Maya extrude a rectangle (or any) crossection shape down a room ep1 curve path on a part slope goes wonky

#1

hi cgers
can maya extrude a rectangle or any crossection shape down a room ep1 curve path on a part slope and not go wonky.
( plain english maintain its profile, no squeezing expanding maya style on 90degree corners)

3dsmax, cinema4d have loft and sweep with maintain width and banking controls
that minimize wonky extrusions, blender can only minimise on a 2d curve bevel with crosssection.
if blender 3d curve same issue though not as bad as maya.
maya is all over the place…last place.

any tips and tricks to do the same in maya, as industry standard.

please see attached, apologies to onouris and vandergoes for pic update but clearer
:https://www.flickr.com/photos/93465359@N03/50190802657
and more importantly to show the extent of the problem, the real nature of maya is demented the right word?
actually i prefer its illogical spock.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/93465359@N03/50235254862
thought i would add the old rollercoaster extrude along a path as is the same problem really
https://www.flickr.com/photos/93465359@N03/50245822318

thx
save you time reading…time is precious for you vfx workers and learners

SAD CONCLUSION MAYA CANNOT TAKE ANY SHAPED PROFILE DOWN AN EP1 PATH CURVE or any CV CURVE
with hard corners…
and maintain a profile you heard it here and from all the other artists over the years, since 1998.
(maya does not like hard corners it freaks out the closer you get to 90 degrees the worse it gets)

GO AND USE 3DSMAX, CINEMA4D, BLENDER 2D, or any cad software to do this basic task.
save yourself the pain.

why have i been blunt, because extrude down a path is the command you gave maya. it failed…
and it might be 30% of your modelled geo.

Actually most people think it needs fixing, its like a repeat record over the years,
am i repeating myself, sure am, if maya says its number one at school and in the workplace,
it had better have the features to back the claims

AND THE WINNERS ARE!
extrude any crossection along a path of any shape…with history, and grouped instances
NUMBER1…3dsmax
NUMBER2…cinema4d…maybe…houdini(if you code)
NUMBER3…any cad program
NUMBER4…blender
NUMBER5…maya…cannot even do it…clue…same reason as flipped motion paths
(probably not true the maya script Technical director of acme vfx co.
has the script from Hadid architects
but you dont HAHA sad loser…)

major roadblocks in software who needs them, vfx artists and learners dont.

i do it a public service to the vfx industry, and if you use maya,
to do this you wont get any help from maya except poly from scratch…

ok you are not a sad loser…but a winner in training…just chose the right tool to do the job.

#2

@cunnax
why are you fighting ?:joy:
maya is not for you i told you

#3

This time cunnax is right. Extruding a shape along a curve in Maya often produces low quality results especially if the path is a 1 degree curve with steep angles. It seems like the shape gets squeezed near those angles. I found that if you align the shape with the beginning of the path you can improve the output mesh. Also, the path should lie on the same plane. If it runs on 3 dimensions, most likely you will not have the shape you are expecting.

#4

@VanDerGoes
it’s just not the best approach for such shape.
i would simply duplicate the initial curve (you could link both if you want to modify the original later)
make a loft -> nurbs tesselate -> and a poly extrude at the end.
way more precise and much more control.
(another variant would be to use the curve offset node)

maya_2020-08-07_01-12-33
maya_2020-08-07_01-12-33.jpg1059x657 109 KB

#5

I agree that the extrude along a curve technique is not the most appropriate in this case. In similar situations I usually use surface extrude without any profile curve and with the extrude lenght option activated on the y axis. Then, I poly extrude the resulting mesh to get the thickness. In my previous post I was referring to a more general situation. Extruding along a path with a profile curve is weak in maya and should get fixed. Modeling wise is one of the few complaints I have in Maya (still my favourite modeling app, even if I don’t look cool saying it).

#6

thx all, onouris and vandergoes good names.
apologies for moving the goalposts to any crossection, i finally
understood the nature of the problem.

SORRY WORKS ON RECTANGLE NOT ANY PROFILE

seems best method so far is to use onouris method, using offset curve, surface poly loft between both curves
and extrude upwards, best to do on a flat plane then grab extruded corner verts and move vertically into position. though works out of box with sloped line.

this is ok if you do not have a fancy cross section ceiling moulding shape, ie rectangle shape as maya does not offer extrude profiles…wish it did…thats a pay for script availiable.

vandergoes method snapping the fancy moulding profile to the end of curve, ie a extude along curve surface works on a flat plane, the only way to subsequently move into position without distortion is to again grab final extruded wall corner vertices and move up…ie do not move line verts up

(sidenote:further experiments tried birail 1, birail2 failed, snapping here needs fixing…needs lock 2 cvs permanently together.
eg an offset line if you move verts not connected to your profile, the offset version still moves verts you didnt select breaking the birail
maybe use non proportional option testing def proportional gives
special maya feature profile gets bigger along the rails…duurh
not sure on another profile both failed

extrude poly faces along a curve failed super bendy)

what really happens with profiles down autodesk maya curves, mind numbing.
i suspect the extrude along path is acually proportional not non proportional
as in birail, but they forgot the option. ( tested that one both options fail)

just seen that 2018 skyscraper movie, and thought fancy using mayas current system on bendy interiors
and switching profiles and paths shapes at will…in maya no i dont needs fixing.
( i suspect skyscraper chief designer stevo bedford being a trained architect, used proper nurbs program
even houdini fails here as its nurbs are crappy)… no doubt did maya shell and got the minions
to do the floors.

why is this an issue modelling speed, corrections speed and…history stack speed.

until then brute force method, 220 floors good luck. all those profiled odd angle windows.

