Deforming without deforming?

Rob Galanakis

Well I'm trying something new for one of my highpoly models. Normally, I would model armour or whatnot directly on a mannequin, but for what I'm doing now (lorica segmentata) I'm trying to do it all according to LARP cutout plans, and then I want to assemble it. Most of the pieces just bend in one dimension (for example, the shoulder and girth bands), and these are easy enough to overcome.

My question is, is there a way to deform something without actually... ummm... deforming it? If you have a pipe cleaner, you can twist and bend it however you want, and it will always be the same length. Do it in 3D, and odds are the pipe cleaner will be shorter or longer than it originally was, usually.

Are there any techniques in Max or Maya that would allow me to bend and manipulate these pieces without them losing "mass"? I can fudge it by eye, but the historical nerd in me would get a hard on for having an exact segmentata model.

BTW if anyone has modeled like this before from cutout plans (ie, an entire complex armour or clothing, not just a vest you model flat and then wrap around and adjust), any tips for me?

Vailias

well I don't know of any sure fire way to make things like this perfectly, but one thing I know will work to keep the dimensions is to stick with the rotate tool in one dimension only. Also if you are working in maya be sure to change the rotate tool's prefs so that you can recenter the manipulator by clicking the middle mouse. then line up the rotate axis along each set of points and rotate the other points around it till you get the right shape. OR

break your model into its individual polygons or strips of polygons then rotate them by themselves so that all the sizes stay the same, then once you have them aligned into the shape of the armor, just be sure the verts stay where they're supposed to be and recombine the pieces then weld the verts.
OR
look into mayas cloth and or deformers. They may have built in constraints for keeping things the same area after deformation.

sprunghunt

Perhaps try using the bend modifier in MAX? it doesn't usually change the length of an object for simple bends.

Also the conform operation will bend an object around a mesh without changing the area too much.

MoP

You could probably do it by having them all follow a spline, then just deforming that spline. Don't "Skin" or "Physique" them or anything, just give each one a Path Follow constraint and then try wiggling the spline.
To be honest, I have no idea if this works since I don't have Max open or the time to test it out, but it seems like it'd be a decent starting point.
AFAIK there are many ways you can deform several objects without losing their shape or mass.

Motz

Cloth modifiers in max 8+ can do this i thought, you can even designate stitches and run the simulation to close the stitches together around the object etc.

Toomas

Hmm... if you have bones in middle of a cylinder for example and you bend it using the bones its lenght shouldnt change either.

Rob Galanakis

Vaillias: Thanks, that idea helped alot, actually, about the pivot point.

sprung: Yeah I am ending up using Bend in Maya for alot of the deformations.

Since the bends of the metal are mostly in one dimension, bend should do it. I was having a problem forming the fittings and hinges from the cutout cards, so I just ended up pre-modelling them according to what they should look like... came out looking much nicer.

I'm going to post some pics today in the pimping and previews, probably, the lorica segmentata is coming out quite nice.

cw

the pathdeform modifier would do a similar thing, u can make a mesh deform along a spline, and it isn't 'pinned' to the spline so its length shouldnt change. - basically, what Mop said.