3DS Max Caustics Tutorial + How to get Glass Physics Phen Material

[@squigglychris8396]

Sir, thank you. I was doing some other tutorials on caustics but unlike theirs, your tutorial actually mentioned the importance of the decay function. I was struggling, but after adjusting the decay my mind was finally set to rest. Thank you.

[@ProTutorials]

Make sure you turn on caustics for the light and your object, and/or check the box for all objects generate and receive caustics.

[@Lee66xx]

Excellent tutorial. You do a great job of explaining, in an easy-to-understand way, what the important input values do. I have read books on Mental Ray that don't explain the purpose of these functions as nicely as you have done here. And on top of that, I got my Glass Phen shader back! Thanks!

[@ProTutorials]

make sure you turn on caustics for the light and your object, and/or check the box for all objects generate and receive caustics

[@madkillerabdo]

I would have never known this cool effects in 3DS MAX, I'm usually skeptic about these since I have no idea how they work. Thanks for these great tutorials!

[@ProTutorials]

yes it should, the path you take to find the physics_phen.mi file may be a bit different, try Program Files\Autodesk\(WHATEVER VERSION OF MAX YOU ARE USING)\NVIDIA\shaders_standard\mentalray\include

[@cheyneyparsons8496]

Thanks for the reply. I'll have to do some more tests before I can be sure of what kind of materials are causing it.

[@GnougnouA10]

I loved this tutorial, it was really fun and learnt a lot of stuff ! Carry on dude !

[@D3cyTH3r]

Found!: program files> Autodesk> 3DS Max 2011> mentalimages> shaders_standard> mentalray> include -cool vid & sorry for the spam!

[@SBoomhower]

Thanks for the tutorial! Very helpful. I decided to also add some shadows to the lights, and set them to mental ray shadow maps. With this setup the physics_phen.mi glass shader ended up with some pixel-sized dots, I'm assuming because of the shadow setting. But the water shader you suggested works just fine; I couldn't see much of a difference between it and the physics_phen glass shader, actually. This is using Max 2014

[@ProTutorials]

The comments can be VERY helpful. make sure you turn on caustics for the light and your object, and/or check the box for all objects generate and receive caustics

[@ProTutorials]

You need to be the administrator of your computer to save things. If you can't be the admin, try copying the mi file to your desktop, make the change, save it, then put it back and save over the original file.

[@scelago_games]

Your tutes are refreshing and awesome! cheers and thanks!

[@ProTutorials]

Simple fix, copy the file from its current location, then paste it onto your desktop, make the changes to the newly created desktop file and save, then copy back to the files original location and over write the old file.

[@eLeAeReA]

Thank you so much 4 this tutorial!! You really explain it good and it's obvious that you know about it. Thanks again and keep doing videos!!

[@DMacstudios]

Excellent tutorial! You make things clear and simple. Keep going!

[@ZillTrip]

got it!! thanks bro!!!!!! ive been trying for years!!! omg gonna start some real work now!!!!

[@NzeRekoRec]

I really love your tutorials

[@ProTutorials]

I personally prefer nvidia geforce cards over Quadros. I have both and I find that the geforce cards render graphic intensive stuff better. But that is just my opinion. Don't forget that lighting and shadows take up render time too. good luck

[@BallinVFX]

crystal clear instructions! great tutorial!

[@mahmoudabuwarda3348]

thanks man and in 3ds max 2014 you should go to Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max2014\NVIDIA\shaders_standard\mentalray\include

[@My2Cents1]

For those of you who still get the error message... I found my problem. I got the "no caustic generators" first, until I checked so that all geometry generates caustics the the Render Settings window like shown in the video. Then I got the error message saying "No caustic EMITTERS in the scene".... At first I didn't even notice the error message had changed...(as I'm sure is also the case with many of you out there) it's easy to miss because at this point you're frustrated and will assume it's the same error message about no generators n shit. Solution, which is not mentioned in the video: Checking the box for all geometry in the Render Settings doesn't apply to light sources...because they don't count as geometry. So...click the LIGHT SOURCE and go to object properties and make sure "Generate Caustics" is checked. I also unchecked "receive caustics" because a light source should need it. Hope this helps.

