3d car modeling with rhinocerous 3d - ak3d

André Kutscherauer

3D 3ds Max tool

ScatterFX

An dr é Ku t s ch e r a u e r

ScatterFX 3ds Max too l

ww w.a k3 d . de

A K 3 D ® S c a t t e r F X

Pub l i sh e d b y André Kut s ch e ra ue r (AK3 D ) B a r t h o l o mäe r S t r a s s e 4

8 1 8 25 Munich / Ge rman y h t t p : / /www.ak3 d . de

Co pyr igh t © 2 0 1 1 André Kut s ch e raue r (A K3 D® ) . A l l r i gh t s r e s e rv e d .

C o p y r i g h t :

P ro p r i e t a r y R igh t s . Th e So f t wa re an d Do cume nt a t io n (= t h e wo rk ) a r e p ro t e c t e d b y co pyr i gh t , t r ade s e c r e t and o t h e r p ro p r i e t a ry r i gh t s o f AK3 D® (= pub l i s h e r , s o f t wa r e p ro duce r , au t h o r ) .

L im i t a t io ns o n Us e . Th e r i gh t t o u s e Do cume nt a t io n i s co n t inge n t upo n t h e r i gh t t o u s e t h e app l i c ab l e So f t wa re . A K3 D® r e s e rv e s a l l r i gh t s in t h e So f t wa re and Do cume nt a t io n no t e xp re s s l y g r a n t e d t o Cus t o me r . AK3 D® g ran t s a 1 - u s e r p e r - s e a t l i c e n s e t o C us t o me r . Cus t o me r i s p e rm i t t e d t o ma ke a r e a so nab l e n umb e r o f c o p i e s o f t h e So f t w a re and t h e Do cume nt a t io n fo r d i s a s t e r r e co ve ry and b ack - up pu rpo s e s b u t no t fo r u s e o f s imul t ane o us u s e r s a c c e s s i ng t h e p ro g ram. Un l e s s o t h e rwi s e s t a t e d C us t o me r w i l l no t :

( a ) r e p ro d uce t h e So f t wa re o r Do cume nt a t io n ;

(b ) ma rke t , l i c e n s e , d i s t r ib u t e , s ub l i c e n s e o r o t h e rwi s e co mme rc i a l l y e xp l o i t t h e So f t wa re o r Do cume nt a t io n o r s e l l , l e nd , r e n t , g i v e , a s s i gn o r o t h e rwi s e t r an s f e r o r d i spo s e o f t he So f t wa re o r Do c ume nt a t io n ;

( c ) p e rmi t t h e u s e o f t h e So f t wa re o r Do cume nt a t io n b y o t h e r s o r o t h e rwi s e o pe ra t e t h e So f t wa re fo r t h i rd pa r t i e s ( e . g . , a s a s e rv i c e b ure a u o r d a t a p ro c e s s ing s e rv i c e ) ;

(d ) mo d i fy o r t r an s l a t e t h e So f t wa re o r Do cume nt a t io n in t o an y o t h e r co mput e r o r h uman l angu age ;

o r ( e ) d i s a s s e mb l e , r e v e r s e e ng ine e r o r de co mpi l e t h e So f t wa re o r o t h e rw i s e a t t e mpt t o d i s co ve r an y po r t io n o f t h e o b j e c t o r s o urc e co de o r t r ade s e c r e t s r e l a t e d t o t he So f t wa re .

No pa r t o f t h e So f t wa re o r Do cume nt a t io n may b e r e p ro duce d , s t o r e d in a r e t r i e v a l s y s t e m o r t r an smi t t e d in any fo rm o r b y a ny me a ns , e l e c t ro n i c , me ch an i c a l , ph o t o co py ing , r e co r d ing , s c a nn in g o r o t h e rwi s e , w i t h o ut t h e p r io r wr i t t e n pe rm i s s io n o f AK3 D® w i t h t h e e x c e p t io n th a t t h e e l e c t ro n i c fo rmat s may b e e n t e r e d , s t o r e d , and e xe cu t e d in a co mput e r s y s t e m fo r yo u r p r i v a t e and/o r b u s ine s s p e r s o na l u s e , b u t t h e y may no t b e r e p ro duce d fo r pub l i c a t io n . Re que s t s t o AK3 D® sh o u l d b e addre s s e d t o : s c a t t e r f x@a k3 d .de

L i m i t o f L i a b i l i t y / D i s c l a i m e r o f w a r r a n t y :

AK3 D® make s no r e p re s e n t a t io ns o f wa r r an t i e s w i t h r e spe c t t o t he a c curacy o r co mpl e t e ne s s o f t h e co nt e nt s o f t h e So f t wa re o r Do c ume nt a t io n an d spe c i f i c a l l y d i s c l a ims a l l wa r r an t i e s , i n c l ud ing w i t h o ut l im i t a t io n war r an t i e s o f f i t ne s s fo r a pa r t i c u l a r pu rpo s e ; o f in t e g r i t y , in t e r f a c e and /o r s t r uc t ure o f t h e So f t wa re a nd t h e u s e s pe c i f i c a l l y co nce r n i ng t h e o pe ra t io n in co n ju nc t io n w i t h co mput e r p ro g rams , da t a o r h a rdwa re supp l i e d b y a t h i r d pa r t y .

