to follow :

Create a graphic symbol or drag a pre-existing graphic symbol from library onto the stage. Name the layer as "graphic"
Right click on the "graphic" label and select "Add Motion Guide" from the pop-up window.
A new layer will appear on top of the "graphic" layer with the label "Guide:graphic" along with the guide icon.
Draw the path for your symbol in this new layer using pencil or line tool.
For example: I drew a circle for my car.
Select frame 50 of guide layer and press "F5" to insert frames.
Now go to "Frame 1" of "graphic" layer and drag your symbol to one end of your path. While dragging, you will see a bubble on the symbol. That bubble should go right below the path. Something like the one shown below.
Now go to "Frame 50" of "graphic" layer and press F6 to insert a new keyframe.
Now drag your symbol to other end of your path. Again, the bubble should go right below the path.
Select any frame between 1 to 50 of your "graphic" layer. Right click and select "motion tween" from the pop-up menu.

That's it, you are through. Press Ctrl+Enter to view your work.

Download the .fla file

Timeline Motion Tween in Flash

2009-12-08T17:27:00.002+05:30

Flash can create two types of tweened animation using timeline:

Motion Tween & Shape Tween.

Creation of Motion/Shape tween using timeline is the basics of Flash.

Motion tween is nothing but tweening a Symbol's movement from one position to another.
To implement Motion Tween all that you have to do is, provide Flash with Symbol's initial position and the end position. Rest is taken care by Flash. Isn't it really simple.

For example in the above demonstration, I have converted the pencil object to a Symbol. Provided Flash with its initial and the end position, intermediate tweening is done by Flash. Motion Tween animation is as simple as that :)
Okay, you ready to learn how to create motion tween. All you have to do is just follow this tutorial step by step.

Please note:
1. You need to have Flash Player 7.0 installed to view the Flash animation.
2. Flash MX 2004 must be installed in your system to download the .fla file.

Steps to follow:

Open a new flash file (Ctrl+N).
New Document window will appear
Select General panel and choose Type: Flash Document . Press OK.
If your timeline window is not open, press (Ctrl+Alt+T).
Now you can see a single Layer called "Layer1" in your timeline Window.
Select the first frame. Import your image onto stage, upon which you would want to implement motion tween.
File>Import>Import to Stage, or just press (Ctrl+R).
Or you can even draw your own object, you can either choose Rectangular tool or Oval tool from the tool box and draw your desired shape.
Now select your object on the stage and press F8 to convert this image to a Symbol. Convert to Symbol window will pop-up.
Name your Symbol what ever you like.
Select Graphic behavior and press OK.

Note: You can create motion tween only on symbols. So any object upon which you would want to implement motion tween, First convert the object to a Symbol.
Right now your Symbol is in frame1 of Layer1. Select frame 20 and press F6 to insert a new keyframe.
Still keeping playhead on frame 20, move your Symbol to any other position other than the present one.
Select any frame between, 2 to 19 and select Motion from the tween pop-up menu in the Property inspector. Now your Layer will look something like the one shown below.
Now press (Ctrl+Enter) to view your motion tween.

Growing Tree

2009-12-08T17:23:00.001+05:30

This tutorial needs you to understand basic use of 3dsmax.

In children bedtime story, there's a story about magic seed. Someone plant this magic seed and in seconds it will grow into giant tree. In this tutorial you will also create this growing tree effect using Particle Flow, amazing particle feature in 3dsmax.

1. First, you need to download 3dsmax exercise file here (34kb, zipped, 3dsmax 8 format). At first, you might think this file is empty. But actually it isn't. Scrub slider to watch the animation. You will notice there are 2 objects that growing bigger. One is 'maintree' dan the other is 'branch'. We will use these 2 objects to create a big tree. First object ('maintree') created using cylinder and then its vertices animated frame by frame to create growing effect. Second object ('branch') object will be used the same as its name, as branches. This second object created using extruded box and then animated by scaling down as small as possible in frame 0.

2. Before we begin, select 'branch' object. Notice where Pivot Point is located. If you want to create your own branch, just make sure its Pivot Point is located at the bottom. Actually you can use this effect to create many things, like growing tree or growing tentacles for example.

3. In Command Panel, click Create button. Change drop down list to Particle Systems and click PF Source button. Then, click and drag anywhere on viewport. Any size and location is okay. In image below, I created Particle Flow (PF) Source icon in Top viewport.

4. Next step, open Particle View window by pressing '6' in keyboard. We will change couple of Particle Flow parameters. First, select Birth 01 row in Event 01. On the right pane, change Emit Start=20, Emit Stop=60 and Amount=50. By changing these number, we are telling 3dsmax to create 50 particle from frame 20 to 60. You may use any amount you like, but 20-50 is more than enough. This amount represents how many branches will be created.

5. Now, we need to tell 3dsmax where to put branches (particles). Select and drag Position Object operator into Event 01. Place it exactly on top of Position Icon row to replace it. In Position Object rollout, click Add button and click 'maintree' object in viewport. Don't forget to activate Animated Shape so that branches will be created while tree is growing.

6. Still in Position Object 01 rollout, move rollout until you find Location. This is where exactly particles will be created. Change Location to Selected Vertices.

7. Minimize Particle View window for a moment. Select 'maintree' object. Click Modify tab in Command Panel. Activate Vertex selection. Then, in Front of Left viewport select vertices in upper part of object. You need to move slider before you can select vertices.

8. Back to Particle View window. Now, select Speed 01 row inside Event 01. We don't want any branches to move, right? Just delete this row or change Speed to 0.

9. Next step, we need to change particle's shape. From bottom pane, click and drag Shape Instance operator inside Event 01. Place it on top of Shape 01 row to replace it. In Shape Instance 01 rollout, click button under Particle Geometry Object, then click 'branch' object in viewport. After that, change few parameters like Scale Variation=30%, activate Animated Shape, and in Animation Offset Keying use Sync By: Particle Age. Scale Variation is used to make different size branches. Animated Shape, is used to make branches growing from small to big. Animation Offset Keying useful to make each branch have its own animation.

10. We can't see particles as branches yet. Select Display 01 row in Event 01. Change Display Type to Geometry and finally you can see branches. Scrub slider to watch animation.

11. Just before this step, we used Random 3D as branches rotation. As you can see, some branches growing approaching to the ground. In physics, we knew that branch is always look for the sun (go up). We will fix that. Select Rotation 01 row inside Event 01. Change Orientation Matrix to Random Horizontal and use Divergence=90. Now, branches rotation will be much better. If you don't like branches rotation, click New button in Uniqueness. Click until you find desired branches rotation.

12. Finally this tutorial is finished. Scrub slider or press Play to watch your growing tree animation. Image below shows an example of this animation.

Making of Medkova

2009-12-08T17:07:00.002+05:30

Some time ago several friends of mine who are enthusiasts of CGI kept asking me why I didn't try modelling a realistic cg human being.

Although I really like stylised yet complex characters, such as characters from Final Fantasy games or Blizzard Entertainment and Blur Studios cinematic characters, which was the kind of style I've been aiming o achieve in the majority of my cgworks(with of course, a personal touch to them) realism isn't quite something that hadn't occurred to me as well.

I'm really happy with the results I got, and very proud of the reception this image has been receiving, even to be included on Ballistic's Publishing Exotique 4. It makes me want to produce more realistic characters. Still, there's a lot of more fantasy like images that I also need to create. But I'll return to realism again eventually.

Some people argue that realism is more difficult to achieve than a stylised look.

In my opinion, be it either realistic or stylised or even anime or more towards the Pixar look, all these styles are difficult to achieve when you're aiming to achieve them with a degree of high quality. It's one of the good things about Cg I believe, there is quite a lot of different styles one might try, or even who knows, create a new one unseen. It's very exciting from an artist viewpoint.

.When this idea of a realistic character came up, I decided that I should include this realistic model in demoreel, thus it is why I'm spending more time on her than other artists would do if they were doing the model just for a still image.

I need to make sure all edge loops are good, all mesh objects are made of quad polygons, and that they would deform well when rigged for animation. For the face, loops that would enable facial animation, and for the body, the joints. For the cloth, either modelled wrinkles or a mesh that is prepared for cloth simulation. Finally the hair, which has to be prepared for hair dynamics as well. In resume, it means this model, will not only look like this on the still image, but also in all kinds of situations(with a big hopefully in the middle lines ^_^), camera angles and lighting rigs.

With all this in mind, I had to find a person to model after. Klara Medkova, the Czech supermodel came naturally as there were so many good pictures of her available.

I bought the Dvd from Ballistic/3d.sk Ultimate Klara medkova dvd to get those good references, and I was ready to start.

Some of my medkova's reference

Note: keeping a Stash of high-res photos to use for reference or for texturing purposes is absolutely mandatory. And make sure you keep a backup of it!

