3ds Max 2012 Bible - Kelly L. Murdock [236]
1. Open the Dinosaur.max file from the Chap 19 directory on the DVD.
This file includes a dinosaur model created by Viewpoint Datalabs.
2. Select Create⇒Cameras⇒Free Camera, and click in the Top viewport to create a new Free camera in the scene.
3. With the camera selected, choose Tools⇒Align⇒Align Camera or click the Align Camera flyout button on the main toolbar.
The cursor changes to a small camera icon.
4. Select the Perspective viewport and click the cursor on the dinosaur's face just under its eye in the Perspective viewport.
This point is where the camera will point.
5. To see the new camera view, right-click the viewport title and choose Views⇒Camera01 (or press C).
Although the camera is pointing at the selected point, you may need to change the field of view or dolly the camera to correct the zoom ratios.
Figure 19.4 shows your dinosaur from the newly aligned camera.
The Align Camera command points a camera at an object only for the current frame. It does not follow an object if it moves during an animation. To have a camera follow an object, you need to use the Look At Constraint, which is covered in Chapter 22, “Animating with Constraints and Simple Controllers.”
FIGURE 19.4
This new camera view of the dinosaur shows his best side.
Setting Camera Parameters
When a camera is first created, you can modify the camera parameters directly in the Create panel as long as the new camera is selected. After the camera object has been deselected, you can make modifications in the Modify panel's Parameters rollout for the camera.
Lens settings and field of view
The first parameter in the Parameters rollout sets the Lens value or, more simply, the camera's focal length in millimeters.
The second parameter, FOV (which stands for Field of View), sets the width of the area that the camera displays. The value is specified in degrees and can be set to represent a Horizontal, Vertical, or Diagonal distance using the flyout button to its left, as shown in Table 19.2.
The Orthographic Projection option displays the camera view in a manner similar to any of the orthographic viewports such as Top, Left, or Front. This eliminates any perspective distortion of objects farther back in the scene and displays true dimensions for all edges in the scene. This type of view is used heavily in architecture.
Professional photographers and film crews use standard stock lenses in the course of their work. These lenses can be simulated in Max by clicking one of the Stock Lens buttons. Preset stock lenses include 15, 20, 24, 28, 35, 50, 85, 135, and 200mm lengths. The Lens and FOV fields are automatically updated on stock lens selection.
Tip
On cameras that use 35mm film, the typical default lens is 50mm. •
Camera type and display options
The Type option enables you to change a Free camera to a Target camera and then change back at any time.
The Show Cone option enables you to display the camera's cone, showing the boundaries of the camera view when the camera isn't selected. (The camera cone is always visible when a camera is selected.) The Show Horizon option sets a horizon line within the camera view, which is a dark gray line where the horizon is located.
Environment ranges and clipping planes
You use the Near and Far Range values to specify the volume within which atmospheric effects like fog and volume lights are to be contained. The Show option causes these limits to be displayed as yellow rectangles within the camera's cone.
You use clipping planes to designate the closest and farthest object that the camera can see. In Max, they are displayed as red rectangles with crossing diagonals in the camera cone. If the Clip Manually option is disabled, then the clipping planes are set automatically with the Near Clip Plane set to 3 units. Figure 19.5 shows a camera with Clipping Planes specified. The front Clipping Plane intersects the car and chops off its front