Adding a Streetlight Using XRefs

Modeling Level Design

Using the Object Painter Script to Add Trees

 

Autodesk 3ds Max Tutorials >  Modeling Tutorials > Modeling Level Design > 

Painting Vertex Color in a Level

You can use Vertex Paint to change some of the vertex lighting. You'll notice a triangular dark patch near the drain. You'll paint in some more shadows to fix those hard edges.

Paint vertex color in a level:

1. Continue from the previous lesson, or open\tutorials\level_design\ city_vertex_paint.max.
2. Select the street object and open the Modify panel.

   You'll see there is a Vertex Color modifier in the stack. An earlier version of the Assign Vertex Color utility added this modifier.

   NoteFiles created with earlier version of 3ds Max will load with a Vertex Color modifier instead of a VertexPaint modifier. If you add a VertexPaint modifier to the stack and do a Collapse All Layers, you can convert the old info into the new modifier.
3. Click the drop-down arrow on the modifier list, scroll down and select VertexPaint.

   A new VertexPaint Modifier is placed in the stack. Each layer of paint is accessed through a different VertexPaint modifier in the stack.

   The floating VertexPaint dialog appears. Here you find the tools for Vertex Painting. You will select a color to paint with and the faces you want to paint.

4. Click the eyedropper icon, and then choose a dark brown color from the area near the drain. Press the eyedropper down and move it around over the geometry. The eyedropper will pick up the color from the map channel.

5. On the VertexPaint dialog, choose Face selection then click on the face that has the hard edge brown shadow near the drain.

   The single polygon is selected in the viewport.

6. On the Selection group click Soft Selection, then turn on Use Soft Selection.

   In the viewport the adjacent faces to the original are now selected.

7. On the VertexPaint dialog, lower the Size of the brush to 3.0
8. Click the Paint button, and then paint the light areas around the hard edge near the drain.

   

   Darker color is blended near the drain to blend into surrounding sidewalk

   Increase the Soft Selection falloff if you want to paint a wider area.

   Painting without soft selection will let you paint hard edges. Let's suppose you want to paint in a yellow brick road. You'll add another layer for the yellow tint.

9. On the VertexPaint dialog, in the Layer group click New Layer.

   Another VertexPaint modifier is added to the stack.

10. Choose Face Selection again, Turn off Use Soft Selection if needed, then hold down the Ctrl key and then in the viewport click to select polygons in the street. Add the side streets if you like.
    TipYou can drag a selection rectangle to select many faces at once.

    

11. On the VertexPaint dialog, click the color swatch and then choose a yellow color from the color picker.
12. On the VertexPaint dialog, click the Paint All button.

    The selection fills with yellow color.

    

13. To tone down the effect, move the Opacity slider in the Layer group. Watch the paint in the viewport as you change the opacity of the layer.
14. For fun, click the drop-down arrow for the Mode list in the Layer group, then choose a different blending mode, such as Color Dodge, for example. See what each of the different modes does in the viewport.
15. Save your scene as myellowbrickroad.max.

    The city needs some beautification, so you'll add some trees. In the next procedure, you can use a sample script that comes with the software to paint the XRef trees into the scene.