Ben Cowell > Setting up reference in a viewport
for 3ds Max
level: All
In this tutorial you will learn how to set up reference images to help with modeling complex objects.
- If you haven't done so already, download the reference.zip file and extract it's contents. The zip file has example images that we will use for this tutorial and a Max file containing the finished result.
- Preparing the image: The first thing you must do to ensure you have a reasonable end result in max is to have a decent quality image. Wire-framed images are obviously one of the better choices in this sort of a situation as too much detail will be lost when Max displays a fully textured image in your viewport.
Most Wire-framed images are the standard black frame on a white background. While this is easy to follow in your favourite imaging program such as Photoshop or on plain draught paper, the display quality in Max of these images is rather poor at this point in time so you should consider having a different color scheme. The example below outlines this.
In the first image we have the actual blue print image in its original form.
In a new Max file, go to Units Setup in the Customize menu and choose the units that you noted from your image (such as inches or centimeters). Now go to the Create panel and choose Plane. (Note: if you are using 3D Studio MAX 2.5 or earlier, you can create a box with 0 height for this step). Set the Length and Width Segs to 1. Right click in the Front viewport (or in whichever one you want to have the reference image set up). Now on the Create panel, open the Keyboard Entry rollout and enter the dimensions of your image as the Length and Width values, then hit Create.
