History of the CG Teapot

The Teapot primitive in 3ds Max derives from the original data developed by Martin Newell in 1975. Beginning with a graph-paper sketch of a teapot that he kept on his desk, Newell calculated cubic Bezier splines to create a wireframe model. James Blinn, also at the University of Utah during this period, produced early renderings of exceptional quality using this model.

The teapot has since become a classic in computer graphics. Its complexly curved and intersecting surfaces are well suited to testing different kinds of material mappings and rendering settings on a real-world object.

Procedures

To create a teapot:

1. On the Create panel or from the Create menu, choose Standard Primitives Teapot.
2. In any viewport, drag to define a radius.

   As you drag, a teapot emerges with the pivot point at the center of its base.

3. Release the mouse to set the radius and create the teapot.
4. To exit teapot-creation mode, right-click in the viewport.

To create a teapot part:

1. In Parameters rollout Teapot Parts group, turn off all parts except the one you want to create.
2. Create a teapot.

   The part you left on appears. The pivot point remains at the center of the teapot's base.

The teapot has four separate parts: body, handle, spout, and lid. Controls are located in the Teapot Parts group of the Parameters rollout. You can check any combination of parts to create at the same time. The body alone is a ready-made bowl, or a pot with optional lid.

To turn a part into a teapot:

1. Select a teapot part in the viewport.
2. On the Modify panel Parameters rollout, turn on all parts. (This is the default.)

   The whole teapot appears.

You can apply modifiers to any separate part. If you later turn on another part, the modifier affects the additional geometry as well.

Interface