[@gabrielwillames]

thanks, i'm using 3dsmax 2016

[@nameusmcnameth803]

thanks for this tutorial,now I have a nice render that I can use as avatar and a new great material!

[@cheyneyparsons8496]

There are two things that cause the error. One is not having my scene boxed in. The other is turning up the "roughness" slider on glass materials even when my scene is boxed in.

[@WeiYeQiu]

Problem solved, I just need to set the light has caustics box on. Your tutorial is very useful. I hope you can have one that teach how to switching texture during the animation. For example, I want to switich a lego character's face expression, how do I do it when I animated. Thanks a lot

[@优乐西裤]

thanks man, that's really helpful, love the video

[@WeiYeQiu]

I did the set up as yours , but a error pop up, it says" there are no caustic photon emitters in the scene. Make sure at least one light object is set to emit caustics in the object properites dialog." What should I do?

[@ProTutorials]

That is strange, can you tell me what material works for you and which material causes the problem? Also try increasing the photons in the "mental ray Indirect Illumination" tab in the settings of your light.

[@DanZaidan]

Thanks for the tutorial! It was fun and informative. one more sub for you, sir ;)

[@Godfather300C]

I looked through the comments but didn't find what I was looking for. I may have missed it. I have followed this video to the T, I get no errors, everything looks great, but I get not caustics on the ground below. I upped the photons and I lowered the decay. Still all I get is the light from the Omni lights on the plane. Any help, hints, or tips would be awesome.

[@cheyneyparsons8496]

Thank you for the tutorial. I thought maybe you could help me with a problem I'm having. When I use certain materials with mental ray using caustics I get errors that say "no photons stored after emitting 100000 photons". So far I haven't found a working answer on the net.

[@D3cyTH3r]

I had the same problem (had to play around with the settings to get a decent effect). My light settings: Multiplier: 41, Decay: 'Inverse' (start: 137cm), Far Attenuation: 6014cm. -think it depends on object size and distances?

[@stevemburu254]

Awesome!!! Thought of starting 3D days ago and the tutorials are really helping me out....thanks man....tho id like a tutorial on how to create water n like make it ripple and all....id like that alot....great work!!

[@georgegogiashvili9416]

great tutorials! I learn much, thanks allot

[@cheyneyparsons8496]

Actually, the error occurs even when I don't use global illumination. Applying an advanced (i.e. "metallic paint" or "subsurface scattering" or "car paint") material to the floor below the object is another cause other than turning up the "roughness" of a material. I can apply an advanced material to the floor if I box the scene in. Turning up the photons in the lights parameters did nothing. My scene is no more complex than the one in your tutorial.

[@Siresin]

HI! I am really loving this tutorial, but I have one problem that I'm not sure how to fix. I did everything step by step like on your vid, but when I render I keep getting the "there are no caustic photon emitter in the scene." How do I fix this? I chose a spring to try out this tutorial with and added 2 Omni lights and changed the render settings but it still pops up.

[@NeoReloaded226]

Clearly I'm having issues. I got Physics_Phen running, but I'm having a terrible time figuring out how to tone down the caustics and add color. Could you do a Tutorial on that?

[@hatimgueblaoui]

the fantastic tutorial

[@theunrealabyss]

Great Video! However, when I changed the value to "show" in the physics_phen.mi file and started up Max again, the material browser was empty and refused to show any material at all. When trying to load the standard .mat files it referred me to MyDocuments into an empty materials folder. I had to find the original file on my Autodesk USB stick again to overwrite the phen.mi file. After that it worked again. Phew. I'm using Max 2013 Student Edition on WinXP 32bit btw.

