Software Trials - 3DS Max

Creating a Shovel

Another 3D modelling programme which is commonly used in the animation industry is 3DS Max which is also owned by Autodesk. After practising with Maya beforehand I feel that I have confidence to understand and use this programme, albeit still at the stage of being new to animation.

With 3D modelling, once an object has been made, it then needs to be unwrapped and then textured. What this means is, and to give a simple example, if I modelled a box I would then ‘unfold’ it, using a method called Mapping and then using Photoshop edit images and colours using the numerous tools to create the effect I want to place on the image.

The first object I am going to create will be a shovel. This will be created using two basic shapes, a Box and a Cylinder, and by manipulating the Polygons (faces), the edges and the vertices (points which make up the shape), I will be able to create the blade and the handle for the shovel.

To model the shovel I first created a box which initially was made too large. To create the box I clicked on the Create button on the right hand side of the interface and then selected box. By clicking and dragging on the grid on the screen the box had been created, but due to the size I had to edit this so that it was slightly longer and much flatter.

To do this, I clicked on the Modify tab on the right hand side of the interface and then selected Edit Poly from the drop down menu. From this option I can then select from the sub-category, either poly, edge or vertex to manipulate the shape I have created.

I selected the vertices by clicking and dragging over the ones I wanted to edit. To ensure that I selected the correct vertices they change colour from red (unselected) to blue (selected). I also have to ensure that although the vertices I can see have been selected, as I am creating 3D models, the vertices on the side I cannot see have also been selected. To do this I have to rotate around the object and this is achieved by clicking on one of the Polygons (faces) of the object and when holding down ALT + the Middle Mouse button I can pan around the object to a view which makes it easier for me to see.

Once I have selected the vertices I can then edit them. In this instance I wanted to move the vertices outwards so that I could change the original square shape into a more rectangular shape, but ensuring that the object was not too long nor too wide. To move the vertices I have the options to move, rotate or scale. In this instance I wanted to move the vertices and to do this I pressed the shortcut key which is W.  After I have pressed this button I am able to move the vertices up, down, left, right, forward, backwards, in or out on the X, Y, Z axis.

Y = Green Axis = Up/down

X = Red Axis = Left/right

Z = Blue Axis = Forward/backwards or In/out

Once I had moved the vertices to achieve the height and width I then wanted to make the object much thinner. I went back to my Modify list and selected Polygon from the Edit Poly category. I clicked on the face I wanted to edit, again pressing W, I used the Z axis to push the object down to make it thinner.

By editing the vertices and polygons I was able to bend the shape to create a slight curve that a shovel has on its blade.

To create the handle I went to the Create tab on the right hand side of the interface and chose Cylinder. By clicking and dragging on the grid my shape was created, but again this was too large and it had to be edited. Also, as a cylinder is made up with numerous polygons so it maintains a smooth shape I have to reduce this as I am creating a low polygon animation. The height, width and the polygons I can edit in the Parameters menu.

Now I had modified the object to the right height, approximate width and the amount of polygons I decided to taper the handle. To do this I selected the vertices on one end of the shape and used the Scale Tool, by pressing R, to reduce the width of the shape.

As the two shapes were now created to form the blade and the handle of the shovel I then unwrapped and textured them. See the blogs on Unwrapping and Texturing on how I achieved this.

After I had textured the objects I then linked them together by selecting the ‘handle’ and clicking on the chain link icon in the top left of the interface.

Shovel Annotations