3ds max noob here How come these dark shadows are appearing

File: 1420427640947.jpg (13KB, 196x178px) Image search: [Google]

13KB, 196x178px

>>537272
>what is viewport shading

>>537276
tried it, couldn't find anything that looked normal. I don't think the shadows are supposed to be this intense.

It's because the mesh has a sharp edge bu the normals along that edge are smoothed, and you have very few faces so the normal shading is averaging over the entirety of the face adjacent to the smoothed edge.
Or at least that's usually the case with this type of shading.

File: viewport-light-cache-calculation-phase-final-rendering-comparsion-vray.png (416KB, 800x385px) Image search: [Google]

416KB, 800x385px

>>537272
If your render looks like you want it to, the viewport should not be a concern. You learn quickly that the viewport is not always the best representation of your object. Image related

>>537288
AKA look into smoothing groups.