Saturday, 17 October 2009
Latest Blog Post from Free 3D Models for MAYA and MAX
School bus 3d model
Detailed School bus 3d model. Can be used for architectural visualisations and exterior 3d scenes.
3d Formats included: 3ds max 8, Maya 8, Lightwave, 3ds, Obj
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Ferrari F430 3d model
Formats: 3ds max, Maya, Lightwave, Obj and 3ds.
Download from Uploading
Download from Rapidshare
3d Character model
Lowpoly CG character with bitmap texture.
Formats: 3ds max 8, Maya 8, 3ds, Obj and Lightwave.
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Creating Realistic Chrome in 3ds Max

Creating reflective surfaces like Car paint, Chrome, Glass often involves Raytracing in any 3D Software. We come across Chrome effects in most of the renders both interior and exterior.
Let's see an easy and simple way of creating Chrome material in 3ds max.
1. Take an empty material slot in 3ds max (Press M to open the material editor interface)
then apply the following settings under Shader Basic Parameters.

Ensure you have the settings illustrated in the image.
a. Shader - Phong
b. For Diffuse Color use the following setting. Click on the color box and use RGB(45,45,45), you will get a dark grey color.
c. Specular Level - 121 and Glossiness to 28.
2. Under Maps Rollout, click on the button labelled "None" in the Reflection Slot and select Raytrace from the Material/Map Browser dialog.
set the Reflection Value to 84. There is no limit on this value. But 84 works well for chorme objects like car rims, grills etc. Lower values will not give you good refelction. Use value 100 for headlight chrome effects.Now you are set, apply the material on some object. Now you need some environment for reflection. You may use HDRI images or you can use the following script "Reflect Maker" to create reflection planes.
Here is a rendered image with the above settings.

Hope you like this tutorial.
3d character model
Highly Detailed 3d characters.
Formats: 3ds Max 8 and 2008, 3ds
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Game Character model
Link from Zelda
Formats: 3ds max 8, Maya 8, Obj, 3ds and Lightwave.
Comes with Character and props. Texture maps both diffuse and normal is included.
Download from Rapidshare
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Pass: gfxfree.com
Blender – Competent free 3D modeling alternative to Autodesk’s 3ds Max, Maya
Blender is Free and Open Source 3d Computer Graphics software that runs on most of the operating systems and alternative to the very famous Autodesk’s 3ds Max, Maya, Pixar’s RenderMan etc. Blender is lightweight compared to Autodesk solutions, offers completive features like Rigging, Modeling, UV wrapping, Animation, Rendering, Shading and many other features that one would expect from a 3d software.
Most recent version is the Blender 2.49 with lots of improvements, Blender is constantly evolving. Considering the fact that the Blender is community driven, it has had its ups and downs.
Notable downside of Blender:
- Blender developed as an in-house project and slowly became popular. Its lack of Documentation is one of the main issues. There have been attempts to improve the documentation and many initiatives like Blender documentation project, the 2006 Blender Summer of Documentation project, and the June 2007 introductory book "Essential Blender", which was published by Blender Foundation. It is good know that the Blender community is doing its best to improve things but proprietary software’s do have the best of training materials and videos.
- Blender’s UI has also had issues though it offers a lot of keyboard shortcuts, users have felt that the UI is less intuitive when compared to the proprietary counterparts. Again, there have been attempts to improve the UI look and feel, widget support etc.
However the bottom line is Blender community is very strong and it will take big steps in the coming years.
Most notable commercial usage of Blender in the media industry has been in the movie Spider Man 2, History channel etc.
Some of the best 3d models rendered by Blender – Please see Blender Gallery for more details on artists.
Detailed 3D software comparison:
European CG Network - http://www.tdt3d.be/articles_viewer.php?art_id=99
Computer Society for Digital Artists - http://wiki.cgsociety.org/index.php/Comparison_of_3d_tools