Reference plays a huge role in my work, specially if it is a photorealistic one. Anatomy books are great to learn from, but sometimes, reality kind of doesn't match what it is in the books, so I try to always check both for reference. Better having more than few right?

So I've began modeling her, starting with the head. The head is the most important part of the human model, so if it doesn't look good, even if the rest is good, it will always make the rest look weird or inaccurate. Although the opposite is also true, a great looking head will not save a poorly built body. But the head is where you should spent most time on, because in the daily life, the head is the area of the human being with whom every person spends the most time with. It's how you recognize persons from one another(unless they are twins).

Also it is from the faces that you can tell if a person is sad or happy , unless they are faking emotions(not to mention body language, but that's kinda off topic right now).

Now which area of the head is the most important? Well, all parts are, but the eyes are particularly important.

In Japan, anime characters are made of very simplified facial shapes, but the eyes have a lot more detail than the rest, since the eyes contain a lot of emotion. Like someone said, the eyes are the window of the soul. Davy Jones from Pirates of the Caribbean is an awesome model, with all those ragged clothes, tentacle beard and the sss on his wet skin, but his eyes, they're his soul. Every realistic character needs realistic expressive eyes, or, the model will be dead.

Thence it's only natural that one spends sometime on the eyes of his/her character. This is not only applicable to humans, but to monsters and robots likewise(for example, Michael Bay on Transformers wanted Optimus Prime to have eyes that could depict emotion)..

However, the way I built my eyes isn't complex at all. The process is quite simple actually. It's not necessarily the best way to do things, but I find that it works pretty well for me.

Here's how I do it:

A create a sphere, set the polygon count to a lower number(it's going to have turbo smooth afterwards anyway). Name the sphere "Eye". Now duplicate it on the same position and scale it up for about 5% Name this "Cornea". Ok, so now we got two objects, a cornea mesh, and an eye mesh. Select the eye mesh, convert it to Editable poly, select soft selection with a bit of radius, and now pick the center vert of the eye, where the center of the pupil would be. Now push it back. It will create a concave area, the like a real eye has. Chamfer the center vert to make a more flat look on that area.

From Sphere to eye

Now select the cornea mesh, and do the exact same thing, except than at the last stage , instead of pushing backward, pull forward. Now you have the eye completely modeled. Pretty simple heh? I find that some times, the simplest things are the ones who look better. In the past I've made eyes with several parts, but I found that I never got great results with it, not to mention that it was quite troublesome.

From sphere to Cornea.

What you could do afterwards is attach the 2 meshes, and apply different material id's to each other. That would help simplify the rigging process later on. You might be thinking that with only this shapes, you wont be able to make the pupil contraction or dilatation animation, but it isn't quite so. If you want to keep pushing it further, you just need to make some morpher modifiers for that kind of shapes, or even use scale modifier on just that area, and write some scripts to get control of it, or even use reaction manager.

So now we have the eyes, but what about the head? For the time being, we'll call it a day as far as the eyes go, we'll save them for later. When we have our base structure of the head we will merge them in and position them into place. This way you can also use this eyes for later characters too.

Now for the head, I usually load up my references into regular planes with 1x1 segments(why 1x1? Because I use F4 to display edges a lot, and this way the planes won't show they're edges which are distracting.) . Also make sure you set the planes to be 100% self illuminated on the material editor.

You will have a lot of stuff going on the scene, we don't need any more edges to confuse us even more.

With this in mind, create a small plane on anywhere on the model's frontal part of the face and extrude your way out. Edit poly modeling is the way I prefer to do it. Don't just model using one viewport, keep an eye on both at all times. If you like modelling on a single view like I do, you will find yourself switching from one view to another very regularly.

The way I do this, is to set the Orbit mode to Orbit SubObject. This way when I have the head mesh selected, I'll rotate only around it.

This is the way I like it!

Also to take note, I try to make the mesh be all quads, and keep those quads shape and size even. There are no big tricks on modeling the head. Just keep going, until you have the frontal part done.

Remember the eyes? It's now time to bring them over into those sockets. They will help us define volume. Keep going around the head, and leave a hole where the ears will be. We will build them on a different mesh and then attach them together.

The process I use to model the ears is exactly the same. starting with a single polygon and extruding my way out. Count the number of edges you got on the outer border. Does it match with the ones on the head's hole? You have to make them match the best possible, since we're attaching it to the head. If it doesn't match, we are going to have some triangles, which is not good, but if it's not avoidable, at least try to make them be on non deformable places of the head, which luckily will be where we will attach them to the head. Personally, this is the step I find most difficult. Trying to keep everything on this stage is really hard, since we have a very high density mesh such as the ears, with very complex details, and then we'll have to attach it to the head which is a lot more simpler.

With a few more steps and refinement we get the head completed. If it's not perfect in terms of shape, we can always go back and change its proportions. But if you have to add more geometry, to it so now, because after uv mapping it, it will become a lot harder to correct such issues.

For Uv mapping, heads are generally quite easy, unless you have pointy ears like elf's. Those cases are more complicated to Uv. But for this head, normally a cylindrical mapping will do the trick. Relax the zones you need, or like I sometimes do, move uv's by hand until everything has its own uv space with no overlapping. The ears uv it's normally the most difficult since there's so much geometry in there(in elfs/goblins even more overlapping). Sometimes it is not a bad idea to UV the ears separately. For the eyes, frontal planar mapping usually will do the trick.

Cylindrical Mapping for the head, is usually a good way to start, then work your way out of it, improving those uv's. The ears are usually the hardest part, sometimes it is a good idea to detach them away from the head uvs.

Some years ago I thought texturing was less important than modeling, but it isn't so. Both are really important. One thing that makes a model work is the quality of it's textures, therefore, you need good uv's to be able to make good textures. I painted some big maps for her since I wanted to make a big render. Her facial map is 4096x4096. There's also specular map and bump map etc. Her eyes are 2048x2048.

As I textured her, I tried to pay close attention to my references, to get spots age marks and scars on the same places she has on real life.

Now the materials. I've used Fast-SSS for the head, and the eyes. The cornea took a raytrace material(fully transparent). I've had to tweak the settings until I got the look I wanted. A common problem I see with some people cg models is that they like to make things exaggerated, until they can see some features very clearly. For example I see models using a lot of specular, others exaggerate on the sss, other even use a lot of ambient occlusion on their models. I believe the key is subtlety. You wont have much specularity on a face unless it's wet or greasy, and since most my cg renders don't portray characters with oil notion on their faces as if they are on the beach .

I tend to keep this value fairly low. SSS won't be much seen unless you have a strong rim light penetrating the skin, so if its a day shot, you won't see much of it either.

For the lighting, I used mental ray's daylight system. I never had used it before and I was quite impressed.

Testing the lights on gray shaded model, to see the light direction and how shadows behave.

After that came the hair. I've used built in Hair&Fur. I started making some tests on a simple ball(on a different scene) tweaking the hair until I got the look I wanted on the hair strands. I wanted her hair to be spiky on the tips, just like her hair is in real life.

Then on the actual Medkova scene file, I used the same settings on the hair that I built for her. Her hair was modeled with several layers; each layer was carefully brushed and styled to look like her real hair (the long version), and I created a different hairstyle from her own, yet still one that would look good on her if she had such a haircut.

The hair settings

So after the hair is done, the last thing I needed to do was to composite everything together.

I've rendered both elements (hair and head) on different renders and brought them together for the final image. I've rendered the hair and the hair’s shadows in scanline, using a different lighting setup to what I had used for the model of the head, but which still resembled the daylight system I had on Mental Ray.

I like to render hair separately from the head, because I like the hair i render on Scanline better than the one in mentalray(for the time being at least)

The hair colour wasn't very good so I had to give it some colour correction in Photoshop. For the final image, I wanted to portray a cold stare expression from her. It's subtle so it's not very direct in my opinion. Like I've mentioned previously, I believe subtlety is key to realism.

The final Image

Thank you for your time and I hope you have enjoyed it.

Butter Scotch (logo) Text Effect

2009-11-25T19:14:00.000+05:30

Sorry, but yet another text effect tutorial! I just can’t seem to think of any other ideas lately, feel free to leave a message in the comments if you have any ideas! Anyway, in this nice ‘n’ simple tutorial I’m going to be showing you how to make a “Butter Scotch” text effect Like the one shown in the image below:

1. Getting Started – Canvas/Background

Now, firstly, you’ll have to create a new document in which you can make this text. For this tutorial I’m simply going to be using a small size of 400 x 180 pixels with the default resolution (DPI) of 72. But if you were making this for print, you’d want to use at least a few inches in size and at least 300 DPI/Resolution.

After creating your document, add in a suitable background. I used a background gradient of #ffa714 and #e77302, then added in a few shapes with the same colors and lowered the opacities of the layers. I ended up with this for my background:

I finished the background off by applying Filter > Render > Lighting Effects using the Omni Light Type and I also applied Filter > Noise > Add Noise with an Amount of about 2.0.

