Key features of 3ds Max

Enhance designs with uncompromising accuracy by automatically reconstructing polygonal mesh data into clean quad-based topology. (video: 7 sec.)

Interactively extrude faces on 3D objects using flexible extrude operations like cut-through and overlap. Rebuild and stitch adjacent faces automatically. (video: 2 min.)

Conceptualize, iterate, and explore design ideas using a range of robust modifiers that are non-destructive and easy to use.

Create curved or angular 3D shapes using several intuitive spline tools.

Create parametric and organic objects with polygon, subdivision surface, and spline-based modeling features.

Using new or pre-existing OSL maps with any supported renderer, generate high-quality textures that display accurately in the viewport.

Experience streamlined, intuitive, and fully scriptable texture baking with support for PBR (physically based rendering) materials, overrides, and OSL workflows.

Add material finishes, change textures, and use vibrant colors to create photorealistic designs.

Access a simple control method to manage the display of multiple material variants.

Illuminate and enhance your scenes using photometric lights and standard lights.

Use the Arnold GPU renderer to view scene changes in real time, including lighting, materials, and camera.

Ensure the accurate reproduction of colors across different devices, brightnesses, and viewing conditions with Color Management and OCIO support.

Reduce design iteration with render-quality viewport previews, displaying PBR materials and camera effects directly.

Simulate real-life camera settings such as shutter speed, aperture, depth of field, and exposure.

Seamlessly change materials, lights, cameras, and renderers from one to another.

Create procedural character animations and rigs with CAT (character animation toolkit), biped, and crowd tools. (video: 10 sec.)

Preview and adjust animation paths directly in the viewport.

Create realistic behaviors and replicate gravity and collision effects for liquids like water, oil, and lava.

Handle all your animation asks with easy-to-use, modernized animation controllers.

Produce sophisticated particle effects such as water, fire, spray, and snow.

Import USD data as native 3ds Max data and export native 3ds Max data as USD data.

The 3ds Max USD plug-in is available as an open source project for you to customize as needed.

The USD Layer Editor allows artists to edit layer hierarchy, target layers for editing, locking layers, muting and more.

You can now do light linkings in USD, giving you more control for lighting a scene.

USD Lights are now visible in the viewport. You can select and manipulate them as other prims.

Create your own custom workspaces with a modern, responsive, high-DPI-ready user interface.

Use Safe Scene Script Execution to protect your work against malicious scripts that could be part of scene files. The Malware Removal functionality detects and removes known malicious scripts from scene files and start-up scripts.

Get tighter pipeline integration with support for Python 3.

Access hundreds of industry-leading third-party plug-ins from our extensive community.

Publish assets from your 3ds Max scene to glTF for use in web applications, online stores, browser games, and other online outlets.