In this quick tip, you’ll learn how to create a “Grid Cubes” effect using 3d Studio Max and the power of Thinking Particles, inspired by the Cube World Effect video from the Cebas website.

Step 1

To start, Create a box with the following parameters in the viewport. We’ll generate the grid cubes inside this box.

Step 2

Create a TP particle system in the scene.

Step 3

Open the TP user interface. Highlight “Master Dynamic” and disable the “Edit on the fly” option, to see the changes in real time. Also enable “Show Mesh” to see the particle shape and Change the “Particle Display” to “None”.

Step 4

Create a TP Group and name it “Cubes”. This Group will store the grid particles.

Step 5

Now let’s create the rules. Create a DynamicSet and name it “Born”.

Step 6

Create a “Born” operator. Send the newly born particles to the “Cubes” group and set the “Particle Amount” to ’5000′. Use the “Pistol Shot” option to generate all the particles at the same time.

Step 7

Add a “Std Shape” operator and choose “Cube” for the particle’s shape. Connect this operator to the “Born” operator (Born Particle > Particle).

Step 8

Now, Create a “Size” operator and Set the “Size” to 2.5, then connect this operator to the “Born” operator (Born Particle > Particle).

Step 9

Create a new DynamicSet and name it “Grid Position”. Create a “Cubes” group and a “Position” operator and connect them (Particle > Particle).

Step 10

Create a “Volume Pos” position helper, and Enable the “Raster” option and set it to 3. Connect the “Position” output of the “Volume Pos” operator to the “Position” input of the “Position” operator.

Step 11

Create a “Node” operator and select the “Box” object. Now, the particles are positioned inside the “Box”.

Step 12

Select the “Volume Pos” operator. And Under “Mask”, add a “Noise” map to the slot and increase the “Threshold” value.

Step 13

Now, connect the “Cubes” group to the “Volume Pos” operator (Particle > Particle), otherwise the “Volume Pos Mask” won’t work.

Final Result

And this is the result. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.

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