How to use 3Ds Max for Beginners

Start your 3D art journey with this beginner-friendly introduction to 3ds Max, learning the tools, thought process, and asset-building skills needed to launch a career as a 3D artist.

Explore the 3ds Max interface, four viewports, and orthogonal versus perspective views, then learn navigation, selection, modeling, and basic animation and rendering workflows.

Create 3d models with standard primitives in 3ds max, like boxes, cylinders, and cones, then use the gizmo to move, rotate, and modify in the viewport.

Learn to work with editable poly objects in 3ds max: select and delete assets, zoom, convert to editable poly, edit vertices, edges, borders, polygons, extrude, bevel, and bridge.

discover how to create and edit splines in 3ds Max, convert lines into 3d geometry via modifiers, snapping, welds, and extrusion to build simple models such as a chair.

Create a 1 meter square plane, trace half the chess piece, and model it in 3ds max. Apply the extrude modifier for thickness.

Learn to edit the timeline and keyframes, and move a box along the x axis. Use graph and curve editors to refine motion for smoother animation.

Model a guitar body in 3ds Max for beginners by using a plane, symmetry, and editable poly to extrude, weld, and refine vertices into a guitar shape.

Master control edges in 3ds Max to shape high poly models with adjustable sharpness. Use connect, extrude, and borders to create smooth bases and sharp corners.

Add control edges to maintain four-sided guitar topology, weld stray vertices, and then smooth the model with TurboSmooth and iterations to achieve a stronger, smoother geometry.

Apply physically based materials to the guitar and render a scene with Arnold lights. Use an environment map to illuminate and enhance the final render.

Explore Arnold rendering basics in 3ds Max for beginners by learning how to switch renderers, configure common settings, and apply denoising for cleaner final images.