[3DS Max] What's the best way to make a knot?

Zipfinator

I'm trying to make a knot out of a length or rope that I've modeled and I've been having trouble with it. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make the straight rope into a knot best?

I've tried making a spline in the shape of the knot and then making the rope follow that spline but I was having trouble manipulating the spline into a knot shape. I also don't have any idea how to make geometry follow a spline. This is the only method I've tried but it seems like the best way to do it.

Thanks in advance.

Eric Chadwick

One way is to make a Shape that's a rope cross-section, and another Shape that's your rope length with a loop-de-loop for the knot, then make a Loft. Makes nice UVs too. New mesh though.

Zipfinator

That sounds nice but I'd like to use the mesh I have.

I finally got a spline looking like a knot. I just need to know how to get the rope to follow the spline now. Anyone have a tutorial or a quick explanation?

Sean VanGorder

If you have the rope modeled, and the spline in a knot, use a Path Deform WSM from the modifier drop down on the rope mesh. Once its applied, select the spline and hit the "Move to Path" button.

Reverenddevil

Why not just use the extended primitives and use a Torus Knot?

fearian

That's 'knot' a real knot!

Zipfinator

Sean_EG wrote: »

If you have the rope modeled, and the spline in a knot, use a Path Deform WSM from the modifier drop down on the rope mesh. Once its applied, select the spline and hit the "Move to Path" button.

Thanks, that's exactly what I was looking for, just forgot what it was called.

Got my mesh to follow the spline fairly well but I'm having one problem now. I can't collapse the modifier stack back to editable poly which means I can't weld this knot to the rest of my rope or UV it. Anyone know how I could do that?

Zipfinator

Found a solution. Used Patch Deform (Non WSM). It was a bit squished on the X Axis but a quick scale fixed that and that modifier allowed me to collapse the stack.

Zipfinator

Here's a picture of the result if anyone is interested.

r_fletch_r

dont you mean path deform?

MoP

I always just used a Torus Knot primitive (as mentioned above) and shoved it through the rope... looks good enough for most situations :P

r_fletch_r

another method for small stuff is to use a tiling gradient bump map, rotated 45 degrees. Map that to either displacement or bump. The handy thing about doing it with a map is you dont have a heavy model in the viewport. you can do the displacement if need be at render time

Piflik

Just for future reference...you can collapse WSM Modifiers, but you have to use 'Collapse To' and not 'Collapse All' or 'Convert to Editable Poly', since the latter preserve WSM Modifiers.

Zipfinator

Piflik wrote: »

Just for future reference...you can collapse WSM Modifiers, but you have to use 'Collapse To' and not 'Collapse All' or 'Convert to Editable Poly', since the latter preserve WSM Modifiers.

Ah okay thanks.

And yes, I did mean path deform. Was a spelling mistake.