3D helping my 2D

[Earl]

$299 for trueSpace 5? That sounds like a pretty nice deal. They've taken that program a long ways.

From everything I've heard, LightWave does not run well on Windows ME. Personally, I run it on Windows 98 at home, and Windows 2000 at work. Both of those operating systems seem to do nicely. (I'm referring to the latest version, 6.5b)

[Earl]

Nice Gary. Looks like you've been peeking under my sink! So what method did you use to model the spray bottle?

[randyrives]

Gary,
Very sharp looking image. I agree Truespace can render some awesome images. It was just too slow for my taste. That is why I went to Cinema 4D (boy is it fast)

Earl,
Thanks for the info.

--Randy Rives

[Gary David Bouton]

Hi Earl--

It was real easy to do the bottle. Doing the package design (in typically ugly P&G motif!)took more time than the bottle.

I had a bottle sitting here next to the PC to dust it. I mentally broke the bottle down into primitives, knowing that if a seamless area could not be easily created, I'd brush over it in Photoshop (I do this a lot...come close with your model, and then perfect it in Photoshop). Anyhow, most of the paths needed simple extrusion with a soft miter edge. Posted is my view of XARA with the paths that I exported to my modeling program to dimensionalize.

Regards,

Gary David Bouton
www.boutons.com
Gary@GaryWorld.com
Visit a really large gallery at www.GaryWorld.com!

[Earl]

The method seemed to work well Gary. Yeah, it is hard to make some objects completely seamless (like using subdivision surface modeling). In many cases, it just isn't worth it to create a completely seamless object.

Your bottle is a perfect example. =) Just curious...which modeling program did you use?

[randyrives]

Gary,

How did you get the finger grips to be so smooth and rounded. It looks to me that if you took the vector outline and did an extrude, you would get pretty sharp edges on the finger grips.

Can you tell us your secret [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

--Randy Rives

[Earl]

I believe that's the soft miter edge that takes care of the hard extruded edges. Basic beveling.

(correct me if I'm wrong Gary)

[Gary David Bouton]

Earl, Randy--

At the bottom of this is a wireframe view of the finger grip on the bottle. It was not hard because my favorite modeling program does both hard edge (linear), and soft edge (simply a bulge you have some control over) when extruding the sides from the front profile of a path.

I do this work in Macromedia Extreme 3D version 2.0.1, which Macromedia canned when they re-invented themselves as a Web tools company. A real shame, but hey, I am not going to throw away almost ten years of experience (I started when the product was called MacroMind MacroModel and cost $3,000 (later marked down to $299 when no one bought it). This sucker is like a drawing program to me, and even though it has a lot of drawing tools (I deliberately left the toolbox in the screen capture), I usually export from XARA (and used to export from CorelDRAW) because it is quicker to visualise (at least for me, I know a lot of us disagree about visualising in 2D or 3D) in a drawing program than in E3D.

E3D has a tool set I could compare to Rhino, but again, I'm anal and can model stuff (with a little setup time drawing the profile paths) in usually less than 1/2 per object. And I would not be able to crank out the s**t I do in my Photoshop books if I did not understand the power of trueSpace as a renderer. I used to be a RenderMan kinda guy, but "Stuart Little" and "The Matrix" both using Maya, changed my mind. Jar-Jar Binks is wonderful over-animation (he wafts around like jelly sometimes because the animators thought his motions would blend better with humans in the movie), but I grew a little weary of things all coming out like plastic. You have to admit, a lot of PIXAR stuff is plastic oriented, and Jar-Jar's skin looks a tad like a rubber mask.

I'm digressing. Seams can be solved in Photoshop or with really creative lighting to wash out a seam. I've tried LightWave and cannot understand it, and I've used 3D Max and prefer the antique way I go about things. Time doesn't seem to be a factor. I did a dining room set only for the sake of using the rendering in a reflection in a Christmas card. It took about 1/2 day to do, but that was because:
•With today's programs, I have a beginner's skill.
•With legacy products, I have the skill.

I *am*, however, trying my hand at Maya, and has anyone used Amorphium by Play, Inc.? You can download a copy from their site. It's weird, but the samples are kind of impressive for a $99 program.

Kindest Regards,

Gary David Bouton
www.boutons.com
Gary@GaryWorld.com
Visit a really large gallery at www.GaryWorld.com!

[Gary David Bouton]

Here's the dining room scene I mentioned in my last post. Ooops, MORON, Bouton--I forgot you don't have an infinite number of attachments per message!


Regards,

Gary David Bouton
www.boutons.com
Gary@GaryWorld.com
Visit a really large gallery at www.GaryWorld.com!

[Earl]

Whoa! We asked about the handgrip and we got his whole history! [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img] I'm just kiddin' with ya. It's good to know where people are coming from and what experience they've had. Hearing what programs you've been through and your experience with them helps to understand how and why you approach modeling and 3d the way you do (by the way, thanks for the wireframe of that bottle grip).

I have tried Amorphium. I downloaded the demo when I first heard about it (don't know how many years ago, couldn't have been too long ago). It sounded like a nice little application. Unfortunately, it just didn't click with me (as I find most programs don't). I find this happens often. I've fallen so much in love with the way LightWave models and animates that I can never seem to use another 3d program for very long without deciding that I can do it faster in LightWave. I guess that's why there's so many programs out there - because everyone works better and faster using different methods, utilizing different approaches. Your apporach, Gary, is a unique one. While I do often import my complex vectors from Draw into LightWave (usually for logos), you seem to have taken it to a level that I've yet to try.

Personally, I like your method of modeling Gary.