isometric camera help.
-in 3ds max..
-i use free camera - orthographic projection.
-and start with a diagonal camera with a 45 degree angle
x and z in the absolute:world rotate tool.
-i set my render output as 64x64 and enabled safe frame.
-then i adjust the FOV and adjust both the x and y coords of my camera instead of dragging the camera with the move tool 'coz it weirdly affects the z coords. (i don't get it)
-i keep x and y absolute values equal.
-i also use my new FOV settings for the other cameras to be created further on so they'll have equal views.
question:
-i've been doing a bit of guess work trying to center the image into the camera adjusting the FOV and the camera coords. is there a way to eliminate the guesswork involved? especially since i'll be using 8 camera angles, i'm afraid i might mess up the animation.
-i'm new to 3ds max and to the community and i'm no math genius so no making fun of me... lol.. any help would be appreciated.
-i use free camera - orthographic projection.
-and start with a diagonal camera with a 45 degree angle
x and z in the absolute:world rotate tool.
-i set my render output as 64x64 and enabled safe frame.
-then i adjust the FOV and adjust both the x and y coords of my camera instead of dragging the camera with the move tool 'coz it weirdly affects the z coords. (i don't get it)
-i keep x and y absolute values equal.
-i also use my new FOV settings for the other cameras to be created further on so they'll have equal views.
question:
-i've been doing a bit of guess work trying to center the image into the camera adjusting the FOV and the camera coords. is there a way to eliminate the guesswork involved? especially since i'll be using 8 camera angles, i'm afraid i might mess up the animation.
-i'm new to 3ds max and to the community and i'm no math genius so no making fun of me... lol.. any help would be appreciated.
Replies
1 : Draw target camera on the grid , the target at zero and the camera moved +50 on x axis.
2 : Group both
3 : Got to the group properties, click the 'affect pivot only' button, then move the pivot to 0,0,0 on the world origin (where the target is)
4 : Click the rotate tool, and deselect the 'affect pivot only' button
5 : Rotate the camera 30* upwards on the x axis (along the line between the camera and the target) then rotate the camera 45* on the Z axis.
6 : Finally, open the group, set the camera to 'orthographic' with the checkbox up top on the camera's properties.
i'm using 64x64. how do i calculate the distance of the camera from the pivot?
and how do i calculate for the FOV?
also, i seem to need to adjust the z of the target so it's at the center of the object instead of it's base.
i'm new to this so i tested it out on a cube but even though it kinda looks right at the moment.. somehow something feels kinda "off" about it.. lol..
any further tips?
-edit: moving the target to the center of the object as well as adjusting the camera so that it's at the same height with the target seemed to solve the problem. afterwards, i just followed the steps you listed above and i no longer have to adjust the camera distance. but i still had to do guesswork with the FOV.. hmm..
It'd be interesting to see a picture of what your set-up looks like, how come the need for so many cameras?
Also, in orthograhpic view, fov doesn't change, because it's orthographic, it's essentially flat scaled, so nothing diminishes in size with distance, so whether you move the camera, zoom or use FOV, it'll all have the same effect with the orthographic camera, except perhaps with FOV, where if the camera is close, nearer objects can get in the way.
the thing about moving the camera manually seems to change the angle slightly. it's not really that noticeable since it's in orthographic so it's no big deal especially if all the objects are of the same height.
but placing the height of the camera and target at half the height of the object before rotating them upwards to 30 degrees centers the object into camera view so there's less guesswork involved aside from adjusting the camera's FOV.