How do I make a 12 strand rope/cord like the images below? Not talking about the individual braids of each strand, but the overal look of it like in the second pic. I know how to make a braid in 3D, but can't wrap my head around how to do one properly in Blender.
Shimi, 16 sided cylinder, in the middle, 12 sided cylinders connecting to a 16 sided Torus. [IMG]http://phototherapy.webs.com/cylinder_torus 2.png[/IMG] Is that was you were looking for?
Instead of using a 12 sided cylinder for that shape there, use a 36 or 48 sided cylinder. This will even out the poly distribution a bit more and allow that curve to happen even when subdivided.