This site hosted by Free.ProHosting.com
Google
main page
News Import/Export Rendering Links
Taelon's gmax Tutorials

Tutorial 2

Engraving Text using the Boolean Compound Object

Other On Site Tutorials

The Boolean compound object

Extremely handy in some situations, it can quickly combine objects in a variety of ways. The resulting object can contain the overlapping areas (Intersection), everything except the overlapping areas (Union), or the most commonly used operation which results in the difference between the objects (Subtraction of the overlapping areas).

    Some basic rules must be followed to successfully create a Boolean object:
  • Only try to create a Boolean object from the same object type; editable meshes/patches/polys or splines.
    If object A is an ePoly and B is an eMesh, convert one before creating the compound object. (Primitives are an exception, they can be combined with most object types).
  • Object B must be a closed (sealed) mesh object, in other words no borders or open edges, etc.
  • To reduce the number of stray vertices and overlapping faces in the compound object, try to use objects with similar face counts in the area to be combined.

A good tutorial to help understand the basics of creating a Boolean compound object can be found at cglearn.com I highly recommend you follow that tutorial to learn about the various results possible with Boolean combinations.

Another good Boolean exercise can be found in the gmax tutorials in the "Cutting Holes in Objects" lesson of the "Making a Power Charger" tutorial from discreet.
Step 1) Create the Text
  1. Select "Create" Tab
  2. Select "Shapes"
  3. Under Splines, "Object Type", Hit the Text button.


    4. Under the Parameters rollout,
  4. Type your text into the window
  5. Select the font style from the drop-down list
  6. Set the font size and any other parameters as needed
  7. In the Top or User Viewport click near world space coordinates 0,0
The text appears in your viewports, it will update if you go back and make parameter changes.

Step 2) Add Modifiers
  1. Enter "Select and Move" mode
  2. Use the Coordinate display windows near the bottom of the screen, set X:0, Y:0, Z:0 to set the text position at the world origin.


    3. (refer to Tutorial 1, Step 5 if you need more detailed instructions)
  3. Select the Modify Tab
  4. Scroll down the Modifier List
  5. Select "Extrude" from the "Mesh Editing" modifier group.
    6. (The Extrude modifier should appear in the stack)

    Add another Modifier
  6. Scroll down the Modifier List to the bottom
  7. Select "Turn to Poly" from the list of "Conversion Modifiers"
    8. (The "Turn to Poly" modifier should appear in the stack above "Extrude")
Note: At this point we could have Converted to Editable Poly, but this method preserves the original shape object and allows us to make adjustments to the text or the extrude modifier in the stack if needed.

Step 3) Extrude the Text
  1. Select the Extrude Modifier in the stack.


    2. Under the Extrude Parameters
  2. Set Amount = 10
  3. Make sure Start and End Capping is selected
  4. under "Output", select Mesh
(The text should be extruded and look like the image shown below in Step 5) 		Step1 text Step2 modifiers
Step 4) Poly Parameters
  1. Select the "Turn to Poly" modifier in the stack. Check the Parameters


    2. (The defaults as shown should be OK)
Step 5) Add a Material
  1. Open the Material Editor
  2. Click on New

    A "New Material" window opens
    click on "Standard",
    then click "OK"
The Material Editor should now show the default settings for the new Material, Mtl #1
  1. Click on the Diffuse Color indicator, adjust the Material color as desired.
  2. Adjust the Specular Highlights, Level and Glossiness as desired
  3. Enter a Self Illumination value of 20 to give the text a brighter appearance.
  4. Make sure the Text Object is still selected, then hit the Apply button


  5. Close the Material Editor window
(Be sure to Hit the "Show Maps in Viewport" button before closing the material editor if you choose to apply a Map to the Material.) 		Step4-5 material
Step 6) Create a Box
  1. Select "Create" Tab
  2. Select "Geometry" mode
  3. Standard Primitives
  4. Object Type "Box"
  5. Open the Keyboard Entry rollout
  6. Set the location and size,

    I used the following:
    • X,Y,Z = 0,0,-20
    • L=200
    • W=200
    • H=25
  7. Press the Create Button
Step 7) Adjust Parameters
  1. Select the Modify Tab
  2. Change Length & Width Segments to 10
  3. Select "Generate Mapping Coordinates"
 Step 6 box Step 7 params
Step 8) Add the Material
    (Same as in Step 5 a-d)
  1. Open the Material Editor
  2. Create a New Standard Material
  3. Click on the Diffuse Color indicator and adjust the Material color.
  4. Add a small amount of Specular Highlights,
    increase the Level and Glossiness if desired
Next I added a Map to the Material. (refer to Tutorial 1, Step 2 if you need more detailed instructions for e - g)

