large part of making realistic models in 3D Studio Max involves covering the models in layers of material to simulate skin, fur or cloth. With early versions of 3D Studio Max, this was done either through the painstaking modeling of each fold and bunch of the covering layer or with the aid of a plugin. With new versions of the software, there are several choices of tools to use for the modeling and animation of clothing and other covering materials.
The Need for Fabric in 3D Modeling
- Modeling an object such as a chair or sofa gives you a physical demonstration of the object for use within a 3D scene. As just a model though, the object appears to be unrealistic, stiff and uninviting without some form of covering applied. When that covering is a fabric covering, you can simulate the appearance of softness. With fabric applied, your modeled object appears more realistic, increasing the sense of immersion viewers of the scene experiences.
Using the Cloth Modifier to Create Fabric in 3D Studio Max
- With a few changes in an item’s parameters, you can quickly create a piece of fabric using the cloth modifier in 3D Studio Max. The Cloth modifier gives the modeled object the same features as an actual piece of fabric, allowing you to fold, drape, pull or simply lay the modeled object over another object in a 3D scene. By activating the two objects, the cloth object and the collision object the cloth reacts to, the modified cloth will then drape across the object that it lies on. The object with the modifier acts as though it’s an actual piece of fabric, using the physics modeling in 3D Studio Max to control the draping effect to produce natural folds and wrinkles. Modifying the parameters of the cloth object allows you to simulate certain types of cloth, setting greater stiffness for the material to simulate a thicker piece of cloth for example.
Texturing an Object with Substances
- Applying cloth doesn’t necessarily require the creation of a separate modeled object for attachment to the object you wish to cover with fabric. By using the substance file format, you can texture an object such as a cloth, chair or pillow directly with a fabric texture. The Substance format allows you to import a fabric texture that’s created in a bitmap format. The substances available for application contain surface parameters that can be changed within the application dynamically to alter the appearance of the texture. Once you apply the texture to the model, changing the substance parameters can make a substance fabric texture look older; for example, if the substance is a tartan cloth, the squares of the pattern can be made larger or smaller as you desire.
Simple Texturing of a 3D Model
- Applying a simple texture without dynamic properties is still an option in newer versions of 3D Studio Max. With a non-dynamic texture, the fabric is painted onto the surface of an object, forming a shell about the object that has the appearance of fabric. This texture is simply a painted bitmap with no depth. The quality of the texture lies in the quality of the bitmap, with realistic-appearing fabric possible only through realistic bitmap design. The textured surface can be enhanced through the careful use of lighting but cannot approach the realism of a substance file format or a cloth modified object applied to the modeled object as a fabric covering.
