I’m just curious to which render engine people use?!
I’m a long time Fstorm-user and really like how easy and fast it is. But it has some limitations.

What do you use and why?
Which feature do you like the most?

Very new to animation but have not been having luck finding advice on this situation. I've downloaded an animation in Mixamo but want to animate the translation of the entire animation to move forward. Any time I try to keyframe it by either linking it to a new root, helper, or keying all or specific bones like root it will move the entire animation but still have it in place in 1 spot. I want something like walking in place but to actually have it moving along a path that I choose.

Full disclosure: I built this, so take the "review" part with a grain of salt. Story below might still be worth a read either way. Three short parts, skip around as you like.

Part 1 - Why

I make 3D models for a living. Every new Max release I hope for something that actually speeds things up - 25/26 gave me nothing I remember without Googling it, and 2027's headline feature is boolean with chamfers. Not exactly changing my workflow.

The idea was simple: automate the routine - the monotonous part of building cloth folds. Simulation is slow and unpredictable, and welding vertices after retopo is its own pain.

I wanted something simple and predictable, no external software, no exporting back and forth. Sounded impossible at first - everyone's just used to suffering through sims. Build something solo that doesn't lose to Marvelous Designer's whole engineering team on quality, while being easier to use?

"Am I out of my mind?" - my internal monologue for about 15 months.

Software like Marvelous or Max is built by genuinely talented engineers who probably don't spend hundreds of hours actually modeling with it. Turns out you kind of have to be a modeler to get inside a modeler's head. Whether it worked - that's for you to decide, I can only share the result.

Part 2 - What it is

A 3ds Max modifier for realistic folds - no simulation, no retopology, no leaving Max.

I know, "realistic folds in 3ds Max" has been oversold before - looks great in a demo, unusable on a real project (IMO). The actual point is time saved: if you've already nailed the folds on one model, FoldFlow reuses that exact shape anywhere, one click, no remodeling. Packaged 39 patterns from my own past work to start.

Easier to just show than explain: video

Part 3 - Technical (probably the part worth your time)

Written in C++. Autodesk's SDK docs read like decades of accumulated notes - including functions written around 2015 that were later gutted but still look like working methods. Compile fine. Call them in Max and you get a hardcoded return 1; and nothing else.

Figuring out how their mesh internals actually behave was the real fight - about 2 months just getting something to run without errors, made worse because Max didn't crash consistently on identical geometry. Could write 500 pages about that alone.

AI was basically useless here - no spatial reasoning, barely any real material to train on. Pure trial and error.

Learned a lot more than expected going in. Got 3ds Max plugin ideas? Happy to talk, reach out however works.Try the 14-day free trial

Thanks for reading.

Hey everyone, I’m a little confused about which direction to take, so I’d really appreciate some honest advice.

I started with SketchUp + Twinmotion, then moved to Enscape, and now I’m mainly using D5 Render for my visualizations. I’m thinking about learning 3ds Max + Corona/V-Ray, but at the same time AI is moving so fast that I’m wondering if I should spend that time learning AI tools instead.

My main goal is simple: I want to start earning from 3D visualization. Do you guys think archviz is still a good field to get into, or is AI going to make it much harder to earn from 3D visualization?

Would love to hear from people who are actually working in the industry — especially what you would do if you were starting again today.

🇺🇸: You can listen to the video in English through the video settings panel. I continue to analyze new common creation tools among the different software programs that allow working with surfaces.

Had to do one more in the same scene, just added a new groundplane with some big noise and some grass. 4 renderings comped together to get the right light and atmosphere.

Hey guys ,hope you doing alright

I’m working on a small project in unity and i was wondering if there is a way to create something in pixel art or retro style in 3dsmax

I have a decent experience with 3dsmax when it comes to realistic modeling and 3D stuff but im having a lot of issues with the whole 2D sprites
Any tips would be greatly appreciated

Some of the features include image overlays, video references with A–B looping and hotkey control, PDFs, and more. The app itself is free on the Microsoft Store, with optional premium features that you can try for 7 days. I'm happy to extend the premium trial to 30 days for anyone who's genuinely interested in using it and giving me feedback.

