3D TUTORIALS
Modeling with NURBS on 3D Studio Max r2
    by Fernando Koyanagi
    In the moment that I write this article, there is very little documentation about NURBS modeling on Max r2. The manual has few examples and it destines little page for NURBS. When introduced the Beta release, Kinetix it created a documentation with examples that unhappily didn't do part of the manual, leaving, like this, that gap and avid of information many user. The tutorial described presupposes a medium knowledge of 3D Studio Max and it should provide a more little of information for this new resource.
Before beginning the tutorial it's interesting to illuminate some common doubts on NURBS on Max r2:
  • It is possible to import curves from Autocad to convert them in NURBS
  • The rendering is efficient, almost so fast as polygons.
  • In the current implementaτão it is not still possible to use Blend object nor Trim, wherefore, it is not possilvel to cut an object NURBS and to weld it in other, maintaining the surface smooth.
  • Bones (Phisique) it can be used with object NURBS.
  • The resource native loft also works and it can generate a editable surface NURBS.
  • Primitive standard can just be transformed into NURBS.

Tutorial: Plastic recipient

The example to follow cover two very important commands: Create ULoft Surface and Create Blend Surface. For who already knows NURBS in programs like Rhino and Softimage it is important to know that the command Create Blend Surface from Max r2 just works with surfaces NURBS. Therefore, when it models an object that it should be taken into account and to plan the model with loft or starting from a primitive standard.

Step 1) Creating shapes

figura 1

figure 1

figure 2

Starting from the menu CREATE -> SHAPE chooses NURBS you Curve -> Point Curves. You should draw 2 basic shapes with the opening in ellipse form. The internal shape should be attached to the external shape. For that, enter in MODIFY PANEL to tie the two shapes (figure 1) that will just form a curved NURBS. Soon after, click in EDIT STACK and choose convert to: NURBS surface, and again use attach to tie all the lines. Type <S> to turn on Snap, because it is important that the distance among the shapes is the same, it will maintain the symmetry of the object and its control vertexes ( figure 2).

Step 2) Using Create Uloft Surface

figure 3

With the selected shapes it calls Mofify Panel -> NURBS CREATION TOOLBOX ( figure 3) and click in the icon ULoft. Click in the first shape (the sharpener of the mouse becomes a cross) and soon after in the next corresponding shape. You should make this for external and internal shapes, that later help to form the hole.

Step 3) Using Create Blend Surface

figure 4

Still in NURBS CREATION TOOLBOX, click in Blend Surface. You will notice that should just apply Blend in the lateral shapes. Give the first click in the external ellipse from shape and the second in the ellipse it interns, creating the faces and closing the object as showed the ( figure 4 ). In the Viewport configuration, choice force 2-sided, because the normal can be inverted, harming the visualization.

Step 4) Moving points

figure 5

figure 6

There is two ways to edit object:

  1. 1) to move the points corresponding to the curves, choosing Sub-Object -> Point as exhibition the ( figure5 ). This edition type is quite efficient because it maintains few points, what provides it good clarity for edition - in the illustration 5 the points were selected for if they turn visible. In this object this resource was only used, but if it is necessary some fine adjustment, the next method can be more suitable.
  2. 2) in Modify Panel it chooses Sub-Object -> Surface and soon after click in the object, (the lines turn red). You selected. Now, it should click in MAKE INDEPENDENT. Return to menu Roll-out at Sub-Object and choose Surface-CV. The figure 6 shows the control vertexes in green color. Attention: Surface-CV will only be available in the menu roll-out after the procedure MAKE INDEPENDENT.

Step 5) Creating the screw-cap

figure 7

figure 8

In the menu CREATE -> Standard Primitives creates a cylinder and transform it in NURBS for MODIFY -> Edit Stack. Soon after, edit control vertexes as shown in the ( figure 7 ) and position the Cylinder (screw-cap) in the superior position, centralizing it. The grooves of the cover and the label are textures with bump map. I hope to have collaborated so that the subject NURBS is better understood.

mailto:koyanagi@prudenet.com.br

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