Creating interior using 3ds max

 Creating interior using 3d max

Hello, in this tutorial I will show one of the ways one can create an interior scene having a drawing. Drawing might be as a picture, e.g. jpg, bmp, tiff, or any other bitmap picture format.

Ok, let’s start. Open 3ds max and switch to top view.

Enable Material Editor and choose VRAY MLT material and set the picture of our premises as its texture.

Find out the resolution of our picture by reading the bitmap’s properties with either Windows explorer or your favorite viewer.  Create a plane of the same size as your picture in pixels.

After this, assign created material with texture of the premises to the plane. Apply UVM Mapping modifier to the plane with the settings below.

Set Mapping to Planar and disable Real-World Map Size.

Having done so, we might already have sharp picture of the plan of the premises. If it not sharp enough go to 3ds max’s settings: Customize – Preferences…

Choose Viewports tab and press Configure Driver… This is where we can choose the textures quality, which are viewed on the scene. Specify maximum available value and return to the scene. Perhaps you might need to save the scene and restart 3ds max, if there won’t be any effect.

Ok, if everything went well, and the premises plan is clear to see, we can go on.

Let’s take the longest side of our premises. It is very important that there is a size specified for it. Create a rectangular with the length of the side’s size. Its width can be of any size.

Now we have to make our plane of real dimensions, so the plan could be viewed in 1:1 scale. Of course you won’t make it accurate till the millimeters, but you don’t have to for visualization of the premises. Select SCALE instrument and try to make the size of the plane in the way that the sizes of the longest side of the premises and the length of the rectangular are the same and fit. If it will not be suitable, you could lower the plane a little bit down by the Z axis. So that rectangular is on the top of the plane. All of this should be done in TOP view, so you won’t be misled be the perspective view. For more precision you could use the slider, which sets the scale’s parameters. It allows you much more precise setting than with the use of mouse.

When the sizes have been fit select Create – Line and outline our room with it. If the lines aren’t straight, because e.g. the plan has been drawn so, I would suggest to ignore it and make them straight and with 90 degree intersections. Otherwise it might later cause some issue while rendering. If you still got one line not straight, it is most likely you will after the first try, you can select a segment and align the side so it intersects with others with 90 degree angle. In my case I have to pull it by the Y axis till the side is straight.

Use Extrude modifier on the line. Set the height of our room as the Amount value. After this we will have solid room.

Convert the object into Editable Poly – by the right click on the object and choosing Convert To – Editable Poly. After this conversion use Normal modifier, which will make the object in-side-out, this would make the further work with it far more suitable. Next step is to do windows and doors in it. To do some edit Editable Poly – go to polygons editing mode, when you choose it will be highlighted with the yellow.

Firstly you have to choose the right wall (polygon).

Select Slice plane instrument, it will slice the plane where we need it. Take a look at the plane where the doors and windows are places, set the slice plane where needed. And every time you press the Slice button the polygon will be cut by the Slice plane.

Secondly, choose another polygon where the door should be and slice it the same way as before.

When the markings is done, we now can delete unneeded polygons, select them and press Delete key. Now we have holes in the places where door and window should be.

Go to editing mode for Editable Poly – Border, select the window, press Shift and pull the mouse for a certain depth. Do the same with the door. As a result we have a room where we can install a window and a door.

Additionally for better visualization you could make some chambers.  Select Edge mode in Editable Poly, choose the faces which correspond to the angles in the room’s interior and apply Chamber to them, say 5 mm.

We can now finish this tutorial. The advantage of this method is that it is very fast and useful for modeling premises when you have a plan of the building.