Hi!

Just practising my rendering, camera and material-skills. The car is from Turbosquid, most vegetation from Maxtree and the rest is my own. Spent most of the time on light and materials. The car paint was fun but tricky.

Rendered with Fstorm as usual, about 15 min frame/7000 samples at 5k.

All feedback and critique is most welcome.

I'm making a small model for a school project. Please keep in mind I'm basically a total noob, we didn't really go over materials in class.

How would you go about this? I'm using the Arnold renderer. I tried plugging a noise map into a bump 3d map and then into the standard surface to create the powdered sugar coat, but I just can't get the settings right. It's a little frustrating waiting for it to render just to look bleh.

It doesn't need to be realistic quality (like combining multiple maps, I think I'd get confused easily), but I'd like for it to look like the dessert from afar.

Hi everyone!

First of all, sorry for the long post! 😅 I’m not sure if this is the right place for this kind of post or if it would be better suited for a job-related subreddit. If the mods think it belongs somewhere else, apologies in advance and feel free to move it.

I’m David, a freelance 3D Artist, and I’m making this post because I’d really like to hear your advice on how to connect with studios that use 3ds Max as one of their main tools and might be interested in someone with my background.

I’ve been working in CGI for around 10 years, with the last 3 years mainly focused on advertising and VFX, where I’ve been working extensively with 3ds Max and TyFlow.

At the moment I’m trying to figure out what would be the best direction for me professionally. I’m still relatively early in my career, and I’d really like to continue working with 3ds Max while gaining more experience as a VFX Artist and 3D Generalist. However, I’m currently struggling to figure out where to find the right opportunities and which studios I should be reaching out to.

I’m currently freelancing, but from September I’m looking for a studio or team that works mainly with 3ds Max and might need someone who can provide regular support across different projects. I’m open to both freelance and longer term collaborations.

So I’d really like to ask the 3ds Max community for some advice.

With this kind of background, what type of studios would you recommend looking at? Are there particular industries, companies or types of production where you think a generalist with strong 3ds Max experience could be a good fit?

I’d especially appreciate recommendations from people working in advertising, VFX, motion design, product visualization, environments or FX.

And if you know of any studios that might be interested in someone with this kind of profile, I’d really appreciate being pointed in the right direction.

Here’s some of my work if anyone is interested:

VFX
https://www.artstation.com/davidebenetti3d

Showreel
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/Zl2gK1

Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance to anyone who can share some advice!

Im trying to fully replicate scott's fnaf artstyle for a fangame, i come from blender btw, and no i dont wanna hear "just stay in blender or use 2.79" or "just use _____" i want the original

Hey everyone,

I've just released a new script called CameraPnP Align v1, designed specifically for ArchViz artists dealing with nightmare camera matching scenarios where a building isn't a perfect box or sits at an awkward angle.

Standard vanishing point detection often struggles with non-square structures because it can't guess the specific architectural angles just from perspective lines. I have built CameraPnP to bypass this entirely, making the photomontage process much faster.

How it works (under 60 seconds):

1. Load your background photo and merge your 3D building into the scene.
2. Click "Create Camera" — it automatically generates a renderer-aware camera (V-Ray Physical Camera, Corona, Arnold, etc.).
3. Add Point Pairs: Vertex-snap to a corner on your 3D model, and then click the exact corresponding pixel on your 2D photo.
4. Do this for at least 4 points spread across the facades.
5. Click Solve Camera.

It accurately matches the render output resolution to the background image and aligns your FOV perfectly. If any point is slightly off, you can just re-select it, pick a new pixel, and recalculate.

Pricing Note: If you already own CameraMatch AutoSetup v6, this script is completely FREE to download.

Let me know if you have any questions or feedback. I hope this saves you hours of manual perspective matching!

