Spline Patching in LW 8.2

[toonafish]

make sure all points are merged. Just use the Merge tool ( m key ) for that.

[c-g]

Why are the impossible to patch? What error do you get? You sure they aren't patched with the polygons facing the other direction?

[Jullia]

Theres fiew websites where you can find Basics of spline method modeling.
Larry Sholtz website full of free videos .Theres a grate video tutorial on how to cretae Delphin using spline method.
http://www.splinegod.com/onlinetraining.htm
http://members.shaw.ca/lightwavetutorials/modelling_basics.htm#Splines
You have to learn basics!
You patch you cage with very high poly 10x10 alway try use 2x2 ,4x4 depend on straching of your quads. Try use background template for reference.There is alot of free tutorials on how to create car using Spline method.
http://www.lwg3d.org/forums/showthread.php?p=154451
Good Luck

[SplineGod]

How are you patching it? Using autopatcher or manually ?

[essencedesign]

How are you patching it? Using autopatcher or manually ?


along the same line..if you are patching manualy..I would sugest using knots for patching a form like this. These look like Length patches to me, Knots follow curves better without the need for extra divisions..., in my experience anyways....as stated above also, experiment with lowering your divisions,,,this is to many,,,


have fun, modeling with splines is one of my fav's.. :thumbsup:

[gijshompes]

I use a manual patch, have no errors but there somethimes just is a 2 point polychain there.
Thanks for all the good tips and reply's !!

[gijshompes]

mm, i tried the knot method which worked fine but i do not see the difference with the length methode. The lower regions (lower side of the door and the back of the car) of my 'car' model seem to be 'inpatchable' . Lightwave tells me that the curves are not crossing correctly. However , all points are merged and the curves seem to cross fine. Maybe you helpfull people can get wiser when you see the model.

Greetings from Belgium

Gijs

You can download my model here :

http://users.skynet.be/fa455697/splinecar.lwo

[SplineGod]

You have duplicate splines. Hit shift + i to get rid of them. :)
Also youre patching at a very high density. This will make it more difficult to adjust or use subds later. Also the way youre using the splines is like dropping a cloth over the car. You need to use them more to duplicate the form and flow of the car.

[Maxx]

Something else that I found in Inside Lightwave 8 by Dan Ablan that I never knew (I always shied away from splin patching because getting the curves to cross in certain sections was a pain..), but in Dan's tut on spline modeiling the head, there's a section where you split a spline at a point, then use the Smooth command to basically reshape the splines so it looks as though it is still a continuous spline. I've since used this method on a couple models - wherever I get "Curves Do Not Cross Correctly" error, split the spline, use smooth on both segments on the newly split spline, then patch. It works with some experimentation. I'd point to the page and paragraph, but my copy of the book is at home, which is currently quite a few states away...

[SplineGod]

The smoothing function you mention has nothing to do with the "curves not crossing" error. The smooth functions purpose is to insure that two intersecting splines are perpendicular to one another. This helps to avoid kinks when patching.

The reason you would split a spline would be to insure that you have enough splines to form a correct patch. A patch must be surrounded by 3 splines minimum and 4 splines maximum.
If you dont have enough splines and you try to patch youll get that error. So again splitting a curve may help to get you the right number of splines to form a proper patch.

You may also want to split a spline that is shared with another patch. Usually this occurs when you have 3 splines. To help define each patch better you may want to split the one spline into two or more.

The reason that some of the patches werent working on this cage was because there were some duplicate splines. After getting rid of the duplicate splines it patches fine. :)

[Maxx]

The smoothing function you mention has nothing to do with the "curves not crossing" error. The smooth functions purpose is to insure that two intersecting splines are perpendicular to one another. This helps to avoid kinks when patching.

No,I realize that - sorry if I didn't make it clear - it's been a long day.. :argh: But I found that, when you have one spline in a curve across three knots, if you split the spline at the middle knot, it "squares off" both splines (cutting off the control points, as it were). But using the Smoothing command makes the splines almost look as though there are control points - they're rounded to follow the full curve again.

You may also want to split a spline that is shared with another patch. Usually this occurs when you have 3 splines. To help define each patch better you may want to split the one spline into two or more.

I haven't dl'd gijshompes' object file, but I know I have a tendency to make my splines too long, which will often cause the crossing error, even with four splines in the patch. Also, occassionally (sp?) flipping one of the splines will cure the error, but I haven't actually experimented enough with it to figure out exactly why...

The reason that some of the patches werent working on this cage was because there were some duplicate splines. After getting rid of the duplicate splines it patches fine. :)

Believe me, I'm not trying to disagree with ya' - there's a reason you go by SplineGod and I think we've all seen it! (I know the reason I still sometimes play with splines is an attempt to come close to the results I've seen..) Just from one spline newbie (me) to someone having troubles with splines, I've found that by splitting the splines into smaller patches and using the Smooth command, I've run into fewer occurances of the crossing error with similar results insofar as the smooth resultant surfaces.

[SplineGod]

No problem! :)
I was just making sure it was clear. Splines are very simple in some ways and tricky in others. I also tend to split the curves into more manageable/logical pieces. :)

[gijshompes]

Thanks to everybody and especialy to splinegod ! I had indeed serveral duplicated splines.
Greetings and thanks

Gijs

[SplineGod]

Glad it worked out. The selection field down at the bottom of the screen is your friend. I glance at it to make sure I have the number of splines selected I think I have selected :)

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