#7

all very 2007 or 1997 how many man , woman hours wasted on basic features missing from
the program

bah humbug sometimes i love 3dsmax, and the rest

found this in the archives, bit like all the maya extrude and shell posts, when will autodesk accept the need to
build proper tools instead of wasting operators time.

and yes for the most part i know exactly how mayas tools work very 1990s
is it worth the fight onouris increasingly not really,
i love the rhino extrude bitch below , its expected to work,
period end of story no a…desk excuses, thats what the boss/teacher uses maya for.

this post is so long ago you cant comment, and sums up mayas progress ,
at this problem. the sentiment was strong then.

https://forums.cgsociety.org/t/mayas-rediculous-nurbs-extrude-tube/1115673

#8

@cunnax
our problem is that you still don’t understand that you will not find THE ultimate tool that will perfectly cover every scenario.
Even worse when you are trying to do CAD stuff. maya, houdini, blender etc are not really made for CAD stuff.
Sure you can somehow do things here and there; but not with the same efficiency you would get with other CAD tools.

It’s not a high priority compared to other stuff, like it’s not a priority for Rhino to have rigging or fx stuff etc.
And if overall you still want to do it in maya you better really understand how maya is working to be able to overcome/get your way around your issues and eventually script your own tools.

#9

you are right onouris, i understand what you are saying.

i dont get at all why the basic stuff doesnt work,
in this area 3dsmax shines.

maya options they give you 40 options, for various methods
loft along path, birail ( offset curves that break birail when moving verts),
extrude along curve, extrude with taper, extrude along z axis
extrude with profile does not exist.
( all extremely good at creating wonky not wanted shapes
that can be said to be truly bizarre to downright ugly partial flipped faces off axis messups
maya style ,extrude using generated curve wins the crown)

before check this list, center pivot , freeze transforms, snap to end cv, stand on your head,
rotate 90. upside down…you know the maya twostep, delete history, read the manual
and end up with garbage.

none work in this case, except using as basic start and then poly modelling verts.
pulling points at corners of output mesh.

3dsmax gives one option it works,with any profile you want,
as many edit spline variations as you can stack
15 seconds flat, can be instanced , grouped,
move to a new spot with full history, made unique…
all in less time than one version done in maya.

and no 3dsmax is not better than maya just different

#10

where are you working or what are you aiming for in case your are a student? what is your field exactly ?

#11

essentially learning,
cant argue most common job is maya generalist.
done to clean up waffle edits

funny thing is still havent found a 3dsmax style solution to this problem.

mayas solution poly model by hand, offset curves,insert loops, extrude face loops
all very slow no history
in fact if you are a maya artist
pretend the rest of the world doesnt exist and bury head in sand.
thats whats expected of you.

i shudder to think this came from car building software.
all pipes bent? maya wonky style?

#12

There is no perfect modeler, as onouris pointed out. I am proficient in max Maya and zbrush but when I have to do poly modeling I choose Maya everytime, even if symmetry doesn’t always work, max splines are more intuitive than Maya’s cv curves and some max tools work just better. What makes the difference for me is Maya modeling ui that let you work really fast. In Maya you can access most of the poly commands with a combination of RMB, LMB, SHIFT ALT CTRL, so you can keep your eyes always on the viewport, always on your model. In max for example, you have to look for the command in the edit poly rollout or the ribbon interface. Let’s face it, the life of a poly modeler is simple, you have to move vertices and extrude faces mostly. If you gain a couple of second each time you do these actions at the end of the day you saved hours of work. You can compensate flaws of the software with experience and alternative modeling techniques, as onouris showed you.

#13

who designed this software.
understand that and you will be a number one maya artist.

CONCLUSION MAYA CANNOT TAKE A PROFILE DOWN AN EP1 PATH CURVE or any CV CURVE
and maintain a profile you heard it here and from all the other artists over the years, since 1998.

