Box modeling help

[mouj]

Howdy

have you tried deleting meshsmooth prior to deleting a vertex of the mesh, then reapplying meshsmooth ?
anyhow i guess you'd better come to a more or less finished state of modeling before applying the meshsmooth and tweaking.
Else just use Editable Poly and nurms subdiv might do it ?

mouj

[drunkirishmic]

u cant refine the meshsmooth cage. if u want to see the cage and the underlying smoothed object, then convert it to poly, and turn on NURMS smoothing, u can set the iterations there too.

[Nimue]

If i delete meshsmooth wont it also get ride of all the vertexes i moved in meshsmooth. Im trying to get a why where i can keep all of my changes in meshsmooth when i cut and extrude a new area to work on.

[EricChadwick]

Not a good workflow to model in the Control Levels of MeshSmooth. Better to use Editable Poly and toggle NURMS on/off.

[Nimue]

icant seem to get ver good detail in editpoly and nurms. i edit the best i can with those then i go to meshsmooth. but if i need to add something to the model i can't.

[drunkirishmic]

when u turn NURMS on, its he same thing as mesh smooth.

what do u mean u cant add anything to the model?

[EricChadwick]

Can't add weights in EP.

I didn't mean that you should never model in MS, just that it isn't the best for me. I tend to collapse the stack often to simplify it, and I get lost in the Control Levels... which one did I do which fix in, etc.

If you want to try the EP NURMS route for adding detail, look into the sticky thread at the top, about Theoretical SubDs. Lots of info there, about using chamfers, smoothing groups, etc. to get detail.

[nimajneb]

I think that your problem is that your using Meshsmooth for more than you really should be. You need to think of Meshsmooth as your apprentice. You do the rough cut to the stone, and the apprentice finishes it off smoothing it. Do all you work on the base editable poly, and turn the smoothing on and off periodlically to get an idea how it's working out. This will also start to give you more experience with how the mesh influenced by the control cage.

[Nimue]

so its probably not a good idea to put a lot of details in with meshsmooth? instead use more edit poly. another question, what is the easiest way to get rid of or add a vertex. the only way i know of to add one is to cut the polys? and only way i know to get rid of them is by breaking it then weld back the ones i want to keep. Also thank you all for your help.

[nimajneb]

http://cube.phlatt.net/forums/spiraloid/index.php

The above site has some of the best information for poly modeling. Just paruse the old threads and absorb. As for your working with poly issues there are two items that will make your life much easier if your dont have them.

Assuming that you're using MAX 4.2(.6), hit:

http://www.scriptspot.com

And pickup Meshtools 2.5 and CSPolytools. These will give you a variety of tools for created, changing and destroying geometry. Once you've looked over their docs, come back here and ask specific questions about features and you'll get plenty of help.

If you're using MAX 5(.1.sp1) , Meshtools 3 is available on the install CDs. CS Polytools however doesn't function correctly with MS3. However, as I posted on another thread, I've fixed the two features I used of CS, and I'll post them here for you. .MCR files into the UI/Macroscripts directory, .ms file into the stdplugs/stdscripts dir. You may need to then evaluate the scripts to get them to add to the CUI dialog. You can then add them to quads, menus, or hotkeys.

ACK, Can't Upload. I'll place it on my webserver for you.

http://nimajneb.com/Revamped_CSPolytools.rar

[CGTalk Moderation]

This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.