photorealistic representation and 3d animation

Autodesk 3ds Max — Basic Modeling Tools

(Step-by-Step Tutorial)
Fundamental 3D Modeling Workflows

Date: October 2025

Author: ESDIB (M. Fuster)

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1. Getting Started: Interface & Viewport Navigation

Goal: Learn how to move around the scene, select viewports, and use basic display
shortcuts.

1. Open 3ds Max.

2. Locate the Viewports: Top, Front, Left, Perspective. Press Alt + W to

maximize / restore the active viewport.

3. Orbit, Pan, Zoom in Perspective viewport:

○ Orbit: Hold Alt + Middle Mouse Button (MMB) and drag.

○ Pan: Hold MMB and drag.

○ Zoom: Scroll wheel or Ctrl + Alt + MMB drag vertically.

4. Use the ViewCube (top-right) for quick orthographic views.

Exercise: Create a new scene and practice maximizing a viewport and

orbiting/panning/zooming until comfortable.

2. Creating primitives (Box, Sphere, Cylinder, Plane)

Goal: Create basic geometry and learn object transform tools.

1. On the Command Panel, go to Create > Geometry > Standard Primitives.

2. Click Box, then click-and-drag in the Perspective viewport to set the base,
then drag up to set height.

3. With the object selected, use the Move (W), Rotate (E), and Scale (R) tools
to position it.

4. Change parameters in the Modify panel (length, width, height, segments).

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Tips: Increase segments to subdivide the primitive when you plan to convert to
Editable Poly.

Exercise: Create a box, cylinder and sphere. Move them into a small composition and
practice rotating and scaling.

3. Converting to Editable Poly & sub-object modes

Goal: Convert primitives into editable polygon meshes and edit faces, edges, and
vertices.

1. Select a primitive. Right-click it and choose Convert To > Convert to

Editable Poly (or use Editable Poly from Modify menu).

2. In the Modify panel you will see Selection rollout with: Vertex, Edge,
Border, Polygon, Element modes.

3. Enter Polygon sub-object mode and select a face. Press Delete to remove it.
Try Extrude on that face (found under Edit Polygons rollout).

4. In Edge mode: select an edge, right-click to open the Quad menu; try Chamfer.

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5. In Vertex mode: select vertices and use Target Weld (Graphite Modeling Tools
or Edit Geometry) to weld them.

Exercise: Convert a box to Editable Poly. Delete the top face, extrude one side out,
chamfer an edge, and weld two vertices.

4. Graphite Modeling Tools & common commands

Goal: Use the Graphite tools ribbon for frequently used operations.

Important Graphite tools:

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● Connect (edges): creates edge loops between selected edges.

● Swift Loop: add quick loops across topology.

● Ring / Loop: select edge rings or loops

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● Inset: create an inset polygon region.

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● Extrude / Bevel: push polygons out or add profile bevel.

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● Bridge: connect two polygon borders with faces.

Exercise: With an Editable Poly, select an edge loop, use Swift Loop to add detail,
then Inset and Bevel a polygon to create a rim.

5. Modeling modifiers (non-destructive workflow)

Goal: Learn how to use modifiers to create flexible modeling stacks.

1. Select an object and go to the Modifier list.

2. Apply TurboSmooth to preview smooth subdivision. Change Iterations to 1 or 2.

3. Apply Symmetry: in the modifier list, choose Symmetry, pick the mirror axis
and move the pivot to the seam.

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4. Use FFD (Free-Form Deformation) to warp an object: add FFD 2x2x2 and move
cage points.

5. Bend, Twist, Taper are useful for quick forms — apply and adjust angle/axis.

Tip: Keep a base Editable Poly (or Editable Mesh) below modifiers. To edit base
geometry while seeing modifier results, collapse or turn off modifiers temporarily.

Exercise: Create a half-box, add Symmetry to mirror it, then add TurboSmooth to
smooth the shape.

6. Box-modeling workflow (practical step-by-step)

Goal: Build a simple object (a basic chair seat) using polygon modeling.

1. Create a Box sized for the seat and convert to Editable Poly.

2. In Polygon mode, select the top faces and use Inset (small amount) to create
a border.

3. With the inset polygon still selected, use Extrude downward slightly to
create thickness.

4. Select the four corner polygons (or use Vertex selection to shape corners)
and Chamfer edges for rounded corners.

5. Add an edge loop across the middle with Connect to provide support loops for
smoothing.

6. Apply TurboSmooth to see the final smoothed seat. If the shape collapses, add
more support loops.

Exercise: Model the seat and then duplicate and reposition to create a simple 4-leg
chair (use cylinders for legs and attach them to the seat).

7. Spline & loft modeling

Goal: Create objects from splines and the Loft compound object.

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1. Create a spline: Create > Shapes > Line. Draw a profile curve in the Front
viewport.

2. Use Modify > Extrude on the spline to give it volume (good for basic rails
and trims).

3. For rotational forms, draw a profile and use Lathe (under Compound Objects >
Lathe) or use Loft with a path and shape.

Exercise: Draw a curve profile and extrude it to create a handrail section. Try
Lathe to make a simple vase.

8. Booleans & ProBoolean (use with care)

Goal: Subtract or add shapes using boolean operations.

1. Create two primitives that overlap.

2. Select the main object and go to Compound Objects > ProBoolean.

3. Pick operand B and choose operation: Union, Subtract, Intersect.

Warning: Booleans can create messy topology — usually use them for blocking forms
and then retopologize.

Exercise: Subtract a cylinder from a box to create a handle recess, then convert to
Editable Poly and clean edges.

9. Cleaning topology & common fixes

Goal: Learn to tidy up geometry for smoothing and deformation.

1. Remove unnecessary triangles; aim for quads when possible.

2. Use Target Weld to eliminate stray vertices.

3. Use Collapse only when you are sure you no longer need modifiers above.

4. Add supporting edge loops near hard edges to control smoothing.

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5. Check Normals and smoothing groups (in Editable Poly: Polygon > Smoothing
Groups).

Exercise: Create a rounded crate (box with bevelled edges) and add support loops so
TurboSmooth keeps the hard corners.

10. UV basics (very brief)

Goal: Understand why clean topology matters for UVs and texturing.

1. Apply UVW Map modifier for simple mapping (Box, Planar, Cylindrical).

2. For complex objects use Unwrap UVW and the Edit UVW window to pack islands.

Tip: Before unwrapping, fix overlapping faces and non-manifold geometry.

11. Shortcuts & useful hotkeys (summary)

● W — Move

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● E — Rotate
● R — Scale
● Alt + W — Maximize viewport
● Alt + Q — Isolate object selected
● Ctrl + Z — Undo
● Q — Select
● 1,2,3 — Vertex / Edge / Border / Polygon selection (varies by version; check
your UI)
● Shift (when transforming) — duplicate transform

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