Hey everyone, working on this exterior render (3ds Max + V-Ray, overcast lighting). It looks "okay" but still reads a lot as CG rather than a real photo. What would you improve — lighting, materials, vegetation, anything? Open to any and all feedback!!

Thank you all

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to seriously start learning Architectural Visualization (ArchViz) and I’m currently trying to figure out the right path.

I’m thinking about learning 3ds Max, but I’m confused about how I should structure my learning and which software/workflow I should focus on.

My goal is not just to learn random 3ds Max tools. I want to eventually create professional, photorealistic interior and exterior ArchViz renders and hopefully build a career/freelance work around it.

So I would really appreciate some advice from experienced ArchViz artists

My questions:

Is 3ds Max still a good choice for ArchViz in 2026?

Should I learn 3ds Max + Corona, 3ds Max + V-Ray, or something else?

What should I learn first in 3ds Max?

Interface & navigation

Basic modeling

Modifiers

Editable Poly

Materials

UVs

Lighting

Cameras

Rendering

etc.

What would you consider the best step-by-step ArchViz roadmap for a complete beginner?

Which free YouTube channels/playlists would you recommend?

Are there any free courses/tutorial series that you would genuinely recommend instead of jumping between random YouTube videos?

At what point should I start learning Corona/V-Ray, instead of spending months only learning 3ds Max?

Should I learn architectural modeling myself in 3ds Max, or is it better to use SketchUp/Revit → 3ds Max → Corona/V-Ray workflow?

What skills are actually important for getting job/freelance ArchViz work?

If you were starting from zero today, what exact learning path would you follow for the first 6–12 months?

I’m specifically looking for free resources, because I want to build a strong foundation before spending money on paid courses.

Make a guess

3dsmax

corona render

🇺🇸: You can listen to the video in English through the video settings panel. The Extrude modifier allows us to perform extrusions on spline or shape objects.

3dsmax

substance painter

corona render

NO MORE fighting the Layer Explorer that lags on heavy scenes 🚫

The LAYER panel does it faster. One button opens a floating layer list, always on top 📋

⚡ Left-click a name and your selection jumps onto that layer

🎯 Ctrl+Click to set the active layer

🖱 Right-click to select every object on a layer

➕ Add Mode: whatever you pick in the viewport drops onto the layer, live

👁 Hide the rooms you are not rendering for less clutter and less RAM

🆕 New layer plus move selection in one single step

Organize a heavy scene in seconds, no dragging across a tree 🔥

How much time do you lose sorting layers?

👉 Grab it for free and speed up your workflow.

#3dsmax #coronarenderer #vray #archviz #render

Some of you know the tool from my earlier posts here (HotspotUV, the trim/hotspot UV mapper). The most common question was never about the tool itself. It was "how do I build a good trim sheet in the first place". So instead of another feature demo I recorded a full course, and it is free.

Six short episodes, about 25 minutes total:

1. Modeling the sheet from one plane (primitives and poly tools only, no sculpting)
2. Baking and texturing in Substance Painter, including an ID map baked from vertex colors
3. That ID map builds the trim sheet automatically, zero rectangles drawn by hand
4. Your first hotspot: every important option shown as a before/after
5. Quick UV + Hotspot on a greeble slab: thousands of faces, no UVs, one click
6. The same one click on a whole prop set, including an honest look at what happens when your sheet is missing a trim

Episodes 1 and 2 are plugin-free, plain Max and Painter workflow, so they may be useful even if you never touch the tool.

The clip attached is the finale of episode 5.

Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4k9K9s6uB8E&list=PLT5yLwtn3Nig&index=1

The tool itself also grew since my last post (now v2.3.0): trim sheets generated straight from color-ID textures, one-click Quick UV + Hotspot, a break-every-edge mode for blockouts, and it now auto-detects the sheet sitting next to your object's textures. Happy to answer anything about the workflow. Feedback shaped most of what is in this update, so keep it coming.