Animating Segments of an Apple (3DS Max)

SeanH

Hey everyone, I have a quick question with 3DS Max -

I'm trying to create an animation where my camera circles around a model of an apple, and as the camera moves, segments of the apple fade out/fall off (whichever is easier.)

I'm having an issue working out how exactly to do this - I have it all set up fine camera wise, but I fear I have modelled the apple incorrectly for what I want to do. I made the apple into quarters and just used two mirror modifiers to create the whole apple. My issue is that I cannot figure out how to then treat each quarter or 'segment' as a separate object, allowing me to animate them individually.

I have found that I can animate the mirror gizmo itself - this kind of does the trick but it means I can only animate the apple quarters 'folding into themselves'. It's kind of complicated and tricky to explain.

In essence - how could I animatea the apple into quarters when it has been modelled using mirror modifiers? Or would it be quicker to use another technique??

Thanks!

Eric Chadwick

What you want is to model one segment, then mirror 3 copies of it by using the Mirror tool (instead of the modifier). Then you can animate each one however you like.

To solve the seams between them, select all of them and add an Edit Normals modifier, then select each pair of vertices along a seam, and Average their normals. This tool can help you automate that process (though it's still helpful to know how to do it manually):
http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/VertexNormal#Vertex_Normals_Stitcher

SeanH

Thanks Eric, that's perfect!

SeanH

Sorry to double post, but a really odd issue is coming up when I attempt this method. I will attach a screenshot -

Basically when I average the normals, a large black line appears across the mesh when I render, and I'm not entirely sure why.

Also a second question - as you can see in the picture, because the faces are not totally flush, there is a clear 'seam' or gap in the mesh - are there any modifiers available that can kind of 'blend' the faces together when connected/next to each other, but still allow me to move the individual slice if I want to? Apologies if this is explained poorly , I will try to give you an idea of what I need to do -

The aim is to create an animation where a third of the apple is removed as one segment, then the remaining two thirds are halved, halved again etc. until there is a very small amount of apple left. I have been thinking a couple of ways to do this, and as Eric replied I think modeling one segment and mirroring it would be best, but because the vertices are not flush on the x axis etc., the pieces do not lie flush against each other, hence why I am wondering if there is a deformation or some kind of morph modifier that could be used for this situation. I see there is a 'Morpher' modifier, I have read into it briefly but still not sure if it would suit here.

Finally - what would be the most efficient method to animate an individual slice getting smaller? If you imagine having a small slice of apple and cutting it in half down the middle until there is basically a cube of apple left - would id be as simple as keyframing deleting the faces?

Anyone help would be fantastic and thanks so far !