. Lesson: Modeling with Shapes = Overview a u r ‘Shapes are linear object types that can form an open or closed area, Shapes are mostly used in / 4 20 grep bt can a be efinedin three dimensions You con ie shapes sbutlng beck > {or30 geomet wth modes ke athe, Bevel and Etude Compound obec He Lot and ShapeMerge abo we 20 shapes to bl 30 bec : Objectives > ‘After completing this lesson, you will be able to: * Distinguish between the basic elements ofa shape Create basic shapes Edt shapes and their sub objects Use modifiers with shapes to create 3D geometry Create complex forms using the Loft too! Lesson Modeling wthshopes © 168Shape Definition ‘A shapes typically 20 linear object. Some examples of shapes include: =e = L 170 * chapters Madetngag uw ‘Shape Components |Ashape typically comprises muiple components. tthe object evel theres theshape self shape {an contain multiple splines, Each splines defined by two or more vertices, ach achacent pal of vertices in aline defines a segment. You can manipulate each ofthese components tiferent Sub-object levels 'A2D shape showing the components of shape: one or more spines and curved of ~~ Straight segments betwee vertices In adition tothe sub-objcts sted above, there isthe concept of verex ype Vertices ‘antake onthe propertiesofaneoffourtypes: Bezier Comer, Bezier, Comer, and Smoath. With one or more vertices elected, the quad menus gives youn tochange the vertextype. Lesson: Modeling wihShopes * 7Basic Shape Creation Thereare several diferent ways of creating shapes. Typically you would use the Shape creation tools available onthe Create panel. Basic Shape tols onthe Create panel Line Too! ‘The most fundamental shape- Creating a shape with Sexe vertices forces 7 curved segments 10 be crn, To create a complex shape with more than cone sling, ura of Start New Shape onthe Object Type rollout This creates one shape object with matiple spines "arametric Shape Tools ‘Most ofthe remaining shape-reation tools produce parametric objects that are easy to create andedt. Lesson: Modeling wth Shope 73 E E : . i err—“‘—OC—C—C—4 ‘Shape Steps ‘When you createa shape, the softwar dspays curved segments wth straightine components ‘lied steps. The greater the numberof steps, the smoother the cuve. You can adust the number ‘of shape steps onthe Interpolation rll, “The default Steps value of 6 produces aly smooth results but the segmentation i evident when you ‘200m into the mode "Note the ference among these three concentric cieles. The inner cre has aStepsvaive of 2, while the outer ccleuses a Steps valve 12, Me center circle uses the default Shape steps are calculated between vertices {shape with many vertices looks smoother than a shape with more steps. hellstation the inner Circle shows our vertices wth a Stop sive of 2 ‘while the outer cle contains twovertces with 3 Steps value of * Groner Modeling‘The Interpolation rollout contains two check boxes 3 ‘worth noting: Optimize: Removes shape steps where they're > Unnecessary usualy onastaghtline segment. (Optimize son by defait 1 Adaptive: Contos the distribution of shape steps It removes steps inlinesr segments and Gistrbutes stops in curved segments based 09 theangle ofthe curve Adaptieisoffby deft ‘When enabled, both Steps ard Optimize are ‘unavaiable, Identical splines The left one hasa Steps value of6, Cy ‘while the ight onehas Adapsveon. Rendering Values By default, splines display inthe viewport bur donot render. You can st rendesing values onthe Rendering rollout wo wo euuubuUwe (i ‘Atel spline enabled for rendering turned nthe viewport and inthe renderer. You can aust the ‘Thickness value, and contol the radius of the profile of the spline 3D Splines ‘Shapes are not limited toa sngle plane, sseen with the Hel spine example. The Helxisinherentiy {230 spline created automatically in 3D. Other shapes are generally createdina 2D plane andcanthen be edited tomate them 3. Lesson Modeling wihshopes © Y7S ooovvooeUuY &Working with Splines You can create spines quickly using parametric shapes that provide a basic levlof functionality for splines. The eal power of splines, however, becomes more apparent wien you elt them atthe sub-object level. Editing Parametric Shapes ‘After creating a parametric shape such aa cil or text, you can