[@Chinoshroom]

Awwesome tutorial! you sir have earned a sub

[@jamn610]

i need help man, i did everything you said and yes i also changed the renderer to mental ray but when i render all i get is a black screen

[@UtupaClone]

get the lights closer to the object, that worked for me

[@qiqette]

How to have Smoth+Highlight viewport view? I only have Realistic Shaded Consistent Colors and Highlights.

[@Traeumer13]

When I render it, the message "there are no caustic photon emitters in the scene" (Max 2012) showes up. What do I have to change?

[@sean4lyfe703]

u deserve to get more likes:" nice video!

[@Pac0arq]

Hi there!!! I'm using 3ds Max 2013 and I've followed step by step the tutorial but I haven't reach that result or something even close. Do you have any recomendations??? Thanks!

[@nukeDv2]

Can you export this as a obj and its material? then putting it into Element 3d would it still work?

[@LegolasXp]

I can get my caustics working, when I enable it by right click or enable all object receive caustic, and when I try to render I keep seen the same error like there is no object receiving caustic, make sure that at least one object is receiving caustic. Any Idea? I have 3D Max 2013

[@ProTutorials]

Do you have open gl enabled?

[@ProTutorials]

Thanks, Glad I could help.

[@13Melmoth]

For a long time I was not seen about you! How are you? Will you still be doing this?

[@qiqette]

when i render i ghet this mesage "there are no caustic photon emitters on the scene" If my light generate caustics the render give me error. Please I need help .

[@nukeDv2]

Damnn... okay well I have this problem right? When I motion track ascene and I put in all the texts with the caustics it doesn't look crystal like? Some reason it looks really 2d and ugly bleghh.

[@jimmakos1993]

Does it work without water? I tried it with water and then with glass and nothing happened. I did everything step by step.

[@AfxCrush]

when i render i get this message: "there are no caustics photons emitters in the scene" help please

[@ProTutorials]

As of right now, Element does not support max texture files or caustics... so no

[@likepipe5605]

Hello My problem is, when i give some color for object I can see chanke in viewport but after render I see standard color silver

[@ProTutorials]

Thanks! Good to know

[@TamandFamily]

I'm using 3D Max 2014. It does not have " Mental Ray Renderer" in Render Setup, so I chose " NVIDIA Mental Ray instead. The render images turned out to not have caustics effect. May I have your guide to do it right? Does caustics effect works for the regular glass material? Thank you!

[@omkarlohogaonkar1327]

man i love u for this video.....

[@HDGURU100]

interesting. if i change plane material like class or mirrror then 3ds max cant rendering it stuck about 95 %, if i du same reflection in photoshop cs6 3d then it handle fine just it take about 8 or 10 hours. and if u know how i can render Cycles Rendering 3ds max 2010 then can u make tut?

[@D3cyTH3r]

Argh! I can't find the bloody .mi files?!! -Im using 2011 with an AMD GC (if that makes any difference?). Can ye help?

[@Master_Moves_]

but i can't find that glass material help me plz

[@BD3329]

when i render i ghet this mesage "there are no caustic photon emitters on the"

[@ProTutorials]

Thanks, let me know if it works for you.

[@AfxCrush]

what did you do? i have the same problem

[@ProTutorials]

so everything worked out for you?

[@ramzishahabdeen3042]

Nice video! But having a problem. I'm unable to save the physics.phen.mi file after changing the word "hidden" into "show". Please help me

[@Master_Moves_]

i need a help can u do with 2013 3d max plz

[@qiqette]

What is Open gl? I have DirectX nVidia Graphics

[@beremarquez5838]

mm. i have a problem my 3dmax 11 shows a mesage : "there are no photon emitters in the scene" how can i correct that? pleas help me

[@LegolasXp]

I have the same problem,,, 3D Max 2013

[@LuizVictorBragattoCustodio]

Hello, i'm very newbie in 3dmax.. but i've managed to make it work, i had the same problem (there are no caustic photon emitters...), i just selected the 2 omini lights in the scene and right click , object properties, mental ray, generate caustic, done... LOL

[@ProTutorials]

Best of luck to you

[@pstryknie]

I love you! Thank you so much!

