Autodesk 3ds Max: Create massive worlds and high-quality designs
3D modelling and animation software
Image courtesy of Anthony Pitts
What is 3ds Max?
Autodesk 3ds Max professional 3D modelling, rendering and animation software enables you to create expansive worlds and premium designs.
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Breathe life into environments and landscapes with robust modelling tools.
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Create finely detailed designs and props with intuitive texturing and shading tools.
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Iterate and produce professional-grade renders with full artistic control.
3ds Max overview (video: 4:48 min.)
Dream Garden Shed, rendered in 3ds Max. Image courtesy of Ewelina Lekka
Stylistic render of crabs in the sand, created in 3ds Max. Image courtesy of Kirill Gilyazov
3D painting of underwater scenery, created in 3ds Max. Image courtesy of Marie Henry
Digital image of an overgrown flooded alleyway, created in 3ds Max. Image courtesy of Timothy Lee
Flying on a Trabant, rendered in 3ds Max. Image courtesy of Vince Gáspár
Why use 3ds Max?
Boost creativity
Fuel your imagination with artist-friendly creative workflows.
Increase automation
Reduce repetitive, time-consuming tasks with time-saving tools.
Improve collaboration
Seamlessly share data with integrated open standards.
What you can do with 3ds Max
Image courtesy of Saga Alayyoubi
Create realistic 3D designs with powerful tools
Whether you’re building expansive gaming worlds or visualising intricate architectural designs, 3ds Max has the modelling toolset you need to bring your 3D assets to life.
Image courtesy of J-KANG
Produce high-quality renders
From light mixing to colour correction, the built-in Arnold renderer provides a rich experience and handles your most complex characters, scenes and effects.
“During [SteelRising's] production, the animation team relied on 3ds Max to create its custom rigs and animations.“
–Arthur Munoz, Senior Game Animator and Rigger, Spiders Games
“Almost all of the content you see in [Forza Horizon 5] has been create[d] inside 3ds Max.”
– Dan Wulczynski, Lead Technical Artist, Playground Games
“Full CGI has many advantages. … We can choose any light, atmosphere and … location we want.“
– Jakub Vlček, CEO, Punctum Images
[With] 3ds Max and AutoCAD, I bridged the gap [between] abstract creativity and … tangible projects.“
– Sara Moheimani, 3D Artist
See 3ds Max in action
Relive the past using VFX
3D generalist Thomas Berg breaks down VFX scenes from his work on Olav and two war documentaries.
Embrace open standards
Discover how support for glTF allows users to open, create and edit large amounts of 3D data with ease.
Create simulations
Edstudios details how to import geometry and particle simulations from 3ds Max and TyFlow to Omniverse Create.
3ds Max resources
VIDEOS
M&E YouTube channel
Watch talks from industry experts, discover new tools and workflows, and much more.
COMMUNITY
3ds Max forum
Share your knowledge, ask questions and explore popular 3ds Max topics.
Media & Entertainment Collection offers more
Create breathtaking scenes and characters for film, TV and games.
Enjoy all the creative tools you need to build a powerful, scalable 3D animation pipeline for complex simulations, effects and rendering.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
3ds Max is used to model, animate and render detailed 3D characters, photorealistic designs and complex scenes for film and TV, games and design visualisation projects.
3ds Max is used by 3D modellers, animators and lighting artists for game development, film and TV productions and design visualisation projects.
Your 3ds Max subscription gives you access to install and use the three previous versions. Available downloads are listed in your Autodesk Account after subscribing. See also previous releases available for subscribers.
With a subscription to 3ds Max software, you can install it on up to 3 computers or other devices. However, only the named user can sign in and use that software on a single computer at any given time. Please refer to the Software Licence Agreement for more information.
Launch your trial software and click Subscribe Now on the trial screen or buy 3ds Max here. When buying your subscription, enter the same email address and password combination you used to sign in to your trial. Learn more about converting a trial to a paid subscription.
The price of an annual 3ds Max subscription is
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