No wa r r a n t y m ay b e c r e a t e d o r e x t e nde d b y s a l e s o r p ro mo t io na l ma t e r i a l s . Th e adv i c e and s t r a t e g i e s co n t a i ne d h e r e in may no t b e su i t ab l e fo r e v e ry s i t u a t io n . Th i s wo rk i s l i c e n s e d w i t h t h e unde r s t a nd ing t h a t AK3 D® i s no t e ngage d in r e nde r ing l e g a l , a c co unt ing , o r o t h e r p ro fe s s io na l s e rv i c e s . I f yo u r e qu i r e l e g a l , a c co unt ing , o r o t h e r e xpe r t a s s i s t ance , yo u s h o u l d co nsu l t a p ro fe s s io n a l ad v i s o r . AK3 D® sh a l l no t b e l i ab l e fo r t h i s wo rk a s a c i t a t io n a nd/o r a po t e n t i a l s o urc e o f fu r t h e r in fo rmat io n do e s no t me an t h a t t h e AK3 D® e ndo r s e s t h e in fo rmat io n t h e o rgan i z a t io n o r we b s i t e may p ro v ide o r r e co mme nda t io ns i t may t a ke .

AK3 D® ma ke s no e xp re s s o r i mp l i e d wa r r a n t y o f a ny k i nd and a s s ume s no r e spo ns ib i l i t y fo r e r ro r s o r o mi s s io ns . No l i ab i l i t y i s a s sume d fo r inc ide n t a l o r co ns e que nt i a l d amage s in co nne c t io n w i t h o r a r i s ing o ut o f t h e u s e o f t h e in fo rmat io n o r d ig i t a l f i l e s co n t a ine d o r s upp l i e d w i t h o r fo r t h e u s e w i t h t h i s wo rk .

Fur t h e r , r e a de r s s h o u l d b e a ware t h a t in t e r ne t we b s i t e s l i s t e d in t h i s wo rk ma y h ave ch ange d o r d i s appe a r e d b e t we e n wh e n t h i s wo rk wa s wr i t t e n and wh e n i t wa s pub l i s h e d and r e a d .

Fo r any sugge s t io ns a nd in f o rmat io n o n e r ro r s AK3 D® i s g r a t e f u l . Th e s e sho u l d b e addre s s e d t o : s c a t t e r f x@ ak3 d . de

T r a d e m a r k s a n d o t h e r i n t e l l e c t u a l p r o p e r t y :

AK3 D an d t h e AK3 D l o go a r e t h e f i rm name and f i rm l o go w i t h AK3 D ® i s a r e g i s t e r e d Ge rman T rade mar k o f An dré Kut s ch e ra ue r an d p ro t e c t e d b y C o mme rc i a l Law, Co mpe t i t i o n Law and Tr ade mark La w i n Ge rman y a nd o t h e r co unt r i e s , an d may no t b e u s e d w i t h o ut t h e p r io r wr i t t e n pe rmi s s io n w i t h t h e e x c e p t io n o f p r i v a t e u s e o r c i t a t io n . “3 ds Max” and a l l o t h e r b r ands , b r and image s and p ro d uc t name s me nt io ne d in t h i s wo rk a r e t r a de mar ks , s e r v i c e mark s o r in t e l l e c t ua l p ro pe r t y o f t h e i r r e spe c t i v e co mpan ie s . Th e s ame app l i e s t o de s i gn r i gh t s and pa t e n t s me nt io ne d in t h i s wo rk . I f me nt io ne d w i t h o ut u s ing s i gn s l i ke ® o r ™ yo u c an no t b e su r e t h a t t he y a r e f r e e o f r i gh t s o f t h i rd pa r t i e s . AK3 D ® i s n o t a s s o c i a t e d and h a s no b us ine s s r e l a t io nsh ip w i t h any o f t h o s e p ro duc t s o r v e ndo r s me nt io ne d in t h i s wo rk .

P r i v a c y P o l i c y :

Any o f t h e in fo rmat io n co l l e c t e d f ro m yo u m ay b e u s e d t o pe r s o na l i z e yo u r i t e m o f t h e wo rk b y e mb e dd ing yo u r co nt ac t da t a and MAC-ad re s s , CPU-ID in t h e wo rk f i l e . Yo u r in fo rmat io n , wh e t h e r pub l i c o r p r i v a t e , w i l l no t b e s o l d , e x ch ange d , t r an s f e r r e d , o r g i v e n t o any o t h e r co mpany fo r any r e a so n wh a t so e ve r , w i t h o ut yo ur co ns e n t , o t he r t h an fo r t h e e xp re s s purpo s e o f de l i v e r i ng t h e purch a s e d p ro d uc t r e que s t e d .