[@emyasser]

which version is this 3d max

[@QuiteSpiffing]

I'm getting access denied error when trying to save the Physics Phen file, even though I'm the administrator on this machine. The fuck?

[@abdoustube]

have you tried to copy the file to another folder (ex documents) edit, save and replace

[@DakotaGeorge3D]

+abdoustube Thanks man, this was a problem for me too.

[@abdoustube]

KAD0TA =b

[@My2Cents1]

Just do a "Save as" instead of "Save" to create a new version (same file name) on the desktop. Then you physically drag and drop the changed file into the "Include" folder. Should work.

[@silverray92]

Does it works for 3ds max 2013?thanks

[@cheyneyparsons8496]

By the way, I'm using global illumination when these errors occur.

[@htx8257]

Very cool thx for sharing :)

[@AbdouTechno]

Thank you , but man i have no water o_O can u tell me how to get water ???

[@Snxcc_]

i did it still got caustics error

[@henriettatillywhitwell4313]

Love the video, just a small problem. It says that i don't have permission to save the file after editing it even though it is my computer that I am using. Any help?

[@julianvifor5506]

Same problem I've got :|

[@WarpedNeurons]

Just right-click the physics_phen.mi file and select properties. Then go to the Security tab, and click Edit. Select the user on the list and modify the permissions.

[@AfxCrush]

got it..i forgot activate "generate caustics" for the lights :)

[@KentHadi]

nice ending.

[@irenelam585]

Thank you !!

[@ceyhunpasaoglu]

Helpful.

[@HDGURU100]

i just discover that open gl dont force gpu, open gl enabled and cpu 100 % still gpu 0

[@leonardopano8220]

Where can i download the 3DS MAX???

[@leonardopano8220]

Nintendo Champ daaamnn

[@leonardopano8220]

Nintendo Champ normal student or student who needs those programs?

[@leonardopano8220]

Nintendo Champ ok thanks bro

[@Kazarr1]

Leonardo Pano np by the can can u sub me i willl sub back

[@leonardopano8220]

Nintendo Champ i have sub you from loong loong time ago ;)

[@Mech10001]

DAMMIT!! is there a way to get a radiosity effect in mental ray!!! i love mental ray and all the.. stuff it has but i also love the radiosity plug-in for the default scanline thing, PLZ HELP IN SOME WAY!!! *sub'd :))

[@naidokdin]

Sir, Thank you.

[@burnwave1101]

I like this

[@LutfiArifJeddah]

sooooooooooooooooo nice .... thank uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

[@GOOB3000]

FOR 2013 USERS physics_phen.mi C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 2013\NVIDIA\shaders_standard\mentalray\include

[@Fadsel123]

awesome

[@ambermalik4565]

thanks allot.... its very helping tutorial :: keep it up ::::

[@bichitrabirbiswas9654]

Thank you... :) its really helpfull... (y)

[@ZillTrip]

3ds max said "there are no caustic emitter in the scene" I did everything

[@VIC26VIC]

Simply excelent you are great,,, I´m folling you I'll be following

[@ashrafvarikodan44]

"which is incredibly unuseful....."

[@Alkabeer45b]

Thanks a lot.....! :-O)

[@HDGURU100]

thx with 3d max is kinda easyer, i tried use blender but it seems so retarded, nothing dont work there, BTW i know now where is made amd 3d logos, i thought that in photoshop :D

[@velequest]

Dudley PRO, I am a very wealthy individual, and I'm willing to offer you long term tutorial work, 20,000 dollars per month to make these great tutorial videos and teach me the fancy art of 3D crafting. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ That is what I would be saying if I were really a very wealthy guy. I even typed that with an uppity voice in my head. But seriously, soon..................Best tuts on the net! I'll link to you on my FB page for what it's worth.

[@thes_eus]

Being shocked in 2020