edit the valuesof the shape on the 3ds Max 3ds Max Design You can quicy change the font, siz, and even conten ina Text shape onthe Modify panel 176 * chopers Modeing in €wo > = Editable Spline > ‘Shapes generally xis in two forms: as parametric abjects and as editable spins hough a = parametric objects more “inteligent” and easier to edt, the edtabe spline form gives you total = Control over the shape Regardless of how you ceate a shape, you can conver Rta an editable spline at anytime. In most cases, spline operations are unavalable ut you conver a shape to aneeditable spine uvddadag wo a Lesion: Modeling with Shapes 77 w woA cl is created a 20 parametric shape. You can change Rendering and interpolation values and ‘the cle ads but at this point you have no control aver vertex type, segment, et, You should want to deform the cil. Converting the cceto an editable spline exposes the edting parameters tall ub-object levels Spline, Segment, and Vertes. 178+ Chapter Madeingo Converting a parametric object tan editable spline canbe accomplished through the quad ment, or byright- ecltable spine. | w Right-click menu inthe modifier stack wo Lesson: Modeling win shopes * 179Converting aparametic object toa base object prevents you from editing the parametrivalues later. For example once you convert a Circe spine to an editable spline object, you can no longer edit ts, Radius value parametialy. One solution to thisis to use the Edi Spline modifi Edit Spline Modifier ‘The Et Spline modifier, found in the Modifier iss added ontop of spline objec. When you add the modifier to a parametric object i allows you toed the base abject with ease using the same \wortflow as the editable spline base object. ‘Adonut object wit an Et Spine modifier applied. The Edt Spline modifier wasused to convert segment ta straight line. 180 * Chapter: Medlingwo wo wo ‘The donuts radius modified. The change aed bythe Eat Spine Modifiers msintaine. ‘The draviackto using the Edt Spline modifiers the overhead of keeping llth information inthe stack This can produce large ess and slower interaction, aw Spline Manipulations wo ‘The editable spine tools offer many possibilities. Yul be exploring some ofthe basic toon this son, The Shape and the Spline {shape'sa collection of one or morespines,whereasa splieisan open or closed linear or cuvinear =, element. nthe previous example the donut isthe shape and the inner and outer cles ate splines. > Splines canbe added or removed froma shape. = \When you create shapes, you can tum off tat New Shape. ‘Once you craw more than one spin, ther youve created a E rmultSpline shape. = Lesson Modeling wthshopes * 181 woSpline Editing \Whenashapeisinedtabe spine form or hasan Eat Spline modifier applied tot you cana splines tothe selected shape with the Attach tools found onthe Geometry ol. ‘Before and after attaching theinnerdonutand cles tothe ‘ginal shape The attached spines inher the color ofthe Shape to which they ae tached ‘About Attaching Splines ‘When cresting ary complex shapes it sometimes useful to stare wth multileshapes as opposed to freeform drawing using the Line took When using multiple shapes you needtoattach the shapes together sa single spline entity beforeyou can manipulate them propery. Toatach splines together, you use ether the Attach tool where you select inthe viewpor the shape you want to attach the selected one, or you can use the Attach Multiple foo that enables you to select multiple shapes by name using a dialog box 182 * chapters Modeling «Intheimage below three shapes two cles and a rectangle) were attached together before boolean 3 ‘operations were used to obtain the resulting spline. ater, the perimeter was outined into a double lin befoe the final shape was extruded. Detaching Splines froma Shape When youselecta spline na mut-splinshape you have the ‘option to detach tom the shape. When you detacha spline youcan keep thecriginaland make scopy: The spline must be selected beret uu become available. Lesson: Modeling wihshopes* 183Basic Transformation of Sub-Objects. You can edit shape sub objects Vertex, Segment, and Spline withthe Move, tate, and Scale wansforms Aotng segment about ism fing ener vere shape You can use miroring to creat symmetrical splines within a shape. After