Goutam Banerjee

98316319498

Understanding NURBS

NURBS is an acronym that stands for Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline. As a modeler, you need
to understand a few concepts when working with NURBS, but the software takes care of most of
the advanced mathematics so that you can concentrate on the process of modeling. Early in the
history of 3D computer graphics, NURBS were used to create organic surfaces
and even characters. However, as computers have become more powerful and the software has
developed more advanced tools, most character modeling is accomplished using polygons and
subdivision surfaces. NURBS are more ideally suited to hard-surface modeling; objects such as
vehicles, equipment, and commercial product designs benefit from the types of smooth
surfacing produced by NURBS models. All NURBS objects are automatically converted to
triangles at render time by the software. You can determine how the surfaces will be tessellated
(converted into triangles) before rendering, and you can change these settings at any time to
optimize rendering. This gives NURBS the advantage that their resolution can be changed when
rendering. Models that appear close to the camera can have higher tessellation settings than those
farther away from the camera.

Understanding Curves
All NURBS surfaces are created based on a network of NURBS curves. Even the basic
primitives, such as the sphere, are made up of circular curves with a surface stretched across
them. The curves themselves can be created several ways. A curve is a line defined by points.
The points along the curve are referred to as curve points. Movement along the curve in either
direction is
defined by its U-coordinates. When you right-click a curve, you can choose to select a curve
point. The curve point can be moved along the U-direction of the curve, and the position of the
point is defined by its U-parameter.

Curves also have edit points that define the number of spans along a curve. A span is the section
of the curve between two edit points. Changing the position of the edit points changes the shape
of the curve; however, this can lead to unpredictable results. It is a much better idea to use a
curve’s control vertices to edit the curve’s shape. Control vertices (CVs) are handles used to edit
the curve’s shapes.

Most of the time, you’ll want to use the control vertices to manipulate the curve. When you
create a curve and display its
CVs, you’ll see them represented as small dots. A small box indicates the first CV on a curve;
the letter U indicates the second CV.

Hulls are straight lines that connect the CVs; they act as a visual guide. See Figure displays the
various components.

The number of CVs per span minus one determines the degree of a curve. In other words, a
three-degree (or cubic) curve has four CVs per span. A one-degree (or linear) curve has two CVs
per span (see Figure 3.10). Linear curves have sharp corners where the curve changes directions;
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curves with two or more degrees are smooth and rounded where the curve changes direction.
Most of the time, you’ll use either linear (one-degree) or cubic (three-degree) curves.

The top image shows a selected curve point on a curve, the middle
A linear curve has
image shows the curve with edit points displayed, and the
sharp corners
bottom image shows the curve with CVs and hulls displayed.

Uniform Parameterization A curve with uniform parameterization has its points evenly spaced
along the curve. The parameter of the last edit point along the curve is equal to the number of
spans in the curve. You also have the option of specifying the parameterization range between 0
and 1. This method is available to make Maya more compatible with other
NURBS modeling programs.

Chord Length Parameterization Chord length parameterization is a proportional numbering

system that causes the length between edit points to be irregular. The type of parameterization
you use depends on what you are trying to model. Curves can be rebuilt at any time to change
their parameterization; however, this will sometimes change the shape of the curve.

Understanding NURBS Surfaces

NURBS surfaces follow many of the same rules as NURBS curves since a network of curves
defines them. A primitive, such as a sphere or a cylinder, is simply a NURBS surface lofted
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across circular curves. You can edit a NURBS surface by moving the position of the surface’s
CVs. You can also select the hulls of a surface, which are groups of CVs that follow one of the
curves that define a surface.

Lofting Surfaces
A loft creates a surface across two or more selected curves. It’s a great tool for filling gaps
between surfaces or developing a new surface from a series of curves. In this section, you’ll
create the bicycle seat from a series of curves.

