Recapping on Animation
As I am not a professional animator it was important to run through the basics to refresh my memory.
Camera's and Path Constraints
Taking a quick look into the use of camera's in 3DS MAX, I placed a 'target' camera into the scene after creating a simple teapot. I then dragged the line from the camera onto the teapot.
After this I went into 'create' then 'shapes' and create a circle around the sphere. At the top of 3DS max, along the grey toolbar with white writing is a drop down option called animation. From there I selected 'constraints' then 'path constraint'; this will allow for you to connect the dashed line to the circle previously created. If successful, it will move the teapot or object you have created to the circle line.
Pressing play will then move the teapot around the circle line on repeat.
Auto Key
Autokey is an animation technique, I have briefly looked into this. Creating a green cone under standard primitives and placing in the scene. At the bottom of 3DS max should be a grey toolbar which displays three buttons, a key, Auto key and Set key. For the time being I am just looking at Auto Key. Selecting the cone then clicking on auto key, the screen and toolbar should highlight red. I think this is very beneficial as it indicates that your in animating mode so you can't forget. Abov the autokey is the timeline, it should already be at 0 if you click along the timeline and move the cone then unclick autokey and press play it creates a sequence. To view the sequence simply press play.
Set Key
Set key is similar to autokey to a degree that it is a form of animation however the differences are that autokey is automatic and set key requires more input from the user however allows you to control the animation further.
Using setkey doesn't differ from autokey and great deal; it just requires a little more clicking. For no purpose what so ever I decided to create a different shape I used previously in autokey, a pyramid.
After creating the pyramid I selected it, clicked on setkey (found directly under autokey and to the right of the key symbol) Again, the bar and screen will go red. Once it's red, press 'K' on your keyboard then move along the timeline, spin, rotate and move your object and press 'K' again. This will, like earlier, create a short sequence which will display when the play button is pressed.
Something else I think is worth mentioning is how to save and render a quick animation. After you have completed the animation and saved it. To be able to watch the video without the use of 3ds max, click render setup. Under the tab 'common' scroll down and click 'acttive time segment' found under 'Common parameters'. Then lower down under 'Render output' select where you want to save the file. I always save onto my desktop and then move the file later on. Once that is complete click 'Render', render the video and your video is saved.
Taking a quick look into the use of camera's in 3DS MAX, I placed a 'target' camera into the scene after creating a simple teapot. I then dragged the line from the camera onto the teapot.
After this I went into 'create' then 'shapes' and create a circle around the sphere. At the top of 3DS max, along the grey toolbar with white writing is a drop down option called animation. From there I selected 'constraints' then 'path constraint'; this will allow for you to connect the dashed line to the circle previously created. If successful, it will move the teapot or object you have created to the circle line.
Pressing play will then move the teapot around the circle line on repeat.
Auto Key
Autokey is an animation technique, I have briefly looked into this. Creating a green cone under standard primitives and placing in the scene. At the bottom of 3DS max should be a grey toolbar which displays three buttons, a key, Auto key and Set key. For the time being I am just looking at Auto Key. Selecting the cone then clicking on auto key, the screen and toolbar should highlight red. I think this is very beneficial as it indicates that your in animating mode so you can't forget. Abov the autokey is the timeline, it should already be at 0 if you click along the timeline and move the cone then unclick autokey and press play it creates a sequence. To view the sequence simply press play.
Set Key
Set key is similar to autokey to a degree that it is a form of animation however the differences are that autokey is automatic and set key requires more input from the user however allows you to control the animation further.
Using setkey doesn't differ from autokey and great deal; it just requires a little more clicking. For no purpose what so ever I decided to create a different shape I used previously in autokey, a pyramid.
After creating the pyramid I selected it, clicked on setkey (found directly under autokey and to the right of the key symbol) Again, the bar and screen will go red. Once it's red, press 'K' on your keyboard then move along the timeline, spin, rotate and move your object and press 'K' again. This will, like earlier, create a short sequence which will display when the play button is pressed.
Something else I think is worth mentioning is how to save and render a quick animation. After you have completed the animation and saved it. To be able to watch the video without the use of 3ds max, click render setup. Under the tab 'common' scroll down and click 'acttive time segment' found under 'Common parameters'. Then lower down under 'Render output' select where you want to save the file. I always save onto my desktop and then move the file later on. Once that is complete click 'Render', render the video and your video is saved.
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