[NicoR44]

David, this is a photo right??

[daros]

thanks again to all.

x rusteberg yes, may less people or at least without duplicates . in the next one we fix this things.

Here is a rough explanation about how this object was modeled:

Modeled in Lightwave 9.6 which is a subdivision surface modeler.


simple splines following the edges of the main volumes.


Here splines are converted to closed polygons ("Freeze" function). In this way we have more control points for each edge.


Polygons are deleted. Only the points are visible now.


A ordered polygon patch is build by hand by connecting points. Polygon by polygon.... For an object like this one it takes about 30 minutes.



With functions like "multi shift" edges are duplicated with offset. By using Catmull Clark subdivisions the adges are rounded.


Stefano, who modeled this object is used to work with Rhino. His was visibly disgusted the first day by Lightwave's modeling approach. But then hi completed about 90% of the model in 8 hours.

[Ringas]

Thanks for the workflow explanation.

Would you care to elaborate on why you used Lightwave since your modeler was used to Rhino? Rhino is made for forms like that, and you could easily export to any format available. Something to do with Felix?

Thanks in advance,

Tassos Ringas

[daros]

hi ringas,
the reson is because this object has some fillets which are not easy to do in Rhino and very simple with Lightwave. I think Rhino is good if you need high precision but if you need speed subdivision surfaces modelers probably are better.

[Ringas]

Thanks for the insight Daros.

I thought the fillets might have something to do with it.

I am using shaders for this in Max and Mray, and I really miss it in MW. In Rhino I sometimes use the Edge Softening plugin, but it's a PITA to export geometry.

http://en.wiki.mcneel.com/default.aspx/ ... ening.html

[daros]

Thanks for the link Ringas,
one question: do you can obtain with this shaders variable-radius fillets too?

[Ringas]

No, not really...

All these shaders were designed as render-time only edge softening tools, just to help not modelling tiny fillets. They are useful for creating highlights along edges of otherwise rectilinear geometry. MRay and Vray both have these, I guess one could write one for Prman. I am not very avid in programming, but it might be possible to have variable radius fillets.

The problem with the one in Rhino is that it's really nice if you're rendering from inside Rhino using a rendered that supports the RDK. If not, there is an option to actually bake the fillets into real geometry, but I find it tends to produce high poly meshes, sometimes with long tiny polys, which can be a problem when exporting to Max for example. It was a nice addition to the Rhino arsenal though.

And now that we're at it, let me take the time to congratulate you on your renderings, they have been an inspiration for me for a very long time, especially the Hadid ones with the vintage cars in the parking lot. Outstanding piece of ART!!!

Can't wait to try Felix

Tassos Ringas

[leoA4D]

Thanks for sharing the method, Daros. That is an interesting approach. Fantastic details in those forms.

Leonard

[daros]

Thanks a lot Ringas and LeoA4D!