Reminds me of honey, yum!

2. Write out your Text

Alright, time to write out your text. I’ll just be using the font called Georgia for this tutorial, which is quite a nice font that comes with Windows.

I bet you want to know what settings I used for the text above, don’t you? For the word “Butter” I used the following settings: Georgia, 48 pt, Bold, #ffffff, -60 tracking, All Caps. And for “Scotch” I used: Georgia, 60 pt, Bold, #9c4907, -40 tracking, All Caps. If you don’t know what some of those settings are, you can view the settings below.

3. Giving Effect to Your Text (Layer Styles)

Now it’s time to give your text some life by adding layer styles. To add a layer style, right-click the layer in the layer’s palette and go to the Blending Options. To the white text I only added just two layer styles, which where:

Now your text should look pretty much like this:

I then added these layer styles to my “Scotch” text layer:

Now you should have a nice and shiny look like this:

Mmm shiny

4. Adding Perspective to Text

To give the text more feel or whatever, you might want to add some cool perspective to the text. I’m not sure what version of Photoshop you need to for this feature to be enabled, but it’s called ‘Create Warped Text’.

Click the warp text tool and change your text to your liking! I used the settings shown below for both of my sets of text:

If your text doesn’t line up properly, you may want to rotate one of the sets of text so it lines up correctly. Now you should have something like this:

You might want to experiment with different filters and layer styles and all that to get some unique outcomes, you just have to get creative! Well, that’s just about it for this tutorial… I hope I didn’t miss anything out!

If you need to, you can download the PSD file from this tutorial from here:

(370kb)

Thanks for reading everyone! I hope you enjoyed this simple tutorial

Pseudo Surround Styled Effect

2009-11-25T19:08:00.000+05:30

In this tutorial, I’ll tell you how to create a pseudo surround effect using just Photoshop tools.

Ok, lets’ go! Start with creating new document 500×500 pixels. Fill the background with a linear gradient using the color #2d120b and #532803.

After that I would like to add some pattern to the background to make the text effect more evident. Get out the Rectangle Tool and create white line as on my picture you can see below.

Use Ctrl+T to rotate this line. Hold the Shift button to rotate the line exactly 45 degrees.

After that duplicate this layer more times and move left and right to create the same grid as on my screenshot.

Then mess with the layer mode & opacity/fill. I tried Overlay with opacity of 25%.

Duplicate this layer with Ctrl+J and flip horizontal with Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal.

Now, start with creating pseudo surround effect. Get out the Custom Shape Tool and find some appropriate shape from the palette:

You can download this shape from here if you don’t have it. Use the color #998900.

After that rasterize shape with Layer > Rasterize > Shape and set fill opacity up to 40%. Then apply Inner Shadow, Outer Glow, Inner Glow, Bevel and Emboss, and Stroke layer styles to this layer:

Ok, select the Burn Tool (Brush: 200 px, Range: Shadows, Exposure: 50%) and make a little burn work in the bottom of the shape.

Looks better then before, isn’t it? Next up is the shine effect. Use Select > Load Selection to select the shape and then apply Select > Modify > Contract to reduce selected area about 2 pixels.

Ok, now I would like to cut away unnecessary part of selection. For this use Elliptical Marquee Tool, hold Alt+Shift and cut away the part of selection.

Then fill selected area with white to transparent gradient on the new layer.

Remove selection with Ctrl+D and change opacity to 50% for this layer.

Add more glares to other parts of shape in the same way.

Move to the last step of the tutorial. Move under the shape layer and let’s add some text to demonstrate our effect more. Get out the Horizontal Type Tool and write out something like ‘Splatter World’ using color of #d2af72. The font that I’ll just be using for this tutorial called BellCent BdList BT.

I’m sorry but this tutorial is done! Feel free to experiment and you will get the best results!

Photoshop Star Cute Text Effect

2009-11-25T19:05:00.001+05:30

Are you hungry for new text effect tutorials fro Photoshop? I have one more interesting cute text effect for you!

In the beginning create a new document sized 300×500 pixels and fill it with color #1a142c.

After that create a new layer, get out the Elliptical Marquee Tool to create the selection as on my picture below and fill it with another color #6d56b2.

Remove selection with Ctrl+D and apply Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur with following settings:

Change layer opacity to 70% for current layer.

Ok, we are done with background and now let’s start creating text effect! Select the Horizontal Type Tool and write out the letter ‘p’ with KabelBd font and any color.

After that apply next Blending Options to the current text layer:
• Drop Shadow
• Outer Glow
• Gradient Overlay
• Stroke

And you can see the result on the picture below.

After that right-click on the layer on layer thumbnails palette and select Copy Layer Style menu.

Move under the layer with letter ‘p’ and write out another letter ‘h.’

Then right-click on the layer on layer thumbnails palette and select Paste Layer Style menu.

The result should be next:

Add a couple of more letters in the same way.

Ok, looks good, isn’t it? To finish off the tutorial I would like to add some shapes to the background. Now, use the Custom Shape Tool and select the star shape as on the picture below from standard shapes gallery.

Add this shape to the background.

After that set up fill opacity to 0% and apply the Stroke layer style to the current layer:

Your picture should look as mine:

Add more stars in the same way.

Alright, now, hopefully your text looks something like this:

Transparent Glass Musical Shapes

2009-11-25T19:02:00.001+05:30

This tutorial about how to create unusual transparent glass effect which you can use in your designs.

Create a new document about 500 pixels width and 500 pixels high and fill it with any color, it doesn’t meter for now.

Then apply Gradient Overlay layer style for this layer:

After that I would like to add the picture of microphone which can radiate musical notes. You can find suitable stock photo or use mine. Open up the picture and use Polygonal Lasso Tool to separate microphone from the background.

Press Ctrl+C to copy selected area, then go back to the main canvas and use Ctrl+V to bring copied part of image to here. Move it left and down.

Ok, now apply Color Overlay Blending Option to this layer.

See the result below:

Ok, continue our tutorial next. After that select the Custom Shape Tool and draw the next shape what you can see on my screenshot below. This is one of the standard Photoshop custom shapes.

Use white color for shape. Then press Ctrl+T to rotate it a little bit.

Ok, after that apply following layer styles to this layer:
• Drop Shadow
• Inner Shadow
• Outer Glow
• Inner Glow
• Bevel and Emboss
• Contour
• Satin
• Gradient Overlay
• Stroke

And the result should be next:

Then select the shape contour with Select > Load Selection, after that create a new layer above and fill selected area with white to transparent gradient.

Remove selection with Ctrl+D and change layer mode to Overlay.

We are almost done with this effect. Add a little bit more shapes to the background.

Looks good, don’t you think? And there you have the finished product:

2009-11-19T18:21:00.005+05:30

Hello guys I will show how create a 3dsmax 3d house model tutorial.
I have used following techniques shown below in this 3ds max tutorial.

[1]-Click on the box button and create box with the following size
Place like me

[2]-Convert the box into the editable poly now select the vertexes and drag the object like this

[3]-Create two more boxes and set like this

[4]-Similary create one more hut and place like this

[5]-Create more boxes and place like this

[6]-Select the polygons and apply the extrude polygons with the amount of -3.0

[7]-Create boxes and place like this

[8]-Similary create more windows like me

[9]-Create door with the help of boxes

[10]-Select the box of hut and convert into the editable poly
Now select the edges and apply the extrude edges with good following amount as shown below

[11]-Your object should like this

[12]-Now finally your object should like this

[13]-This is my material palette

[14]-Set the skylight like this with the following parameter

Model, Sculpt and Texture a Demon-like Monster in 3ds Max and ZBrush

2009-11-19T18:20:00.000+05:30

Final Effect Preview

Step 1

First of all, open your base mesh in 3ds Max and go to the "Unwrap UVW" -> "Edit" window, and open the "Tools" menu. Click "Render UVW Template", and set both the width and height to 2048. Click "Render UV Template", and save the image as a .png file.

Step 2

You need rough base for your texturing, and the method I recommend is a very easy one . Just put some lights in your scene with or without GI, and give a simple skin color to the character. Render it using "Render to Texture ", by clicking the "Rendering" tab.

Step 3

Bake the texture and save it as a base for the texturing process. Select the character mesh, and click "Add" in "Output" drop down menu. Select "Complete Map", and "Diffuse Color" for the "Target Map Slot". Use the same width and height as you did before, in this case it's 2048. Click "Render"...and wait for a while:)

Step 4

Save the baked textures out. Open Photoshop, and load both the UV template and baked textures.

Step 5

Drag and drop the UV template into the baked render window, and place it in the right position. Make sure it is the top layer by pressing "F7" to open up the "Layers" window.

Step 6

Find a good skin texture for your character, create a new layer, and drag the skin texture onto it.

