• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

4. In the Parameters panel, click the Pick Light button and select the light close to the surface. Set the Size around 30 and the Intensity at 100. Go to the Glow Element rollout, and in the Parameters panel, set the Use Source Color to 0. Then, in the Radial Color section, click the second Radial Color swatch, and in the Color Selector dialog box, select a color like yellow and click the Close button.

5. Back in the Lens Effects Parameters rollout, select Star, and add it to the list of effects. It automatically uses the same light specified for the Glow effect. In the Star Element rollout, set the Quantity (Qty) value to 6, the Size to 200, and the Intensity to 100.

Figure 46.33 shows the resulting airplane with a nice shine.

FIGURE 46.33

The Spruce Goose has had a sparkle added to it using the Glow and Star Lens Effects.

Using Other Render Effects

Now that I've covered the big brother of the render effects, let's return to the Add Effect dialog box, where six other render effects are available. If these selections aren't enough, Max also enables you to add even more options to this list via plug-ins.

Blur render effect

The Blur render effect displays three different blurring methods in the Blur Type panel: Uniform, Directional, and Radial. You can find these options in the Blur Type tabbed panel in the Blur Parameters rollout, shown in Figure 46.34.

FIGURE 46.34

The Blur Parameters rollout lets you select a Uniform, Directional, or Radial blur type.

The Uniform blur method applies the blur evenly across the whole image. The Pixel Radius value defines the amount of the blur. The Directional blur method can be used to blur the image along a certain direction. The U Pixel Radius and U Trail values define the blur in the horizontal direction, and the V Pixel Radius and V Trail values blur in a vertical direction. The Rotation value rotates the axis of the blur.

The Radial blur method creates concentric blurred rings determined by the Radius and Trail values. When the Use Object Center option is selected, the None and Clear buttons become active. Clicking the None button lets you select an object about which you want to center the radial blur. The Clear button clears this selection.

Figure 46.35 shows a dinosaur model created by Viewpoint Datalabs. The actual rendered image shows the sharp edges of the polygons. The Blur effect can help this by softening all the hard edges. The left image is the original dinosaur, and the right image has a Directional blur applied.

FIGURE 46.35

The Blur effect can soften an otherwise hard model.

The Blur Parameters rollout also includes a Pixel Selections tabbed panel, shown in Figure 46.36, that contains parameters for specifying which parts of the image get blurred. Options include the Whole Image, Non-Background, Luminance, Map Mask, Object ID, and Material ID.

FIGURE 46.36

The Pixel Selections tabbed panel (shown in two parts) of the Blur Parameters rollout lets you select the parts of the image that get the Blur effect.

You can use the Feather Falloff curve at the bottom of the Blur Parameters rollout to define the Brighten and Blend curves. The buttons above this curve are for adding points, scaling the points, and moving them within the curve interface.

Brightness and Contrast render effect

The Brightness and Contrast render effect can alter these amounts in the image. The Brightness and Contrast Parameters rollout is a simple rollout with values for both the brightness and contrast that can range from 0 to 1. It also contains an Ignore Background option.

Color Balance render effect

The Color Balance effect enables you to tint the image using separate Cyan/Red, Magenta/Green, and Yellow/Blue channels. To change the color balance, drag the sliders in the Color Balance Parameters rollout. Other options include Preserve Luminosity and Ignore Background. The Preserve Luminosity option tints the image while maintaining