Spline modelling

[Mr-Fusion]

What does everyone think of spline modelling?

I find i get a lot of surface errors and general oddness :/

 

[The Dark Elf]

If its done well spline modeling can be very good for certain objects. It's not recommended for many things though, but some models it can be very useful for and a very quick method which also gives clean meshes that can be edited further later if you wanted to.

 

[IchI]

has anyone got a tutorial for spline modelling? For 3dsmax? A good one hopfully

 

[HiroProtaganist]

i'm not a huge fan of spline modeling (as i can never get it to work however there are some goo 3dsMAX tuts on 3dBuzz especially the car modeling tutorial by.... name escapes me but he did a custom wagon and a lotus elise. Someone must know which one i'm talking about

 

[phantomdesign]

If you want to see what spline modeling can do with some intuition, check out www.GryphonAuto.com and in the Vehicles section, look at the panther, predator, and inferno. Spline modeling is a lot better than mesh modeling, but I've since moved on to bigger better things.

 

[Brian Damage]

Plug, plug, plugitty-plug, eh phantomdesign?

Cool cars though.

(What is a spline, exactly, BTW?)

 

[phantomdesign]

Not sure what all the plugging is about...didn't use any plugins.

Spline modeling...um....if I remember right you don't do 3D modeling yet...it may be really hard to explain (sorry). Have you started yet?

 

[Brian Damage]

I've messed around with a few programs for about a year now... isn't a spline a sort of curve? So what is spline modelling? I've never quite figured it out... and that messing around was before I realised there were tutorials and stuff on the net... so I kinda gave up on it... meh. Anyway, I have only a rough idea of what it is...

And I was talking about the way you always seem to be plugging your website .

 

[The Dark Elf]

Not sure what all the plugging is about...didn't use any plugins.

Spline modeling...um....if I remember right you don't do 3D modeling yet...it may be really hard to explain (sorry). Have you started yet?

Don't be thick Phantom, you knew he was pointing out your plugging of your site which you do seem to do often

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Edit: Spline modeling isn't hard to explain

instead of the traditional way of building objects in full, spline modeling is basically building outlines of your object which the software then "fills in" with polygons. So you don't create each polygon yourself, just setup guides for the software to follow to create your model. Thats basically the jist of it. It's not easy to begin with but you'll eventually pick it up and its not a bad way to model, just not great for everything.

 

[Brian Damage]

Oh, hey, I could really use that kind of thing for my... err... heheheh... nearly gave it away now, didn't I?

 

[The Dark Elf]

Oh, hey, I could really use that kind of thing for my... err... heheheh... nearly gave it away now, didn't I?

Yes, yes you did and yes, yes you could

 

[Brian Damage]

So this kind of thing'd be good for vehicle bodies and so on, judging from the stuff on phantom's site?

 

[Maxi]

Um this might be a stupid q to ask... but wth is spine modeling? like modelling spines?

 

[The Dark Elf]

So this kind of thing'd be good for vehicle bodies and so on, judging from the stuff on phantom's site?

Yep, unless you want to use NURBS or box modeling or subdivision. Splines are good for vehicles, better for smooth ones but still entirely usable for the rough kind.

 

[Brian Damage]

Um this might be a stupid q to ask... but wth is spine modeling? like modelling spines?

Spline, not spine :E.

Thanks Fenric.

 

[Maxi]

Well.. what is it?

 

[Brian Damage]

Fenric explains it earlier in the thread. Apparently it's a way of modelling using the outlines of the object you wish to create.

 

[phantomdesign]

Well, maybe it is where I live or the fact I don't live on internet forums...but I've never heard of "plugging" in that context. I assume you mean I'm a self-advertising SOB?
---
Splines...I'll explain.

A spline is a curve. You setup a 'cage' of these curves which you can use to generate surfaces. Combine 3-4 individual curves (where the ends meet) and you can create a surface between them.

I model in nurbs, which is a step above that, but is also more difficult in some ways (especailly in 3DS Max).

With a spline (simple curve) you generally have 2 end points, and eack of those end points has a control. The control has a stronger weight if the control is longer, and a weaker weight if the control is shorter. The curve also starts out going precisely in teh direction of your control.

In 3DS Max(don't have it on this OS, so...sorry if I have some things backwards), in the create panel (on the right) there should be a drop-down box near the top. Select Shapes, and chose line. You can click points(to ignore tangency) or drag points(to chose the tangency). Now, between each set of 2 points is an individual spline. When you’re done, you can rightclick (on your workspace) and convert it to a spline.

Now if you want to create a surface, collect all splines in a single object (by using attach), and make sure you have 3-4 curves in an enclosed shape(should look like a warped square or triangle). Now, hit Alt-O-P-S or go to modify -> spline -> surface on the top of your screen.

Now to make it smoother, you set the subdivisions higher, and to make it lower-poly, you set the subdivisions lower.


Now other software is probably slightly different, but that is the basics of creating a spline-surface. If you need more help, use the 3DS max User Reference, and search for “spline”.

 

[The Dark Elf]

Well, maybe it is where I live or the fact I don't live on internet forums...but I've never heard of "plugging" in that context. I assume you mean I'm a self-advertising SOB?

plugging is a term not just used on the net, its used all over the place, especially on TV and chat shows for example. Plugging their new film/book/musical etc.

 

[Brian Damage]

But thanks for the splines explanation, phantom :thumbs:.

I assume that that'd work in Gmax?

 

[phantomdesign]

I think it should work in Gmax

 

[Brian Damage]

Yeah, thanks Mr Four-Days-To-Answer :thumbs: :E .