Step 7

Tile the skin texture using "alt" + drag. Select all of the tiles in the "Layers" window, and merge them by using "ctrl" + "e". Set the layer to "Linear Light" at 60%.

Step 8

Turn the skin layer off for now. Create a new layer, and start adding some details. You can use real photos for a more realistic look and feel. Don't forget to erase any dark areas of your baked texture to make it like the image below.

Step 9

Add details to the face, using the "Burn" and "Dodge" tools.

Step 10

Add some stomach muscles using the "Burn" tool. Refine the face by painting in the small details. Use the "Burn" tool on the knees as well.

Step 11

Create a new layer. Use the "Polygonal Lasso" tool, and select the area all around the feet and fingernails. Fill them with a dark yellow color. Add details to them by using the "Burn" and "Dodge" tools.

Step 12

Try to add the finer detail around the eyes and neck by using the "Burn" tool.

Step 14

Please note that it's very important to use the same color and texture along the UV seams. For example, you need to use or create the same color as seam A on seam B. This will result in the texture of the character appearing seamless.

Step 15

Click "Filters" -> "Sharpen" -> "Unsharp Mask". With this filter we can sharpen our texture layers, and have sharp edges on the details and skin.

Step 16

Turn on your skin layers now, and apply "Unsharp Mask" again. You can play with the opacity of its layer, as well as "Brightness and Contrast" in the "Image" -> "Adjustments" menu.

Step 17

If you modeled the eyes for your character, and they are already in your UV template, it's time to paint the eye texture. For this particular character, I have created some strange alien eyes.

Step 18

Click on "Image" -> "Adjustments" -> "Hue/Saturation. Change the settings as shown below. You can use this feature to change the skin color. Before you do this, make sure you have selected the main baked texture layer.

Step 18

Turn your UV template layer on, select the horn polygon areas, create a new layer, and paint in the specific yellow color displayed below. When you're finished, drag and drop your horn color layer underneath the skin layer.

Step 19

Burn around the seam areas of the neck and head.

Step 20

Merge all layers by pressing "ctrl" + "alt" + "e". Use the "Burn" tool with a different brush size to add the final details, and darker areas. Save your texture, and apply it to your character in 3ds Max. Make sure you have an un-collapsed version saved for future changes.

Finished Product

Model a Stylish Eames Lounge Chair In 3ds Max

2009-11-19T17:56:00.001+05:30

Gathering Reference

The first thing we need to do is find reference photos, blueprints and drawings. I usually create a collage for this kind of modeling job, so I don’t have to look through dozens of images.

I generally model these kind of models by eye, although I would suggest using the right dimensions on models you will be handing to other people, or placing in scenes. Another tip is to get one detail to exact scale or size and then model everything else in proportion to that. This will help you achieve relatively precise results in less time.

Creating the Upper Backrest

Let's begin with the upper backrest. Create a box and subdivide it. Then create a plane that is a bit bigger, and set it behind the box. It will be the wooden shell for the backrest.

Step 1

Select the plane and subdivide it. To add these edge loops, select edges which will be crossed by the edge loop.

Step 2

Click Connect to add an edge loop. I will use this very frequently so whenever I mention 'Add an edge loop' you should refer to this explanation.

Step 3

Move forward the end vertices and scale them down slightly.

Step 4

Use the Chamfer tool to split the corner edges as shown.

Step 5

Add an edge loop vertically.

Step 6

Delete the right half. We will be using the symmetry modifier to get the other half in place.

Step 7

On top of the symmetry modifier add a shell and a turbosmooth modifier with these settings. This is just a way of optimizing the workflow, and a good habit to get into. If you want, you could also get rid of one half vertically and use another symmetry modifier, so you would need to work on just one corner. However, later on we will be getting rid of these symmetry modifiers and giving each detail a bit different look.

Below the first image you can see the result, but these settings may change as you go along. For example this wooden shell may be too thick or too thin and so on.

Step 8

Now we will be modeling the cushion and we will use the box we created earlier. Select the right half of the box and delete it, then copy the turbosmooth and symmetry modifiers from the wooden shell. You may need to adjust the symmetry or maybe flip it. From the top view adjust the vertices accordingly.

Step 9

Continue to add edge loops and adjust vertices.

Step 10

Select the polygons on the back of the cushion and hit 'Inset'. This is to add more definition so it looks like it’s attached to the wooden back. Move vertices and polys accordingly.

Step 11

Create a sphere and use the scale tool to squash it to create the button. We will use the button to adjust the cushion model itself, so place these two accordingly and sink them into the cushion model.

Step 12

Select the vertex in the middle of the cushion and chamfer it, so you get these four vertices.

Step 13

Using the Inset tool, inset the polygon we just created and push it inwards. You could also use the Bevel or Extrude tool to similar effect.

Step 14

Using the Cut tool create edges as shown. It is very important to keep all these polygons four edged as they divide the best and the smoothing is predictable and doesn’t have any glitches.

Step 15

Add two more edge loops in between the middle ones to add detail for the creases and folds. Add one edge loop vertically to the right and left of the indentation for the button.

Step 16

Add two more edge loops, but now a bit closer to the center. Adjust them somewhat randomly to give direction for these folds.

Step 17

Round out the overall shape to give it a smoother look.

Step 18

Raise some of the edges to create a cloth-like effect.

Step 19

To create additional cloth folds, create an edge loop and extrude it. Collapse the ends of the new polys.

Step 20

Repeat these steps several more times across the button hole to add more creases. The results are shown below.

Step 21

Next, we will be adding sewn lines around the cushion that hold it to the wooden base. To do this, add an edge loop on the side. Then, using Edge constraints in the Edit Geometry rollout, move the new edge loop closer to the sewing line. This is a very useful tool, and I use it daily as it helps to move vertices along already made edges.

Step 22

Select edges using Select Ring. Hold Cntrl and click on the Polygon Subobject mode. This will select all polygons adjacent to the selected edges. This is another useful technique I use very frequently. Using the Extrude tool, extrude these polygons inwards, but don't close the Extrude dialog box. Hit Apply and then extrude it outwards. This will create nice curvature and definition in that area.

Step 23

Select the edge loop as shown below and use the Chamfer tool to chamfer it slightly. This will add a more defined edge so that it looks sewed on to the base.

Step 24

To finish the main modeling of the cushion, adjust the extruded areas until they look good.

Creating The Lower Backrest

Step 25

Holding down the Shift key, move both the wooden base and the cushion downwards. This will create a copy of these objects. There is no need to model everything from scratch as the chair has many parts that are similar to each other.

Step 26

Select the new wooden base object and add another loop in the middle, then move this down a bit. Select the lowest outer edge, and holding the Shift key move it outwards. This is how it should look.

Step 27

Move the outer edge up a bit. Add two new edge loops crossing each other, like this.

Step 28

Move the new vertices until it looks like the image below. In the screenshot I have Shell modifier enabled, so that's why it has that thickness. The second image is how it looks smoothed with Turbosmooth.

Step 29

After these modifications I noticed that the cushion weren't quite sitting in right. I pushed them out according to the wooden base lines like this. Also, make sure to check the back view as in my model some vertices were sticking out.

Creating The Seat

Step 30

Then again copy second cushion and rotate it 90 degrees.

Step 31

Select the wooden base, go to Edge Subobject mode and again using Shift key extrude left side edges. Then select the middle edge loop and chamfer it. After that add an edge loop between these two new edges. You could also use Extrude tool with height value set to 0.

Step 32

Then add another edge loop where I have shown and adjust vertices accordingly.

Step 33

Delete the cushion if you have copied it from the second backseat, as its shape has been changed to flow along the second wooden base and that won't work for this part. It's easier to adjust the first cushion as it has a very generic shape. Place it in the middle of the base.

Step 34

Using the Scale tool, scale it according to the shape of the base. After that, move the outer vertices closer to the edge of the wooden base. I would suggest turning Turbosmooth on from time to time, just to see how it is smoothing and to see if there are any glitches.

Step 35

Now select the top vertices on the cushion and lift them up to even the surface out. This is to give it more of a volume as before it was too flat.

Step 36

Select vertices along one of the sides and push them in to round-out the shape. Do the same for the other side.

Step 37

If you look from the top view you will see that the wrinkles are squashed because of the scaling we did. To correct this select all of the middle vertices and some around it and scale it to the sides until it looks as shown.

Step 38

As the size of the model has increased but the amount of detail is still the same, add a few edge loops.

Step 39

Select the base of the seat and add another edge loop. Push it outwards to round it out. I did this because I noticed that the seat and the leg rest both have rounder shapes to hold the cushion in.

Step 40

Adjust the part that touches the extruded base. You need to push them according to the form of the base, so that it looks like there is pressure for the cushion to stay in place.

Step 41

Unhide all other parts. We need to group them for easier scene management, and we also need to name them. I named the second back seat 'lower back seat', for example. It's up to you how to name you objects as long as it makes sense to you.

