crack nedd's fixin

[boomji]

i've tried to fiddle with the render>set nurbs tessalation options ...ad infinitium/nauseaum...bahh.
this is one hairy crack iwouldn't lick ;)
b

[dmcgrath]

I can tell you after looking at it that the surfaces look all wrong in my opinion.
But, I have worked on it a little and can't do anything to change what you already have (ie. relofting, rebuilding surfaces, making new curves etc.).
There is a MUCH harder way to make this look good, but it would take too long for me to explain it all the way through.
Pretty much, you have to cut it into pieces and then attach them seperately and detach them, rebuilding surfaces a lot in the process.

You can probably rebuild it with Nurbs again, you just have to rethink where all the construction is taking place. Like, did you know that your trim on the cylinder had to cross the seam of the cylinder? This is usually unecessary and often a bad thing to do.

What is it anyway? That might help me think of a better way to reconstruct it.

-dan

[ACFred]

Hey Boomji,

I took a look at your file and fixed it so that it's around 99% there and is 100% there unless you're pretty finicky (like me).

What I had to do is delete the interior surfaces so that just your trimmed tube is left over. Next, I selected the trim curve and and duplicated surface curve (I did this for only one side, but you can do it for both at the same time if you group your curves and center the pivot so that you can scale both at the same time).

Next, I duplicated the curves twice and scaled so that when I loft I'll have a curved lip like the one you had (with history turned on you can make adjustments afterward if needed). Don't get rid of your curves until the very end.

Now, you'll notice that if you render the new lofted curve looks like crap. Easy to fix. Select the "lip" surface and open up the attribute editor. Look at the Spans UV row. When I did it I had 11 U and I think 3 V. Note what you have for both U & V.
Next, with the lip surface still selected, go into Rebuild Surfaces.
Rebuild Type: Uniform
Parameter Range: 0 to 1
Direction: U & V
Keep: Corners
Number of Spans U: OK, as a rule of thumb, you can safely keep the same curvature of your surface if you double the number of spans you started out with so, in my case, it'd be 22 U spans.
Number of Spans V: 3, in my case

Leave everything else as is unless you've tweaked with it in the past. If you have messed with rebuild surface options, just reset them.

OK, you can delete your original curves now.

OK, so now you should have a pretty lip surface. Next is to create a new interior curve. To do this, select the inner most isoparm on the lip surface, left or right side but not both, and duplicate surface curves to get a curve with the exact same parameterization as your lip surface.
NOW (almost there), press Insert because you're going to move the pivot point to the very end of the same curve so that you can scale in X. Scaling in X will bring your curve to the center of your tube. You want that sucker flat in the X direction but exactly the same in Y & Z.

Now, select the interior isoparm from one side of your lip, select the newly created curve, then select the interior isoparm from the other side of the lip. Now, loft the 3 of them together and you'll have a nice surface that exactly matches the parameterization of your lip surfaces.

Still with me? OK, now I didn't attach the two lips but I'm sure you know how to do that. Lemme know if it all breaks down at the attaching.

Of course, I didn't save my results (stupido) but I'm hoping my description can help.

If you want, feel free to contact me via Yahoo Messenger or AIM to go over it.

Good luck!

Alec

[boomji]

hey thanx for the replies,
this model wasent for anything serious...if it was i'd paint every frame(cracks) with a clone brush in combustion or afx.
but i just wanted to see/test how well the mighty alias have incorporated their nurbs technology within maya.
this kind of stuff is a no brainer in rhino...snap !!! fillet galore.

dmc...run...hahaha.no really thanks. i completely forgot about the seam issue.good point.

fred:that was a wonderful answer...i'm sure :) but today i'm a lil spaced out, some serious descisions have to be made about my carreer...you know the b or not to b thing ;)
but i'd tremendeously appreciate a file upload(no hurry).


as far as maya is concerned i'm feeling let down :annoyed:

thanx.
p.s dmc: i havent forgotten the brucelee thingy/scans will do that within the week.
b

[mushroomgod]

did you try adjusting the tolerance?

[ACFred]

Well, if I'm ever posed with the question "to be or not to be" I always choose the first one......

[dmcgrath]

Let down over Maya? Ouch! It is a tough program to learn, and after a couple years, I am finally over the curve (no pun intended). I have heard the other programs like Rhino are a snap with its Nurbs modeling. You can fillet blend and boolean to your hearts desire. One of my teachers actually recommends using it when making something like a car, he said it save a lot of time doing so. But even if you dont stick with Maya, theres still plenty of choices out there. :beer:

[boomji]

hey !!!
mushroom:i tried everything i could in my limited knowledge...ummm which is very lilited hahah.


dmc:actually i'm sticking with maya but i just have to cribb sometime now, dont i :p

fred:as of this moment i have 2 choices ahead of me...
1)start up my own thingy and get into the BUSINESS side of cg...funding is almost certain.

2)i'm 25 now and am a commerce graduate(3 years back).
i can get my self a traditional animation come art education in canada...this will cost me more...much more.this would ideally be my b(eing) as i believe a traditional animator is the real MCcoy.
...then again i have my parents and wife(to b) to think of.the first option would be thinking of them the second one ...me.
hmnnn...
thanx for listening dudes
b

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