Spline modelling vs box

[DJ-ZoMbiE]

just to say " HI" lol, i am trying to model a head with spilines.. i guess it's harder than box modeling.. hehe! but i dunno alot ...

[sebek27]

i think most people use poly modeling, which in max is creating a plane, converting to editable poly and pulling the side out by holding shift and dragging... then the next plane and etc

[Elite20]

A plane? I've never seen that before. Wouldn't holding shift down just clone another plane? Interesting

[DJ-ZoMbiE]

hello, since u posted this .. i started making a car with box modeling.. and i find it way easyer, here is wat i done so far.. it's a made up car, whit no tutorial!! i see you r from australia... do u have msn? elite

[sebek27]

there is a great poly modeling tutorial on www.3dtotal.com just click on free stuff link and then tutorials scroll through till you see "Modelling a Fiat 500 using Polymodelling " by Karabo Legwaila...

[DJ-ZoMbiE]

thx for that... i might try do it by a tut after.. because i allways make a mistake, or get stuck somewhere.. and then end up reseting.. and here, it's an unknown car, so i cant make a mistake, LOL..
here is an update, but i did 2 many QuickSlice on the wheel part, where the tyre goes, so im trying to fix it, cant undo.. next time i know what to do, do the cutting last

[Elite20]

Thanks for the link Sebek.

Hi Dj, I don't have msn but i can get it. Your cars look like mine :)
Have you tried using blueprints with image planes?
Theres some good ones on suurland.com

[DJ-ZoMbiE]

nope, no blue prints.. just started a car, and let's see wat it ends up, lol, maybe when i finish, i'll try to do a better car, ... this is my first car i've modeld

[Elite20]

Hey, I got msn, dont know how to work it though :) I signed in as Elite.

[DJ-ZoMbiE]

what is your email? like example "yourname@hotmail.com" ??

[Elite20]

........

[aydinu]

If you really want to learn spline modeling, check this tut out:
http://www.onnovanbraam.com/index.php?m=tutorials&g=splinecarmodeling

Nice thing about spline modeling is that once you made a full head you can create very fast different heads with just minor adjustments

Aydin

[ssyed]

DJ-Zombie : That car is okay for first try but I urge you to read a TUTORIAL because that car is seriously mangled up ... don't even try it without a tutorial unless you seriously know what ur doing ... having lots of modelling experience.

As for your suggestion : Yes learn spline cages they are useful for creating cars and are fast too... BUT polygons are about the same efficiency just I like splines because they give more control

here is my first 3d car (no tutorial )

http://saliksyed.tripod.com/images/paganiside.jpg

tutorial can befound on my site:
http://saliksyed.tripod.com

[Elite20]

Thanks for the links,

Ssyed, I couldn't see the pick but your site is cool.

Thanks again :)

[off-center]

well i like spline modelling more than box modelling, this is because it gives me more control and i can see where it's going.
Another big plus for me is that i find it easier to add detail.
But you have to try both methods to find out wich is best for you.

[Wolf S]

http://www.wide3d.no/tutorials/Car_nurms_01.htm
http://www.munkmotion.com/tutorials/nsx/1a.htm
:love: Wolf

[DJ-ZoMbiE]

hello,
yes ssyed .. my car is all tangled up and i have no control over it now, cant fix it,... i'll post wat it looks like.. but i'll give the spiline modeling another go.. hehe , your First car pic didnt work.
thx for the links wolf ...

[ssyed]

Looking a lot better Zombie !
Although the over all flow of the car looks very bumpy you know what i mean? The front is nice though.. but look at the cars on Gallery/Finished work if THAT is what ur trying to achieve then i'm thinking you will probably need a tutorial ... like i said unless you have tons of experience w/ modelling like some of the people here Third_Eye for example made probably the best car on this forum it was his first car no tutorial BUT he is a very experienced modeller

As for the pic try copying and pasting the url... did you find the tutorial? i wrote it while modelling the Zonda... It is not a good tutorial if ur trying to learn spline caging for that read the manual then start my tutorial :D

GOOD LUCK!

[DJ-ZoMbiE]

yeh, im trying to learn spiline modeling, and just trying to make a square or something, and then apply the modifyer to it, but why wont these 2 points weld when i drag them closer?

[Wolf S]

Only the ends of splines can be welded. Ponts on a spline can have one line in and one line out but not 3 lines connected to them.
You could use the snap-function to position the vertex on the other and use ?area-selection (somewhere in edit-spline vertex sub menu) to select all points under your mouseclick.

[DJ-ZoMbiE]

hmm, never mind, i just dont get this spiline. %&%^ !

[Elite20]

LOL, you nearly lasted as long as me :)

[ShadowM8]

Well to answer the original question, my peronal oppinion is that spline modeling is harder!
BUT and there is a BIG BUT, wait untill you see max 6 and the new patch tools you'll drool all over your keyboard :) And i'm pretty sure if you don't like working with splines and patches now with max 6 you'll change your mind!

If you want to know what i'm talking about sign up for 3ds max 6 evolve event its worth the time and its free :)

[Aldaryn]

Just to add some:

Now, I prefer poly modelling, couse it's much faster, and not as hard as working with spline cages. But sometimes, when it's needed, I do use splines. e.g. working after blueprints - just forprecision - . and after the cage is done, I convert it (A patch with 0 iterations) into an aditable poly, to edit with standard polygon editting tools... :D
Patch modelling is powerful but: I've tried to use it in MAX, and all I've got is crashing, and even more crashing... A bit unstable above 20-40 vertieces on my PC.
Maybe MAX 6, but, due to past experiences, I'm a bit pessimistic though... :(

- A.

[DJ-ZoMbiE]

ok, thx for the tips and replys.... but i guess im gonna stick wif the box modeling, lol, i just cant get spilines working, dunno why, well i can create a triangle with spilines and add the modifyer to it, looks like a triangle, but if i try to make it a 3D triangle, then i get a big nothing, it goes invisible, hehe...

[ShadowM8]

Maybe MAX 6, but, due to past experiences, I'm a bit pessimistic though... :(

Well the hardest part of working with splines is the abundance of modifiers you need to add until you can finally convert it to editable poly or equivalent. For example: cross section modifier, which never works, as it should btw :)

Now in max 6 they eliminated all these useless time wasting procedure by making cross section automated, you just pick a spline and say connect to another and it will do it in the nicest way you can imagine. Or if you shift drag and copy the spline it will be automatically cross-sectioned. Sorry can't explain any better one needs to see it for himself :)

[ssyed]

i never figure wtf cross section doess :curious: :banghead:

[ssyed]

Also Aldaryn : What pc & max version are u running ? cuz I have 3.1 w/ p4 1.8 w/ 256 ram and 64 vid and I've never crashed Even at around 300 vertices

?

[Jec1183]

Personally for me I like spline modeling the best for modeling a head. It alows you to model great objects in a limited amount of time and has a great learning curve. Box modeling I found was a lot more specialized for myself. I will box model arms, hands, legs, and feet because of the control I can have over the verious details of things that can be broken up into boxes. I use both and they work well together. Try to deversify yourself in 3d modeling and you will go a lot farther.

[dazrenius]

sometimes, i use spline first and then i convert to poly....spline technique is the best and precise modelling tool but it need a lot of work.

[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.