Step 42

After that I adjusted the Pivot point of the lowest back seat. This is for easier rotation and placement of these objects. After placing these objects correctly, it should look as shown.

Step 43

At this point I noticed that the lowest back seat wasn't matching the photos. To correct this, I selected vertices that didn't match and moved them to the right place. This is what I got.

Step 44

Group all of these objects and name the group (I called it 'Whole_seat'). Rotate it so that is in the same position as the photo references.

Creating The Chair Leg

Step 45

Next we will create the main leg for the chair. Start by creating a plane and then adding one edge loop vertically and two horizontally. After that you will need to adjust them to shape, as shown.

Step 46

As the main leg has a five star shape, create a cylinder with five sides and placed it next to the plane we just created. This will be useful when copying the leg four more times.

Step 47

Copy the Shell and Turbosmooth modifiers from previous models to the plane and adjust them (I made the thickness amount smaller). Select its Pivot and use Alt + A (Align tool) to align to the cylinder. This is so you can easily copy and rotate it.

Step 48

To copy it four more times you need to copy it by 72 degrees, and you need to do it precisely. Right-click on the Angle Snap button and make the Angle value 2. This will angle snap it by every 2 degrees. Rotate it by 72 degrees while holding Shift, and in the Copy dialog box enter 4 copies. After that, combine all these copies into one object using the Attach command. Be sure not to attach other objects if they have Shell and Turbosmooth on top of them. If so, delete these modifiers first. If you attach them with modifiers on them, they will be collapsed and attached and will have another pair of Shell and Turbosmooth multipliers on them. They will have double the amount of shell and smoothing on them.

Step 49

Select 5 vertices as illustrated and click Collapse.

Step 50

Raise the center vertices up to mimic the photo reference.

Step 51

Create a cylinder at the edge of one of these legs. Try to eyeball its length according to the photos and scale the vertices at the bottom of it to achieve the result below.

Step 52

Create another cylinder or copy the existing one underneath the one you just created. Use extrude and inset to achieve this result.

Step 53

Attach these two objects together, and then align its pivot point to the center of the base that will hold them together.

Step 54

Now create a cylinder, inset it a bit, and extrude it inwards. Another method would be to create a Tube object from the Create rollout.

Step 55

Then create a box, and align it in between the tube and the cylinder we created earlier. I added another vertex so that fits more nicely there.

Step 56

Select the polygon at the end of the box near the cylinder, and extrude it so it sinks into the tube. Then, using the Scale tool, scale it in the top viewport so that it extends a bit. Add another edge loop, and scale it down a bit to add the curvature needed.

Step 57

Now we need to copy this box four more times. For this I used the same technique I used for copying the legs.

Step 58

Extrude the top polygons on the leg, scale them in a bit, and inset them two times.

Step 59

Now we will be creating the part which is screwed into the bottom of the chair and holds it to the main leg we created previously. Start with a plane, subdivide it similarly to what we did for the main leg, and then create a copy of it.

Step 60

Copy these two objects, rotate them by 180 degrees, and adjust the vertices so they are shorter than the first pair.

Step 61

Use the Bridge tool to connect these objects. Copy and paste the Shell and Turbosmooth modifiers from previous models and adjust them.

Step 62

Select all outer ends of the model and scale them down a bit. After that move these ends further out from each other.

Step 63

Move it under the seat and rotate it to match the angle of the seat. Create a cylinder and select the bottom edge loop (to do this select the bottom poly and while holding Ctrl click on the Edge subobject mode icon). Chamfer it using similar values as in this screenshot.

Step 64

Inset it and extrude it a bit.

This is how it should look together.

Step 65

Create a cylinder with five sides, then move it and rotate it to match the four ends of the part that holds the seat.

Step 66

Select all edges of this cylinder and chamfer them with a small value. It will yield a nicer reflection if the rendering camera is below seat level. Create another cylinder, but this time with about 30 sides, and again chamfer all its edges.

Step 67

Copy them to all four ends of the object.

Step 68

Create a box and place it between the main cylinder and these five sided cylinders (which are essentially screws). Adjust its vertices so that they match this screenshot.

Step 69

Select the edge that is closest to the screw and chamfer it using similar settings to those show below.

Creating the Arm & Backrest Details

Step 70

Now we will create the armrest. Create a box and use extrude and edge loops to create a shape similar to the one pictured below.

Step 71

Add edge loops near all three vertical edge lines.

Step 72

To smooth out the overall form, move the vertices at the edges so they are a bit rounder.

Step 73

Select the edge loops as illustrated. Select one edge and loop it. If it is not going all the away around the object, select edges manually until you get full edge loop. At the end you should have two full edge loops selected.

Step 74

Then use Extrude with negative values and click on the Apply button. After that, make the extrude value positive (something similar to mine) and click OK.

Step 75

Click Chamfer and use something similar to my settings.

Step 76

After that you will notice that there are some problems on some corners. To correct them, collapse the vertices like this.

Step 77

Then select all the polys we just created. You could again select the edge that is in the middle of these polys, and holding Ctrl, select polygon Subobject icon. After that is done, extrude these polys a bit. This will create the right amount of detail in that area.

Below is how it looks together with all models.

Step 78

Create a box with one edge loop in the middle, and adjust it so that it sits as shown.

Step 79

Add an edge loop in the middle of it, and move the top vertices out.

Step 80

Select the top and bottom edges that you pushed out, and chamfer them using these settings. Do the same for the middle edge loop length wise.

Step 81

I modeled it slightly sunk in the chair, so move it out a bit to create some space.

Step 82

Add three cylinders with chamfered tops under that object we just created. Copy it, and move it accordingly so we have two of these objects separated evenly.

Creating The Leg rest

Step 83

Copy the top backseat and rotate it by 90 degrees.

Step 84

Using soft selection, select the top part of the vertices and move them up to give the cushion more volume.

Step 85

Copy the main chair leg and position it under the new cushion

Step 86

As the leg rest base has a four star leg, we will need to modify the one we copied from the chair. Select four of the five starred shapes and delete them. Copy the one that is left 3 more times by Shift rotating it by 90 degrees (making sure the pivot point is still in the center). Remember to scale it down, as it is smaller than the main leg.

Step 87

Collapse all the vertices that are near each other.

Step 88

Delete all other parts of the leg except the one that you will copy. Select them and copy them three times by 90 degrees.

Step 89

Copy the part that is holding the bottom of the seat and move it roughly to the center of the leg rest. We need to make all these shapes the same length, so add a Symmetry modifier and make it mirror both the shortest shapes.

Step 90

Adjust the box that will hold the structure together.

Step 91

Smooth out the boxes that hold it together by chamfering the side edge and the one that is closer to the screw.

Adding Additional Details

Step 92

Now you will create the steel angle that will hold the armrest. Create a plane, and position it between the soft armrest and the wooden chair base.

Step 93

Extrude the upper edge to the right using the Shift key. After that, select the edge that is in the corner and chamfer it. Add a shell modifier.

Step 94

Next you will need to create a screw head. Create a sphere and a cylinder. Squash the cylinder, copy it and rotate it by 90 degrees. Attach both cylinders together. Using the Boolean tool cut out the cross shape into the sphere.

Step 95

Squash it a bit flatter and add a cylinder at the end of it.

Step 96

Copy these screws accordingly. Then copy all these objects to the other side.

Step 97

Everything is almost done, but first we need to add a bit of variation to the model. This is because most of it was made using symmetry, so it looks pretty generic and computer made. To add the natural variation, we need to collapse all cushions so they don't have Symmetry modifiers. Cut out the Turbosmooth modifiers and collapse the model to Editable Poly. Paste back the Turbosmooth. Do this to all the cushions and armrests.

Step 98

Using Soft selection, move some of the wrinkles around to make it more random. Make some parts smoother or more extruded and visible. As for armrests, add one edge loop between those sewing seams and then push it in to give the impression that these lines are holding it together. Don't make these identical for both armrests, as it will look copied.

Final Result

Model a Detailed, High-Poly Camera in 3ds Max 2010

2009-11-19T17:29:00.002+05:30

Photo Source

download

Step 1

The first thing you need to do is set up your reference in the scene. To do this, place a plane in the front, top, and side view ports, and make them the same dimensions as the source image (which you can download from the link above). In this case they should be 950x784.

Step 2

Now you can begin to model. In either the front, or the back view, drag a box out so that it fits the approximate shape of the camera.

Step 3

Apply a new material to the model, so that you can see the underlying reference images. Hit 'M' to bring up the material editor, then select an empty slot, and turn down the opacity. You may also want to change the color to make it easier to see.

Step 4

Left click on the box to select it, and then right click to convert the object to an 'editable poly'. Start shaping the box to match the reference image in each of the views.

