Welcome back to 3D max! starting with - creating an environment

Today we got back onto 3-D max for the first time in ages - so we started having a recap on some box modelling and making textures (512*512 - 72 on Photoshop) (see one below):

after playing around in Photoshop with various renderings (clouds) and diffuse (among others). We then put this texture onto a 200*200 plane (with 100 faces); put our texture onto it and then we could use that texture to effect the environment - strengthening it brought up the environment and lowering it did the opposite. Creating a really sweet mountain-like scene

As you can see form my image there is lighting and a skydome - I added a camera and skylight to make it more dramatic and to add shadows - there was then 2 ways to "make a sky" use a sphere, cut it in half and flip the polygons over, then add the texture. Or you fake it by making a box around the enviroment and slapping the texture on there. Its good to be back on 3-D max and I look forward to learning more.