Beginner Modeling Methods and Techniques

3DS Max

Hotkeys

ctrl-R – Rotate View

Z – Zoom Extents (Centers the selected object to the viewport, or if nothing is selection centers all objects)

Middle Mouse Button – Pan View

Q – Select Tool (Hitting “q” multiple times changes the selection type. eg. Rectangle to circle etc.)

W – Move Tool

E – Rotation Tool

R – Scale Tool

A – Angle Snap Toggle (Rotations at an increment of 5 degrees)

F3 – Toggle between Solid and Wireframe mode

F4 -  Toggle wires on and off

V – View Menu

T – Top View

L – Left View

F – Front View

U – Orthagraphic Mode

P – Perspective

Editable Poly Hotkeys

(Hitting one of these hotkeys a second time will also take you back to object mode)

1 – Vert Mode

2 – Edge Mode

3 – Border Mode

4 – Face Mode

5 – Element Mode

6 – Object Mode

Right Clicking

Right click in viewport – Brings up a menu with different viewport and object options.

Right click on model – Brings up a menu with model specific options. Contains tools found in the modifier panel.

Right click on spinners –  Zero's out the input number to its lowest option.