Modeling an Airplane

Modeling an Airplane

Setting Up Viewport Backgrounds

 

Autodesk 3ds Max Tutorials >  Modeling Tutorials > Modeling an Airplane > 

Setting Up the Airplane Scene

The first task is to set the modeling units to meters and create a calibration box. Aircraft designers have always used the metric system for specifying dimensions. As a default, 3ds Max is set to generic units, so you'll need to change this.

Set up units of measurement:

1. From the Customize menu, choose Units Setup.

   The Units Setup dialog appears.

2. Choose Metric, then click OK.

   Now when you create anything, the dimensions will be displayed in meters.

3. In the Create panel, on the Object Type rollout, click Box.

   Look at the Parameters rollout; the size values are now displayed in meters.

   The next step is to set up the viewport backgrounds.

Build the calibration box:

An actual P-38 has a wingspan of 15.85 meters, and a length of 11.532 meters. With the wheels extended, it has a height of 3 meters. You'll use this information to make a box of that size so you can get an idea of how much space the model will take up.

1. Activate the Top viewport.
2. In the Create panel, on the Object Type rollout, click Box.

   The Box button turns gold to show it's active and ready to create.

3. Open the Keyboard Entry rollout, and enter the following values (you needn't type the "m"; 3ds Max adds it automatically when you press Enter or Tab):
   • Length: 11.532m
   • Width: 15.85m
   • Height 3m
     TipYou can use the Tab key to move from one field to the next.
4. Once these values are entered, click Create.

   A box appears in the viewports.

5. In the command panel, name the object calibration box.
6. In the viewport navigation controls at the bottom-right corner of the interface, click Zoom Extents All.

   The box is now visible and centered over the three background bitmaps. It doesn’t matter if your box is a different color than the one in the illustration.

   

   The calibration box.