lesson 6 making tree

Making tree in max

First open the tree image in photoshop make sure it is reasonable symmetrical, then hit CTRL + J to duplicate the background layer and then delete the background of the layer one with the magic wand tool.

Ctrl and left click the thumb nail and creat new layer, fill this layer in white and then create another layer below it and fill this layer is black. Save the image out some where you can find it as a JPEG.

Turn off the top layer off using the eye button and then create a new layer below the layer one, using the petet tool select the darkest color on the tree and then select the bucket tool to fill in this new layer with this dark color.

Select the burn tool on the layer one (mode set to highlights and opacity to 75) start painting over the highlights so they become darker, next create another layer above this layer and turn its layer options to color before going over the edges of the image with the brush tool.

Right click all three layer and merge then, save them out as tree texture.

 

Select the tree by clicking in the white on the top layer with the magic wand tool and then clicking on the background layer,  create new layer and you now have a cut out tree again.

Use the polygonal lasso tool to encircle the top of the tree and create new later to you end up with the same as the image above.

Use ctrl T to select the top of the tree and drag the pivot point down to the bottom so you can rotate it, keep duplicating and rotating until you have gone around 360 degrees.

Make new layer  below this layer after merging all the duplicates together using the merge layer tool (right click) fill this new layer with the dark color from befor.

Create another opacity black and white map the same as you did with the first tree and then save this one with the green background as the texture.

Go into 3ds max and create a plane which is 128 by 93 and then open the material editor, after opening the material editor where it says standard click the button and select multi/ subject and delete the present material so it goes black.

Go into the map selection drop down, load in the diffuse color the texture bitmap and in the opacity selection load in the opacity map for the tree.

Go to the top default layer and drag the texture onto your plane once done go back into the multi/sub object layer and turn show texture on, this will reveal your cut out tree on the plane.

To show your texture on both sides click the 2 sided option at the top of the options above the maps drop down tab.

Hold shift and rotate 45 decrease when the option box comes up select 4 copys to create the same result as the image above. Select all of the planes by pressing ctrl A and convert to editable poly then select one of the planes and click the attach option in the edit poly menu.

After you click attach a box will come up with everything in the scene, select them all and hit attach.

Go to the top view and create a cylinder as wide as the tree.

Convert the cylinder into editable poly and select vertex mode, pulling the vertex’s until the cylinder is cone shaped with a wavy edge.

Apply the textures for the braches onto the cone in the second id  slot the same way we applied them to the original tree plane. After they are applied duplicate and scale until they look similar to the image above.

Add cylinder for trunk.