Step 5

Try to pick key points on the object to place your segments. In this case a hard edge or angle change would be the best choice.

Step 6

From the back, insert two edges. 3ds Max 2010 has a new 'swift loop' tool that is handy for this. Then extrude from the top to continue the shaping process.

Step 7

More shaping. In this case you can start to extrude the front.

Step 8

Add more edge loops to define the shape where you will extrude the hand grip.

Step 9

Extrude the faces to form what will later become the hand grip.

Step 10

You can now begin shaping the newly made section. A good tip is to never add too many new cuts or divisions before cleaning them up. This will go a long way to keep your model clean, and also make everything easier to understand.

Step 11

Extrude a few more segments, matching the shape to the reference images. Try to follow key edges found on the camera (highlighted in red on the image below).

Step 12

After you have the flash section roughed in, move on to the area around the lens. Start by added two more edge loops.

Step 13

Add two more loops, making them parallel to the others, and shape them around the lens. This will be important later for keeping a hard edge.

Step 14

Pull the faces out a little.

Step 15

Now that you have the basic form down, add a 'turbosmooth' modifier (found under the 'modifiers' tab). Use 2 'iterations' and select 'isoline' display.

Step 16

You will notice that there is a hard edge where the lens is attached. To create this effect, you need to re-enforce the edges you want to be hard by adding extra geometry. Use the 'inset' tool twice to create the desired effect.

Step 17

Clean up any unwanted edges, as they will cause problems with smoothing.

Step 18

At this point your model should look something like this.

Step 19

Clean up the flash area. I had to weld a number of vertices, and attach one edge to the other to keep the edge loops flowing. You may need to do some similar adjustments, but the main thing is to keep the geometry free of triangles, and to keep the edge loops flowing around the model in a logical way.

Step 20

Start shaping out the area around the small info screen, and at the front where the shutter button is.

Step 21

Add some more of those hard edges by selecting the one line and simply using the 'chamfer' tool.

Step 22

Often when you use the 'chamfer' tool you will get triangles. When using 'turbosmooth', you will want to go around to these spots, and get rid of the triangles to make your model look cleaner. You can achieve this by selecting the vertices around the triangles and simply welding them together.

Step 23

You should have something that looks like this.

Step 24

Now clean up the sides. For both, just keep the edge loops flowing right down the sides. You can use the 'cut' tool to achieve the desired effect.

Step 25

Start to cut the other side.

Step 26

Nice sharp edges.

Step 27

Move on to the eye piece. This is a pretty simple section to do. Add a box in the top viewport.

Step 28

Convert it to an 'editable poly'.

Step 29

Move it into place.

Step 30

Now add the details by using the 'inset' tool several times.

Step 31

Push the one face backwards.

Step 32

Now use the 'inset' tool a third time. Push it back a little, and scale it in from the center. Select the outer edges (highlighted in red).

Step 33

Use the 'chamfer' tool. The settings are relative to the scale of your object, so your number may differ from mine somewhat.

Step 34

Continue to do this for the corners.

Step 35

All done the eye piece.

Step 36

Move back to the info screen. Using the 'cut' tool, add two more lines, and move one to the left a little.

Step 37

More clean up. Just tie off the edges near the top to make quads.

Step 38

Extrude the faces that you want to be the screen inward .

Step 39

Always try to keep the edges clean. Otherwise, smoothing won't work very well, and you won't get the results that you want.

Step 40

Now do the edges on the other side. You can also pull the one up a little bit. You can remove the edges that are selected in the image below since they are not needed.

Step 41

Next up is the back video screen. Just like every other part so far, start with a box, convert it to an 'editable poly', add a few segments, and line them up to the reference photos.

Step 42

Select the middle faces and extrude them out a little. This will be the screen.

Step 43

Chamfer the corner edges.

Step 44

This is entirely optional, but to finish the screen off, you can select the face and inset it once. If you plan on doing a custom texture, then you don't need this, but if you just want to throw on some solid colors, then this could help.

Step 45

Now do the mode selector dial (this is where you can select the different presets and modes on the camera). Make a cylinder in the top view port, and line it up with the reference images.

Step 46

The dial is on an angle, so you will have to rotate it some.

Step 47

Add some detail by performing a small chamfer.

Step 48

Select every other face on the side and extrude them a bit.

Step 49

With those faces still selected, use the 'bevel' tool (located near the 'chamfer' tool). It will give the ends a more interesting look.

Step 50

Now you need to do the base that the dial sits on. Make another cylinder and chamfer the top.

Step 51

To give the camera some branding, use the basic 'text' tool, type in the name "Pentax", and use the 'extrude' modifier to add some depth.

Step 52

Next up is the shutter button. Start with a cylinder, and scale the top inward. This will give you the basic shape.

Step 53

From the top view, line it up with the reference.

Step 54

Add an edge loop, select the top face, and scale it in a little.

Step 55

The one edge is still a little too sharp, so with it selected, use the 'extrude' tool. Don't give it any height or depth...just keep it at '0'.

Step 56

Time to make the button. Start by insetting the top face.

Step 57

Extrude the face, and chamfer the edges to round them out. Toggle smoothing on to see how far apart your lines need to be.

Step 58

You should now have something that looks like this.

Step 59

Next, make the button that goes next to the shutter. Use a box, extrude the face outward, and scale it in a little bit.

Step 60

Chamfer the edge to round it off.

Step 61

More clean up. The area just behind the shutter button needs some love. There is also a hard edge separating the front section from the small lcd screen.

Step 62

Using the 'cut' tool, cut two lines parallel to one another, and right up to the top of the shutter. With 'turbosmooth' on, this will have a nice crisp edge.

Step 63

The result with smoothing on should look like this.

Step 64

Moving on to the other side, do some tweaking to the body shape.

Step 65

Just like the other side, use the 'cut' tool to place the edges.

Step 66

You should now have something that looks like this.

Step 67

Back to modeling the controls. Use the same process that was used for modeling the mode selector in steps 45-50.

Step 68

For the bulge around the dial, simply use a sphere and scale it in on the Z axis.

Step 69

Here you can see the finished control. If you are going to get right up close, you can add even more detail, but if this is just going to be sitting on a desk in a render, or used for Normal map baking, then this is more than adequate.

Step 70

Use the same method of inset, extrude, then bevel for all of the controls.

Step 71

You should now have something that looks like this.

Step 72

Finish off the camera body shape. For this you have to model in the thumb support. Rough out the shape by moving some of the vertices with 'turbosmooth' on.

Step 73

With 'turbosmooth' off the edge flow can look a little strange. I recommend toggling it on and off quite often.

Step 74

Add another line to harden up the area. Without it, it would be too smooth with 'turbosmooth' on.

Step 75

After adding a few lines, and playing with the geometry, the result should end up looking something like this.

Step 76

Now go around and make sure everything is in the right spot. For example, the screen may need adjusting, or the dials may need to be pushed in a bit. At this point you should also save your work. Even though 3ds Max has an auto save, you can never be too careful.

Step 77

Line up the basic geometry for some of the buttons.

Step 78

Move them into place on the model.

Step 79

For the control wheel, chamfer the edges to round them off. Then inset the middle, and push it in a little.

Step 80

To make the button finger grips, start with a box, add a few segments, and line them up with the reference.

Step 81

Apply a 'turbosmooth' modifier, and then clone them around the model as necessary.

Step 82

This particular camera has a number of small buttons. Use the basic 'capsule', and play with the settings to make it pop out on the ends. You may wish to convert this to an 'editable poly' and delete the faces you don't see, but this is entirely optional.

Step 83

Now copy the same buttons around to the back.

Step 84

To finish off the eye piece, you have to add some more detail at the top. Using the 'connect' tool, make two edges, and then make two more edges connecting them. You should end up with a shape that looks like a long rectangle.

Step 85

Extrude that face inward a little. Then add a box, add a number of segments to it, and bevel the top of every other face. Adjust the gap between each of them to be a bit less wide.

Step 86

Now move to the front of the camera to add the curving hard edge on the hand grip. Use the 'cut' tool to add the basic flow.

Step 87

Then just tie off your edges. With 'turbosmooth' on, you should get a nice curving hard edge.

Step 88

Next up is the flash bracket. Start with a box, add a few edges, then extrude once.

Step 89

Model the metal bracket using two boxes.

Step 90

You are almost done the camera body, but there are two more parts to add at the front, near the bottom. Start with a box, add two segments, select the border edges, and then chamfer them. You can use either the reference, or your own judgment.

Step 91

The opposite side has almost the same shape but smaller, so just mirror the one side over, scale it down a little, and move it into place.

Step 92

Time to move on to the lens. Add a cylinder and just adjust the size.

Step 93

Add a few edge loops to define where you will be extruding from.

Step 94

Start extruding.

Step 95

Add a small bevel using the 'chamfer' tool.

Step 96

Add two more edge loops for the main focus ring.

