You heard it here first, kids! This cadjunkie has been itchin’ for weeks to let loose with news of a new industrial-design specific Level 1 modo modeling series now available from Luxology.com: “glasses.” The much-anticipated prequel to the popular “backpack” tutorial should make for a really nice starting point for industrial designers interested in trying modo for the first time.
And the coolest part? We rapid prototyped it! Shapeways rocks.
Enjoy!
new modo video series: “glasses”
As an industrial design consultant, I’ve found myself designing for corporate design offices and design consultancies with widely varying needs. In the last two years alone I’ve used modo to help design laptop computers, educational toys, power tools, a commercial robot, pro audio gear, home appliances, and commercial bathroom fixtures, just to name a few.
Designers always ask about this mysterious ‘modo’ that has become so integral to my visualization pipeline, and usually ask how to go about incorporating it into their own workflow. My closest friends in the design world have asked me how to go about learning modo, and until now I’ve had to send them to a variety of tutorials around Luxology and the web, and then custom-taylor the information specifically for the needs of an industrial designer.
I created this tutorial series specifically for current and aspiring industrial designers who want to use modo for hard-surface modeling and rendering in real-world product design studios. This is to be the first in a series of training resources specifically tailored for industrial designers like me.
This series starts at the very beginning, covering everything from the overall modo user interface to the most commonly-used tools and techniques for hard-surface modeling and rendering in modo. Step-by-step instructions walk through the process of modeling and rendering a pair of whimsical sport glasses from reference underlays. Every step is fully-documented and repeatable, and each is specifically designed to introduce new tools and techniques.
Tutorial materials include:
- 65 minutes of high-octane step-by-step HD video, broken into 12 sub-sections:
- Introduction (2:16)
- modo UI (11:29)
- setup (4:31)
- frames (5:13)
- temple arms (4:50)
- connecting the dots (5:29)
- PSubs & Edge Weighting (6:15)
- logo import (2:57)
- lenses (3:02)
- drag and drop rendering (7:08)
- Bonus: step-by-step advanced render setup (9:29)
- Bonus: exporting for Shapeways.com rapid prototyping (3:31)
- HD video with Zoom & Pan to make it easy to see small details like numeric entry, etc
- .LXO files for each video, so users can pick up at any stage along the process
- render/print ready final LXO file
- AI and PSD art for logo and backdrop assets
- full written transcripts for each video
Video 01: Intro
Introduction to project over fast-motion project overview, promo shot, and Shapeways.com unboxing images.
Video 02: Modo UI Intro
NOTE: This is my "universal" modo intro, and I use it in all of my tutorials. It’s freely available to the public.
Covers:
- modo 501 default layout
- exhaustive keyboard shortcut chart
- cadjunkie top-20 keyboard shortcuts
- 3D Viewport navigation
- [alt], [alt]+[shift], [alt]+[ctrl], etc
- [A] to Zoom Fit All
- trackball rotation intro
- creating a unit primitive
- drawing primitives: the basics
- making geometry selections
- click/drag
- [shift] vs. [ctrl]
- [up] and [down]
- [shift]+[up]/[dn]
- [L] for Loop
- RMB lasso vs MMB lasso
- cadjunkie top-20:
- num-zero to maximize viewports
- [ctrl]+[space], [ctrl]+[2], [ctrl]+[3], [F2], and [K]
- [shift]+[A]
- [1], [2], [3], and [5] for mode selection
- [W], [E], [R], and [Y] for transforms
- [B] for Bevel
- [space] to drop tools
- [tab] and [shift]+[tab] for Sub and PSub
Video 03: Setup
- add Backdrop Items
- import/rename
- scale/position
- duplicate
- set projection type
- making (=) modifications to properties values
- create/rename a Group Locator
Video 04: Frames
- create a new Mesh
- draw the frames:
- single-poly cube
- copy/paste polys
- move and rotate vertices
- Bridge edges
- Edge Extend
- Action Center > Origin and Scale to align verts to symmetry plane
Video 05: Temples
- temple arms
- Linear Falloff basics
- Action Center > Element
- [H] for Hide, [U] for Unhide
- Tools > Edge > Slide
- [ctrl]+[R] to reactivate a tool
- Tools > Mesh Edit > Slice, [shift]+[C]
- [shift]+click to reactivate tool
- [backspce] to delete edges
Video 06: Connect The Dots
- Linear Falloff + Ease-Out
- Tools > Basic > Thicken
- [tab] key
- Introduction to SubD: a basic explanation for industrial designers
- SubD vs. NURBS
Video 07: PSubs
- PSubs explanation
- better n-gon and n-sided vertex smoothing
- intro Edge Weighting
- explanation of SubD level’s effect on weighting
- Creating the ‘cut’ between the temple arm and Frame
- Edge Bevel
- convert Edge to Poly selection
- Poly Bevel w/ Group Polys
- Edge Weight
- Tools > Duplicate > Mirror
Video 08: Logo Import
- prepping AI art for export
- combine overlapping shapes
- delete guides
- save as AI version 8
- Open in modo
- Geometry > Freeze curve elements
Video 09: Lenses
- [D] to SDS subdivide
- Action Center > Local
- Falloff > Radial
Video 10: Basic Rendering
- intro Preview Render
- Render settings:
- Frame Width
- Ambient Intensity: 0
- enable Indirect Illumination
- Camera settings:
- focal length: 100mm
- position
- Directional Light settings:
- spread angle: 10 deg
- samples: 128
- Base Material settings:
- Diffuse Amount: 50
- Diffuse Color: .5
- enable Double-Sided
- Environment:
- double-click to enable 3 Point Beige 01 preset
- un-check Visible to Camera & Refraction
- Intensity: .5W/srm2
- enabling Ray GL
- [M] to Assign Materials
- drag/drop material presets in poly mode
- render window tour
Video 11: Bonus: Advanced Render Setup
Video 12: Bonus: Shapeways.com Export
About Luxology
Based in Mountain View, Calif., Luxology® LLC is an independent technology company developing next-generation 3D content creation software that enhances productivity via artist-friendly tools powered by a modern underlying architecture called Nexus®. Founded in 2002 by Allen Hastings, Stuart Ferguson and Brad Peebler, Luxology is home to some of the top 3D engineering expertise in the industry. More information on the company, its licensable Nexus technology, its flagship product modo® and a gallery of artists’ images from the active modo community is available online at www.luxology.com.