  1. Click the button next to the Diffuse Color indicator


    2. A Material Navigator window opens,
  2. double click on "Bitmap"


    3. An Explorer type window opens,
  3. Navigate through your folders to find your image. (For this tutorial I'm using the fungusmetal_sq.bmp that's included with the gmax tutorial files from discreet) Hit the Open button, or double click the file name.
  4. The Material Editor updates and now shows Map #1. Also, the Bitmap path and name is listed in the "Bitmap Parameters" rollout.
  5. Select "Mirror" for U and V axis
  6. Under "Offsets" set U = 0.5, V = 0.07
  7. Hit the "Show Maps in Viewport" button
  8. When you are satisfied with the mapping on your material, close the Material Editor window
Mirroring effectively double the map size, this can be useful when working with small bitmaps. The Offsets help to frame the text within the pattern, and make the mirroring less noticeable.

Step 9) Turn to Poly

    Add a "Turn to Poly" modifier (same as in Step 2 with the Text object).
  1. Select the Modify Tab
  2. Scroll down the Modifier List to the bottom
  3. Select "Turn to Poly" from the list of "Conversion Modifiers"
  4. Select the "Turn to Poly" modifier in the stack. Check the Parameter settings, (as shown in Step 4), the defaults should be OK

 Step 8 material
Step 10) Check & Hold
  1. Select the Box if it isn't already selected
  2. Check to be sure the text is intersecting the box the desired amount, adjust the Z position if necessary.


    3. Before performing complex operations, it's a good idea to perform a "Hold" first. Later, if you want to experiment with different options, or if something didn't work as you expected, you can simply "Fetch" the scene and try again from the point where you performed the Hold.
  3. In the Main Menu, select Edit
  4. Scroll down and click on Hold


    5. (Notice that "Fetch" is the next operation listed in the menu)

Step 10 check

Step 10 hold
Step 11) Compound Objects
    Make sure the Box is selected
  1. Select "Create" mode
  2. Select "Geometry"
  3. Scroll down the window that says "Standard Primitives"
  4. Select "Compound Objects"


    5. In "Compound Objects" geometry
  5. Under "Object Type" select "Boolean"


    6. The Boolean Operation rollouts appear
  6. In the "Parameters" rollout window you should see Operands "A: Box01"
  7. Under "Operation", Select "Subtraction (A-B)"
  8. in the Display/Update rollout, select "Result"
  9. in the "Pick Boolean" rollout, Select "Move"
We don't need our text object again, otherwise you might want to select a different option here
  1. Press the "Pick Operand B" button

Step 12) Complete the Boolean

    A "Material Attach Options" window opens
  1. Select the text object in the Viewport
  2. Select "Match Material IDs to Material"
  3. Click OK

Step 11 compound

 

Step 11 material attach

 Step 12 boolean

The Compound Object

In the Parameters window you should now see Operand B: Text01 and in the Viewports, something similar to this screen cap.

The text (Operand B) was subtracted from the box (Operand A). This creates the effect that the text is embedding or engraved into the box surface.

Save the Scene!

 

 Step 12 result
Finishing up

Now that we've created our Boolean object we could continue to add modifiers to the stack, but this isn't a good idea.

If you plan on editing the object, I recommend converting it to an eMesh at this point, this will collapse the stack and give us a stable object to work with.

Step 13) Convert the Compound Object to Editable Mesh
  1. Rt. Click the Boolean (Box01)
  2. Select Convert To: ->
  3. Convert to Editable Mesh
  4. Open the Material Navigator
Notice that gmax automatically created a new Multi-Material when we used the Boolean function. The original Box Material (Mtl#1) is Material ID:1 and original Text Material (Mtl#2) is Material ID:2.
  1. Double Click on the Multi-Material to open it in the Material Editor
  2. Rename the new Multi-Material
  3. Close the Material Editor and Navigator windows
 Step 13 convertStep 13 materials
Step 14) Final touches
  1. In the Modifier tab,
  2. Select Polygon Sub-Object mode
  3. Notice that all polygons from the text object are already selected (they are Material ID:2).
  4. Set Extrusion type "Normal" to "Group"
  5. Hit the "Extrusion" button and use the spinners or enter an amount of about -2.0
  6. Select "Bevel" and set the amount to about -1.0
  7. Turn off the Bevel button
Feel free to experiment with various amounts of bevel and/or extrusions. Be sure to monitor the changes in all your Viewports until you get the desired results. Use the CTL+Z and CTL+A key combinations to quickly UNDO and REDO operations.

Save your Scene
when you are happy with the results

 Step 14


The end result should look similar to this.

Finished Boolean

 

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.
If you have a suggestion for a tutorial you'd like to see here,
or a gmax tutorial you'd like to add, contact me at the Email address below.
top of page


 

Tutorial created on 20-July-2003
All content is Copyright © Taelon 2003, unless otherwise noted.
Page updated on 25-July-2003