N o t i c e :

AK3 D® a l s o pub l i s h e s a v a r i e t y o f o t h e r p ro duc t s in p r in t and i n a v a r i e t y o f e l e c t ro n i c fo rmat s . So me co nt e n t s t h a t appe a r in p r in t ma y no t b e a va i l ab l e in e l e c t ro n i c fo rmat s . I n c a s e AK3 D ® p ub l i s h e d o n l ine supp l e me nt a r y in fo rmat i o n ( e g t u t o r i a l s ) , t h e ab o ve me nt io ne d ru l e s a l s o ap p l y . A K3 D® do e s no t a s sume an y o b l i g a t io n t o p ro v ide add i t io na l in fo rmat io n .

3ds Max Tool “Sca t terFX” 6

TABLE OF CONTENT

table of content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

1.1 Preamble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

1.2 Usages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 1 .2.1 Architectural Purp oses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 1.2.2 Br ing ing l i ve to c i ty d es ign or arch itectura l projects . . . 11 1.2.3 Market in g Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 1.2.4 Free Art Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

1.3 Key Features: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

1.4 Detailed Features: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 1 .4.1 What you get . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

2 Instal lation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

2.1 Instal lation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 2 .1.1 Running the in sta l ler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 2.1.2 Place Scat terFX in your Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 2.1.3 Act ivat ion process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

3 The User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

3.1 The rol louts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 3 .1.1 Baseparameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 3.1.2 Dist r ibu t ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 3.1.3 Orien tat ion rol lout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 3.1.4 Direct ion rol lout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 3.1.5 Modi f icat ion ro l lout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 3.1.6 Animation ro l lout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

3.2 The maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 3 .2.1 Scattermap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 3.2.2 Dens itymap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 3.2.3 Highmap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

tab le o f content 7 3.2.4 Orien tat ion map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 3.2.5 Animation map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 3.2.6 Objectmap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 3.2.7 Co lormap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 3.2.8 Offsettmap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 3.2.9 Head map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

4 Quickstart Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 4 .1.1 Basefunct ions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

5 About the author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

In troduction 9

1 INTRODUCTION


1 .1 Preamble

Sca t terFX is P lug- in for 3dsMax wr i t ten in Maxscr ipt . I t i s wr i t ten from a crea t ive for creat ive ’ s . I t i s a program to the place a la rge number of ob jec ts w i th max imum aes the tic impact. Bas ica l ly i t i s a highly advanced s ca t ter tool w i th functions to c reate huge amounts o f copies f rom one ob ject and sca t ter them around a "Baseob ject" . How these objec t s are s ca t ter ed is ful ly control lab le v ia d if ferent maps . The sca t ter objec ts can be placed on tr iangle , ver t ices or "Texel s" on a Baseob jec t wi th any shape. Next to the endle ss usages o f sca t ter ing objec ts to a base objec t control l ed by maps , the un ique b iped fea ture wil l l e t your archi tec tura l projec ts come to a new leve l of "na tura l" look. P lease send in your resul t images or animations . The main highl ight o f the program is the abi l i ty to place ob jec ts control led by. This a l l ows resul ts tha t are curren tl y not poss ib le w ith base tool s . Objec ts can be placed control l ed by maps . Here , not the ne twork s tructure of the base ob jec t i s used as placement goa l , but i ts tex ture coordina tes . This a l lows very in teres t ing poss ib i l i t i es . A second highl ight o f the program is the abi l i ty to place not only s ta t ic objec t s , but to use a l so ful l y animated bipeds for placement . This a l lows a much more in tui t ive way to p lace a la rge number of peopl e in a room, the bear ing of a tex ture can be control led. This i s much ea s ier and fas ter than, for example , a solut ion wi th the s imulat ion of a crowd. Thus, i t i s the idea l complement for archi tec tura l appl icat ions to f i l l v isua l i za t ions wi th l i fe . I t i s a crea t ive addi t ion to the tool s o f 3D Studio Max, and can be used in very d if feren t s i tua t ions . As the implementa tion of the scheme us ing Maxscr ipt, the max imum compat ib i l i ty to 3D Studio Max is guaranteed. Even wi th program upda tes . The program i s comple te l y des igned f rom user ' s perspect ive and guarantee s thus max imum in tui t ive opera t ion. The ful l program i s modular , so tha t a l l functions can be combined wi th each other . I t a l lows you as a very f l ex ib l e implementa t ion of sca t ter e f f ec ts . This documentat ion covers es sen tia l l y the bas ic funct ional i ty. In addi t ion, are but on the number of poss ib le combina t ions appl ica t ions pos s ib l e can be that not a l l documented. The program s tores a l l se t t ings in the objec ts themselves , so that a backup of the se t t ings i s not necessary.

