3ds Max and After Effects: Product Visualization

3h 23mIntermediate2019-08-20

Authors

Aaron F. Ross

3D Expert, Video Producer, and Teacher

Course details

3D visualization is a crucial aspect of 21st century product design, manufacturing, and marketing. This course illustrates a standard workflow for product viz, from importing a CAD model to rendering photorealistic imagery. It leverages the advanced tools of 3ds Max and the Arnold renderer to bring product designs to life in the production phases of scene layout, materials, lighting, and rendering. It also employs Adobe After Effects to composite and adjust render passes, giving you the ability to art-direct lighting without needing to re-render in 3D. The combination of 3ds Max and After Effects empowers artists and designers to render product visualizations with greater efficiency, flexibility, and creativity than ever before.

Learning objectives
Importing a CAD model
Laying out the scene
Saving and loading XRefs
Camera framing and exposure
Physically based materials
Procedural textures
Image-based lighting with an environment map
Flood lighting with area lights
Studio lighting with spot and point lights
Light decay and exclusion
AOV component render passes
Optimizing Arnold render settings
Layering render components in After Effects
Rendering a technical illustration

Skills covered

3ds Max3D AnimationAfter EffectsRenderingMotion Graphics and VFXAutodesk3D ModelingVisualization and Real-TimeAdobeAECProduct and ManufacturingAnimation and IllustrationDeep Dive (X:Y)

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Welcome to product visualization in 3ds Max
02 - What you need to know
03 - Using the exercise files

1. Scene Layout

04 - Setting preferences and options
05 - Importing CAD models
06 - Cleaning up the scene
07 - Managing display layers
08 - Saving and loading an XRef
09 - Modeling a background cyclorama
10 - Creating a camera
11 - Exposure control and environment lighting
12 - Setting aspect ratio and framing the shot

2. Materials

13 - Optimizing viewport display properties
14 - Creating a physical material
15 - Image-based lighting with an environment map
16 - Adjusting material parameters
17 - Base color and reflections
18 - Art-directing materials
19 - Mapping with procedural textures
20 - Displacement mapping a physical material

3. Lighting

21 - Floodlighting with Arnold Quad light
22 - Directing floodlighting
23 - Studio lighting with a spotlight
24 - Attenuation over distance with Decay filter
25 - Accentuating edges with rim lights
26 - Excluding lights and shadows
27 - White balancing for AOVs
28 - Creating AOVs for render component passes
29 - Creating light groups
30 - Rendering components of light groups

4. Rendering and Compositing

31 - Body Object Viewport Display options
32 - Body Object Render Tessellation
33 - Optimizing Arnold Render Settings
34 - After Effects color management settings
35 - Layering render components
36 - Adjusting lighting in post-production

5. Special Effects

37 - Framing an isometric view
38 - Rendering a technical illustration
39 - Adding glow effects

Conclusion

40 - Next steps