3D QUICK TIPS: Speeding Up Smoothing Groups in 3ds Max

This video covers how to use smoothing groups quickly in 3ds max, and why you should use them. Down below I have links to the hard and smooth edge scripts I made, as well as a list of the hotkeys I use. The smooth and hard edges are functions in new version of max, but in earlier versions they are not exposed to the hotkey editor to my knowledge, this may be fixed in newer versions.
Smooth and Hard Edge Scripts download:
drive.google.c...
My hotkeys:
Smooth Thirty Selection: Shift+1
Hard Selection: Shift+2
Smooth Selection: Shift+3
Hard Edges: Shift+4
Smooth Edges: Shift+5
I have tutorials on Gumroad and Cubebrush:
gumroad.com/acms
gumroad.com/acms
My Artstation and Instagram:
/ alex_senechal
www.artstation...

[@Millenia3D]

Good stuff Alex, I've been primarily using just planar angle face selection + smooth selected but the hard edge stuff does look useful as well!

[@AlexSenechal]

Millenia I must try that thanks dude!

[@westminsterstudios7353]

Thanks for the tips. looking forward to following you on Artstation

[@TheTimeProphet]

I haven't investigated half the graphite tools, and I still use the smoothing group numbers LOL. Will have to look into this. Mind you I mainly use turbosmooth anyway

[@jaronjackson6913]

Alex Senechal - Nice work. Can you pls explain how you go about achieving your onscreen layering appearance (reflective colors for various assets and different color edges for each one) are you using materials editor or a type of color swab? Also, what rendering engine are you using? Look forward to your work!

[@JiggywattArt]

Hi Alex, By any chance if you read this, do you still use this method as of 2024?
I still use your scifi mistakes video religiously and share it with newer artists. Thanks again!

[@OlevmDiPompeia]

Hi, is this script still working? Can't get acces to the drive. Can anyone share it please?

[@metteia2921]

Really liked your tutorial on gumroad, and happy to discover that you have a channel filled with useful info) Thanks for the script, and i really hope to see more cool videos on your channel!
Oh, btw, how do you get high poly after that (i mean with those accurate bevels)? Is it quadchamfer + turbosmooth?

[@AlexSenechal]

Peace Is a lie nope I just add support looks with regular tools

[@Cinematographer]

thank you

[@licka]

Would you mind making the scripts available again? The link doesn't work anymore.

[@jjcaratino]

thanks

[@ahtiandr]

I always wanted to ask you, did you use quadchamfer+ trubosmooth for this ?

[@cwidd1929]

Perhaps I'm mistaken, but although 'hard' and 'smooth' edges does update the smoothing in the viewport, the selected polys aren't actually added to a smoothing group together. Thus, if you smooth the result with a turbosmooth modifier and separate by smoothing groups, the subdivision will not respect the selected smoothing(?)

[@vi8799]

Is there a way to optimize SG amount? Hardening edges manually makes a lot of smouthing groups.

[@LORENZOCOLALONGO]

tHANKS

[@charlypoidevin4265]

So, when you build this model with the N-Gons and stuff do you rebuild it after in order to get SUBDIV' ?

[@damicore]

I have the same doubt.

[@dudynator1]

@@damicore turbosmooth modifier quadify all.

[@3dgraphicworkz463]

So is there a way to transfer the hard edge info from maya into max and have them as smoothing groups?

[@AIRpursuit]

does this way of smoothing maintain the edges after you add more detail to the surface? and can you 3d print them?

[@Icefall3D]

What does more detail mean? Are you adding greebles and insets into the surface? In that case it will shade going forward as Max does normally, think extruding the edges of a smooth cylinder. Are you just adding in edge loops? It will stay smooth or hard depending on what the faces are set to. 3D printing any given object isn't dependent upon smoothing groups in 3ds max. If you want a rounded or smoothed surface in your 3d print you need to have the geometry to support that surface, think turbosmooth, mesh smooth and subdiv. Modeling for 3D printing is also just a different workflow as you have to worry about contiguous and water tight meshes.

[@faxco182]

Awesome tips! I tried your scripts and I get errors trying to use them... any idea why / How do you install them?

[@faxco182]

ahh "makeHardEdges" a fonction for 3ds max 2016 and above... saddly I have 3ds max 2015 at work.

[@cwidd1929]

Alex, you've made no attempts to hide this - and I acknowledge that in personal work (etc.), it's probably fine, and faster - but you use *a lot* of ngons. You produced content for Halo (iirc), so I assume that wasn't always appropriate in a production environment. Can you elaborate on this; how you use ngons effectively?

[@AlexSenechal]

Ngons

[@AlexSenechal]

Are

[@AlexSenechal]

Not

[@AlexSenechal]

Bad

[@cwidd1929]

Alex Senechal I feel you, and as someone who has purchased one of your Gumroad tutorials, I completely understand where you are coming from. Tim Bergholz has also made it a point to communicate that ngons are not bad. My question is about how you go about using ngons in a way that doesn't hinder creative decisions that may appear as you continue modeling an asset?

[@Drone_Rabbit]

ever
ever
ever
ever
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ever
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...ever

[@mishalw210]

forever

[@tobiasdeja]

Too bad it works only on EditablePoly not in Edit Poly. :/ Anyway this script is very usefull.

[@Grom84]

And they say 3ds max is bad for modeling)

[@Ootrick3D]

Who says that? Don't listen to them.