3D Studio Max Locomotive Tutorial

1. Create and resize a box.

The first thing you need to do is create a box for the body of the locomotive and resize it to the following dimensions.

2. Relocate the box

Once you have created the box we need to move it into location. Select the box and type in the following dimensions.

Figure 1 Results after resizing and moving box

3. Beveling the end

Select the Main Body and convert it to editable mesh. Then click on the "Edge" select icon and select the rear upright edge and chamfer the edge 0.6m. Do the same for the other side and you should end up with a result similar to figure 2. As the angles ar not quite right for the rear of a locomotive we need to move the two rear upright edges closer together. Select each edge and move them in 0.1 of a meter.

Figure 2 Chamfer results

Figure 3 Edge move results

4. Beveling the top edges

Select all the top edges except for the front edge as shown in figure 4 and type 0.05 into the chamfer box which will give the result shown in figure 5. Without deselecting the edges type in 0.02 into the chamfer box. You should now have the result shown in figure 6

Figure 4 Top edges selected

Figure 5 Result after first chamfer

Figure 6 Result after second chamfer

5. Deleting unwanted faces

To reduce the poly count of the Main Body we need to delete any unseen polygons. To do this you need to rotate the view so that the underside of the Main Body can be seen. Then select "Polygon" sub-object and then select the front face and the base of the Main Body. Once they are selected hit the delete button to remove the polygons.

6. Adding a Smooth modifier

To get the newly chamfered edges to look better we need to add a "Smooth" modifier to the stack. Expand the "Modifiers" list and select "Smooth" form the list. Select the "Auto Smooth" check box and the chamfered edges should look like figure 10.

Figure 8 Smooth modifier.

Figure 9 Smooth modifier settings

Figure 10 End result

7. Texturing

The first thing we need to do is to apply the Main_01 texture onto the Main Body. Open up the "Material Editor" select the first globe and drag it to the Main Body. An alternate method is to select the main body, select the Main_01 texture and then click on the "Assign Material To Selection" button

Once you have the material on the Main Body add an "Unwrap UVW" modifier to the stack. Select the right side of the Main Body and click on "Planar Map" and then "Edit". When the "Edit UVW's" window opens move the map into location as shown in figure 12. Once you have the side mapped correctly and all the lines appear to be the same thickness then select the three faces on the rear of the Main Body and click planar map.

Once you have the side mapped correctly and all the lines appear to be the same thickness then select the three faces on the rear of the Main Body and click planar map. Move the texture map to the Rear section of the map and align in with the right side using the red lines on the texture. To get the textures to match as close as possible zoom in on the Main Body and you will be able to see any misalignments better. To fine tune the mesh movements zoom in on the "Edit UVW's" window.

.Figure 13 Unaligned textures

.Figure 14 Correctly aligned textures

Now that we have the right side and the rear of the Main Body textured we need to texture the top including the radius edges. Hold down the Control key and select the faces as shown in figure 15. Once you have all the faces selected before we click on the "Planar Map" we need to change a setting. In the "Sub Object Params" section change the setting from "Averaged Normals" to "Z" as shown in figure 16. This will allow the map to be flattened out correctly. Once you have done this you can click the "Planer Map" button and open the "Edit UCW's" window if it is not already open.

.Figure 15 Correctly selected faces

Figure 16 Planar map settings

The first thing you will notice is that the map outline is not in line with the texture as shown in figure 17. To fix this we need to rotate the map which can be done in two ways. The first method is to select one of the boxes along the side of the mapping and a semi circle with an arrow should appear. Click and drag the map around to the correct rotation which is -90 degrees. The second method is much easier. Towards the bottom right of the "Edit UVW's" window you will see the button " Rotate -90" click on it once and the map should be rotated correctly. Now we can move the map into location. Once again we use the red lines to align the top textures with the right side texture. As the top of the loco does not normally have any logos or writing on it it does not really matter about alignment with the rear texture.You should end up with a result similar to figure 18 and 19.

.Figure 17 Mapping results

.Figure 18 Correctly aligned textures

.Figure 19 Mapping in new location

Now we can map the final side of the Main Body. Use the "Arc View" to rotate the viewport around to the left side of the loco, select the side, make sure you change the "Sub Object Params" back to "Averaged Normals" first and then hit the "Planar Map" button and open the "Edit UVW's window. Now for the hard part. For the left side you not only have to align the textures up with the top but also with the rear of the Main Body. Once again for fine tuning the textures zoom in closer. Remember however if you zoom in too far the texture map outlines will disappear. Once you have the left side mapped turn off the "Filter Selected Faces" button and you should have a result similar to figure 21.

Figure 20 Left side map aligned correctly

Figure 21 Final complete mapping

The end result of the texturing should look like figure 22

You have now successfully created and textured the Main Body for the locomotive.

Chapter 3

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