3-d cloud text effect

A Creative COW 3ds Max tutorial

Morteza Yousefi
Tehran, Iran

Article Focus:
In this tutorial, Morteza Yousefi demonstrates how to create a 3-d cloud text effect using Discreet's 3ds Max. Beginner to intermediate.

Download 3ds max project file here

Create 3d text in max like this

Now make Particle Cloud and pick 3d text that you made

Load cloud / smoke

Set use rate to 500

Set speed to 0.2 and variation to 100%

Set life to 10 and variation to 25

In frame 0, set size to 8 and in frame 25, set size to 85
Set variation to 50% and fade for to 15

In particle type, choose facing

Create 2 wind force as you see in picture below.

Set strength of wind 1 to 0.2
and turbulence to 0.2
and frequency to 2.0

Set strength of wind 2 to 0.2

Now make a gravity force as you see in picture

Set strength to -0.3 and select spherical

Bind this 3 force to your Particle Cloud

You'll need to create a material. Go to material editor and set the options below for your material

click on face map

in opacity choose gradient

and in Gradient parameters in color #2 choose noise and Radial for Gradient Type

and in noise parameters
set size to 20
in frame 0 set color #2 to white and in frame 35 to black
in frame 0 set phase to 0 and in frame 35 set to 10

now copy this noise to color #3

and assign this material to your Particle Cloud

Make an omni light and if you want a puffy cloud you can use ray-trace shadow
Hide your text

You should see something like this in frame 0:

You should see something like this in frame 15:

and in frame 25:

Download the max file here if you haven't already.

Discuss this technique in the Discreet 3DS Max* forum at Creativecow.net.

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