Q: Where can I find some very basic MAX tutorials on the Web?

A: This is the third TBT. It shows a quick way for modeling a Banana.
It works with any release of 3DS MAX and covers some basics of:
  • Shapes and Splines
  • Loft Objects and Deformations - Scale
  • Materials and Maps - Gradient
  • Utilities - Color Clipboard
  • Environment - Background color

    The Banana

  • Start your 3DS MAX.
  • MAX 1.x only: Right-click on the Viewport's name saying "Perspective" and select the top entry of the drop-down list to get into Shaded mode.
  • Right-click in the "Front" viewport to activate it.
  • In the "Create" tab, click on "Shapes".
  • Click on "NGon" and create a shape.
  • Click on "Line"
  • Click in the Front viewport to define the start of the spline.
  • Create two more vertices on the spline.
  • Go to Modify and apply an Edit Spline modifier - it will be in "Sub-Object" Vertex mode.
  • Select all vertices, right-click and set the Type to Bezier.
  • Set the tangent position as shown on the screenshot:
  • Click on "Sub-Object" to deactivate it.
  • Click on "Geometry" and select "Loft Object" from the drop-down list.
  • Select the Spline in the viewport.
  • Click on "Loft", click on "Get Shape" and select the NGon in the viewport.
  • Go back to the Modify tab.
  • Expand the rollout called "Surface Parameters".
  • Activate the "Apply Mapping" checkbox.
  • Expand the last rollout named "Deformations".
  • Click on Scale - a new window will be displayed.
  • Using the Icon "Insert Corner Point" create new vertices on the spline.
  • Select all vertices, right-click and set to "Bezier-Smooth".
  • Using the Icon "Scale Control Point" set the spline shape as shown on the screenshot:
    Note that you can watch the changes in realtime in the Shaded Perspective viewport.

    Congratulations! You just made a Banana! Let's paint it now right...

  • Click on the Material Editor icon in the toolbar.
  • Select one of the sample spheres and click on the "Assign Material to Selection" icon.
  • Click on the square to the right of the "Diffuse" color swatch.
  • From the Map browser select "Gradient".
  • Click on the Icon "Show Map in Viewport".
  • Set the second color swatch of the Gradient to a shade of yellow.
  • Set the third color swatch of the Gradient to black.
  • Set the "Color 2 Position" to 0,3.
  • Click on the "Utilities" tab and select "Color Clipboard".
  • Click on the yellow color you set before, drag and drop into the color clipboard.
  • Click on the map slot to the right of the first color swatch.
  • From the Map browser select "Gradient" again.
  • Drag and drop the yellow color from the clipboard into the second and third color swatches of the new gradient.
  • Change the second color from yellow to a yellow-greenisch color.
  • Set the first color swatch to a shade of brown.
  • Set the "Color 2 Position" to 0,95.

  • Click on the "Rendering" menu item and open the "Environment..." window.
  • Click on "Background Color" and set the background to blue.
    You can press the Render button now to see the result:

    If you have MAX 2, you can improve the image by setting the "Corner Radius" field of the NGon shape to a value higher than 0:

    If you are using MAX 1.x, you can apply a MeshSmooth modifier to achieve a similar effect.