Chapter 2 - Viewports & Cameras in 3D Studio MAX | FREE tutorial , lesson & video training | Beginner | Advanced page 1
Chapter 2 - Viewports and Cameras in 3D Studio MAX ( 3ds max ) (Viewport & Camera tutorial, lessons)
Author - Saju Asokan
Last Updated: Aug 02 2008
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Tutorial on the Basics of Viewports in 3D Studio MAX ( 3ds max )
Lets Zoom
You have already had an idea about what a viewport is from Chapter 1 of this 3D Studio MAX ( 3ds max ) tutorial & training series. Please make sure all the ideas explained in Chapter 1 are clear before proceeding furthur. First of all, lets load the scene that we saved in the previous Chapter. "chap1-teapot.max". You can download the scene here. Click on File > Open and choose the file from the folder where you saved it. Shall we begin?
As we already mentioned, a viewport is just like a window through which we view the scene. Imagine that the scene is real with an actual teapot placed in space. If your home has a window and you are watching the teapot through that window, you get a view. The view changes as the direction at which the window faces the teapot changes. Got it? When you look from the top, you get a Top Viewport view in 3D Studio MAX ( 3ds max ). Similarly with Front, Left etc. Ok? Also keep in mind that the area you look through the window is only a part of the whole scene. The boundaries of the viewport hides the unwanted regions and shows only that part of the scene which is relevant for you.
Now suppose you got a Zoom lens in your hands. You can zoom your view at the teapot. Right? 3D Studio MAX ( 3DS MAX ) gives you a handy Zooming tool. First you click any where inside the perspective viewport except on any object, to select the viewport. Now the viewport will have a boundary highlighted. This shows that the "perspective" viewport is currently active.
Now click on the Zoom Tool from among the Viewport Tools located at the bottom-right corner of the window. . Clicking on the 'Zoom Tool' highlights it and makes it active. Now simply left click and drag your mouse in the perspective viewport. Dragging your mouse up, zooms the view in and dragging down zooms out your view. It is as simple as that. Try it a few times. Now try the same tool in other viewports in 3D Studio MAX ( 3ds max ).
Now suppose you need to zoom all the viewports together. We've got a solution. Simply click on the Zoom All tool from the Viewport tools. Now click and drag inside any of the viewports. The viewport zooms in and out but notice the difference. All the viewports zoom in and out together. Its a very handy tool at times. Learn more about viewports in the next page
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. Clicking on the 'Zoom Tool' highlights it and makes it active. Now simply left click and drag your mouse in the perspective viewport. Dragging your mouse up, zooms the view in and dragging down zooms out your view. It is as simple as that. Try it a few times. Now try the same tool in other viewports in 3D Studio MAX ( 3ds max ).
from the Viewport tools. Now click and drag inside any of the viewports. The viewport zooms in and out but notice the difference. All the viewports zoom in and out together. Its a very handy tool at times. Learn more about viewports 
