Table Lamp

3ds max
Vikki Olds
We are going to create a table lamp with lines and lathe in 3ds max.
Go to Create>Shapes>Line.
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In the Splines rollout set Initial Type to smooth and Drag type to bezier.
In the left viewport draw a line similar to below.

Go to Modifiers>Patch/Spline Modeling>Lathe. Don't worry if you're lamp base looks similar

to below. In the Modifiers rollout click the plus sign next to Lathe and then click on Axis.
Move the axis until you get a nice shape. You may have to turn on Flip Normals.

In the Modifier List set the Segments to 32.

Once you have the segments set you object will change in appearance a slight amount.
What that does is add segments which smooth your object. Compare the difference
between the top and bottom images below.

From the Toolbar choose the Material editor.

Click on the Standard button and choose a material for your lamp base.

Left click on the new material and drag it over your lamp base. That will cause the material
to be applied to the lamp base.

On the Create Rollout choose Standard Primitives and then Cylinder.

Create a cylinder for the lamp stem. You may have to move it around to get it into position
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using the Move tool.

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Holding the Ctrl key and using your left mouse button select both objects. Go to
Group>Group and name the Group Lamp Base and Stem.

Next we'll create the light bulb. Using the line tool again create half the shape of a light bulb
as shown below.
Use the Lathe Modifier to finish the shape.

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Open the material editor again and create a nice light for the bulb. Drag the light material
over to the light bulb to apply it.

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Move your light bulb around until it is in the correct position. You may have to size it
as well to get it to fit.

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So far it's looking pretty good. Below is a quick render of what we have so far.

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Using the line tool again but with a thickness of 2 create the shade holder. You will find the
settings for thickness under the line rollout in the Rendering section. You will also probably
want to turn on Renderable and Display Render Mesh.

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Next we'll make the little screw cap that holds the lamp shade on. Using the line tool set to
1 thickness draw a shape similar to below. Again use the Lathe modifier to create the full
shape.

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Use the move tool to put it in place.

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Select both the screw cap and frame. Go to Group>Group and name this group Shade
Frame.

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Next we'll create the shade. As you guessed we'll create it with the line tool and lathe it.
Create a line similar to below.

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Use the Lathe modifier to create the full shape.

You might want to use the line tool to create the cross members at the top of the shade.
Use a setting of 1 for thickness. Put them in place.
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Apply a material to your shade by opening the material editor and creating one or using a
bitmap.

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Wallah! The finished lamp done very quickly and easily.

Using lines and lathe to create 3d models is super easy and quite fun. There is no end to the
objects you can create using just those two tools.
Have fun!
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Copyright 2004, Vikki Olds, All Rights Reserved