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SuperHelix: Quick Video Tutorial Series

SuperHelix is one of the most versatile plugins for 3ds Max, designed to simplify the creation of complex helix-based shapes and procedural structures. To help you maximize its potential, we’ve compiled a series of five video tutorials that cover everything from quick-start basics to advanced practical examples.

Mastering the Gizmo to Shape Custom Helical Splines

Discover how to manipulate the SuperHelix gizmo in 3ds Max to craft various helical shapes and volumes. The gizmo in SuperHelix is an essential tool that offers a live preview of complex helix splines, letting you control everything from the overall flow to individual sections’ size and torsion. Learn to use the Root Helper, Main Path, and Section Controls to create custom helix designs perfect for Motion Graphics, 3D modeling, and animation paths.

Understanding the UI and Key Parameters for Helix Creation

Get a complete overview of the SuperHelix plugin UI in 3ds Max, exploring each parameter to create complex, custom helical splines. Learn how to use presets, manage gizmos, control helix turns and resolution, and apply custom paths. This detailed guide shows how each UI feature works, from setting the curve type to adjusting rotation, adding noise, and even cloning helixes around your chosen path.

Exploring Presets to Create Helical Objects

Explore the presets included in the SuperHelix plugin for 3ds Max to create unique helical spline objects. From springs and cartoon tornadoes to intricate shapes like a ball of wool and a Chinese pagoda, these presets offer an excellent starting point to master SuperHelix. Learn how each preset utilizes different parameters and gizmo structures to achieve specific effects, and see how easy it is to create complex, organic, or geometric shapes with just a few adjustments.

Create a Woven Wicker Basket using Presets

Learn how to create a realistic woven wicker basket using spline curves. Use SuperHelix presets to set up the basis of a basket model entirely made of spline curves. Adjuste the general shapes and gizmos to form the different parts of the basket. Learn tips for creating multiple helical splines aligned radially.

Create Helical Spline Animations Easily

Learn how to create stunning helical spline animations in seconds with SuperHelix. Set the time range and the animation easing and voilá!

Note: If you are interested in making complex spline animations while having detailed control over every aspect and parameter from a user-friendly, centralized interface, see TurboSplines plugin.

You can also find more video tutorials on our Youtube channel.

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Spline Refiner Tutorial: Subdivide Curves Uniformly

Learn how to achieve perfectly even subdivision on spline curves in 3ds Max with the Spline Refiner plugin!
This quick tutorial shows you how to apply uniform segmentation to curved parts of your spline, ideal for preparing precise meshes for extrusion without losing any detail from your original shape.

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TurboSplines for 3ds Max: Effortless Path Deform Animations for CG Artists

TurboSplines 3ds Max plugin

TurboSplines 3ds Max plugin

Creating smooth, spline-driven animations in 3ds Max can be challenging, especially when working with complex paths or multiple meshes. TurboSplines is here to simplify that process. This powerful plugin automates the creation, editing, and animation of path-deformed meshes, making it an ideal tool for professionals in CG animation, motion graphics, and VFX.

Why Choose TurboSplines?

TurboSplines is designed to streamline path deform animations in 3ds Max, enabling artists to produce high-quality animations with minimal effort. Here’s how TurboSplines can transform your workflow:

  • Instant Path Deform Setup: TurboSplines automatically assigns Path Deform modifiers to both preset and custom meshes. In just a few clicks, you can animate splines into dynamic cables, wires, ribbons, tentacles, and much more.
  • Choose Your Meshes: Work with predefined shapes (cylinder, capsule, box, ribbon) or bring in custom profiles and meshes. TurboSplines handles multiple meshes per path, letting you create intricate animations from a single intuitive interface.
  • Enrich and Refine: Add taper, tip, and slice effects to adjust the look of your meshes. Control animations on parameters like scale, height, rotation, twist, and stretch to bring realism and detail to your creations.
  • Copy, Paste, and Customize: Easily copy and paste settings between meshes, apply variation and offset for unique, realistic animations, and manage all parameters from TurboSplines’ user-friendly interface.

