Time Controls

Key Mode
Time Configuration

Topics in this section

Auto Key Animation Mode
The Auto Key button toggles the keyframing mode called Auto Key. While Auto Key is on,
changes to objects’ position, rotation, and scale are automatically keyframed (recorded). When
Auto Key is off, these changes are applied to frame 0.
Set Key Animation Mode
Set Key Animation mode allows you to create keys for selected objects individual tracks using a
combination of the Set Keys button and Key Filters. Unlike Auto Key, Set Key mode gives you
control over what you key and when. It allows you to pose a character (or transform any object)
and then if you like it, use that pose to create keys. If you move to another point in time without
keying, your pose is discarded. Set Key also works with object parameters.
Default In/Out Tangents For New Keys
This flyout provides a quick way to set a default tangent type for new animation keys created
with Set Key Mode or Auto Key Mode. You can also access the tangent types from the Key Info
(Basic) rollout and the Curve Editor's Key Tangency toolbar.
Go To Start
Go To Start moves the time slider to the first frame of the active time segment. The active time
segment is set in the Start Time and End Time fields of the Time Configuration dialog.
Previous Frame/Key
Previous Frame moves the time slider back one frame.
Play/Stop
The Play button plays the animation in the active viewport. If you click another viewport to make
it active, the animation continues playing in that viewport. When the animation is playing, the
Play button becomes a Stop button. The Play button is a flyout for playing only the animation of
selected objects.
Next Frame/Key
Next Frame moves the time slider ahead one frame.
Go To End
Go To End moves the time slider to the last frame of the active time segment. The active time
segment is set in the Start Time and End Time fields of the Time Configuration dialog.
Current Frame (Go To Frame)
Current Frame displays the number or time of the current frame, indicating the position of the
time slider. You can also enter a frame number or time in this field to go to that frame.
Key Mode
Key Mode lets you jump directly between keyframes in your animation. By default, Key Mode
uses the keys visible in the track bar below the time slider. Other options are available on the
Time Configuration dialog in the Key Steps group.
Time Configuration
The Time Configuration dialog provides settings for frame rate, time display, playback, and
animation. You use this dialog to change the length of your animation, or stretch or rescale it.
You also use it to set the start and end frames of the active time segment and your animation.

Material editor

The Material Editor provides functions to create and edit materials and maps.
Main toolbar > Material Editor flyout > (Material Editor): Compact
Main toolbar > Material Editor flyout > (Material Editor): Slate
Keyboard > M displays the version of the Material Editor (Compact or Slate) that you last
opened.
Default menu: Rendering menu > Material Editor > Compact Material Editor
Default menu: Rendering menu > Material Editor > Slate Material Editor
Alt menu: Materials menu > Create/Edit Materials > Compact Material Editor
Alt menu: Materials menu > Create/Edit Materials > Slate Material Editor
Materials create greater realism in a scene. A material describes how an object reflects or
transmits light. Material properties work hand-in-hand with light properties; shading or rendering
combine the two, simulating how the object would look in a real-world setting.

You apply materials to individual objects or selection sets; a single scene can contain many
different materials.

There are two interfaces to the Material Editor:

Compact Material Editor: If you have used 3ds Max prior to the release of 3ds Max 2011, the
Compact Material Editor is the interface you are familiar with. It is a comparatively small dialog
with quick previews of various materials. If you are assigning materials that have already been
designed, the Compact Material Editor is still a convenient interface.
Slate Material Editor: The Slate Material Editor is a larger dialog in which materials and maps
appear as nodes that you can wire together to create material trees. If you are designing new
materials, the Slate Material Editor is especially powerful, and it includes search tools to help
you manage scenes that have a large number of materials.
Topics in this section
Compact Material Editor
The Compact Material Editor is a material editor interface that uses a smaller dialog than the
Slate Material Editor.
Slate Material Editor
The Slate Material Editor is a material editor interface that uses nodes and wiring to graphically
display the structure of materials while you design and edit them. It is an alternative to the
Compact Material Editor.
Splines and shapes

A shape is an object made up of one or more splines. A spline is a collection of vertices and
connecting segments that form a line or curve. By moving the vertices and adjusting their
settings, you can reshape the line and make portions of it curved or straight. You can use a
shape as the basis for other objects and as a path for animation.

The term spline comes from the name of a thin strip of wood or metal used for drawing curves in
architecture and ship design.

Top: Spline

Middle: A segment of the spline

Bottom: Vertices of the spline

Shapes don't usually appear in the rendered scene. They're used for the following purposes:

As the foundation for extruded objects, by applying an Extrude modifier to the shape.
As the foundation for a spun object, by applying a Lathe modifier to a shape.
As the components that make up a Loft object, by combining a shape as a path, and one or
more shapes as cross-sections along the path.
As an animation path for an object by assigning a path constraint to the object, and then picking
a shape as the path.
As one method of linkage for inverse kinematic chains.
You can make shapes renderable to create tubular forms in the rendering. Renderable shapes
don't appear any different in viewports.

Shapes can also be NURBS curves. You can use NURBS curves in exactly the way you use
spline-based shapes. You can also use a NURBS curve as the basis for a NURBS model that
includes multiple curve and surface sub-objects.

