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Tutorial Files
- completedProject.zip[/j_protect]
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This one’s been a long time in coming, but it goes to show that when I put something on “the list,” it [eventually] gets done! FordEdge sent in a few images of this wheel, and asked how to approach modeling it in modo.
The answer isn’t as straight-forward as one might hope. (This is one of those forms that’s actually easier to model in CAD than in SubD.) We could use much simpler methods to achieve a result that’s 80-90% there, but maintaining perfectly circular holes and well-controlled spokes isn’t a trivial problem.
It took me four tries and about three hours to come to this solution. [forehead smack] What do you think? Can you do better?
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Adam O'Hern is an industrial design consultant specializing in visual brand languages, and has designed products ranging from laptops to power tools, classroom toys to bathroom fixtures, and robots to lint rollers. He has published with 3DWorld Magazine, CGTuts+, and Luxology, and works with Josh Mings of SolidSmack.com on EngineerVsDesigner.com. |
Thanks Adam, It will be fantastic if you push the tutorial further. Just making the tire with the polygon tread. I don’t’ think I saw that in a modo video tutorial.
Fasse
Great idea! In most cases one would probably be better off mapping a displacement map rather than modeling the tread, but it would be interesting to see the pros and cons of each approach!
Yeah, i’m in hurry to see that both approach.
Thanks again Adam
Very cool. I must confess that every time I watch one of these Modo tutorials, I’m even more reluctant to try it. Sub-D modeling is SO completely unlike SolidWorks (or even AutoCad) that I’d have to throw out almost everything I know about modeling and start from scratch. Yikes!
The part of the video I found particularly enlightening was where you stitched corners and edges together to create one unbroken surface. I’ve never seen that technique used in any Modo tutorial, and it resulted in one of those ‘Eureka’ moments where many things that puzzled me about Modo suddenly became clear. What I still don’t quite grasp is why we should avoid creating polygons that aren’t rectangles. Can you explain the reasons for that?
Yes, SubD modeling is a whole different animal, hardly even comparable to CAD. For mechanical shapes (like tanks, wink wink) are far easier to build in CAD systems, but try building a human head in SolidWorks!! Each method has its own advantages, and it can be really nice to know how to use both.
Topology and patch layout in SubD is a big (and hotly debated) topic. In summary, SubD algorithms prefer to smooth four-sided polys where each vertex is connected to exactly four edges. Unfortunately it’s not possible to build a closed shape that universally holds to both of those criteria, and so you have to choose your poison: triangles, “n-gons” (i.e. polys with 5+ sides) or what I call “starfish,” vertices with 5+ edges connected, thus interrupting the “flow” of the surface.
I tend to favor 5-sided n-gons if it means I can create a smooth, logical edge flow, but many people prefer the “all quads all the time” method. It’s ultimately up to you!
Thanks Adam,
I just started to do a model of that Mig 17 I posted a question about a while back. Unlike my ground vehicles, it involves a lot of complex surface blends, so I’m rocking out with spline curves! I have to wonder whether this type of model might be easier with Modo due to its organic forms. I’ve seen a lot of airplane models on the Luxology site done in Modo, but I’m not sure how they establish the control points for these curved elements. Is there something like a spline curve in Modo whose points you can dimension?
Speaking of which, do you typically dimension all the control points when using spline curves? I usually don’t bother with that if the curve looks right, but perhaps I should.
Thx Adam, another great tut! I also spent many hours trying to figure out the best way but never tried using the rim to snap to.
As my skill level increases I’m finding it harder and harder to finish models as I’m going for higher precision and perfection. My greatest weakness right now is favoring the wrong tools and wasting mega hours trying to use SUB-D for perfect meshes when a ugly model translated from SW will render exactly the same.
Eg. The tire rim above was originally done cleanly in about a day. I then got stuck weeks trying to implement the exact rim S curvature!
Thanks again Adam.
[img]http://cadjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/S curve.jpg[/img]
Great stuff!
Yeah, this kind of geometry is a pain to build in SubD, but it can be worth it if you a) want to animate it with deformers (ala Cars), or b) want to UV map it for complex textures.
Thanks for the exercise!