Converting NURBS Surfaces to Polygons

Today’s production pipelines demand a high degree of flexibility. NURBS excel at creating
smooth contours but are not easily combined into complex objects. You can use a NURBS
surface to start a polygon model combining the strengths of both NURBS and polygon-modeling
tools. You have built multiple pieces of the bike using NURBS surfaces. To take the models to
the next level, we’ll convert from NURBS to polygons.

1. Select the Object.

2. Choose Modify ➣ Convert ➣ NURBS To Polygons ➣ ❒.
3. Maya provides numerous tessellation methods for converting NURBS to polygons. For the
bike, the best method is going to be control points. Control points work well since we controlled
the number of points through the curves used to create the surfaces.

Creating and Modifying Curves

To make a curve, you can add a curve that is already drawn and then edit it, draw it freehand, or
draw in the control points by yourself. This last method is perhaps the best way to get a feel for
how curves work. The control points may appear to be part of the curve itself, or may be the
control vectors of the hull or polyline.

You will see the curve grow and change shape naturally as you add each control point. Often, the
endpoint of the curve is attached to the cursor while creating, allowing you to see what the shape
of the curve will be before you click to create a control point.

To change the slope of a curve, you have control handles on each of the control points. The
handles are always tangential to the curve. This means that at the control point, where the
handles connect to the curve, they have exactly the same slope, or go in exactly the same
direction as the curve. As mentioned before, they act like steering handles. Turn a handle in one
direction and it pulls the slope of the curve in that direction. The displayed length of the control
handle may affect its influence too. You can also move the control points of the curve to change
its shape.

In order to refine your curve, or give you the ability to add more detail to it, you will have to
insert a point. Usually this is accomplished by selecting an insert task, and then clicking on the
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curve or polyline where you want it. Sometimes, this will be called insert knot. Inserting a knot is
not exactly inserting a control point or vector; however, the number of knots is equal to the
degree of the curve plus the number of control points. Therefore, unless
you change the degree of the curve, inserting a knot effectively inserts a control point. Even if
you directly add a control point, a knot will automatically be added.

Creating and Modifying NURBS Surfaces

Many of the techniques used in polygon mesh creation can also be applied to NURBS. For
instance, extruding works very similarly. You select a shape or a curve and pull it out. The object
is duplicated, and as you pull the two copies apart, they remain connected around their entire
border by what appear to be straight lines. They are straight, but because the lines have all the
properties of curves it is possible to move control points to add curvature to them. This will
create a fully enclosed surface or mesh.

Extruding does not have to happen along a line. It can be swept along a curve, or in the case of
revolve, it is drawn around a central axis creating a circular model with the contours of the
original shape. Revolve is a tool that can also be used for polygon shapes.

Lofting is another creation tool. Here, two different shapes are connected along their border by
lines at each control point. As with joining edges of NURBS surfaces or polygon mesh, you need
to ensure that there is the same number of control points. You must also make sure that the
positioning is correct, so that you do not get unwanted twisting.

Advantages and Disadvantages of NURBS

NURBS curves have several advantages when it comes to modeling. Once you get the hang of
manipulating them, they are easy to shape. Because of the standard math used to describe
NURBS, it is possible to use them across multiple applications. And being a true curve, rather
than a collection of straight edges, NURBS can offer smoother surfaces with a smaller footprint
in your memory storage and faster processing. At one point, NURBS
modeling was a welcome leap forward in 3D computer modeling technology and was very
popular in the 1980s and 1990s.

However, they have the disadvantage of being difficult with things like sharp corners. Whole
surfaces do not deform well, making it hard to animate organic creatures. Patched surfaces split
or kink when deforming. In addition, NURBS surfaces are usually converted to polygon meshes
for rendering, since render engines calculate light against faces, not curves. As a result, the
direct and/or exclusive use of NURBS for modeling is now falling out of favor. Still, a well-
rounded animator should at least grasp the basics. Knowing the behavior of NURBS curves and
surfaces will give you a running head start to understanding the next big thing: subdivision
surfaces.