Special f/x

This sections discusses special effects achievable in 3D Studio usable by both the novice and the proffessional. Here we will feature texture effects, animation effect and enviroment effects such animated textures, lasers, cloulds, light rays, explosions, fire and so on. A little advice on short movie direction will also be included in this section. Some of the special f/x featured here will be based upon the Q&A section and special requests from visitors. Check back here soon for the first special f/x lesson.

Lesson I - Using The Fog Effect in 3D Studio
The fog effect is a very useful tool used to simulate fog or anything fog like. It is an effect that is applied during rendering. In 3D Studio 4 (3DS 4) it can be found in the Renderer/Setup/Atmosphere menu. In 3D Studio Max (3DS Max) it can be found in the Environments menu. The fog variables depend on the camera. The fog starts at the camera start range and slowly becomes more opaque until it reaches the camera limit where it becomes either 100% opaque or a level set by the user.

3D Studio 4
In 3DS 4 you can define the properties of the for effect by clicking the Define button next to the Fog button in the Renderer/Setup/Atmosphere menu. In the Define menu, you can change the color of the fog using the standard RGB or HLS color set. You can set the Near and Far settings of the fog. The Near setting defines the density of the fog at the camera's start range whereas the Far setting changes the density of the fog at the end point or the camera's limit. These settings are defined in percentage where 0% is no fog and 100% is totally opaque. There is also an option to Fog Background. This places a fog equivalent to the Far setting on the background image, solid color or gradient (based on the background settings). To change the camera's limits click Cameras/Ranges on the Functions menu. Next click on a camera. You will be prompted for two ranges - radius 1 and radius 2. Use your mouse to define these ranges. The smaller radius will be the camera's start range and the bigger radius defines the camera's limit.

3D Studio Max
The fog effect is more complex and has more features in 3D Studio Max. There are two kinds of fog effects available in 3D Studio Max. These are Standard Fog and Layered Fog. The fog effect can be access via the Rendering/Environment/Effects dialog. You can also change the color of the fog as in 3DS 4. However, take note that you can animate the color by changing the color at different frames - a definite improvement over 3DS 4 (but make sure you turn the Animate button on). You can also get the color of the fog from a color map by using the Environment Color Map/Assign setting. The Environment Opacity Map/Assign changes the opacity of the fog according to the map. As in 3DS 4, there is also a Fog Backround option. The Standard Fog option works exactly like the fog effect in 3DS 4. However, there are a few extra features. The Exponential option in the Standard Fog menu increases the density exponentially with distance. And again there are the Near and Far options as seen in 3DS 4. The Layered Fog option creates a fog with a varying density from the top of the screen to the bottom of the screen. You can add multiple fogs and animate them.The Top and Bottom options set the points where the fog starts and ends. Horizon Noise gives the horizon of the fog a fuzzy, random flow so that the realism level is increased. The Size option is used to control the size of the random noise from Horizon Noise. The Angle option determines the angle from the horizon where the fog breaks up. Lastly the phase option is used to animate the fog in an up or down movement based on the value entered (positive or negative).

This concludes the first Special f/x lesson. In the coming lessons, we will discuss the other special effects available in 3D Studio.

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