Modeling Window Tracery

TorQue[MoD]

Hey all.

So I'm trying to model out the window tracery for a gothic window. I was hoping to be able to create the tracery with lines and then extrude it out into my mesh. Unfortunately it seems the line is screwy in some places so when I extrude it, the geometry gets really messed up.


Anyone know how to do this easily without having to extrude it out by hand? Thanks!

arrangemonk

assuming youre using max, i used to use the modifier "extrude" directly on the spine and deleted the cap faces, and then redid the cap faces manualy
i also recomend only doing the half and then symmetry the other half

TorQue[MoD]

Sorry forgot to mention is 3DS max. Yeah, I'm currently trying my luck with the extrude modifier and cleaning up the faces... it worked a bit better than simply converting to editable poly, but not much. Guess there's no easier way other than manually cleaning up the faces. Better than trying to extrude it out from a box though. Thanks for the suggestion. And I love the realistic version of Homer for your Avatar!

cholden

arrange is on it!
Drawing out complex shapes with line tool, by default, often gives this results when changed to a polygon. Two way I control is depending on the situation; 1) what arrange said, extrude and clean up, or 2) use multiple lines so you have more, less complex polygons to clean up. Either way, this will require a lot of manual clean-up in some way or another. I prefer to add edge loops between major shapes in the polygons.

All that aside, you'll need a nice clean mesh for so that the smoothing groups render properly for a low poly, or high detail for baking.

Mark Dygert

As long as your stuck cleaning things up you could select the edges that outline your cutout shapes, convert them to shape/splines, convert that to poly, shell it, and use those shapes to "gasp" ProBolean out the shapes on a simple piece of geometry. You can scale, rotate and close the shapes you've added to the ProBolean. It doesn't calculate the final edge flow until all the shapes are added so it often comes out pretty clean.

There are some scripts on script spot that also help remove lone verts along edges which helps a lot with clean up of stray verts. It also can help to triangulate the mesh and then quadrify it before cleaning it up.

And yea like Arrange said, the symmetry modifier is your friend.

TorQue[MoD]

Yeah I tried using Boolean and that didn't work at all... What's ProBoolean?

Mark Dygert

ProBolean is what Bolean should of been all along. It was added to max2009 I think.
Its under The Main Menu > Create > Compound > ProBoolean. It's not prefect but its a hell of a lot better and figuring out the final edge flow when you add a bunch of shapes.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBPn-hPXy4U[/ame]

The make quads option is GREAT...

TorQue[MoD]

That's funny, I didn't even notice ProBoolean... I wonder if that'd work any better... mind you I'm almost finished cleaning up the extrude but I'd like to know for future use.

Mark Dygert

yea since you have the edges/shapes already draw out, it wouldn't be too much work to convert the negative space shapes to solid objects and play with it and get a feel for it. Like I said its not perfect but it has some handy features.

TorQue[MoD]

Thanks for all the help guys! You all rock!

r_fletch_r

ProBooelan is awesome

Vig wrote: »

There are some scripts on script spot that also help remove lone verts along edges which helps a lot with clean up of stray verts.
.

The 'turn to poly' modifier does that by default. pretty handy. (see:remove mid-edge verts)

TorQue[MoD]

Yeah I just tried proBolean and it worked very nicely. Only problem is I want it to be quite a bit lower poly... the quads made too many divisions. But a very nice tool none the less.

r_fletch_r

You dont need to quad it. you can just leave it as it is and do the cleanup yourself