selecting a shape and accessing the Spine sub-object level ou use the Mirror too found onthe Mody pane. fefreand er sng he irate thee peflepne = Ghoperé ModingBoolean Booleans let you create geometry by combining 20 spines in various Ways. Booleans can make ‘complex modeling tasks easier than conventional methods. With spines you can use Union (a), Subtract remove) and Intersect (common ara) Boolean operations. Fist allo the splines must be Part ofthe same shape. Booleans work the Spline sub-objec level 3 3 > wo 3 Asoo ore and aera oan person Stacia he fetes cee shooe > Outline > Oatne's too that enables you to crate a duplicate spine paral to the ginal Reanbeuetuto botieas shown inthis example. : A - single cuniinear pole con be quickly cnveredinta the 3 jj 3 inner and outer walls ofa bette sing the Cutline oo ( > 2 > > 2 > Lesson Modeling withShopes—* 185Segment Editing | segment can be detached from shape. This is accomplished withthe same Dstach toolyou use ‘with splines only here t's used a the Segment sub-objec level (i O segment hele ote gehen detached nda no nge ps ofthe rg shape Connecting Vertices Using the Connect tool the Vertex sub-abject level you can lose the gap betwen apen segments. ‘You can connect two vertices withthe Connect tool by cicking and dragging from one open vertex toanother Lie segments are added berweenthe end points of CY the arcs when you connect the verices, 186+ Choptere Madeingwo w wo Refining a Segment When you ceatea shape you might need to add detailat some pontine. For example, the inner Circe on the lustrated gear has four vertices by default one at each quadrant. The Refine tool atthe ‘Segment or Vertex sub-obect evel provides a quick wayof adding vertices toads deta tothe shape. ‘Addtional segments inthe lower partof theinner arc provide the possibilty of further edting othe Vertex evel. Dividing a Segment Inadition to refining asegment to add detail you can also increase the deal (edd vertices) by dividing a segment. The advantage of using that option Itat vertices reinserted at equal distances ‘on the segment, which can be useful in many situations. To use this tool once yeuhave a segment Selected, you need tofist specify the numberof vertices tobe inserted before you clk the Divide button Tere Inthe image below, segment on a wine glass profiles selected and then divided with value ofS (erties tobe inserted) After that, two ofthe vertices were moved before the wine glass wa lthed (revolved), ce “Sa Lesson Modeling wthShopes* 187Vertex Editing The vertex isthe most fundamental of spline elements. A considerable amount cetng is possible at the Vertex sub-object level In fac, reshaping splines f easiest at this evel. Deleting Vertices When you deletea vertex you remove The software then cresesa segment between the two adjacent vertices, ‘You can find the Delete tool near the bottom ofthe Geometry rollout O XK/0 XK oth the circle and the star have had a vertex deleted a the top ofthe shape. The circle creates curved segment while the star creates a straight segment between the two inner radius pints. 188 + Chapter: Nodetngow 3 Welding Vertices Wilding vertices ciferen than deleting 2 vertex When you weld verices, two or more vertices are combined into a single vertex, reducing the number of vertices. The Weld tools found on the Geomety rollout. The numerical value onthe ight a threshold value; vertices farther par than this value re not welded L L Wilding the to open vertices creates single vertex atthe midpoint between tem and closes the shape. The wertenc fowl mete alate and they must he clover than the deine d weld threshold valve ‘When you select vertices ona spline, the numberof selected vertiesis displayed onthe Selection rollout. Lesson Modeling wih Shopee © 189Each spline vertexcan take onthe properties of one of four types: Beier Corner, Bene, Comer, and Smooth Siting vertextypes is done through the quad menu ‘ter selecting one or more vertices, choose a e new typefrom the quod mend 3 ©. (tena vertexis created athe Comer type. “Thistype I characterized ky a sharp linear changein direction at any ange. 190 * Chapter ts Mading3 Changing the verexto theSmeooth type will smooth the spline curvature at that vertex locaton wo w A Bezier vertex provides a curved shape