BEst free renderer for Max

[Mack_Ver]

I am a teen who is intrested in 3d studio max. I am getting very good with modeling, but i can't get the best results because i don't know how to render. Please tell me what the best free renderer is.

Also what exactly is bump map, and gloss map.
I only use diffusion map.

[Jojomondag]

tell me to i dont know either

[Incitatus]

A demo version of the latest Vray installment has just been released, get that :)

[Mike-3DT]

The scanline renderer included.
Seriously, learn to use that first. It's very capable in the right hands - go check out Willi Hammes work for confirmation.
For advanced features like GI,caustics & radiosity etc, try brazil or vray, but to be honest its like trying to run before you can walk.

[Mack_Ver]

Can you point me to a tutorial, where i can learn how to use it.

[Mike-3DT]

The tutorials that come with the software along with the help files should be plenty to begin with. I'll have a look for tutorials later, although its an often overlooked part of 3d so I'm not sure what I'll find. Maybe a max specific book might help further if the native tuts aren't enough.

[BenB]

'Tis true. The Max manual doesnt go into nearly enough detail about the renderer. I have been using it for about 5 years now as a modeler and Im only just learning what the renderer is capable of.

If anyone does come across a good tutorial covering all aspects of the scanline rendere, please let me know.

Ta.

[kuman]

here's one that's decent

http://www.3dluvr.com/content/article/92

[BenB]

Thanks Kuman, I have been trying to get that subtle soft look for ages. Great tutorial.

[finch]

i was thinking about this.....your renders are not looking good why...because of the renderer....or because of the lighting?

the renderer takes care of making the pics, but if you havent got a handle on materials or lighting, then even mental ray wont help, though it will go a long long towards it!

heres a few tips.

rely on the renderer to do your anti aliasing, fields, all of that technical stuff. inside 3dsmax 4 by new riders has a wonderful chart that shows the different anti aliasing types at different resolutions. its wprth buying that brilliant book for that.

otherwise, try the dome technique for your lighting. basically make a dome, and put 20 lights on it all pointing at your target. reduce the strength of each light to 1/20th of 1, (0.05) so that the overall strength is 1. when you render you should get a nice gi look with some soft shadows. now you need to stick in a couple of other lights for the shadows, turning off diffuse. if you enable the macro recorder in the listener window (right click the pink bar in the bottom left hand corner of the max window) you can now take all of the script that the listener just recorded, and drag it to a toolbar, and whammo, you have a fakeGI setup button. or you can put all the recorder scripting in a new script, save it with a cool name, and then whack it in the startup folder, and walaa! everytime you start max you have a gisetup. is easy.

well, not really cause it talkes a bit of time, but if you get the basics set out, then you can save that and from there you can tweak. also if you want to get into it further, you can custom script an interface for it, allowing you to bypass tools like the light lister. if you want me to make a tute on this, just reply to my message or send me an email or something!

have fun, and enjoy that food for thought. oh yeah, its much better to learn the max renderer at heart, cause once you master it, its a lot easier to move on to things such as final render and brazil. just remember to concentrate on your lighting, and then your rendering will come out perfect. the thing about gi renderers, is they do the lighting for you. why not learn it yourself then youll know what your doing? get a book on lighting techniques, and study lighting in the real world, eg....the way the shadows fall, the height of the sun, the differences between streetlamps, bulbs in your bedroom...e.tc....
\

have fun

[fabrizzzio]

Heya finch!
interesting what you said about the macro recorder!!!
Do you know where can I find more info about this feature, or if you want, can you explain to me some ways to personalize the actions in MAX?

I'll appreciate your help...:)

[finch]

hmm...easiest way to look at it is that the macro recorder records nearly everything that you do in max. once you turn it on, every time you do something, it will show it in the little pink box in the bottom left corner of the max screen. max comes with a seperate help file for maxscript, so read up on that. the thing is that you can use the macro recorder to record tasks that you do, then by creating a button, (as simple as drag and drop or complicated as making on in visual maxscript) you never have to do that task again. also, it helps you get into scripting, as you can immediately see what the functions etc are for that particular operation.

thats the best way to describe it. look it up in the help files, then do the basic tutorials in maxscript. youll see what i mean. i have about 50 buttons set up in max that are just shortcuts for operations that might have taken two minutes to make in the past. now its easy to setups for scenes. think about it. you can create lighting states for photo shoot, architectural viz, gi, etc, and then create a rollout and drag the scripts onto them. its all about customising max so that it makes life easier so that you can get into the nitty gritty of actually modelling and tweaking everything. the macro recorder is good because you dont have to be a programmer to take advantage of it!

have fun, and ill try to think of something else useful that i can write about the macrorecorder.!

[sheetal_arena]

hi this is sheetal
i do want to request 2 u that if u have any 3dmax renderers then please can u send me at my id [EMAIL=sheetal_arena@rediffmail.com].
plz if u have then send me 3dmax8 renderers.
n if u have any data of max can u send me like tutorials, plugins, 3dmax8 full version, renderers etc anything else.
bye n tc
have a nice day
n plz reply 2 me as soon as possible.

[sheetal_arena]

hi this is sheetal
i do want to request 2 u that if u have any 3dmax renderers then please can u send me at my id [EMAIL=sheetal_arena@rediffmail.com].
plz if u have then send me 3dmax8 renderers.
n if u have any data of max can u send me like tutorials, plugins, 3dmax8 full version, renderers etc anything else.
bye n tc
have a nice day
n plz reply 2 me as soon as possible.

[migelowsky]

?
so, you need someone to send you Max 8 full version ?
email Autodesk, I'm sure they will be send it to you in no time.
Maybe they'll give you Maya also, just make sure you email account
is big enough

[Freespace-3DT]

So what did Autodesk say? :???: :roll:

[Ilkejav mk5]

they probably sent goons instead... :hurt:

[Freespace-3DT]

Goons? Is that a plugin for 3dsmax? :haha: :roll: Digimation Goons. :lame:

[V3N0M]

He probably thinks 3dsmax is the size of anim8or or blender or something, ha ha!

[roflol]

It would be fun tough, to e-mail them asking for a free license. Maybe they will reward your stupidity (and the fact that they got a good laugh in the lunch brake) with ... a license;) ..but i wouldn't bet any money on it...

[Freespace-3DT]

LOL, anyone care to try?

"Hello Autodesk,
I'm a big fan of your software and I was asking around for warez. Though, could you guys just email me 3dsmax? Version 9? With plugins? And maybe Maya? Yeah, that would be cool, all the Maya versions, with video tutorials. And maybe 500$? Thanks.
Good luck with developing the service pack for max9."