I w i l l pos t every en try that was made wi th Sca t terFX on ak3d.de !

In troduction 11

1 .2 Usages

1.2.1 Architec tural Purposes

Example : Sca t ter ing d if f erent Trees around a landscape wi th max imum control . You can se tup maps for color changes , dens i ty maps r ea l i ze areas w i thout trees and s etup a map for a h igh range where trees should be placed. Even animated Tree s are pos s ib l e . What about placing thousands of car s of di f f eren t color and type on a park ing house wi th absolute control wha t car wil l be placed where , and in what color…

1.2.2 Bringing l ive to c i ty des ign or archi tectura l project s

Example : The funct ion of be ing able to s ca tter animated b ipeds , a l so control l ed by maps , i s an absolute un ique f eature of Sca t terFX. Fur thermore you can se tup a "Look At" Direc t ion and separa te l y can control where those en t ire b ipeds should look at , whil e the ir body’ s s t i l l fol lows the ir ex is t ing animat ion from the ir heads . With Sca t terFX you wil l be ab le to f i l l out a comple te s ta t ion wi th an animat ion of jus t one s tanding up b iped, where every s ingle b iped wil l have a di f f erent pose , control l ed by a map. Then we can se tup, where a l l the b ipeds should look at , combined and mix th is w ith a second targe t. F ina l ly we can s e tup, tha t some of the b ipeds s tands up and hold a banner in the ir hands , bui ld ing toge ther a tex t l ike on Olympia . Crazy, i sn ’ t i t?

1.2.3 Marketing Projects

Example : What about taking thousand copies o f one product to s ca t ter them around a s econd ob jec t? Al l those copie s can have d i f f eren t color s . So can eas i l y show a s econd objec t jus t through thousands colored copies o f your ma in product in di f f eren t color s…

1.2.4 Free Art Projects

Example : Sca t ter 20000 pens around a s imple g lobe sphere wi th two d if feren t maps . Use the Color map to color i ze the pens l ike a rea l g lobe

3ds Max Tool “Sca t terFX” 12 and use a b lack and whi te High map prof i l e of the ear th to a l ter the Z Pos i t ion of the pens to v i sua l i ze the "rea l" high prof i l e o f ear th…

1 .3 Key Features :

- Easy to use - 10 maps to control the Scattering in detail: - Scattermap / Densitymap / Highmap / Orientationmap / Animationmap /

Objectmap - Colormap / Offsettmap / Headmap / Headmap Weightmap - Use Bitmaps, procedurals or even mix maps for input - All maps can be modified by adding random numbers in ranges - Automatic UV channel number handling - shade thousands of objects with just one shader - Use of the new "Object Color" shader of mental ray. - Easy "Show Map in Viewport" buttons for knowing how evry single map exactly

is looking - UI with focus on creative parts - Every "module" setting is combinable with the other - Endless combinations are possible - Randomness addition to every setting for natural results - Special Undo / Scatter Function for quickly prove and fine-tune scattering - All settings stored in Base object so re-scattering is easily possible - As it is realized with Maxscript, it will work in all future 3ds max releases

without needing to update it

In troduction 13

1 .4 Detai led Features :

- Map Controlled Scatter Tool with an extremely intuitive Interface - Complete modular Structure for endless combinations of every feature - Automatic procedurals rendering while scattering - Stores any setting directly into the Base object. So even if no Objects are existent

in the Scene, the Base Object will "know" the last settings you have made and can easily reproduce the scattering

- ScatterFX will take the color from the Color map and will setup the wire color for every single copy. The "Object Color" shader will be able to render this color out.

- Copy types "Instance", "Reference" or "Copy" - Performance focused options like to show only a percentage of the final objects

while the others will be on a hidden but render able layer - Even more performance by "Show as box" feature for the results - No need for maps, all values can be entered as number, too

1.4.1 What you get

- ScatterFX one seat license - Installation movie - PDF Documentation - Getting Started Guide (within the Documentation) - Tutorial support files for a quick start with ScatterFX - Support forum on ak3d.de

Ins ta l la t ion 15

2 INSTALLATION


2 .1 Instal l at ion

2.1.1 Running the insta l ler

After rece iv ing your download l ink, s tar t your 3ds max. Go to “MaxScr ipt” – “Run Scr ipt” and sear ch for the f i l e you have downloaded “AK3D_Sca t terFX_Ins ta l l .mzp” .

2.1.2 Place ScatterFX in your Toolbar

Go to “Cus tomize – “Toolbars” and sear ch for “AK3D” in the l i s t . Here you wil l f ind Sca t terFX. You can drag and drop it to a place in your toolbar where you l ike .

