Need 3ds Max Help

[burnsy]

Hi all,
I'm asking for some help with 3ds max here for a few reasons:

1. I've tried googling as much as I could.
2. Don't really feel like registering with a 3ds max forum, and not sure which one.
3. I feel that the people here will be much more helpful than other forums.

I'm trying to create a set of four puzzle pieces, make them glass and have some engraved text on them. I am very much a newbie to 3d modeling and 3ds max, but I've been able to get the pieces traced, extruded and a glass material added just fine.

I did have some problems with the glass material. The pieces never looked like glass (see first picture) until I flipped the normal on the bottom face so that the underlying plane would show through. As such, I now have some nice glass puzzle pieces, but I am stuck getting the engraved text on them now.

I can get the engraved text on it if I follow this tutorial, but it would only work if I do not flip the normal on the bottom face of the piece, thus stopping the underlying plane from showing through. See the below picture.




However, if I follow that tutorial after I did do the flip, the piece now looks like this picture with the engraving missing.



Are there any 3d modeling gurus that may be able to help me out? Or at least someone more knowledgeable than I, which isn't too hard.

PS, I don't know why phyrefile is washing out the fullsize images.

 

[cyberjunkie]

I haven't done any 3d modeling in a while, but you could try setting the normals right and setting a 2-sided material. Also, try one of the ready made objects and see if you get the desired result. Use the ready teapot model. I would definitely recommend refraining from using boolean while modelling, but I guess it's OK to get the hang of the interface and so on.

 

[burnsy]

I haven't done any 3d modeling in a while, but you could try setting the normals right and setting a 2-sided material. Also, try one of the ready made objects and see if you get the desired result. Use the ready teapot model.

Oh, the material is not the problem, as I did test it with the teapot. It's my own pieces that are the problem.

I would definitely recommend refraining from using boolean while modelling, but I guess it's OK to get the hang of the interface and so on.

What should be used to make an engraved text on the piece if I shouldn't use boolean?

 

[TerranCmdr]

You could try a displace map...?

 

[cyberjunkie]

What should be used to make an engraved text on the piece if I shouldn't use boolean?

I meant, generally, boolean use for modeling isn't recommended. Get that text outline in the block using modeling might be extremely cumbersome. Like TerranCmdr said, use of a displacement map or maybe even just a bump / normal map could give you the desired effect.

 

[burnsy]

You could try a displace map...?

I meant, generally, boolean use for modeling isn't recommended. Get that text outline in the block using modeling might be extremely cumbersome. Like TerranCmdr said, use of a displacement map or maybe even just a bump / normal map could give you the desired effect.

Thanks guys. However, do you have any tutorials and such that you can point me to? I definitely really don't know what I'm doing, but I'm also the only one in the company that can do it.

 

[Ramseus]

Booleans are messy as hell but since this is rather simple they should be perfectly fine. Your description of the problem is lacking, but I'm suspecting that the boolean just wasn't successful because your normal flipping made the mesh open, or something. Can you either show wires (just screenshot the viewport) or post up your max file so we can check it out for you? Also, you'll probably want to chamfer the edge of the engraving, 90 degree edges aren't very slick.

 

[burnsy]

Booleans are messy as hell but since this is rather simple they should be perfectly fine. Your description of the problem is lacking, but I'm suspecting that the boolean just wasn't successful because your normal flipping made the mesh open, or something. Can you either show wires (just screenshot the viewport) or post up your max file so we can check it out for you? Also, you'll probably want to chamfer the edge of the engraving, 90 degree edges aren't very slick.

Shot of one piece in wireframe, as you requested:


It seems you are right in that it's hollow inside. The way I'm creating the pieces is:

1. Create plane with bitmap of image to trace
2. Create lines for corner straight edge and for curved edges
3. Attach lines to form one
4. Weld lines
5. Extrude

The max file posted below is just after the extrude point. The "scene" is already set with the glass materials, lights, etc. The process I followed above is the correct process for tracing and extruding?

Max file
Image used to trace and extrude

 

[burnsy]

Hate to bump my own thread, but I found a new tutorial for cutting shapes from solids.

How to do a basic cutout, and use line tool. (Youtube)

After following that, but differing slightly on the collapse (using intersection), I get the below render. It seems that it might be acting more like it's a solid block of glass now. Thoughts? Going the right direction?

 

[Ramseus]

Ok, so you've got those as lines. Right click and convert to editable poly then try again. That might fix your issue.