you > i ‘an contro with handles With the Bevser > vertex type you can adjstthe length of the handles and theircrectionssymmeticaly, = L > | Benet Corner vertex lets ou control the i tangents going intoand ott ofthe vertex asymmeccally. = Lesson: Modelngwithshapes © 191Fillet & Chamfer Occasionally you might ned to round offor sce off comers ofa shape You can easily dothis withthe Filet tool for rounded comers and the Chane tool forstraght edges. Filletng the vertices atthe comers ofthe gears tecth produces a rounded effect. \ ‘Charfeing the vertices produces an angular effect. My J First Vertex ‘The fist verte, asits name suggests the fist vertex ona spline. ts used asa tring point inthe ‘ceation of geometry. animation applications such path contains, the ist verte is the stating pointe the path, Fist veces on splines ae indicted by yellow squaresYoucan customize this deault yellow color toyour king 192+ chapter Mdelng 7, m = eYoucan change the location ofthe fist vertex by ‘secting a vertex and cicking theMake Fist, button. On a closed spline, theft vertex can be anpwhere,On an open spine thas to beat ether en Using Shape Modifiers Seven modifiers canbe used wth shapes Here are some of the more commen modifiers and he ress they proce a ‘Extrude, crude ftlysoightorward moder tallow youto take an open or closedshape and reate SD betas close Lathe Lathes also a fait straightforward modifier but normaly requires some adjustrent to get the sired result. Lathe rakes a profil, suchas that fa battle, and rotates it about an ax ( ) a Lathe rotates about an ans that goes through the pivot point ofthe shape. You can set the aes of revolution to X.Y, oZ, and adjust the ection of the axis inthe modifier. Lesson: Modeling wihshopss © 193You can use the Bevel modi instead of Extrude when you nee to produce geometry with angled ‘or curved edges. Objects in realy that ight appear tobe simple extrusions don facthave subtle ‘rounded or angled edges at ther ends Beveled edges conveniently catch highlights generated by light sources inthe scene, Amedalon ced wt oe From the same shape used inthe medaion above, ‘curved medalon witha recessed area can be Created with changes to the values ofthe Bevel ‘modifier. * chepers: Modeng i Doone (| | Sa | | | | || $y | | || ee | |e, |. || |: || |, m © Onn ore @ ® ® ao,Bevel Profile Bevel Profle work ike Bevel but ues a profil or path instead of entered values te generate aaDobject, Bevel Profile can be used to create a relatively simple form Ike this gas bar sland, "he rounded rectangular basis shaped tothe prof, ‘An orgoically shapes basin can asobe created with Bevel Profil terion: Modeling nih Shops 195sweep ‘The Sweep modifier takes a profleand extudesit along a path. You can use bul-n profiles or draw profile of your onn, & compl fone srace ptformls uly cesta te Seep maar : Using Lofts Lofts ‘Loft objects a compound object that uses existing shapes to generate 3D geamety.ALoft é ‘operation require both path anda shape, Lofts can produce objects witha high degree of complexity. € ‘The power of Loft objects isin the abilty to change shapesin thelr construction process In this ilustration, a serendriver bide is created by teanstioning froma cle toa rectangle. mmo m 196 * chapter: Modeling .Another example in which Loftcan create an > ‘unusual form which would be difficult to create ‘otherwise. Inthis ase, both a square and cele are a sed as shapes. A sale deformation used to adjust theslz of the profile. ‘The Loft tals found on the Create panel under Geometry > Compound Objects = Lesson Modeling withsapes 197Paths & Shapes When youctesteaLof, youtineed tofistreateapath and one ormoreshapes. Following are several considerations when creating these object: ' Paths and shapes canbe open o closed When drawing a straight path set Drag Type to Commer, this avoids accidental creating 3 Bezier vertex = Yourpath should generally not have comet witha sharper radius than the rd of your shape. Otherwise comer with overapping vertices is created "Aloft can use mute shapes along the path Shapes used in aloft can have multiple splines. Asinpelwthacrvepath Theinccated ares show overtopping verices that wl probably not wrod wel e e € ‘Afr witha mui stn shape & a Alignment & Pivot Points . When you