Ins ta l la t ion 17

2.1.3 Activat ion process

Af ter the f ir s t s tar t o f Sca t terFX a L icense Activat ion Reques t have to be made. P l ease jus t f i l l out the tex t f i e lds and cl i ck on “Send Act iva t ion Reques t” . I wi l l rev iew i t a s fa s t a s poss ib le and wil l send you your Act iva t ion Key back. For thi s s tep i t ´s nece ssary to en ter a va l id order number and va l id in formation’ s , that I can a l loca te your order . (Normal ly within the nex t two hours)

If you ever stuck at any step, please visit www.ak3d.de as there will be a forum where help for ScatterFX may be found.

The User In ter face 19

3 THE USER INTERFACE


3 .1 The rol louts

3 .1 .1 B a sepa r a met er s

This is the main rollout with the most important input. Here we can select a “Baseobject”, setup the control maps, the resolution and the objects we like to scatter around the Baseobject. With a click on the button next to “Baseobject” we can select the object where we want to scatter around the objects. If the object is selected it ScatterFX will apply a new material to it, where all maps and settings are stored to. With a click on the buttons next to the map names we can setup the maps that control the scatter process. With the right square buttons we can esasily switch to the map that should be showed in the viewport. With the option “Mapsize” we can choose the “resolution” of the Scattering. This is basically the count of objects that will be created. Some count presets are reachable via the four buttons. In this category there is also a list field included, with that we can add one or even more objects to scatter as well as some primitives. We can also choose the kind of copy here. “Instance” is most useful for performance if there will be a lot of objects. Finally with the button “Start Scattering” and “Undo” we can start the Scatter process or “Undo” it for changing some settings.


3 .1 .2 Dis t r ib ut io n

This rollout is structured into five groups. In the “Basic Settings” we can setup where the objects should be placed. With “Texel, objects will placed at the underlying pixel of the texture, with “Face Center” at the center of the triangle, with “Vertex” on every Point of the Baseobject. In “Display Options” we can how many of the resulting objects should be shown in precent. The rest will be placed on a hidden layer that will be renderable. So we can keep viewport performance. The “Display as Box” option furthermore raises viewport performance if needed. With the group “Placement” we can setup an fixed offset in Z or setup a “Offsetmap”. The scale parameter is a multiplier to raise or lower the effect of the map. With the Pivot point options we can alter the rotation an position point of the objects. With the random Pos Offset we can add a “more natural” random placement factor. The group “Density” contains four options to control the Density. Her we also can control it via a Density Map, a fixed Chance factor or a range. With the options of the group “Scatterobjects” we can change the order of the objects, if we have setup more than one. With loop they will be place in the order of the list, with random they will placed randomly, with an Objectmap, the Brightness controls the order.


3 .1 .3 O r ien t a t io n r o l l o ut

In that rollout we can setup up to two different Orientations for the scattered objects. With the standard option “No Orientation” the objects will keep there initial Orientation. With the option “Lookat Orientation” we can select a Lookat object with a click on the button next to “Look”. With the options in “LookatAxis” we can control what axis should lookat the object and we can chose “flip” it it’s the opposite direction. The option “tilt” even alters the Z axis of the objects to look at the target object. Without “tilt” the objects are only rotated around their Z axis. With the option “Orientationmap” the Orientation is map controlled (black 0 degrees, white 360 degrees). With the option “Pixel Orientation” we can let the objects look in the pixel direction (when mapping is turned or so) With random angle and the spinners we can manually setup the “Range of randomness” of the Orientation. 0 and 360 means here “fully random”, 0 and 0 would mean 0 and so on. Finally the exact same settings are reachable for a second orientation. We can easily mix these two Orientations via an “Orientation Weightmap”. White is Orientation 1, black is Orienation 2, Grey values are mixes of both.


3 .1 .4 Dir ec t io n r o l l o ut

In that rollout we can setup up the “Z” direction of the scattered objects. If you take a sphere as base object you can fast see what these options do. With “Keep Direction” objects will keep their intial Z direction and will not follow the surface normal orientation. With “Direction from Smooth Normals”, the Z axis will be placed perpendicular to the Baseobjects surfaces. Even Smoothing groups will be calculated properly with this option. Objects will be placed smoothly around the baseobject while using the smoothgroup of it for orientation. With the option “Direction from Flat Normals” only one normal of one polygon of the baseobject will be used. So to get a smooth scattering around a sphere, you would need a lot of more objects with this option as with the “Smooth normals” option. In the group “Scatterobject_Z_Axis” we can chose Axis of the object should be used for the “Z_Axis”. With “Flip” we can turn the object around 180 degrees if it was the opposite direction. Basically we can turn the objects with that option. Finally with the “Add Random” spinners, we can add random values for each axis. “0” and “0” here means add no random values. The most random value for example would be “0” to “360” but we can also setup just a range “from” “to”. This is very useful to get a more “natural” look into the result.


