Adding a Volume Light and Volume Fog

Creating and Animating a Flying Logo

Introduction to reactor

 

Autodesk 3ds Max Tutorials > Special Effects > Creating and Animating a Flying Logo > 

Adding a Flare Effect

Using Video Post, you can add events that occur in a finished video. In this case, you are using Video Post to add a flare effect that simulates a bright star behind the earth sphere to give the animation more of an outer space look.

Create a dummy object:

You'll first need to create a dummy object that will serve as the “placeholder” for the flare effect.

1. Proceed with the file you saved in the last lesson or open tut_wwdesigns_globe_fog.max from the \tutorials\worldwide_designs directory.
2. On the Create panel, click Helpers > Dummy.
3. In the Top viewport, drag out a square above the earth sphere. Position the dummy so it is visible behind the globe in the Camera viewport.
4. In the Name and Color rollout, name the dummy Flare Dummy.

Add a flare effect:

You'll now use Video Post to easily create an effect that will add interest to your animation.

1. Choose Rendering menu > Video Post.

   The Video Post dialog appears.

2. From the Video Post toolbar, click Add Scene Event. In the View group, name the Label Camera01. Click OK.

   The animation will be created using the Camera01 viewport.

3. Click Add Image Filter Event. Select Lens Effects Flare from the drop-down list. Click OK.

   For the Label, enter Flare Effect

4. Click Add Image Output Event. Enter wwdesigns with flare effect. Click the Files button. For the output file name, enter wwdesigns0000.tga. In the Targa Image Control dialog turn on 24 bit in the Bits-per-pixel option.

   By naming the file with four zeros at the end of the name, the program knows that you want to render an ordered sequence. Setting up your work this way will let you render a high resolution still image sequence.

   The Video Post now lists all the events you just created in a queue.

   

5. In the Video Post Queue, double-click Flare Effect. In the Edit Filter Event, click Setup.

   You'll now set some settings in the Lens Effects Flare dialog that will create a bright star with rays behind the earth.

6. Click Preview.

   A generic preview window displays a flare effect.

   You can change this to display your scene.

7. Click VP Queue to see the earth and the logo text.
   TipIf the logo text is behind the earth, move the time slider in 3ds Max to a frame where the logo text is in front of the earth. Click Update in the Lens Effects Flare dialog to update the preview.
8. In the Lens Flare Properties group, click Node Source.
9. In the Select Flare Objects list, choose Flare Dummy. Click OK.

   Now that the dummy object is set as the source, you can now make changes to some settings.

10. To better see each effect, go to the Prefs panel and in the Render column, turn off all the effects. Now turn each one separately and look in the preview to see the effect by itself.

    

11. To create the appearance of a bright star in the background, turn on Rays and Star.

    You'll change a few settings to make the distant star a little more noticeable.

12. Go to the Rays panel. Set these values:
    • Size=450
    • Angle=45
    • Num=300

    Click Update to see the changes.

    If you cannot see any effects, move the Flare dummy object in the viewport and then click Update in the preview window again until the rays are in the desired location.

13. Go to the Stars panel. Set these values:
    • Size=100
    • Sharp=10

    Turn on Random. Click Update.

14. Turn on Glow on the Prefs panel.

    

    You're now ready to render your animation. Click OK to exit the dialog.

15. On the Video Post toolbar, click Execute Sequence.
16. In the Time Output group, turn on Range. Enter 1 in the first field and 200 in the second field. In the Nth Frame field enter 2. Click Render.

    Video Post now renders every other frames of your animation and adds the effects you created in a post-production video. Since you've selected every second frame, the rendering will go faster and the animation will play more quickly.

    Depending on the speed of your computer, the rendering may take some time. While you wait, you can watch the animation progress in the frame buffer window and in the Video Post rendering progress dialog.

17. In 3ds Max, go to Render menu > RAM Player.

    The RAM player lets you load high resolution still image sequences into memory and play them back.

18. On the RAM player toolbar, click Open Channel A. Navigate to the image sequence you rendered, and select the filename of the 1st image. At the bottom of the dialog, turn on Sequence, then Open.

    

    The files load into the RAM Player.

19. When the files are loaded, play the animation using the Play controls on the RAM player toolbar.

    Once the files are loaded into the RAM player, you can save them out as a movie file. Choose Save Channel A, and then select the file type and file name you want.