Cameras

Cameras present a scene from a particular point of view. Camera objects simulate still-image,
motion picture, or video cameras in the real world.
Create panel > (Cameras)
Standard menu: Create menu > Cameras
Enhanced menu: Objects menu > Cameras
With a Camera viewport you can adjust the camera as if you were looking through its lens.
Camera viewports can be useful for editing geometry as well as setting up a scene for
rendering. Multiple cameras can give different views of the same scene.

The Camera Correction modifier lets you correct a camera view to 2-point perspective, in which
vertical lines remain vertical.

If you want to animate the point of view, you can create a camera and animate its position. For
example, you might want to fly over a landscape or walk through a building. You can animate
other camera parameters as well. For example, you can animate the camera's field of view to
give the effect of zooming in on a scene.

The Display panel's Hide By Category rollout has a toggle that lets you turn the display of
camera objects on and off.

A convenient way to control the display of camera objects is to create them on a separate layer.
You can hide them quickly by turning off the layer.

Tip: The Perspective Match utility allows you to start with a background photograph and create
a camera object that has the same point of view. This is useful for site-specific scenes.
There are two kinds of camera objects:

A Target camera views the area around a target object. When you create a target camera, you
see a two-part icon representing the camera and its target (which displays as a small box). The
camera and the camera target can be animated independently, so target cameras are easier to
use when the camera does not move along a path.
A Free camera views the area in the direction the camera is aimed. When you create a free
camera, you see a single icon representing the camera and its field of view. The camera icon
appears the same as a target camera icon, but there is no separate target icon to animate. Free
cameras are easier to use when the camera's position is animated along a path.

An example of a camera in a scene.

The result after rendering through the camera.

You can create cameras from the Create menu Cameras submenu, or by clicking the Cameras
button on the Create panel. You can also create a camera by activating a Perspective viewport,
and then choosing Views menu Create Camera From View.

After you have created a camera, you can change viewports to display the camera's point of
view. While a camera viewport is active, the navigation buttons change to camera navigation
buttons. You use the Modify panel in conjunction with a camera viewport to change the
camera's settings.
Rendering

Rendering shades the scene's geometry using the lighting you've set up, the materials you've
applied, and environment settings, such as background and atmosphere. You use the Render
Setup dialog to render images and animations and save them to files. The rendered output
appears in the Rendered Frame Window, where you can also render and do some setup.

To render a still image:

Activate the viewport to render.

Click main toolbar Render Setup.
The Render Setup dialog opens, with the Common panel active.

On the Common Parameters rollout, check the Time Output group to make sure the Single
option is chosen.
In the Output Size group, set other rendering parameters or use the defaults.
Click the Render button.
By default, rendered output appears in the Rendered Frame Window.

Tip: To render a view without using the dialog, click main toolbar Render Production or press
F9 (Render Last).
To render an animation:

Activate the viewport to render.

Click main toolbar Render Setup.
The Render Setup dialog opens, with the Common panel active.

On the Common Parameters rollout, go to the Time Output group and choose a time range.
In the Output Size group, set other rendering parameters or use the defaults.
In the Render Output group, click Files.
On the Render Output File dialog, specify a location, name, and a type for the animation file,
and then click Save.
Typically, a dialog appears that lets you configure options for the chosen file format. Change
settings or accept the defaults, and then click OK to continue.

The Save File checkbox turns on.

Click the Render button.

Note: If you set a time range and do not specify a file to save to, the animation is rendered only
to the window. This can be a time-consuming mistake, so an alert warns you about it.
Tip: Once you have rendered the animation this way, you can render it again without using the
dialog by clicking main toolbar Render Production or pressing F9 (Render Last).
Topics in this section
Production versus ActiveShade Rendering
Use Production rendering for full-scale, detailed images. Use ActiveShade for interactive
preview renderings.
Missing Map Coordinates
In some circumstances, the renderer detects objects that need to have mapping coordinates
applied.
Render Setup Dialog
Rendering creates a 2D image or animation based on your 3D scene. It shades the scene's
geometry using the lighting you've set up, the materials you've applied, and environment
settings such as background and atmosphere.
Rendering Progress Dialog
Shows the status of a rendering operation.

Modifiers

Modifiers provide a way for you to sculpt and edit objects. They can change the geometry of an
object, and its properties.

Example: effects of the Twist modifier on an object

The modifiers you apply to an object are stored in a stack. By navigating up and down the stack,
you can change the effect of the modifier, or remove it from the object. Or you can choose to
“collapse” the stack and make your changes permanent.

There are other general things to know about using modifiers:

You can apply an unlimited number of modifiers to an object or part of an object.

When you delete a modifier, all its changes to the object disappear.
You can move and copy modifiers to other objects using controls in the modifier stack display.
The order or sequence in which you add modifiers is important. Each modifier affects those that
come after it. For instance, adding a Bend modifier before a Taper can give you distinctly
different results than if you first added the Taper followed by the Bend.

Most modifiers allow you to perform operations on the internal structure of an object in object
space. For example, when you apply a modifier such as Twist to a mesh object, the position of
each vertex of the object is changed in object space to produce the twisting effect.
Modifiers can operate at the sub-object level, and are dependent on the internal structure of the
object when the modifier is applied.