The TurboSplines Advantage: Focused Simplicity

Unlike particle systems and other powerful plugins like TyFlow, which are oriented toward visual effects, particle simulations, physics simulations, and fluid dynamics, TurboSplines is exclusively focused on mesh deformation along spline paths. This specialized approach offers a wide range of creation, editing, and animation options through a simple, intuitive interface—without the need to learn a complex, all-encompassing tool. TurboSplines has a quick learning curve, making it accessible for users of all experience levels.

One of TurboSplines’ key benefits is its flexibility: each generated mesh is a standard 3ds Max object, fully selectable and editable. This allows for manual adjustments and precise control over each animated mesh, giving you creative freedom to tweak and refine every detail.

Versatile Animation Options

With TurboSplines, artists can explore various animation styles along a path, including movement, growth, and reveal animations. For users working with complex spline paths, TurboSplines also offers a quick conversion feature to turn splines into custom helical paths, perfect for creating spirals, springs, and cables.

Key Benefits of TurboSplines

  1. Efficiency: Automates repetitive tasks, saving time on each project.
  2. Creative Control: Gives you the ability to control numerous animation parameters from a central interface.
  3. Realism and Variation: Apply offset and variation to create more lifelike animations.
  4. Quick Learning Curve: Ideal for users who need a specialized tool for spline animations without the complexity of particle systems.
  5. No Plugin Dependency: TurboSplines uses 3ds Max standard modifiers, ensuring compatibility with all major render engines without plugin dependency.

TurboSplines is the ultimate tool for 3ds Max users aiming to automate, streamline, and enhance their path deform animations. Whether you’re animating growing vines, trailing light effects, or spiraling cables, TurboSplines gives you the flexibility and control to bring your ideas to life faster than ever.

Ready to elevate your animations in 3ds Max? Explore TurboSplines today and see how easy it can be to add professional-grade path deform animations to your workflow.

TurboSplines 3ds Max plugin

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A Must-Have Tool for Spline Optimization: Spline Cleaner 3ds Max Plugin

Spline Cleaner 3ds Max Plugin

For 3ds Max users handling complex, spline-heavy projects, Spline Cleaner is an essential plugin that optimizes your workflow, automates repetitive tasks, and prepares your splines for accurate extrusions. Ideal for architectural plans, CAD file imports, and Illustrator paths, Spline Cleaner simplifies curve management and ensures your splines are clean, efficient, and ready for use in any 3D model.

Key Benefits of Spline Cleaner

  1. Streamline Spline Management and Cleanup
    Spline Cleaner provides an advanced suite of tools to batch-process splines efficiently. Perfect for imported CAD and vector files, it helps eliminate overlapping, disorganized, or duplicated curves, automatically organizing them with smart filters like size, length, proximity, and layer. This tool is especially valuable when working with hundreds of shapes, saving hours of manual selection and cleanup.
  2. Optimize and Automate Spline Edits
    With Spline Cleaner, you can select, attach, detach, or delete multiple splines quickly by applying filters to target curves based on specific attributes such as bounding box size, wire color, or vertex count. The plugin also enables precise vertex management, letting you weld, reduce, or normalize vertices effortlessly. This level of control is invaluable for creating smooth, clean splines, whether in architectural layouts, logo designs, or motion paths.
  3. Comprehensive Spline Diagnostics and Monitoring
    The Splines Info Dialog offers real-time feedback on spline attributes like material counts, vertex numbers, and material IDs. The Diagnosis feature pinpoints potential issues like overlapping curves, empty shapes, or duplicate splines, ensuring your curves are optimized before extrusion. This interactive tool updates with every action, keeping your spline data organized and error-free as you work.
  4. Prepare Splines for Accurate Extrusions and Modeling
    Spline Cleaner’s robust optimization tools ensure your spline curves are extrusion-ready. Features like Smart Normalize allow you to rebuild splines with even vertex distribution, while Reduce Vertices and Weld Vertices eliminate unnecessary points, creating smooth, clean curves that translate well into 3D geometry. These features ensure precision and efficiency, especially valuable in CAD-based or vector design imports.

