Utilities panel > Utilities rollout > More button > Utilities dialog > Assign Vertex Colors
The Assign Vertex Colors utility assigns vertex colors based on the material assigned to the object and the lighting in the scene. The utility applies a Vertex Colors modifier to the object. Note that the Vertex Colors modifier has no parameters, and can only be applied via the Assign Vertex Colors utility.
Tip: To render vertex colors, you must apply a material that has a Vertex Color map in its diffuse component. To view vertex colors in viewports, right-click the object, choose Properties from the quad menu, and then turn on Vertex Color in the Display Properties group.
In 3ds max 5, the utility now supports radiosity.
The Assign Vertex Colors utility supports light Inclusion or Exclusion when using the Scene Lights option.
To use the Assign Vertex Colors utility:
Assign materials to the objects you want to affect. These can be mapped or unmapped materials.
Light the objects.
Select the objects you want to affect.
Expand the Display Properties rollout in the Display panel and turn on Vertex Colors.
Access the Assign Vertex Colors utility.
Choose one of the Light Model options.
Click Assign to Selected.
Vertex Colors modifiers are applied to the selected objects, and the vertex colors for the objects are taken from their materials and from the lighting in the scene, depending on the options you choose under Light Model.
Changing the material or the lighting in the scene won’t change the vertex colors. To do this, click the Update All button.
Note: The new vertex colors are stored in the Vertex Colors modifier. If you want to access them, you can collapse the object and Vertex Colors modifier to an editable mesh, and then edit the vertex colors using the editable mesh.
Example: To use the Assign Vertex Colors utility on a specific object:
Create a sphere with 24 segments.
Apply a mapped material to the sphere, and turn on Show Map In Viewports.
The mapped sphere is displayed in the viewport.
Open the Object Properties dialog for the sphere, turn on Vertex Colors, and click OK. The sphere turns black because you're now displaying its vertex colors, and they're all black as a default. If you turned off Vertex Colors, the map would reappear.
With the sphere selected, open the Assign Vertex Colors utility.
Choose Shaded.
Click Assign To Selected.
A blurred version of the mapping appears on the sphere. The vertices are now colored based on the material and the lighting in the scene. The mapping is blurred because the resolution of the mesh at 24 segments is much lower than the pixel resolution of the map.
Go to the Modify panel and note the Vertex Colors modifier.
Move down in the Stack to the creation parameters, click Yes at the warning prompt, and increase the Segments to 70.
The new vertices shift the already assigned vertices.
Return to the Utilities panel, and click either Update All or Assign To Selected. (Since there's only one object, it doesn't matter.) The mapping appears slightly more defined.
Tip: Vertex colors will only show up in a rendered scene if you assign the Vertex Color map to the diffuse channel. However, if you do this, you can't properly update your vertex colors with the Assign Vertex Colors utility. The solution is to assign a Blend material to your object. Assign the straight diffuse bitmap to Material 1, and the Vertex Color map to Material 2 of the Blend. Switch to 100 percent of Material 2 when rendering, and 100 percent of Material 1 when updating the vertex colors.

Provides options that let you specify how the surface of the object appears to be illuminated.
Lighting—Uses only lighting to assign vertex colors, ignoring material properties.
Shaded—Uses the current scene lighting and materials to affect the vertex colors.
Diffuse—Applies the equivalent of a white omni light floating just outside of every vertex.
Mix vertex colors—Turn on to allow each vertex to have its own color. Turn off to allow each face to have its own set of vertex colors.
Using unmixed vertex colors will result in sharp edges when using multi sub-object materials, where mixed colors would bleed into each other.
Calculate Shadows—Turn on to allow shadows to be taken into account when the vertices are shaded.
When Cast Shadows and Shaded are turned on, the shadows have sharp edges. The result can be adjusted by collapsing the object and Vertex Colors modifier to an editable mesh, and then editing the vertex colors using the editable mesh.
Use Maps—Use texture maps.
Use Radiosity—Includes radiosity in the vertex color assignments. This option is unavailable unless a radiosity solution is present in the scene.
Note: This option works for radiosity, but not for the Light Tracer.
Assign to Selected—Assigns vertex colors to the selected objects based on the assigned material and the specified light model. A Vertex Colors modifier is created and added to the Stack of the selected objects.
Update All—Recalculates the vertex colors for all objects in the scene that carry a Vertex Colors modifier.
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