Autodesk 3ds Max Tutorials > Special Effects > Creating and Animating a Flying Logo > 
Adding a Volume Light and Volume Fog
 
 
 

You'll now add a fog effect to the spotlight and create a light foggy haze around the planet. Volume Light provides light effects based on the interaction of lights with atmosphere, such as fog.

Set up:

Create a Camera from View

If you're continuing from before, you'll notice that there is no camera in the scene yet. You can create one by doing the following:

  1. Activate the Perspective Viewport. Adjust it as you like to frame your shot.
  2. On the Views menu, click Create Camera from View.

    The Perspective viewport label changes to Camera01.

Add another spotlight

Now you'll create another spotlight shining from underneath the globe.

  1. Activate the Front Viewport, and zoom back so you have more room.
  2. On the Create panel click the Lights button. Turn on Target Spot and drag out a Spotlight below the planet. Set the target slightly above the planet object in the Front Viewport.
  3. Adjust the hotspot so it is wider than the planet, but not a wide as the ring of text.

    You'll use this spotlight to creating a halo of light beams behind the planet. You'll turn on a few options for the lights to give a good result for the effect.

    On the Modify panel turn on Shadows > On.

  4. On the Intensity/Color/Attenuation rollout, increase the Multiplier to 4.0.

Add a volume light:

You can assign the volume light directly in the modify panel, or you can assign it using Rendering menu > Environment.

  1. Activate the camera viewport.
  2. Go to the Rendering menu > Environment.

    The Environment and Effects dialog appears.

  3. In the Atmosphere rollout, click Add.
  4. In the Add Atmospheric Effect dialog, select Volume Light and click OK.
  5. In the Volume Light Parameters rollout, click Pick Light.
  6. Click on the Spot02 light in the viewport or press the H key and pick the Spot02 object from the list.

    Spot02 appears in the field next to the Remove Light button.

  7. Press F10 to do a test render.
    TipAs you repeat the process of entering values and rendering, you will find that the field cannot be active for the rendering keyboard shortcut to work.

    After you enter a value in a numeric field, click on the rollout outside the field to remove the keyboard focus from the field, and then press F9 to render the same viewport as before (no matter which viewport is currently active).

    By playing individual values you can adjust the effect.

  8. In the Volume group change the Density to 20. Press F9 to Render Last.

    Turn on Exponential and press F9

  9. You can also see the changes you've made, in the Exposure Control rollout, by clicking the Render Preview button.

  10. Press H on the keyboard and select Spot02, if it isn't selected already. On the Modify panel, open the Advanced Effects rollout.
  11. In the Projector Map group click the button marked None. Double-click Bitmap in the Material Map Browser and then choose Droplets.tga.

    Adding a projector map will dramatically add detail to the volume effect.

  12. Press F10 to render.

  13. On the Modify panel turn on Decay, setting it to Inverse.

    In the Near Attenuation group turn on Use and Show. Set the Start to 11.0 and the End to 32.0

    In the Far Attenuation group turn on Use and Show. Set the Start to 33.0 and the End to 43.0

    NoteThese are suggested values, yours may vary.
  14. Press F9 to render again.
  15. For a more dramatic effect you can exclude the globe from the Spotlight. On the General Parameters rollout, click Exclude. In the Include/Exclude dialog, highlight the Planet object name and use the right-pointing arrow to move it to the right window, then click OK.

  16. On the Intensity/Color/Attenuation rollout adjust the Near and Far Attenuation values so the effect tapers off within the viewport.

  17. If you'd to hide the effect below the globe, reposition the Spotlight and Spotlight target. Move it in small increments and repeatedly render until you have found a location you like. By tilting the spotlight slightly, rather than using it straight up, you can get a more interesting effect.
  18. Save your work as mywwdesign07.max

Add volume fog:

You'll now create an additional fog effect around the earth. But first, you need to create a type of helper object called an Atmospheric Apparatus that will serve as a container for the fog.

  1. On the Create panel, click Helpers, and select Atmospheric Apparatus from the drop-down list.
  2. Click SphereGizmo.
  3. In the Top viewport, select the center of the earth and drag outwards to create the SphereGizmo. Make it a little bit larger that the size of the earth.
  4. With the SphereGizmo still selected, click the Modify tab. In the Atmospheres and Effects rollout, click Add. In the Add Atmosphere dialog, highlight Volume Fog and click OK.

    Now you need to setup the volume fog parameters.

  5. In the Atmospheres and Effects rollout window, select Volume Fog. Click Setup.
  6. In the Volume Fog Parameters rollout, click Pick Gizmo. Select the SphereGizmo, if it doesn't already appear in the dialog.

    SphereGizmo01 appears in the field next to the Remove Gizmo button.

  7. In the Volume group, click the white color swatch. In the Color Selector, dialog, pick a light bluish purple color. Drag the whiteness selector to lighten the color. Click OK.

    The color you selected is now displayed in the Color swatch.

  8. In the Volume group turn on Exponential and increase the Density to 100.0.
  9. In the Noise group, select Fractal. This gives the fog a less uniform appearance.
  10. In the Noise group change the High Threshold to 0.1.

    Change the Levels to 6.0.

    Change the Size to 1.0.

  11. Press F9 to render.
  12. Make more adjustments to get the look of a cloud cover.

  13. On the toolbar click Select and Link. Link the SphereGizmo to the globe. Play the animation.

    The fog spins with the globe.

  14. Save your work as mywwdesigns08.max

Next

Adding a Flare Effect

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