GO AND USE 3DSMAX, CINEMA4D, BLENDER 2D, or any cad software

see attached so you are under no delusions,

and more importantly to show the extent of the problem, the real nature of maya is demented the right word?
actually i perfer its illogical spock.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/93465359@N03/50235254862

birail…use proportional non proportional who cares fails , do not attempt to switch profile or path or offset curve,birail
snaps will break, move path cvs goes wonky and birail breaks…

a: offset curve extruded by dist surf, then hand extruded 8 times…mayas default extrude is wonky anyway,
how do you copy those moves to another curve.
b: hand position corner profiles linear loft surf might work if you have lots of time…do the maths on corners…wonky
c: extrude profile by distance , curve warp , do you really want to with the corners it gives…wonky
_____________ lets face it this is the problem area below_________________
thrown in extrude along path, my guess maya forgot to add non proportional
option you get in birail……result wonky…to very wonky.( should match 3dsmax,
bit like comparing kindergarden(maya…cant walk) to highschool(3dsmax …100m sprint)
i am taking about a specfic task not the program, you baying wolves.

poly option, curve surface extrude by distance, then
insert edges loops and extrude faces, to match your profile
not an option i would want to do on a complex building.
one way street no history or multiple rooms,
but is in fact mayas only solution?

i guess the solution is a maya script from highend or wherever, that completely bypasses
all of mayas out of the box messes.

(apologies to onouris for changing the rectangle to any profile, lets get the extrude along path
shown in reality)

thought i would add the old rollercoaster extrude along a path as is the same problem really
https://www.flickr.com/photos/93465359@N03/50249371478

tried rhino thread
createTube.mel
script,
and then change created circle to your profile goes …wonky again
as perhttps://forums.cgsociety.org/t/mayas-rediculous-nurbs-extrude-tube/1115673

tried rebuild curve with 40 divsions still bad corners

old thread extrude, normals problems…yet again
https://forums.cgsociety.org/t/inset-option-in-poly-modeling-in-maya-like-3ds-max/1343850

CONCLUSION MAYA CANNOT TAKE ANY SHAPED PROFILE DOWN AN EP1 PATH CURVE or any CV CURVE
and maintain a profile you heard it here and from all the other artists over the years, since 1998.

GO AND USE 3DSMAX, CINEMA4D, BLENDER 2D, or any cad software. to do this basic task
. ITS A JOKE ON YOU
the operator…time wasting garbage from 1998… when will it be fixed 20 years no progress.
Maybe thats a bit hard on maya…how long has it taken me to find a solution several days!

Actually most people think it needs fixing, its like a repeat record over the years,
am i repeating myself, sure am, if maya says its number one at school and in the workplace,
it had better have the features to back the claims

extrude any crossection along a path of any shape…with history, and grouped instances
NUMBER1…3dsmax
NUMBER2…cinema4d…maybe…houdini(if you code)
NUMBER3…any cad program
NUMBER4…blender
NUMBER5…maya

i have repeated this 3 times so maya doesnt think i am stupid enough to waste so much time
reading manuals going on cgsociety in a futile attempt to think there is a solution,
so i offer choices 1 to 4 to save others time and effort.

all in the name of public service,

tough titties.

getting quicker to do it in blender from scratch to final output.
Build & Animate A Roller Coaster and this was 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iob2BzxEVLY
and you get access to your files anytime in the future, not pay for access
anywhere you want not on cloud,
whatever operating system you want, whatever gpu you want

that tutorial solves all the problems i have with maya animated rollercoasters
, its not maya and its free
go figure, i am being stupid? learnt it all in 15mins flat…
https://www.flickr.com/photos/93465359@N03/50253406751

the question really is why is maya not fast at the basics?

#14

@cunnax
such a mess in your head man

you are aware that the method you are seeing in this blender video has strictly nothing to do with what you were talking about. earlier no?
It’ not an extrusion what you see and it’s not a nurb thing or anything like that, it’s just an array.

At that point i’m really wondering if you understand what you are doing or where you are going, like a monkey hitting every button and shooting all over the place hoping for a result without really get it.

you should probably stop 3d completely.

#15

maya does mess with my head.

( you ask why i put this here , because its the same issue with mayas curves,
not knowing the up vector? messing up everything?)

just catching the rollercoaster to the room, got to arrive in style.

though probably by drone these days, so can use it for drone flight path

first time i have managed to do it without the flipped twisted maya ffd, albeit in blender
though 3dsmax ok
now to do the same in maya part2

maya motion paths best settings IS THIS CORRECT NOT SURE?
see attached
https://www.flickr.com/photos/93465359@N03/50257199927

motion path and flow path if bezier curve
only vector def vectorx0y1z0 is twisted x0y0z1 is untwisted…normal is twisted

motion path and flow path if bezier curve converted to nurbs
only vector def vectorx0y1z0 is twisted x0y0z1 is untwisted…normal is twisted

xx this is best xx
motion path and flow path if bezier curve converted to nurbs rebuilt as ep1 with say 50divs
only vector def vectorx0y1z0 is twisted x0y0z1 is untwisted…normal is untwisted

i dont have a clue what normal the endpoints are on a bezier or cv curve as compared ep1 cv
i doubt wether maya does either?

quickest check create an object longtrain ,
attach to a looped curve motion path create the flow pathh ffd with lots of division
so you can see the twists in the curve on all options,
the end points are wierd?