3ds Max Workflow 2
Proceduralism

The 3ds Max Workflow 2 Proceduralism DVD is the first of a two part series that introduces Proceduralism within 3ds Max. Chris guides you through the concepts of a nodal architecture by looking at practical examples in 3ds Max, Maya, and Houdini, and goes on to show how it is accessed in 3ds Max via its Stack interface. He then continues onwards to show how large and small elements can be instanced, and outlines important issues such as stack evaluation and topological dependency.

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3ds Max Workflow 2 Proceduralism is aimed at a user of Fundamental to Intermediate level. It is intended to give a good grounding in the Procedural concepts and workflows in 3ds Max, and also as a strong foundation.

Chapter 1: What is Proceduralism?

A brief introduction to the concepts that lie behind Proceduralism, such as Nodes, Parameters, and Controllers.

Chapter 2: Working with Nodes & Proceduralism

To get a broader insight into what a Procedural workflow is, in this chapter we take a brief look at the same procedural task tackled in 3 different packages, 3ds Max (of course), Maya, and also Houdini.

Chapter 3: The Stack, Friend or Foe?

The Stack can be a daunting and confusing prospect to new users of 3ds Max and 3D software in general. Here we look at how it can be used to make workflow easier and more flexible.

Chapter 4: Instancing & Referencing

An important feature of most Procedural systems is the ability to share and re-use nodes, parameters, and controllers across the package.

Chapter 5: Base Objects & Conversion

All objects in 3ds Max are based on a number of core base geometry types, we look at them here and how we can convert between them at will.

Chapter 6: Working With The Stack

Here we return to the Stack to look at how it functions in more detail. Learn how to manipulate the modifiers to do what you want and gain mastery over this crucial 3ds Max interface element.

Chapter 7: The Modifiers

The Modifiers are the elements that we use to build our procedural systems via the Stack. Here we run through the functionality of each major group briefly.

Chapter 8: Passing It On & Topological Dependency

Exploring the Modifiers and situations that are totally dependent on the geometry and sub selections passed to them.

Chapter 9: Experimentation without Risks

Finally we look at how a procedural workflow also allows us to experiment during our workflow with no real risk, and also how to use proceduralism to fix errors we may have made during modelling.

The first volume, also available from Novedge, is called 3ds Max Workflow 1 - User Interface and Basic Workflow.