Key Features and Tools in Spline Cleaner

  • Smart Normalize: Rebuild your splines with evenly distributed vertices, ideal for creating consistent curves in architectural plans or logos.
  • Filter by Open/Closed Condition: Easily sort and organize splines based on whether they’re open or closed.
  • Support for Material IDs: Maintain material assignments across all operations, ensuring consistent appearances for complex models.
  • Advanced Error Detection: Identify and fix overlapping or empty shapes with the Diagnosis tool, ensuring smooth extrusions.
  • Automated Filters for Efficient Selection: Use nine distinct filters to select, attach, or delete shapes by criteria such as size, wire color, and layer.
  • Vertex Management Tools: Weld, optimize, or reduce vertices for refined spline curves, minimizing geometry clutter and enhancing performance.
  • Explode and Reverse Tools: Detach segments or reverse splines with options to preserve material IDs for better extrusion control.
  • Viewport Data Exposure: See real-time spline data like vertex numbers and material IDs in the viewport, providing immediate feedback as you work.

Ideal for Designers, Architects, and 3D Artists Across Industries

Spline Cleaner is invaluable for both architectural visualization and graphic design, excelling in projects that rely on spline-based workflows. Its automated tools streamline time-consuming tasks, from preparing CAD layouts to organizing vector paths, allowing you to work more efficiently and deliver polished results. This plugin is indispensable for any professional working with 3ds Max who wants to elevate their workflow, reduce manual edits, and achieve high-quality, clean spline results ready for any 3D application.

Spline Cleaner 3ds Max Plugin

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Camera Clipping Pro Tutorial

Installation

The installation of this plugin is done the same way as for all our tools. You can find a detailed explanation in the F.A.Q. page, at the section titled “How do I install and activate Spline Dynamics plugins?“.

How to use it

The use of this tool is very simple and straightforward. Additionally, every button or control in the UI has a descriptive tooltip, so you can quickly get an idea of what they do.
Here are the general steps on how to use it:

  1. Execute the plugin. A small dialog will show up containing just one button with the label “Add Pro Clipping Controls”.
  2. Select the camera you want to assign the special clipping controls to and press the button.
  3. Go to the camera settings in the modifier panel. It will display a new rollout titled “Clipping Controls”.
    (The order in which this rollout appears may vary depending on the type of camera you are using: 3dsMax Physical camera / VRay / Corona )
  4. Use the “Pick object” button in the Near / Far sections to assign an object from the scene to control the corresponding  clipping plane.
    For the Near clipping you will tipically use the object that is blocking the camera view, and for the Far clipping it could be another one in the background.
    If the object you pick has a surface (mesh  or geometry), the plugin will automatically place the clipping plane at the locatoin of the face that is closer to the camera. If not (helper, light, etc.), it will use the object pivot to calculate the distance for clipping.
  5. Optionally set the Offset parameter to position the clipping plane some distance away from the picked object.
  6. Since the clipping planes/s will be now bound to the object/s, you can move your camera towards or away from the target without altering the position of the clipping plane/s.
    Another way to use it is to manually move the picked object/s to change the location of the clipping.
  7. If you want to preserve the framing while you move the camera, then turn on the “Auto-adjust FOV” option.
    This function will modify the FOV / Focal Length interactively while you move the camera forward or backward, so only the perspective of the objects will change but not the general framing.
    This option works only if the main FOV parameter of the camera is active. (It wont change anything if you have the focal length active, except for the Corona camera, which works in both cases.)
  8. Whenever you need, you can remove one or both bound objects by using the small buttons with an “X” next to each “Pick Object” button.

Other Considerations

If you see the clipping planes suddenly jump form one place to another while you move the camera, here’s the explanation and the solution.
That behaviour it’s because the camera might not be “seeing” the picked object anymore at some point, if it’s a mesh. So it starts to use its pivot location as a reference. So a good practice is to plan first if you will need to use a mesh or better use directly a dummy to make sure the script will always use its pivot to calculate the clipping distance.

Removing Clipping Controls / Uninstallation

To remove the custom clipping controls from a camera, use the Remove Clipping Controls button in the UI.

If you don’t have this plugin installed in your 3ds Max, and you open a scene containing a camera with this special Pro clipping controls assigned – or merge one from another file -, the corresponding rollout will show a warning message and the special controllers will be automatically removed. In that case, if you want to completely remove the additional rollout, select the camera and execute this line of code on the listener: custAttributes.delete $ 1
Then, the standard Near/Far clipping parameters will keep the previous values and you will be able to change them manually.

To uninstall the script, use the unistaller.mse file that comes with the script.

That’s all! I hope you found this tutorial helpful. Enjoy the plugin!

 

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