Arnold for 3ds max Shading

Software:
3ds max 2019 | Arnold 5

In-order for objects in 3ds max to be rendered as volumes with Arnold, the object mesh has to be converted to a volume, and a Standard Volume material assigned to the object:

Add an Arnold Properties modifier to the object.
Under Volume set the Step Size to a value higher than 0.0.
Assign a Standard Volume material to the object and set it’s parameters to design the volumetric effect:

Examples:

* Note that both Density and Depth control the transparency or ‘thickness’ of the volume. (lower Depth setting creates a thicker volume)
* When Scattering is set to 0.0 the volume will have only a absorption effect

In this example an Arnold Noise map is connected to the Standard Volume‘s Density parameter:
* Note that the Scale values must be set correctly in order to actually get a ‘cloudy’ effect.
* Note that the noise color values are now controlling the Density of the volume.

Related:
Arnold for 3ds max God Rays

Software:
3ds max 2019 | Arnold 5

Adding a ‘Volume Light’ effect in Arnold for 3ds max is fairly simple:

In the Render Setup windows > Arnold Renderer tab, under Environment, Background & Atmosphere:
Click the Scene Atmosphere material slot, add an Arnold Atmosphere Volume material to it,
And drag it as an instance to the Material Editor to edit it’s parameters.
Set the Density to a higher than 0.0 value, so the material will have an effect.
You’ll probably need to significantly raise the number of samples in the Atmosphere Volume material, and also the number of Volume samples in the light settings in order to get a clean render.

Arnold for 3ds max – Render objects as volumes (volume shading)

Arnold for 3ds max – Volumetric Fog and ‘God Rays’