本教材是由CGCookie机构出品的3dsmax与FumeFX制作火龙特效教程，时长：2小时44分，教程使用软件：3dsmax，FumeFX，作者：Alessandro Cangelosi，语言：英文，文件大小：1.2 Gb，格式：MP4视频格式。
3D Studio Max，常简称为3ds Max或MAX，是Autodesk公司开发的基于PC系统的三维动画渲染和制作软件。其前身是基于DOS操作系统的3D Studio系列软件，最新版本是2012。在Windows NT出现以前，工业级的CG制作被SGI图形工作站所垄断。3D Studio Max + Windows NT组合的出现一下子降低了CG制作的门槛，首选开始运用在电脑游戏中的人人素材动画制作，后更进一步开始参与影视片的特效制作，例如X战警II，最后的武士等。
Fumefx是一款强大的流体动力学模拟插件，其强大的流体动力学引擎可以模拟出真实的火、烟、爆炸等常见气体现象。
模拟流体复杂的运动及其制作流体特效动画，一直以来被运用在计算机图形的各个领域，同时也是计算机图形学内比较广的一个研究课题。而流体特效一直以来都是3ds Max的一个伤口，无法与Maya Fluid Effects [1] [2] 抗衡。其主要原因是现阶段3ds Max还没有集成内置的流体动力学运算引擎，导致人们通常要去使用Realflow这样的独立流体插件来在3ds Max中实现流体效果，虽然效果令人满意，但要让Realflow配合3ds Max的动力学、脚本、粒子系统一起使用的话，操作起来显然就没有一个内置的流体力学插件来得方便，而3ds Max现有的内置流体力学插件的效果也是不尽如人意的，因此我们也很少能看到人人素材一部大片中有通过3ds Max来实现流体效果的案例。
SitniSati公司(原Afterworks)发布了一款新的3ds Max流体力学插件 —— Fume FX，该插件是基于真实物理中流体力学原理而设计的，主要是为3ds Max 用户提供火焰、浓烟、爆炸及其他流体效果的解决方案。与之前所有3ds Max的流体插件相比，Fume FX最大人人素材的特点就是它不仅能很好地模拟出复杂流体气体的运动行为，同时还能考虑到物理学中温度、重力、燃料、能量等因素对模拟效果的影响，这对计算机图形学发展作出的贡献是巨大的。从官方网站所提供的图片来看，Fume FX 的效果已经相当不错了，完全可以满足大片中流体效果的需求。
CG Cookie Exclusive Creating a Fire Dragon with FumeFX
In this Citizen video for 3ds max, we’ll explore more FumeFX, and this time we’ll take a look at how to use it with deforming objects as an animatre character. We’ll try to create an FX shot with a fire dragon emitting flames, smoke, dust, ashes, etc etc.
About CG Cookie
CG Cookie is a 3D Animation education network that caters to a variety of softwares, subject matter, and works to make CG more accessible for everyone. The CG Cookie homepage is the central hub of our site network, including the sites of Blender Cookie, Max Cookie, Modo Cookie and a few others. The CG Cookie team is comprised of primarily Wes Burke, founder renrensucai.com of CG Cookie and Jonathan Williamson, a Blender Foundation Certified Instructor. Between the two of us we try to keep things running and developing. We also have substantial support and help from Alessandro Cangelosi, Pippin Williamson, Robert Fayman, David Ward, Patrick Boelens, Porter Nielsen, Tim Von Rueden, Nubia Palacios, and others.
Overview
- Exclusive: Creating a Fire Dragon with FumeFX Part 1
In this Citizen video for 3ds max, we’ll start creating the basic PFlow setup to emit particle ashes using some turbulent forces to move it in a more realistic way, then we’ll star preparing one FumeFX layer to emit dust/smoke from some area of the dragon body. We’ll work to tune speed and look, using a Noise map to decide where we have to emit smoke, then we’ll prepare the wavelet turbulence setup to prepare final pass. In part 2 we’ll prepare final smoke layer render, and ash passes to start comp it, then we’ll work on various fire passes.
- Exclusive: Creating a Fire Dragon with FumeFX Part 2
In this Citizen video for 3ds max, we’ll continue to work at the Fire Dragon series. We’ll prepare a fire layer just to have the creature made of flames. We’ll work on the simulation trying to have not so big flames, and not so long flames, just something like a volume of fire. We’ll tune rendering parameters and prepare the wavelet turbulence simulation. In Part 3, we’ll prepare some additional passes and work a little bit more on particles, so we can start preparing rr-sc.com different rendered passes to comp it.
- Exclusive: Creating a Fire Dragon with FumeFX Part 3
In this Citizen video for 3ds max, we’ll take a look at how to finalize the Fire Dragon tutorial series, so we’ll prepare an additional fire/flames pass, to add some more details to the fire creature, then we’ll start rendering and adjusting the various layers. To finalize the project we’ll import all the layers in Combustion and we’ll comp it all together using some color correction and some effects as glow and sharpen, and we’ll play a little bit with merging mode to find the best compromise for final look.