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How The F*#% Do I Model This? - Reply for help with specific shapes - (Post attempt before asking)

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  • okidoki
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    okidoki greentooth
    Maybe like so ( i made it too thin.. this does look more like a tram than a train :sweat_smile:  )..

  • AFsoft
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    AFsoft polycounter lvl 10
    Hi.
    Is there a short cut to convert the stepy-edge's to a circular shape in edit poly mod ?

    i started with a cylinder and then i focused on a quarter of it. modeled the first quarter and then using symmetric modifier i got it to this level. 
    since i have to continue the inside part and its flat, i have to convert the last edge to this round shape. is there a short-cut to make it soft ?
    i think im also able to use "shapes" to make the insite part. (yes) but couldn't be better to model this all in one part ?   
    also let me ask, is there an easier approach to the out part ?
  • Eric Chadwick
    Relax button in one of the sub-objects, or add the modifier.

    There’s also a tool in the Graphite ribbon, to make the edges evenly-spaced, maybe under Loop tools?
  • AFsoft
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    AFsoft polycounter lvl 10
    that did it! thanks a bunch. it looks like a secret :)

    is there an easier approach ? like making using world path modifier ? 

  • Eric Chadwick
    I would just try a Bend modifier, set it to 360. You can move around the gizmo to fine-tune it.
  • Eric Chadwick
    I had fun learning some modifiers.

    I had to cheat a bit with an Edit Poly, to get a top bevel, separate the drain area, and fix a bad vertex. I hate using Edit Poly because it breaks parametric editing... Edit Poly is vertex-count-dependent so if you edit stuff below it you're more likely to break things.  



    Anyhow, you can go through the modifiers one-by-one to see what I did. Just turn off "Show End Result" to see the steps.

  • AFsoft
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    AFsoft polycounter lvl 10
    thank you so much for the info and the trying it !
    i got it.
    i used an eclipse, duplicating and scaling it to match the final shape, then i created a surface, then i customized only a part and using symmetry it just fit really nice together. love this section. very informative post. well done everyone.
  • Z0ltBa
    Hi.
    I'm new to the whole world, i just started studying it, but i was wondering if you could give me some advise.
    I was trying to model this pillar complex in maya for a game environmental asset, based on the reference. (pic 1)



    I modelled one thicker, and one thinner pillar with the decorative top part as extrusions, and i lined them up as they should be, then booleaned them to make a union. As you can see on the picture it is a pain to clean up the topology at the joints of the decorative top part. (pic 2)



    I tried a different approach, which has a nicer topo, but it just doesn't look as nice as the original. (pic 3)



    Is there any way to model this correctly? Or should i just import it into ZBrush and Dynamesh them to weld them together instead of doing a boolean and than re-topologies it after and decimate it back?

    Thank you for your answers.
  • okidoki
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    okidoki greentooth
    You might get some "fitting" radiuses for two different sized circles with different amount of  vertices repeated in this circular way. But as soon the radius changes because of the profile you have to be very lucky to get some fitting vertices... The green marked may fit; but the red ones don't and also may produce triangles (or even n-gons..)



    It's the same with this 32 and 16 vertices cylinders with a 1.5 bigger top:


    The side edges just cross over in different angles all over the place.. so this kind of topology is a really nasty..
  • Z0ltBa
    Hi, thanks for the answer. Yes, i know, tried to clean it up by hand adding new vertices and supporting edges, then target weld the miss-matching vertices, and it kind of worked but this is why i ask if there is any way to approach this correctly, or re-topologies the final result somehow. I tried welding the pillars together in ZBrush and dynamesh it to a higher polycount to keep the details and then subdivide it with zremesher, but it just became way to high poly for game asset. Any advise?
  • Neox
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    Neox godlike master sticky
    Z0ltBa said:
    Hi, thanks for the answer. Yes, i know, tried to clean it up by hand adding new vertices and supporting edges, then target weld the miss-matching vertices, and it kind of worked but this is why i ask if there is any way to approach this correctly, or re-topologies the final result somehow. I tried welding the pillars together in ZBrush and dynamesh it to a higher polycount to keep the details and then subdivide it with zremesher, but it just became way to high poly for game asset. Any advise?
    You would usually bake this detailed mesh down to a normalmap to be used on a low poly mesh 
  • okidoki
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    okidoki greentooth
    As far as i know the remesher in Z-brush is quite "nice".. 
  • ZacD
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    ZacD ngon master
    The only trick I have for models like that is use so much geo that the width of the bevel at the intersections is the same as the spacing of the edges around the pillars. It's never going to be perfectly clean, and you could delete some of the edge loops after modeling out the intersection. If I just needed a clean high poly and simple low poly I'd just use sculpting software. Only for subdiv or nanite would I worry about modeling it super cleanly, but even with nanite you can get aware with using sculpting geo. 
  • lighthouse3d


    I'm not a 3D modelling expert by any means, but I believe the key here is to model the whole thing with a not so dense mesh. I've spent a little time with it and started with a 12-sided cylinder. That way, you have better control over the intersecting parts. I recorded a time-lapse, so maybe it'll help you in some way. It's not perfect or finished at all—there are some triangles here and there, and overall it would need more time (which I don't have), but hopefully the point is clear:


  • Z0ltBa
    That is amazing, thank you for the video, it gave me a great approach. I will get to it taking all your answers guys into consideration and create the low poly mash just as you did in the video and will bake the higher details. Thank you guys.
  • Noren
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    Noren polycounter lvl 20
    If something like that is available in Maya, you could just stick them together and use a rounded edge map / shader to get a small bevel transition between them and bake that to your lowpoly.
  • sacboi
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    sacboi veteran polycounter
    Nice, a similar strategy for polygonal subd modeling I'd use i.e. welding verts when merging segments via objects of varying polycounts.

    Slightly OT but I think worthwhile mentioning at least - if you've thoughts of expanding upon this? possibly further practice or when time allows of course, I might suggest also modeling in additional detail these colonnade shapes are renown for. Namely ornamental capitals usually carved as decoration, now although generated in Blender fair while ago there's no additional operations involved just manually editing it's cage which should be straightforward enough translating across too MAYA. 

    Anyway if you choose to do so, have fun with it....I did   :thumbs up:


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