Confused Newbie

stanlogan · 10th April 2007, 11:48 PM

Hi,

I didn't see a forum specifically for help, so I'm posting here. Hope that's ok.

I am trying out the demo. I know almost nothing about 3d modeling. [problem identified

]

I created a shape (one day might be a bat-like spaceship) by turning on real-time mirroring in Z, and using the line tool to outline half of the shape. Then I actually mirrored the outline, then extruded the whole thing a little bit to give it some depth. I managed to get everything skinned, and it seems to be what I thought I wanted. (The outline of the wings and body are made up of a number of surfaces, whereas the upper and lower wing/body surfaces are just one surface)

I am now trying to select the whole model and subdivide it, in the hope of obtaining a smoother shape. But the subdivide command isn't giving me what I expect - things seem to twist up in a way I don't think I can describe.

I checked the normals on my surfaces - they all seem to point outward.

It's probably obvious to someone that I've taken the wrong approach - but it's not obvious to me. Any ideas on what I should be doing to smooth my shape more correctly? Or how to start over and get what I want?

Thanks in advance,
Stan

Dennis · 11th April 2007, 07:41 AM

Can you post a screenshot of the results you're getting (non-subdivided and subdivided would be great)?

stanlogan · 11th April 2007, 09:13 AM

Had trouble uploading and ran out of time. Will put images on my site this evening.

Thanks,
Stan

stanlogan · 11th April 2007, 09:20 PM

Here are Bat1, Bat2, and Bat3. (Well, database errors are preventing upload, even after I shrunk the files. So, here the are on my site...)

http://tranquility.lunarpages.com/ac3d/Bat1.gif
http://tranquility.lunarpages.com/ac3d/Bat2.gif
http://tranquility.lunarpages.com/ac3d/Bat3.gif

Bat1 is a general look at my model in all the views.
Bat2 is the same view after selecting the entire object and doing subdivide one time.
Bat3 is the back side of the subdivided model.

After the subdivide, the front is kind of ok, but not totally, and the back is mostly messed up.

(I will upload higher resolution images since I had to host them myself. Check the directory for larger/clearer images if you have the bandwidth. http://tranquility.lunarpages.com/ac3d/ )

I did forget to mention that I rotated parts of the geometry as well, to 'arch' the wings.

Any help is appreciated.

Stan

stanlogan · 11th April 2007, 09:27 PM

Higher resolution images uploaded. Use .jpg instead of .gif to get the better ones. They are each about 200k.

Thanks,
Stan

little_penguin · 12th April 2007, 02:21 AM

i m sure there are better solutions
well this is the way i would do it

10th April 2007, 11:48 PM	#1
stanlogan Junior Member Junior member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Southwestern Ohio, USA Posts: 6	Confused Newbie Hi, I didn't see a forum specifically for help, so I'm posting here. Hope that's ok. I am trying out the demo. I know almost nothing about 3d modeling. [problem identified ] I created a shape (one day might be a bat-like spaceship) by turning on real-time mirroring in Z, and using the line tool to outline half of the shape. Then I actually mirrored the outline, then extruded the whole thing a little bit to give it some depth. I managed to get everything skinned, and it seems to be what I thought I wanted. (The outline of the wings and body are made up of a number of surfaces, whereas the upper and lower wing/body surfaces are just one surface) I am now trying to select the whole model and subdivide it, in the hope of obtaining a smoother shape. But the subdivide command isn't giving me what I expect - things seem to twist up in a way I don't think I can describe. I checked the normals on my surfaces - they all seem to point outward. It's probably obvious to someone that I've taken the wrong approach - but it's not obvious to me. Any ideas on what I should be doing to smooth my shape more correctly? Or how to start over and get what I want? Thanks in advance, Stan

11th April 2007, 07:41 AM	#2
Dennis Senior Member Professional user Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 899	Re: Confused Newbie Can you post a screenshot of the results you're getting (non-subdivided and subdivided would be great)?

11th April 2007, 09:13 AM	#3
stanlogan Junior Member Junior member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Southwestern Ohio, USA Posts: 6	Re: Confused Newbie Had trouble uploading and ran out of time. Will put images on my site this evening. Thanks, Stan

11th April 2007, 09:20 PM	#4
stanlogan Junior Member Junior member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Southwestern Ohio, USA Posts: 6	Re: Confused Newbie Here are Bat1, Bat2, and Bat3. (Well, database errors are preventing upload, even after I shrunk the files. So, here the are on my site...) http://tranquility.lunarpages.com/ac3d/Bat1.gif http://tranquility.lunarpages.com/ac3d/Bat2.gif http://tranquility.lunarpages.com/ac3d/Bat3.gif Bat1 is a general look at my model in all the views. Bat2 is the same view after selecting the entire object and doing subdivide one time. Bat3 is the back side of the subdivided model. After the subdivide, the front is kind of ok, but not totally, and the back is mostly messed up. (I will upload higher resolution images since I had to host them myself. Check the directory for larger/clearer images if you have the bandwidth. http://tranquility.lunarpages.com/ac3d/ ) I did forget to mention that I rotated parts of the geometry as well, to 'arch' the wings. Any help is appreciated. Stan

11th April 2007, 09:27 PM	#5
stanlogan Junior Member Junior member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Southwestern Ohio, USA Posts: 6	Re: Confused Newbie Higher resolution images uploaded. Use .jpg instead of .gif to get the better ones. They are each about 200k. Thanks, Stan

12th April 2007, 02:21 AM	#6
little_penguin Member Expert member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Austria Posts: 80	Re: Confused Newbie i m sure there are better solutions well this is the way i would do it Attached Images