create shape or lft and use transformation commands and/or spine editing commands, the algnment af the shape and the location ofthe pivot point may Ee altered, You may find that you need to rotate o move the shape of Ks pvot point once’ par of-he lof. Loft passes through the pvt point of ) the shape, 198 = chopers: Modeling = ® ® = oh OP‘Multiple Shape Lofts and the First Vertex ‘Wen you work wth multiple shapesin lots you inevitably encounter stuatlonswhere the shapes on 2 lft re not propery aligned. You can fix those problems using the Compare to. twisted Loftusualy points to aproblem where the ‘wo shapes in the lft have misaligned fest vertices. ‘Once a Lofts crested you cans the Compare To! atthe Shape sub-objec evel to zheckthe locations offi vertices, The Compare to! shows the locations ofthe fst vertex for each shape. When theveres are nat aligned, the Loft becomes twisted. Lesson Moding wih Shopes* 198“The mult-shape loft with st vertices propery aligned. Shape & Path Steps ‘Te Skin Parameters rollout allows you to control the number of faces wed inthe creation of Lofts ‘Other important parameters can alzo be found inthis lit. Shape Steps contosthe numberof faces around the loft, wile Path Steps contos the numberof steps along the path. 200. * chapter é: Modeing ,Deformation Grids You can use deformation gid in loftsto produce teresting 30 geometry. Theearefivedeformation fds Scale, Twist, Tete, Bevel and it TheSale delomation gles yu change te shape salon thelengthot ; {\ thea The scale deformation rid becomes even more flexible when you scale afferetlyin the X and ¥ erections esto: Modeling wih Shapes * 201Exercise: Creating a Profile for a Bottle Inthis exercise, you daw the profle ofa botte's innerand outer edge. 1 202 Open thefile Bote max Select the Line tool rom the Creste Tab > Shapes aea ofthe Command Pane! Make sure the Initia Type Is set to Corer, and the Drag typeset to Beer inthe Creation Method rollout. Inthe Front view, use the Line toot start 12, Fightlickand choose BezierCornerfromthe 45, Select both vertices and convert them to ‘quad men Bezier Comer You might need to adjust both the vertex locations and the angen: handles to get the esied for, Zaomin mereif necessary. Leon Modeling wih hopes ® 20316, Moveupthe profile making adjustments 21. Continue toadjust he vericescunature until here necesary and stop winen you arrive at the top ofthe bots complete thetop ofthe bottle e : a ee 22. Onna othe Sn e ° oomiateetit Sas somenewemmenepuanseacie Se ae © 18. Atthe bottom ofthe geometry rollout click 24, Inthe numeric feld next tothe Outine the Dvde button, leaving the dfaut value button enter the valve 0.075 and press at. Thiswil inser a vertex nthe mide of ENTER t's not necessary to click the Outine - the segment. button ]| —, a wos 3 Ss r 25. GototheVerexsubobjed level ofthe shape. om ® {Sy | Sy | Sy «| Sy «| S| | | | | 20, Gobacktothe Vertex sub-objectlevel oo 204 = Choper6 Modeling126. Zoomintathetopofthe bottle. 28, Select the second vertex from the topon the inside ofthe bottle. 30, Movethe bottom vertex handle until the inside profile looks something ke this: -After outining the profil, the inside of the bottle has some distortion and is excessively c etal = a7, Selectthefourverticesontheinsde.asinthe 31, Pan down the profleuntiyou gett the fst feliowingiustration notchin thebotl just be ow the bottleneck = : IRhastwoverices Sas ‘Thenotch onthe outside f the bottle has ‘ested a notch onthe side that should not bethere 132, Sect the upper vertex on theinner notch and delete. uy ‘Nker deleting the extra vertices adjustments tothe curvature ae necessary wo Leson: Modeinguit shapes 205 wo3. Conver the remaining vertex toa Bezertype anda) ?. 34, Repeat this process forthe notch above thebase. m 35. Save yourfleas My Bote Profile: 206 + chopers Modeling AURA PMR AAA aD Omee Exercise: Using the Lathe Modifier Inthis exercise, ou wll use previously created profes and create 3D geometry using the Lathe ‘modifier 1. Openthefile Botte and Can Profle max. Lo | 2. selecttheCanProfieabjecton helt side of thePerpecve vewpor. 