Guess what ? You can get the exact same result in 3Ds Max by following this little tutorial I wrote for you
But before we start Id like to speak a little bit about Rhinoceros 3D and what tools I used to get this result

If you are a Rhinoceros 3D user you probably know what’s the trick, Its a plugin called Auxpecker. It use a simple trick to shade the objects in realtime, it use the same trick than cubemaps in video games. Basically its just images used to fake reflections, the effect is impressive, specially when you rotate the view and look at the object from various angles…

Now let’s do the exact same effect in 3Ds Max using a simple shader

First you need to download Auxpecker from Jewelslab website
(You need to create an account to access the download links)

Open the downloaded archive and extract the folder called EnvironmentMap anywhere you want (This folder contain all the image files used to fake the reflections separated by categories)

Before you jump into 3Ds Max you need to download a shader called Matballz

You can find the download link here (Bookmark it, worth it !)

Now load an object in 3Ds Max and open the material editor

Pick one of the default material and click on the Standard button

Pick the DirectX shader in the list
(choose discard old material if asked)

Now click on the filepath button and browse to the matballz.fx you previously extracted
(By default 3Ds Max open his own shader folder, put the matball.fx in this folder for quick acess)

The matballz.fx shader has very few settings. The only one you should care is the LitSphere map button

Click on this button and browse to any image file. The file need to have a 1:1 aspect ratio (squared)

And the projection must be spherical. Use any of the images extracted from the Auxpecker folder

Here I loaded the Satined semi-glossy black file from the Auxpecker folder
I used this one for the light bulb body as you can see in the first image of this tutorial

Then you just need to repeat that for every material on your model

Here’s another example using different reflection spheres

Using reflection spheres is not only for the look. Its also usefull when modelling, to get more visual feedback of the curvature of your models, its also good for your clients when they are behind you looking at your screen

You can create your own reflection spheres with Photoshop or any simillar software.

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial and sorry for all those days without any posts

Edit: Also read this cool topic about the subjet on the Polycount forum !

(This light bulb model was done in Moment of Inspiration 3D using a Rhinoceros 3D tutorial located here It was done in both software for comparaison purposes. Check the other tutorials also, on the same website)

http://www.zdepth.ch/

http://www.zdepth.ch/

http://www.zdepth.ch/

Rendered in Octane Render beta 0.9a

Click for fullsize images

Refractive Software (who make the amazing Octane render) just launched a new competition with awesome prizes to win !

Octane Render Commercial v1.00 beta just been released to the public and to inaugurate it they started that competition, you can read all the details by following this link

http://www.refractivesoftware.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=697

Here’s a list of the different prizes you can win

Best image

1st place : One GTX480 Video Card, 2 Evermotion Archimodels CDs (Volumes 58 & 59) and 1 Archinteriors CD volume 14
2nd place : One GPU-X Unit (Without GPU), 2 Evermotion Archimodels CDs (Volumes 58 & 59) and 1 Archinteriors CD volume 11
3rd place : 2 Evermotion Archimodels CDs (Volumes 45, 58) and 1 Archinteriors CD volume 10

Artistic concept
1 Evermotion Archinteriors CD volume 14

Good luck !

http://zdepth.ch/tutorial/an-introduction-to-cube-mapping/

http://www.zdepth.ch/

Some people ask “Why do you need to do your UV in an external application ?” this is a common question, but there’s plenty answers that all depend on the usage or the user.

Let’s say you don’t have enough money, you have a 3D app like Sketchup or Moment of Inspiration 3D that doesn’t have UV tools. You can use a standalone tool its cheaper. Or maybe you work in production with people using various 3D app and you need a central application to do the UV, something compatible with everyone 3D app.

There’s a lot of other answers I could give but those two are the most common.

Let’s see some screenshots of Headus UV layout first

That’s a metal bolt, cut into various parts. As you see Headus UV layout detach those parts when you make the cuts, its very usefull and you can move the parts anywhere you want without breaking anything. That’s one of the biggest pros versus Roadkill UV.

Here’s the UV view in Headus. This screenshot is before the flattening process. The good thing here is that the shading of the 3D view is keeped. You clearly see how the pieces are rotated with that feature. Another good point for Headus.

Here’s the 3D view after the flattening with a checkerboard texture applied. Usefull to check if everything is right. This is just an example, my UV is a disaster aha.

And this is Roadkill UV. What’s amazing about Roadkill is that you always have the 3D view on the right and the UV view on the left. The navigation shortcuts are the same in the two views and you can select edges the same way in the two view. That’s really good in term of workflow. Another point, each time you make a cut the UV view update automatically, that mean automatic pelt mapping at every cut. And off course you can weld cuts to undo. That’s why Roadkill is so powerfull versus Headus, you always see the result as you work.

Headus UV layout pros

1. Navigation is better than Roadkill
2. Better pelt mapping
3. Doesn’t randomly select hidden edges

Headus UV layout cons

1. You don’t see the result before you pelt-map
2. Interface is ugly and there’s not many shortcuts
3. PRO version is expensive

Roadkill UV pros

1. Free !
2. What you see is what you get
3. Weld seams is awesome

Roadkill UV cons

1. ALT+mouse to navigate
2. Sometimes select hidden face on your model

So choose the one you need, but try both because they are worth it

The model is not by me. Its included in Unwrella and can be downloaded from the Unwrella website. There’s a small PDF tutorial that I used to test Unwrella, its also on the website. Here’s a screenshot of the lowpoly model.

Here’s an example of seams in 3DS Max. I used “Point to point seams” in the Unwrap UVW modifier.

Then you got a little script that convert those selections to pelt seams. (that make them green)

After converting the seams, you tweak 2-3 settings and click apply. Here’s the automatic result, automatic pelt mapping + texel density fix + arranged chunks. That’s really fast and you skip all the manual process !

And here’s a simple render showing the high poly baked to the low poly mesh. There’s also a wire showing the low poly mesh polygons.

As you see the result is crisp clean, there’s no visible seams and the mapping is perfect. Thanks to Unwrella !