3ds Max 4: Part Five

Over the last decade 3ds max has grown into one of the most powerful all-singing, alldancing 3D all-rounders in the business. Having long had a firm hold in the games development sector, Discreet has widened the focus of its development efforts and has now built up its application to the point where it is at least as good or better at nearly everything it does than rival 3D applications. The last release was good, but the efforts behind version 4 have resulted in an incredibly stunning and mature character animation toolset. And not surprisingly, its take-up has already been phenomenal.

Over the past few weeks, you've had the chance to see what all the fuss is about as we demonstrate a few of the tricks this release has up its sleeve

This tutorial has taken you through the whole gamut of 3D character work - from modelling, bones and IK set-up, skinning, animation and rendering - even throwing in a complex effect on the way. After working through this final part of the tutorial, you'll be thoroughly versed in the key things that 3ds max 4 has to offer.

Part 5: Getting ready to render

Finally, we'll add some finishing touches that will see our render times leap up. The two different types of blur, as well as the glowing light centred on the explosion, will improve the final output.

Download part five here