Step 97

The focus ring has a rubber grip with small extruded bits. You need to make the polygons thinner, so with the previous lines still selected, click on the 'connect' tool to add another group of edges.

Step 98

Now select every other face.

Step 99

Using the 'bevel' tool, extrude the faces outward. You can see the settings that I used, but don't forget that, depending on your scale, your numbers may be different from mine.

Step 100

You should now have something that looks similar to this.

Step 101

Now start on the front, by beveling the front face a little bit.

Step 102

Then extrude it in a little bit.

Step 103

Extrude back out. This is this part of the lens that is 'telascopic', and moves in and out depending upon the focus settings.

Step 104

Line it up with the reference.

Step 105

Start insetting again.

Step 106

Extrude inwards.

Step 107

Inset one more time.

Step 108

Now select the thin strip of faces and extrude them out a little. Then, either chamfer the edges, or bevel them. Either way the result will be the same.

Step 109

For the glass part of the lens, just use the capsule primitive again. Then just scale it in, until it's almost flat, and move it into place.

Step 110

Now would be a good time to assign smoothing groups. The fastest way to do this is to use the 'smooth' modifier.

Step 111

Chamfer any hard corners. Even if they look sharp on the real object, giving them a small bevel will help them to pick up nice highlights at render time.

Step 112

Bevel the faces near the front of the lens. Just follow the larger shapes on the reference pictures.

Step 113

Next up is the grip for taking off the lens. Select the edges near the back of the lens (highlighted in red in the image below).

Step 114

With those edges still selected, click on the 'connect' tool, and play with the number of segments. When you are happy with what you have, click ok to apply the changes.

Step 115

Select every other face, and bevel them out using 'local normal'. You can use similar settings to the ones in the image below.

Step 116

The lens is now finished. Any other details would be applied using textures such as normal maps.

Step 117

Unhide everything and you should have a high-poly DSLR camera that looks something like this!

Final Effect Preview

Create a Beautiful Sunset Scene Using Dreamscape and 3ds Max

2009-11-19T17:14:00.001+05:30

Step 1

First of all, to render a scene with DreamScape, you will need to create a special light called "Sun". In the "Create" panel, click the "Lights" icon, then from the dropdown menu, select "DreamScape", and add a "Sun" light in the viewport.

Step 2

Move this light to the coordinates: x = 1700, y = 11000, and z = 800.

Step 3

Create a free camera, and move it to the coordinates: x = 0, y = 0, and z = 100. Rotate the camera by '87' degrees on the 'x' axis.

Step 4

Next, you will create the sun and the clouds. Press the '8' key on the keyboard, to open the "Environment" panel. In the "Atmosphere" rollout, click the "Add" button and choose "DreamScape".

Step 5

In the "General Parameters" rollout, click the "Preview" button to open the "DreamScape Sky Preview" window. This tool allows you to quickly review your sky settings in realtime.

Step 6

In the "Atmosphere Parameters" rollout, change the "Sky Density" to '5', the "Glow" value to '4', and the "H Scale" to '5000'.

Step 7

After that, change the "Haze Density" to '2', the "H Scale" to '200', and the "Brightness" value to '2'.

Step 8

In the "Clouds Parameters" rollout, change the "Clouds Type" to "Cirrus". Under the "Shape" group, change the "Detail" value to '16', the "Scale" to '0.25', the "Coverage" value to '0.8' and the "Sharpness" value to '0.5'.

Step 9

If you want to move the clouds around, you can do it in the "DreamScape Sky Preview" window. Click in the "Clouds Shape Preview", and holding the left mouse button, move the clouds and see the result in realtime. This affects the "Motion Offset" 'x' and 'y' parameters.

Step 10

Render the scene. If you want another result, you can play with all these settings until you get something you like.

Step 11

Next you will create the sea surface. Go to the "Create" panel, click the "Geometry" icon, and from the dropdown menu, select "DreamScape Objects", and add a "Sea Surface" in the viewport.

Step 12

Under the "Parameters" rollout, change the "Surface Type" to "Adaptive Mesh". This allows you to create a sea surface relative to your camera position and field of view (the sea surface that is nearest to the camera will be more detailed than the surface that is further away).

Step 13

Change the "Surface Width" to '400' and the "Surface Length" to '10000'.

Step 14

Under the "Adaptive Mesh" rollout, click the "Pick Camera" icon, and select the camera in the viewport.

Step 15

Under the "Waves" rollout, change the "Height Scale" to '0.7' and the "Choppy Waves" value to '1.3'.

Step 16

Open the "Material Editor", click the "Get Material" icon, and select "DreamScape: SeaMaterial" in the "Material Browser".

Step 17

In the "Material Editor", under the "DreamScape: SeaMaterial Parameters" rollout, set the "Sharpness" value to '10', change the "Sky Color Type" to "DreamScape Sky", and the "Underwater Color Type" to "DreamScape SubSurface".

Step 18

In the "Bump Map" slot, add a "DreamScape: Sea Bump" map to add more details to the waves. Assign this material to the "Sea Surface".

Step 19

Finally, in the "Time Configuration" panel, set the "FPS" to '25' . Turn on "Auto Key", and animate the "Sun" on the 'z' axis, from '800' at frame '0' to '600' at frame '100'. That's all, you can now render the animation.

Final Effect

Below you can see my final results. I hope you enjoyed this intro to Dreamscape in 3ds Max!

Make a 3d Umbrella in 3ds max.

2009-11-19T17:05:00.000+05:30

Here I will show to make a 3d umbrella in 3ds max.

I have used following techniques in making of this tutorial.

[1]First create a sphere of radius 100 and 32 segments.

[2]Convert the sphere into hemisphere.

[3]Then convert it into editable poly.

[4]Then select the bottom polygon and delete it.

[5]Switch to edges mode and select the edges like this then hit on loop.

[6]All edges will select like this.

[7]Switch to the vertex mode and select the vertices like this.

[8]Select the scale and transform tool and adjust it like this.

[9]Switch to edges mode again select the edges and hit chamfers.

[10]Your image will look like this.

[11]Then add Mesh smooth to it.

[12]Create a line like this in the front view port of radius 2.

[13]Place your umbrella like this.

[14]This is your final image.

3d model chair max tutorial

2009-11-19T17:02:00.001+05:30

Here I will teach you about 3d model chair max tutorial

[1]-First of all you will press (ctrl+N) now you will see the new window is open
Now click on the Geometry > Standard primitives and Using the following Setting
Create a cylinder in the front view

[2]-Now click on modifier window and applying bend modifier and use the following setting

[3]-Now object should be like this

[4]-Now select the cylinder hold the (shift) key and drag it and use the following setting

[5]-Now select the second cylinder and rotate the object with the help of (select and rotate tool)
After rotating the object now your image should be like this

[6]-Now select the cylinder hold the (shift) key and drag it and use the following setting

[7]-Now select the second cylinder and rotate the object with the help of (select and rotate tool)
After rotating the object now your image should be like this

[8]-Now click on the Geometry > Standard primitives and Using the following Setting
Create a cylinder in the top view

[9]-Now cylinder should be like this

[10]-Now click on modifier window and applying bend modifier and use the following setting

[11]-Now cylinder should be like this

[12]-Now cylinder should be like this in the front view

[13]-Now select the all cylinder hold the (shift) key and drag it and use the following setting

[14]-In the perspective now your image should be like this

[15]-Now click on the Geometry > Extended primitives and Using the following Setting
Create a Chamfer box in the top view

[16]-In the front now your image should be like this

[17]-Now click on modifier window and applying (FFD 3x 3x 3) modifier and use the following setting
Select the FFD modifier open the control point and select the centers point of the FFD modifier and drag into it

[18]-Now chair should be like this

[19]-Now click on the Geometry > Extended primitives and Using the following Setting
Create a Chamfer box in the top view

[20]-Now click on modifier window and applying (FFD 3x 3x 3) modifier and use the following setting
Select the FFD modifier open the control point and select the centers point of the FFD modifier and drag into it
Now chair should be like this

[21]-Now create a plane with use the following setting

[22]-Now create a plane with use the following setting

[23]-After create a plane now your image should be like this in the perspective

[24]-Now press the button (M) you will see the material window is open
Import a map like this and you can import the other maps and use a following setting
This material assign to the only two Chamfer boxes

[25]-Now create another material import a map like this and you can import the other maps and use a following setting
This material assign to the only wall plane

[26]-Now again create another material import a map like this and you can import the other maps and use a following setting
This material assign to the only bottom plane

[27]-Now create another material import a map like this and you can import the other maps and use a following setting
This material assign to the only pipe of the chairs

[28]-Now you will see the final image is ready press (f9) to see the preview of the image

Create an Awesome Exploding Glass Effect with Thinking Particles and 3ds Max

2009-11-18T21:46:00.001+05:30

Step 1

Create a Cylinder and change the name to "Glass". Set the "Radius" to '7', the "Height" to '30', and the "Sides" to '6'.

