just make a normal mesh of your choice, then apply a material that's checked off wireframe, from there, u can specify the thickness of the line..etc...

ya thanks...but i didnt explain it clearly.sorry

Just make a line (Editable Spline) renderable. Create lines to make your grid - Select the lines - Select Modify - Select Rendering on the Modify Command Panel - Check "Enable in Rendering" and "Enable in Viewport" - Adjust the thickness of your spline.
If all else fails - Hit F1

I have some problems exporting curvilinear solids from AutoCAD to 3dStudio.. while in CAD they seem to be correct when I insert them in a .3ds scene they turn into polygonal solids.. does someone know how can I fix this? ..

Medit,

I've had the same problem when exporting from microstation to max. It has to do with the way the programs smooth the polygons in the object.

with the object selected in the polygon sub object mode, you are going to need to select the polygons that you want to appear as smoothed together for that curved surface. when these are selected, put them all into a smoothing group together. render, and see if it worked.

this is from memory since i haven't been in max for a few months, but this should work.

check out smoothing groups in the help section, or subobject rollout.

let me know if this works

Medit, do you mean that the object becomes faceted in 3dsmax?
If so, make sure that when you import the AutoCAD dwg into 3dsmax, in the AutoCAD DWG/DXF Import Options dialog box, the "Surface Deviation for 3d solids" amount is low (ie 0.01 or even .001). The lower the number the smoother your curvilinear solid becomes.
I also make sure that if I do a curvilinear solid in AutoCAD that before extruding, the curve is composed of multiple arcs instead of just a single one (more segments).

thanks for answering momentum & remonio..

graphically, what I meant is that I do solids like these (cylindricals but also spheres and other surfaces):




which look ok if I see them in shade mode:




but then I export them to 3ds and render in MAX and become this:





I think it had to do with something in the options menu in AutoCAD, before exporting, so I'll try what remonio says (though I guess you meant "Export Options dialog box"?) .. also, what do you mean by multiple arcs?.. like those examples I posted, if I want to do the roof with just one solid I must extrude a polyline composed of two big arcs and the straight lines to close each end... how would you do that with smaller arcs?

well anyway.. thanks again

by the way, the [horrendous] example posted its not a design of mine... ;)

Medit: Max can import DWG directly (no need for exporting in CAD)

Medit. I meant import (like auvn said) into 3dsmax. For more info, in 3dsmax hit the F1 key and search for "Surface Deviation for 3d Solids" and read the topic on Importing AutoCAD drawing files.

i totally dig that example you posted, Medit!

what on earth is it??

really?.. well, it's a bishopric (sp?).. a bishop's house, a kind of modern episcopal palace,.. it's my boss' design (a decent architect, with a decent and sometimes interesting body of work, but I'm frankly not that enthusiastic with this kind-of-Po-Mo building) -and since I'm a convinced agnostic, this thread was quite interesting (and fun) to read to confront this project, or this other one-

concrete structure, brick facades and walls, the green cylindrical and inclined big roofs will be copper... here are some other shots:

hey that's an intereseting looking building. I've tried my hand at architectural visualization but never seemed to get the bit where the building's perfectly placed in ccontect like you've shown. Hwo do you do that?

thanks for posting these images, Medit!

i just love the way the building connects to its neighboring structures with that conundrum of interspersed elements. the sloped facade really reduces the building's profile, that's pretty sensitive to the surroundings. cool!

but, um, have you no say concerning the color!? it makes me think of *salmon*. OH! time for dinner.

@laistm: I guess there must be some kind of 'scientific method' but I just do the trial & error one..: render the scene with the background image in Max (and use the same image as a background in the screen before rendering so I can rotate and adjust the camera to fit the model with the background)... when I get the right camera, then I render with a white background and put together the rendering in MAX and the background image with Photoshop, so I can fix some things, callibrate the brightness/contrast, put the trees, etc.. -actually, in that aerial presentation the model is a bit misplaced but I guess it works ok-

@noci: I'll tell my boss' his project has received some positive feedback .. :) .. actually, the triangular shape and sloping facade came in part from the condition the city council gave us that that early-20th ct tower behind had to be able to be seen from the park/avenue in front of the bishop's house.. instead of doing an horizontal building, my boss -who's a bit religious and thinks a bishop's house must have some kind of 'urban presence' so he wanted a tall/vertical significant element-, raised one end of the facade and got that 45º triangle (the hole on top was done to avoid excessive air pressure on the wall, but ended up being a kind of ornamental feature)
the colors... I still have to work on the textures.. the copper will be like those Gunnar Asplund's cemetery pavilions that have a soft-green copper roofs, we'll use a special pre-oxidized copper that he has already used in that building at the far-right in the aerial pic ... but my boss is from the Old Guard, he doesn't like the excessively realistic renderings.. he says the exaggerated pastel colors work better to show the new building in contrast with the background image...

hey has anyone used max 8 yet?. I'm having a slight problem. I dont know if it's got to do with a setting somewhere or what....
When i've created a mesh object in max and i have it selected in a sub-object state (say vertex) or even if i've just got the mesh selected and punch in one of the viewport or tansform commands, like "p" to switch to perspective view, it applies affects from the modifiers panel.
Like if i have the mesh selected and type q to switch from (move) to (Selection), it turns on quickslice!!!!.... how do i sort this out?

i wonder if i've managed to make the problem tangible...

laistm: are you using Max 8 Service Pack3?

no i'm not using the service pack. what does it fix?

Download and install it. SP3 is more stable and the problem you mentioned should be fixed.

i figured it out. the setting's in the customize user inteface dialog box. All i had to do was uncheck the active box against the edit mesh, edit poly, n edit spline rollout. that disables the default shortcuts assigned by the designers.

Thanks anyways.

does anyone know how to model a 4 point, 5 point , 6 point tensile structure??

i've made a mesh model in which there are plenty of furniture n detailed stuff. When i calculate the radiosity solution and render, the otherwise smooth object becomes faceted? anyone help?

up teh photon count!!!111

wat do you mean photon count? I'm not using mental ray renderer. I'm using scanline renderer. There's no question of increasing the photon count

oh, never mind me, then!