3. Gotothe Modify pane! and om the Modifier LUstchooee Lathe a 10. L < ‘The Lathe modifierhas been applied but did not produced the anticipated results. Lathe has rotated the profle about the Zax of. phot point where the desired avis isthe ‘minimum edge (lef side ofthe profile Click the Min button inthe Align group ofthe Parameters rollout (Min shor for Minima. Thetop ofthe anisdistotedas aresultofthe core vertex ofthe can no being welded “Turn onthe Weld Coe option to remove the rendering problem at thetop of the can Select the Botte Profile chet. Apply aLathe medi. lckthe Min button nthe Align group ofthe Parameters rollout erty that Weld Core on L The two geomettc objets are complete, Make the Perspective viewport current and ress 3 to switch to wireframe mode Lesion: Modeling with shapes* 207nn 2, Select thelathedcan and then press the 7key fon the keyboard to make the face counter ‘active inthe viewpor. “The face counter shows the number of faces thatiscontainedinthe entire scene tis beter te keep the face count low while preserving ‘900d rendering quality. Fight lick on the perspective label to display the viewport menu. Select Configure. etree erat ee chapters Moding 3 4, 1s. 16. w 6. Inthe Vewport Configuraion dialog, switch to the Statistics tab, Change the Setup to Total + Selection. This will make t easy foryouto track the changes n polygon courtin both the entire scene andin the selecedobject. ClekOx to ext the dialog With the can stil selected gototheLinelevel Inthe modifier stack. TT cick he Show En fest burton This lets you see the completed 30 object 95 YOU edt the profil ‘nthe interpolation rllat change the Steps valueto2 Pf mp DP ® ( | ey. Se |S | Gotathe Vertex sub-objec level moo wo 1. Inthe front view, select the vertex atthe mile ofthe profile ofthe can. Cckthe Delete button on the Geomety rollout Inthe maser stack selec the athelevel of theca. Change the Segments valve to 24 i “The face count should now be 672. You have ‘managed to reduce the umber of faces and ltmprove the appearance ofthe objet. this ‘object wasin the distance you would make further ajustments othe values to further reduce face court you have time, make similar adjustments to thebotle object Lesion: Modeling ith shapesExercise: Using the Sweep Modifier to Create a Wainscoting Inths exercise, yout be drawing asplineand using g ‘Sweep to create wainscoting along the wal : 1. Open the fle Walls Doors and Windows. max cot m_Walls Doors and Windowsmay | | [fa F 5 B 2. Atte tenet ome reste panel> Seperate . 2. Bel saiccicthe snaps Tonleon the maine 4. onthe dlogthatopens tum on Veron Stucesete aay we u 5 TB ontnemsin iota tne saps Toggibutonto tun on Snap me The ‘tents ytow 210 © choprere Modeling Drawalinealong the nsidebaseofthevallto reatea straight Lshapediine. When setting the comer ofthe L, be suet pckthe vertex at theinside corner ofthe wall (nthe main toolbar, clckthe Select And Move button, Right-clckthe SlectAndMove button. The Transform Type dialog apens. Enter 36" [10Somm]n the Absolute World Z value field to move theline up toa height of 36" [1080mm Eat the dialog and pres the Skey to turn off Snaps Toggle ‘Onthe Modify panel, goto the Vertex sub- ‘object evel2 3. 15. %6 wo ‘Clckthe Refine tool. Inthe Font view select points along the wall winerethe spine Intersects the window and door frame. Click the Refine tool again to eit the Refine ‘mode (onthe Modify panel go tothe Segment sub object evel Select the two segments inside the door and window and delete them. Exit the Segment Sub-object level when done. Make sure the lines selected. From the Modifier List, choose the Sweep modifier. Cn tne section Type rollout, open th ‘Section list and choose Hal Round 1. ‘Youll needto make some asjustments 9 fofient and sae the Half Round preset properly. ‘onthe Parametersollout, change the Radius 102" (50 ContheSweep Parametersollout change the ‘angle value to-900, a Te minsceing propel reed onthe wal Lesson: Modeling win shopes #211ee | Summary Having completed this lesson, you cans * Distinguish between the basic elements ofa shape Create baie shapes 1 Edit shapes and their sub objets 1 Usemodifirs with shapes to create 3D geometry 1 Create complex forms using the Loft tool Chapter Summary Having completed this chapter, you can Use AEC Design tools, and Boolean operations * Create and Manipulate splines to create 30 object with modifies 212 * chapter: Madting ain DOMDOOMHMHRROR AD ° nn 9