[Maya] Extruding faces along a path

iamsonoob

Hi all,

So I have this scene I'm working on in maya -



And I'm trying to replicate a technique I saw used in a digital tutors Modo video.

I have some polygons and I'd like to extrude them around a curve. I created a curve from using the modify > convert menu and I converted the edges of a plane. My goal here is to create walls all around the plane using the polygons. He used this modo plugin: Extrude Along Edge Path (http://www.indigosm.com/modoscripts.htm)

I'm wondering if I can replicate this in maya? I've tried using the extrude tool while having the curve selected, and then using that option but I never get the results I'm looking for.

Maybe it's time I switched to Modo, seems like a more productive modeling tool.

m4dcow

Use the extrude in the surfaces menu.

phaedarus

You can't extrude polygons along a NURBS curve in Maya. You can only extrude NURBS surfaces along NURBS curves. Convert the polygon into a NURBS surface first.

throttlekitty

There's a few ways to do this; I'd suggest looking into Birail. But first, to get a good poly face extrude, the curve needs to be in the center of the face selection - not really fun if your selection is irregular (say 3 quads making an "L"). Ans secondly, the direction of the curve might need to be flipped if the initial result is nasty.

Birail is great for arch-stuffs like walls/trim/baseboard. Basic idea is you have a profile and two path curves. You can set the default output options in the settings, or mess with the nurbsTesselate options in the channel/history to suit your needs. Terrible example here but it's pretty easy.

Fingus

m4dcow wrote: »

Use the extrude in the surfaces menu.

That is simply not true. You just have to select the polygon faces you want to extrude, and then the curve, and use the standard extrude tool.

throttlekitty

Actually I take that back, Iamsonoob. I like to make things complicated too often, though birail is pretty badass.

You don't even really need a curve to do what you want, since you have everything lined up. Start your extrude, then tap or hold "d" to adjust the pivot, then hold "v" and snap down the the vert where your wall and floor meet. This also sends you into the move tool, but since you're moving along a straight path, no harm done. Then you can snap the new extruded faces to the next corner- and snap rotate for the 45 degree turn into the next extrude as you go.

edit: Fingus how did did you get that curve set in all nice and flat like that?

peanut™

The thing that gets me the most here, is how can someone not check Youtube when encountering a modeling problem. If there is something that tickles me i make sure to ask my question in the YT search box and check there first.

on edit: (YT means youtube in case you are wondering)

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=maya+Extruding+faces+along+a+path+
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE8MDfxtnBU[/ame]
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5jQqsiUlHQ[/ame]