3 .1 .5 M o di f i c a t io n r o l l o ut

In that rollout we can take influence of the Scaling and Coloring of the scattered objects. In the group “Size” we can choose between three modis: “Keep Size” takes the original scale of the objects and doesn’t alter it. The setting “Pixel Size” scales the object to fit into the current mapped pixel size as good as possible. This works best with rectangular objects and unscratched mappings. It’s the algorithm for creating “3D Pixelblocks”. “Fixed Size” is just basic “Multiplyer”. In the group “Z Size” we have control over the height of the object separately. “Keep Z Size” keeps the original Height of the Object. “Average Z Size” Takes the modification of the “X” and “Y” scale of the object and sets the “Z” height to the average of the values. With “Use Heighmap for Z size” we can use the “Heighmap” for controlling the Height. Black is “0”, white is “100”. With the factor on the right, we can multiply this with a number. “Fixed Z Size” is a fixed mulitplicator. With “Randomize” we can setup a random value that makes the Height changes more “natural”. In the group “Color” we can setup where the object get their color from. With “Color source” we can chose to take the color form the “Scattermap” or from a second “Colormap”. In “Wireframe Color” we can set “keep color”, the colors will not be changed or “Colormap Color” to colorize the wireframes. In the group “Rendercolors” we can setup what to do with the colors. “Create A/D Material with Mapping” renders out a bitmap, creates a material with that bitmap as diffuse. With “Create Texture only” we just will render out a texture. This is the fastest option. With “Create Mapping channel only” we can create a special Channel for the objects. “Kill Materials” deletes all applied materials on the scatter objects.


3 .1 .6 A n ima t io n r o l l o ut

In that rollout we can setup how to deal with object that are animated and how to deal if the animated objects are bipeds. We even can give up to three “requisites” to the figures and can control on what frames they should be visible. This way we easily can make a station with figures that Holds up banners etc… The first checkbox en or disables the computation of the animation. The computation of an animation means: On a black pixel, we see the first frame of the animation of that object and on a white Pixel, we see the last frame of that animation. With an animation map we can exactly setup on what pixel we want to see what frame of the base object. With the spinners we even can add a “randomness” to the resulting frames of the animation. This brings more “natural” mass movement feeling. In the group “Biped Parameters” we can setup how to deal with animated bipeds. The group “Head Orientation” works exactly like in the rollout “Orientation” except that it only alters the bipeds head position in this case. We can choose up to two “lookAt” objects and mix the together via a map. In the group “Requisites Visibility” we can exactly setup on what animation frame of the single objects when the requisite should be visible. With these settings, we will be able to fill out a complete stadion with an animation of a standing up biped, where every single biped will have a different pose, controlled by a map. Then we can setup where all the bipeds should look at, combined and mixed with a second target. Finally we can setup that some of the bipeds stands up and hold a banner in their hands, building together a text like on Olympia. Crazy, isn’t it?


3 .2 The maps

3 .2 .1 S c a t t e r ma p

Controls the basic positions, if ScatterFX is in “Texel” mode. The map, we setup here will be rendered in the size we setup with “Mapsize”. Objects will then be placed on every projected position of that map.

3 .2 .2 Den s i t yma p

White means “100 % chance” of placing. Black means “0% chance” of placing. All grey values will raise or lower the chance that an object will be there.

3 .2 .3 High ma p

The Highmap alters the “Z-Position” or “Z-Scale” of the objects.

3 .2 .4 O r ien t a t io n ma p

Controls the Z rotation. White means “360 degrees”, Black means “0 degrees”

3 .2 .5 A n ima t io n ma p

Controls the animation frame to be scattered. “White” is the “first frame”, “Black” is the last frame.

3 .2 .6 O b j ec t ma p

Controls the order in what objects from the list will be scattered. (Black to white – Top Down in the list)

3 .2 .7 Co l o r ma p

Separate Map for the color if Color from Scattermap should not be used.

3 .2 .8 O f f se t t ma p

Alters also the “Z-Position”. If Heighmap should control just “Z-scaling”.

3 .2 .9 Hea dma p

Like the Orientation Map but just for biped heads.

Quicks tar t Guide 27

4 QUICKSTART GUIDE


4.1.1 Basefunct ions

S t a r t 3 d s Max and c r e a t e a new p l ane w i t h 1 x 1 l e ng t h / wid t h s e gme nt s and r e mo ve t h e ch e ck mark a t "Or ig ina l s i z e o f t h e map" and h i de t h e g r id w i t h t h e Sh o r t cu t "g " . C l i ck o n Sca t t e rFX. Th e n o pe n t h e ma in d i a l o g o f t h e p ro g ram.

