Making a simple house model

What you'll need to know to do this tutorial
* it’s helpful if you’ve already had a little look at the 3D max 3.x user interface.

In this tutorial I will show you how to make a small house. This can be used in the H&D Deluxe editor.

Steps

1. Start 3D Studio max. From the file menu choose import. Locate the reference model you’ve created (sas1.3ds) and import it into the scene.

2. Choose the magnifying glass from the bottom toolbar and zoom out the top and left views so that you can have space for the house.

3. Like that. Then we’ll move to the walls of the house.

4. Select BOX from the right-hand toolbox.

5. In the Top view drag a rectangle around the soldier. Then adjust the height looking at the left view.

6. Then by using the Front view, make another box for a door. This is only for breaking the wall though. After you’ve made that, move it somewhere else so it’s not in your way.

7. Using the front-view again, make another box to act as a window. Then move that aside aswell.

8. In this point you can delete the soldier. Then using the top-view, make a box that is a little smaller than the “house-walls” box but a lot of higher.

9. From the right-hand toolbox, change the standard primitives to compound objects and choose Boolean. Make sure the higher box is still selected. Change the Operation value to “Subtraction (B-A)” and click “Pick Operand B”. Then select the lower box.

10. As you can see from the perspective view, we now have the walls for the house.

11. Then we’ll make the floor and the roof. Make a box that is inside outer and inner wall (smaller that outer and bigger than the inner wall). That way it won’t show from the outside. That is our floor. Then select it and press the shift-key while moving it upwards.

12. Choose copy and click OK.

13. Move the new box so that it’ll fit as roof.

14. Now we’ll start to make doors and windows. Move the Door-box to where you want it to be. Make sure it comes out from both sides of the wall. If you are planning to make more doors, it’s wise at this point to make a copy of this door. That way they are all same size.

15. Select the door and use the Boolean to make the hole for a door. This is done the same way as the Boolean in the walls.

16. Then make copies of the window box and move them where you want them. Then use Boolean again to make the holes.

17. This is very simple house but this process shows most of the things you need while making more complex houses. Just use boxes and Boolean and you’re an architect. Finalize your work with materials, windows and stuff and you can add the object to your H&D Deluxe mission.

18. When you think you are done, rename all the object to something else (walls, floor, roof etc) because when there are many objects in the scene there might be many boxes or spheres and you can’t know anymore which is which.

19. From the File menu select export, file type i3d and the name (house01.i3d). Export your work to models.mod folder. Make sure the model name extension is not I3D because somehow the editor can’t see it if the letters are capitals. At least in my case. Have Fun!

Written by Bighouse