Step 2

Move the cylinder to the coordinates: x = 0, y = 0, and z = 2.

Step 3

Add an "Edit poly" modifier. Click the "Polygon Selection" icon, and select the bottom polygon.

Step 4

In the "Edit Polygons" rollout, click the "Bevel Settings" button. Set the "Height" value to '1.8' and the "Outline Amount" value to '-1.5'. Press OK.

Step 5

With the bottom polygon selected, click the "Inset Settings" button, and set the "Inset Amount" to '1'. Press Ok.

Step 6

Select the top polygon and delete it.

Step 7

Add a "Tessellate" modifier. Set the "Tension" value to '0.0' and the "Iterations" to '2'.

Step 8

Add a "TurboSmooth" modifier. After that, add an "Optimize" modifier. Set the "Face Threshold" value to '0.02', the "Edge Threshold" value to '0', and the "Bias" value to '0.5'.

Step 9

Finally, add a "TurboSmooth" modifier again.

Step 10

ThinkingParticles 3 creates fragments based on surface edges. The idea is to create glass with random edges, but with a smooth surface. You can see a few examples in the screenshot below.

Step 11

Create another Cylinder, and change the name to "Bullet". Set the "Radius" to '1', the "Height" to '5', and the "Sides" to '12'.

Step 12

Convert this "Bullet" cylinder to an "Editable Poly", and model it out bullet using the following image as a reference:

Step 13

Press the 'A' key on the keyboard, to turn on "Angle Snaps", and rotate the "Bullet" by '90' degrees on the 'x' axis.

Step 14

Move the "Bullet" to the coordinates: x = 0, y = 100, and z = 15.

Step 15

Create a box for the ground, set the "Height" to '-2', and add more segments.

Step 16

Go to "Command panel > Create > Particle Systems > Thinking", and place a "ThinkingParticles 3" icon in the Viewport.

Step 17

Go to the "Modify" panel, and click "Properties" in the "Thinking" rollout (you can also use 'Alt + Shift + P' to open, and 'Alt + Shift + C' to close the "ThinkingParticles 3" user interface). In the "DynamicSet Tree" view, select "Master Dynamic". Disable "Edit on the fly" to see the changes in real time. Enable "Show Mesh" to see the particle shape.

Step 18

In the "Particle Group Tree" view, click the "Create" button, under "Master System". Name the group "Glass Particle", by clicking on the name "Group" twice (slowly). Create two other groups. Name the first group "Bullet Particle", and the second group "Fragments".

Step 19

Now you need to create a "Dynamic Set" to dictate what the particles do. In the "DynamicSet Tree" view, click the "Create" button, under "Master Dynamic", and name the new Dynamic Set "Generate".

Step 20

Highlight the "Generate" "DynamicSet", and then go to the right-hand side of the dialog, where you will see a new set of "Create" rollouts.

Step 21

Select the "Operators" icon, and then choose "Generator" from the drop down list. Select the "Obj. to Particle" node, to highlight it, then click in the schematic portion of the "Wire Setup" view, and add this node to your "DynamicSet".

Step 22

In the "Obj. to Particle" rollout (on the right portion that appears), click the "Pick Object" button, and select the "Glass" object in the viewport. From the drop down menu, select "Glass Particle" as your "Group", and enable "Instance Shape".

Step 23

Click the "Pick Object" button again, and select "Bullet". Then select "Bullet Particle" as your "Group", and enable "Instance Shape". The "Obj. to Particle" operator, turned the "Glass" and the "Bullet" into particles, so you can hide them now.

Step 24

Create a new "Dynamic Set" and change the name to "Bullet". In the "Create" panel, click the "Groups" icon, then add the "Bullet Particle" group, in the schematic portion of the "Wire Setup" view.

Step 25

Click the "Operators" icon, and from the drop down list, select "Dynamics". Add a "Force" operator, and set the "Strength" value to '300'. Connect the "Bullet Particle" group to the "Force" operator.

Step 26

You will notice that the bullet particle is moving in the wrong direction, so you need to change the direction vector. Click the "Helpers" icon, and add a "Point3" helper. Set the "Y-Value" to '-1'.

Step 27

Connect the "Vector" output of the "Point3" helper to the "Direction" input of the "Force" operator. Now the bullet is moving on the 'Y' axis.

Step 28

Click the "Operators" icon, and from the drop down list, select "Standard". Add a "Mass" operator, and change the "Mass" value to '300'. Connect the "Bullet Particle" group to the "Mass" operator.

Step 29

Create a new "Dynamic Set", and change the name to "Forces". In the "Create" panel, click the "Groups" icon. Add the "Glass Particle" group to your Dynamic Set.

Step 30

Click the "Operators" icon, and from the drop down list, select "Dynamics". Add a "Freeze" operator, near the "Glass Particle" group, and set the "Freezing" value to '100'. Connect the "Freeze" operator to the "Glass Particle" group.

Step 31

Add the "Fragments" group to your Dynamic Set. Click the "Operators" icon, and from the drop down list, select "Dynamics". Add a "Force" operator, and change the "Strength" value to '-30'. Connect the "Force" operator to the "Fragments" group. This will act like a gravity force for the particles.

Step 32

Create a new "Dynamic Set" and change the name to "Fragments". In the "Create" panel, click the "Groups" icon. Add the "Glass Particle" group to your Dynamic Set. Click the "Operators" icon, and from the drop down list, select "Shape". Add a "Fragment" operator, near the "Glass Particle" group.

Step 33

To create the fragmentation effect, you need to animate the "Threshold" value in the "Fragment" operator rollout, so turn on "Auto Key". Go to frame '15' and change the "Threshold" value to '0.25'. After that, go to frame '14' and change the "Threshold" value to '1'. Don't forget to turn off "Auto Key" when you are finished.

Step 34

Change the "Fragment Count" to '100', the "Sorting Type" to "Top > Bottom", increase "Life Span", change the "Speed" value to '0', and set the "Thickness" to '1.5'. Connect the "Glass Particle" group to the "Fragment" operator.

Step 35

Click the "Operators" icon, and from the drop down list, select "Standard". Add a "Group" operator, and select "Fragments" as your "Group". Connect the "*Born Particle" output of the "Fragment" operator to the "Particle" input of the "Group" operator. This operator is used to transfer the glass pieces into the "Fragments" group.

Step 36

Create a new "Dynamic Set", and change the name to "Collisions". In the "Create" panel, click the "Operators" icon, and from the drop down list, select "Dynamics". Add a "Shape Collision" operator, and select "All" as your "Particle Group". Change the "Floor Voxel Grid" to '20', to get more realistic simulations.

Step 37

Click the "Helpers" icon and add a "Node" helper, then click the "Pick Node" button and select the "Ground" object. Connect the "Node" output of the "Node" helper to the "Floor Node" input of the "Shape Collision" operator. Play back the animation. The particles should collide with each other, and with the "Ground".

Step 38

To add materials to the "glass" and the "bullet" particles, create a new "Dynamic Set" and change the name to "Materials". Add to this "Dynamic Set" the "Glass Particle" and the "Bullet Particle" groups. Click the "Operators" icon, and from the drop down list, select "Material". Add two "Shape Material" operators. Connect the first with the "Glass Particle" group and the second with the "Bullet Particle" group.

Step 39

Create a glass material. Because I used "Default Scanline Renderer" for this scene, I created a "Raytrace" glass material, but you can use any materials or render engine you want. Drag and drop this material into the "Shape Material" slot. Do the same thing with the bullet material.

Step 40

If you are using the "Default Scanline Renderer", you can an apply image motion blur effect directly to the ThinkingParticle icon. If you want to apply different motion blur effects to the particles, select "Master Dynamic", in the TP3 user interface, and enable "Groups as Objects". Now you can select the ThinkingParticles groups, as objects in the viewport.

Step 41

Select the "Fragments" group in the viewport, and apply an image motion blur effect with a "Multiplier" value of '0.25'. Do the same thing with the "Bullet Particle" group, but set the "Multiplier" value to '1'.

Step 42

Make sure the image motion blur effect is enabled!

Step 43

Create some lights to illuminate your scene.

Step 44

To create the camera shaking effect, add a "Noise" modifier to the camera. Change the noise type to "Fractal", enable "Animate Noise", and change the "Frequency" value to '20'.

Step 45

Click the "Auto Key" button and, when the bullet is near the camera, set the "Strength" value to '0.3' for all the three axes. Go back 5 frames, and forward 5 frames, and set the "Strength" value to '0'. Turn off "Auto Key".

Step 46

Finally, create a reflexive material for the "Ground" object, and add an image for your background. If you want to obtain a different fragmentation effect, you can move the glass object on the 'x' axis, until you get something you like.

Final Effect

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Below you can see my final results.