F i r s t , c l i c k o n t h e b ut t o n “Ba s e o b j e c t ” and t h e n c l i ck o n t h e p l ane in t h e v i e wpo r t . Th e c ap t io n o f t h e b ut t o n ch ange s t o t he name o f t he s e l e c t e d o b je c t . Th e o b j e c t ch ange s t h e co lo r .

Th e n c l i ck o n t h e b ut t o n ne x t t o "Sca t t e rmap . . . ” . Th e s t anda r d mapd ia l o g o pe ns . In t h i s d i a l o g yo u c a n s e l e c t e v e ry sup po r t e d map t ype s . In a dd i t io n t o pa rame t r i c ma ps l i ke "Gr ad i e n t " o r s im i l a r , y o u c an u s e a l s o 3 d maps o r b i t maps . Ch o o s e "B i t map" and b ro ws e t o t h e inc l ude d t h umb na i l o f “ Ro s e _ o f_ Ring . jp g"” .


After you s e lect the b i tmap, the image i s immediate l y d isplayed in the v iewpor t and the mate r ia l ed itor i s automat ica l ly : note tha t the Baseob jec t got a s s igned a new mater ia l automatica l ly , where a l l maps of Sca t terFX wil l be s tored . This mater ia l cons is t s of a "Compos i t ing" map. The s lots ar e t i t l ed wi th the re spect ive names in the d ia log of Sca t terFX. I f you scrol l down to the s lo t “Sca t termap” you wil l s ee tha t the map tha t you have se lected in the s tep before i s a s s igned to th is mater ia l , too.

This was a l ready the minimum prepara t ion so that the sca t ter ing can work. Note tha t these two s teps are a lways necessary to s tar t :

1 . Se lec t one objec t w i th mapping coordina tes a s "Baseob jec t"

2 . Choose a Sca t termap (bi tmap, 2D or 3D maps)

Now we c l i ck on “S tar t Sca t ter ing” .


In accordance wi th the bas ic se t t ings , the program ha s genera ted the 15 x 15 boxes . The boxes have been sca l ed to p ixe l s i ze (more on tha t la ter ) and the color o f the tex ture i s a s s igned to the boxes as "Wirecolor" . Al l ob jec ts are ins tances and thus opt imal l y in terms of memory consumption. The "Undo" button wil l a lways r es tore the S ta te jus t before the s tar t o f the la s t Sca t ter ing. This funct ion is very use ful to try out di f f erent va lue s . Now we c l ick on “Undo”.


Then we chose another Prese t for the “Maps ize” . For example “50”. Maps ize X and Mapsize Y va lues are automatica l ly se t to 50. Cl ick on “Star t Sca t ter ing” . The resul t re f l ec t s the image much more accura te l y, a s now are 2500 objec t s sca t ter ed ins tead of 225 before . We got true “3D pixe l s” here .

We cl i ck aga in on "Undo" and se lec t the button "Sphere" in the "Sca t terobjec ts" group.

Then cl ick "S tar t Sca t ter ing"


You have crea ted 2500 spheres , colored wi th the ir under ly ing tex ture , where the sphere s ha s got the s ize of the p ixe l ! Within the group “Sca t terobjec t" there are two more pre se ts ava i lab le . "Pyramid" and "Teapot" . Of course you can s cat ter a l so any other ob ject s . For th is purpose there i s the “ l i s t box” in thi s group.

Cl ick "Undo". Then we crea te a torus of any s i ze in the v iewpor t . In the d ia log we c l i ck on "add" and se lec t the torus in the v iewpor t . The name of the se l ec ted ob jec t in the d ia log box wil l appear .

We cl i ck on "S tar t Sca t te r ing" .


As a r esul t , the “Baseob jec t” i s covered wi th p ixe l sca led toruses . P lease note tha t these toruses are highly d is tor ted to meet the p ixe l s i ze . Of course , we have ful l inf luence on th is s ca le .

Then we c l i ck on "Undo" to re se t the Scat ter ing.


Now we c l i ck on the tab "Modif ica t ion" in Sca t terFX. By de faul t “keep Z s i ze" i s se l ec ted . This take s the g iven s i ze of objec ts and leaves i ts height unchanged. In popup menu, we c l ick in the f i e ld of "Z s i ze" and change the se t t ing to "average Z s i ze" and cl i ck on "Star t Sca t ter ing" .


The resul t i s a l ready cons iderably more "pleasant" . Z sca l ing of ob jec ts i s now genera ted from a average of X and Y sca l ing of the objec t . This sca l ing is def ined by the tex ture pixe l s i ze and the resolut ion.

We cl i ck "Undo" to res e t the s cene aga in.


