Make It Move! Animation and Rigging in 3ds Max for Engineers and Architects

Creating animations beyond simple camera flyovers and keyframe sequences can be a daunting task for those in the engineering and architectural fields. The ability to use the more advanced animation tools offered in 3ds Max software opens up many new ways of presenting and controlling the complex and intricate models we create. This class will look at several of these tools, from wire parameters to complicated linking and constraints, used to automatically animate models. This class will feature a demonstration and deconstruction of the model used for creating the Interstate 90 Track Bridge, which, in an engineering first, will let light-rail vehicles travel over the I-90 floating bridge in Seattle, Washington. The model created for workshops and design reviews needed to be a real-time, interactive tool that could respond to real-world input values such as lake level and wind to measure critical elements.