modeling suggestions 2

[jujubee]

not quite on the topic of vray- but everyone here seems a little more in-depth than that of the discreet forum.

I had a modeling question. I was asked to create this model for a magazine - a commission from Kenn Brown: http://www.mondolithic.com I was unable to complete it effectively. I struggled with it for three days then finally threw in the towel. It looks extremely simple but don't let this design fool you. My first instinct was- how easy!



Intial thoughts was that extruding and beveling the spline would work- nope. Meshsmooth wouldnt work to get it that rounded- it would only do the very edges. Often, a lot of cross-intersecting would occur due to the extensive bends. I tried skinning it and that was painful- never turned out quite right. I tried using nurbs- two separate pieces for the arms but I couldnt get the joining of the seams to look correct. I tried modeling it with polys- an incredible pain when it came to getting the arms right. I'm just wondering how a 3dsmax modeling master would go about this challenge. Any suggestions?

[suurland]

looks like a very easy job for few a cyllinders stitched together and keeping the quads intact, and then meshsmooth it.

/Thomas

[jujubee]

yeah- that's what i said. have u tried it?

[suurland]

No, I didn't try (And don't have time to try) but I know it will be easy to make it like that.

/Thomas

[Dman3d]

Agreed.

[dejaVu]

Meshsmooth should be able to cope with that fine.
Besides, it looks like there is a big difference between the original spline and the finished model...the proportions are not the same.

[jujubee]

I don't see how one would 'stitch' the cylinders together- you're talking boolean union operations? Then implying you would manually shift the polys around/scale, ffd, then meshsmooth? I tried it and no dice. I just couldn't get those curves in a short amount of time. Those bends/contours are nto simple. Guess the main reason it took me three days is that I tried all these different methods- and ended up teaching myself NURBS along the process...

[suurland]

Boolean.. my god no...

I'm talking about making low poly cyllinders and make sure sure the segments fits each other for the arms and body, and then collapse it all and manual stich them together using standard poly modeling. can't take more then an hour to make.

/Thomas

[jujubee]

I'll give it a try- I'm wondering how the seams will come out where the arms meet the torso though...

[jujubee]

Ok- here we go. How the heck am I supposed to get this blend between the arms now- highlighted in yellow- am I supposed to weld the vertices so that there's some exact number? Did I start off with too many polys if that's the case? Or is there some other way?

[suurland]

your using WAY too many polys.. use as few as possible, then it's much easiere.

/Thomas

[egz]

EPoly modeling. 23 minutes, including rendering:

[suurland]

just do as egz and your on the right track :P

/Thomas

[jujubee]

that's simply amazing. thank you for showing me that it could be done. You don't know how much I appreciate it. thank you again. And also thanks to everyone else for their helpful suggestions. It's just my ignorance which is the stumbling block here.

Is it epoly as in editable poly? I'm self-taught never heard the term before. If so, did you work off one cylinder? The arm seams is what I've had the most difficulty with.

[jujubee]

Sorry about the message flood. I just feel really stupid, humbled, and amazed right now. Can you elaborate upon the steps egz?