Now we cr ea te severa l bas ic ob ject s nex t to the Baseob jec t . The s i ze o f the objec ts i s not important. We now have two ways to ge t these objec ts in to Sca t terFX. Ei ther we c l i ck the "add" button and cl ick on each objec t indiv idual ly , or , i f i t ’ s a huge amount of ob jec ts , we c l i ck on "Li s t" to br ing up the “scene explorer” where we eas i ly can se l ec t a lo t of objec ts . In both case s , the objec t s f ina l l y appear in the l i s t of Sca t terFX. I f we have an objec t in the l i s t , which we want to remove, c l i ck on the ob jec t in the l i s t and cl ick the "Del" button.

We cl i ck on "S tar t Sca t te r ing" to s tar t the process .


Al l objec ts in the l i s t a re used as Sca t terob jec ts now. The order in which those objec ts are placed i s a t “ loop”. Tha t means that they are placed one a fter another de f ined by the l i s t . To change tha t, we c l i ck on the tab "Dis tr ibut ion". This i s by de faul t se t to " loop". This means tha t the order in the l i s t i s used. I f we want change the order , we can use the buttons “up” and “down” a fter se lec t ing an ob jec t in the l i s t . Now we want to make the order to “Random” so we c l i ck on “Random” in the Dis tr ibut ion group.

We cl i ck on "S tar t Sca t te r ing" to prove th is new set t ing .


Now the ob jec ts a placed wi th an random order . The di f f erence is marg ina l in th is example . I f we use fewer ob ject s the e f f ec t w il l be more v is ib le . Now we turn to "more control" of the order o f the objec ts . For th is purpose , Sca t terFX has the ”Objec tmap".

We cl i ck the "Undo" button.

Then we change the s et t ing from “Random” to "Objec tmap” . Then we scrol l up and cl ick on “Objec tmap” . In the map d ia log we se l ec t the map "Gradient Ramp". The map is automat ica l l y d isplayed in the v iew pane.

We cl i ck on "S tar t Sca t te r ing" .


The objec ts are now dis tr ibuted based on the br ightness of the “Objec tmap” . Tha t means tha t the f ir s t Objec t in the l i s t i s placed on the br ightes t pixe l o f the ob jec tmap and the la s t objec t in the l i s t i s placed on the darkest pixe l . Al l objec t s in be tween are placed on the ir corresponding grey color . This funct ion "sca le s” i tse l f , so that we can d is tr ibute any number of objec ts wi th thi s method. This g ive s maximum control , where what objec t should be placed a t !


To be t ter repre sent th is fea ture we c l ick on “Undo”. In the mater ia l s ed i tor , c l i ck the “Objec tmap” and ad jus t the Gradient type to "Radia l" .

We cl i ck on "S tar t Sca t te r ing" aga in .


The ob jec ts are place now on the bas is o f the rad ia l grad ien t . In other words , the torus knot uses a l l whi te p ixe l s o f the “Objec tmap” and a l l b lack p ixe l s the box . Al l objec t s in be tween ge t t ing the ir corresponding RGB va lue. We can use not only parametr ic maps but a l so b i tmap maps wi th thi s funct ion.

We cl ick the "Undo" button . Then we c l ick on the button "Gradientramp" and the in the fol lowing window, we chose "Bi tmap" .

We loca te the smal l image "Rose_of_Rings . jpg" . The image wil l appear automatica l l y in the v iew pane.

We cl i ck on "S tar t Sca t te r ing" aga in.


Now, the ob jec ts have the order o f the br ightness of the b i tmap. The torusses and teapots are used a t the br ightes t poin ts of the image and the darkest aga in the p ipe and cyl inder .

We cl i ck "Undo".

I f we want to change the order , wha t objec t should take what br ightness , we can s imple re- sor t them in the l i s t w i th the “Up” and “Down” buttons . In the fol lowing, I w i l l change the l i s t o f objec ts according to i ts “v isua l s i ze” . Tha t means :

1 . b lock; 2 . Cyl inders ; 3 . Cone; 4 . Tea pot; 5 . Torus node; 6 . sphere ; 7 . torus .


As a resul t , the r esul t i s s igni f icantl y changed. There are many ways to inf luence the resul t w i th the help of these opt ions .

Now you got the bas ic f eatures expla ined. P lease fee l f ree to try your own se t t ings .


Dandel ion of s crews

About the author 45

5 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

André Kutscherauer i s 3D ar t is t in munich, germany. He ha s worked for many years in the f ie ld of 3D vi sua l i za t ion. He v isua l ized thousands of des igns for a major household appl iance manufacturer and crea te 3D animations for marke t ing and adver t i s ing. In addi t ion to i t s ma in ac t iv i ty, he rea l i zes f ree ar t projec ts , i s author and worked as a f ree lance l ec turer a t un ivers i t ie s .

Se l f i l lumina t ion

3d car modeling with rhinocerous 3d - ak3d

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