sketchguy
04-16-2003, 10:47 PM
Hi all, here's my scenario and problem:
I need to adjust the normals along a border edge for two separate objects so that the seam is invisible and normal smoothing carries over both objects (that share the same points)
A character is being built in two pieces - the head and body. Four different characters will share the same body, each with their own, unique head. I will rig the body once and the head once, then change the shape of each head without having to re-weight and rig.
I will be using polySmooth on the characters and rigging the polycage. I've attached a few images to illustrate my problem. (these no way reflect the real geo, just simple models to troubleshoot the problem)
My modeler is building the character as one piece, with the knowledge that the head and body will eventually be separated.
The first image shows the difference when polysmoothing a single object and then polysmoothing the separate objects. The area around the two openings doesn't match up 100 percent. I can live with this by tweaking the poly cage a bit to accommodate the difference.
http://idisk.mac.com/stevetalkowski/Public/polysmooth/polySmooth1.jpg
The second image illustrates the seam created by the normals not smoothing across the two objects (this is expected)
http://idisk.mac.com/stevetalkowski/Public/polysmooth/polySmooth2.jpg
The third image shows the normals from the two objects, and an indication of what I'd like to achieve - adjusting the border edge normals to share the same orientation in hopes of creating a smooth transition across the seam.
http://idisk.mac.com/stevetalkowski/Public/polysmooth/polySmooth3.jpg
I've explored using Edit Polygons > Normals > Set Vertex Normals to no avail. This tool changes the orientation of the normals globally and not locally like I hoped. It's also not interactive at all - trying to adjust X,Y,Z values, hitting "Apply" to see the change doesn't help much either.
One idea was to create two .ma files - one being the original model (head and body together) and the other the model in two pieces - and copying the normal values from the original to the second file. However, I have no idea where these values are and how to ensure they match up with the new vertex normal numbers on the second file. (I used to use a similar trick many years ago when using Wavefront to cheat straight pointing normals into splayed normals to "see" more area of a reflection map on flat logos)
So... does anyone have any ideas or suggestions on how to adjust these normals to get the desired, smooth seam results?
Thanks,
-Steve
I need to adjust the normals along a border edge for two separate objects so that the seam is invisible and normal smoothing carries over both objects (that share the same points)
A character is being built in two pieces - the head and body. Four different characters will share the same body, each with their own, unique head. I will rig the body once and the head once, then change the shape of each head without having to re-weight and rig.
I will be using polySmooth on the characters and rigging the polycage. I've attached a few images to illustrate my problem. (these no way reflect the real geo, just simple models to troubleshoot the problem)
My modeler is building the character as one piece, with the knowledge that the head and body will eventually be separated.
The first image shows the difference when polysmoothing a single object and then polysmoothing the separate objects. The area around the two openings doesn't match up 100 percent. I can live with this by tweaking the poly cage a bit to accommodate the difference.
http://idisk.mac.com/stevetalkowski/Public/polysmooth/polySmooth1.jpg
The second image illustrates the seam created by the normals not smoothing across the two objects (this is expected)
http://idisk.mac.com/stevetalkowski/Public/polysmooth/polySmooth2.jpg
The third image shows the normals from the two objects, and an indication of what I'd like to achieve - adjusting the border edge normals to share the same orientation in hopes of creating a smooth transition across the seam.
http://idisk.mac.com/stevetalkowski/Public/polysmooth/polySmooth3.jpg
I've explored using Edit Polygons > Normals > Set Vertex Normals to no avail. This tool changes the orientation of the normals globally and not locally like I hoped. It's also not interactive at all - trying to adjust X,Y,Z values, hitting "Apply" to see the change doesn't help much either.
One idea was to create two .ma files - one being the original model (head and body together) and the other the model in two pieces - and copying the normal values from the original to the second file. However, I have no idea where these values are and how to ensure they match up with the new vertex normal numbers on the second file. (I used to use a similar trick many years ago when using Wavefront to cheat straight pointing normals into splayed normals to "see" more area of a reflection map on flat logos)
So... does anyone have any ideas or suggestions on how to adjust these normals to get the desired, smooth seam results?
Thanks,
-Steve