Gmax Patch/Spline modding

[Guest odog]

FUN WITH SPLINES:Here's an example of modeling in the simplest of terms. Forget all that you know about standard primitives (cylindars, spheres, boxes) By using splines and patches you can achieve accurate results and gain better control over the detail of mesh.In its simplest terms, with spline and patch modeling you create a wire frame and then use patches to create the shape you need. Im not real good with this "how-to" stuff, and I'm still learning about this method, I hope you can follow me. Pics will make this easier.Ill be brief.here's where i am now. I will walk you through the cowl, the fuse and other parts took about 10 total hours. I did not use any standard shapes except the tires. I used the 3 views to make a rough outline of the fuse and tweaked on it for hours till it was just right.http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/53630.jpgI know what your thinking, looks like FS98 stuff... But here's the magic of keeping the editable patch in the modifier stack.http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/53626.jpgBy adjusting the steps i can increase and decrease the poly count of each part. This is handy because, by creating something that is simple and quick you can increase the detail and quality with the click of an arrow. Instead of scaling each row of verts which never gives a good result.how did i get here? SIMPLE... lets look at the cowl firstI make a circle and then turn it into an EDITABLE SPLINE. Now i select spline sub object and select my new circle, when it turns red, were ready to continue.now move the new circle back a few inches, HOLD DOWN THE SHIFT KEY WHILE MOVING IT. You have now created the 2nd piece for the cowl. repeat one more time so it looks like this.http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/53627.jpgThe hardest part to remember is to hold down the SHIFT key while moving so it will create another circle, if you forget it just moves the first circle.I resize the circles and imagine how a skin would look smoothed over my splines. When im happy, I add a CROSS SECTION MODIFIER to the stack. This will create the cage that our skin will float on.CROSS SECTION MOD: modifiers/ patch spline modifiers/ cross section modifier. That will add a rough cage to the splines now you add the SURFACE MODIFIER to add a skin.SURFACE MOD: Its in the same place where you find the above mentioned Cross Section Mod.now it looks like someting!http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/53628.jpgI then extruded the front patch to give the cowl that depth.Now i can adjust the steps to give me the desired detail. You may be thinking that this method is too poly heavy... WRONG! I can tell the difference in draw speed and smoothness in the sim. My theory is that by using nice square poly's the calculations are simpler and the code is cleaner and shorter... just a theory.NEVER CONVERT TO AN EDITABLE MESH/POLY. A patch is a different animal and once you convert it, you cant go back. Im running out of room for pics here, and I just scratched the surface hopefully this will get you thinking in more powerful modellng terms. The true beauty of a patch can be seen in where the window and the cowl come together. Each patch has 4 verts and each vert has a green handle. This handle will adjust the patch to fit your design. This is where the hours of work begin. By doing this you can make the mesh do whatever you need.http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/53629.jpgThats it, I hope this can inspire someone to try this method. Trust me when I say that this is THE way to go. I have tried many ways.. This is the easiest, the fastest, most accurate way to achieve quality results, or your money back.This isnt much of a tutorial, more of a hey look at this. I suggest to anyone wanting to learn more about this, do what i did and look for an automobile patch/spline tutorial (google) and apply what you learn to aircraft.you may have noticed, i caught Beaver Fever!joeHHDS

[Guest PhLem]

Hey Joe,That is looking impressive. I have always liked the idea, but never got any good results. Maybe your explanation will shed some light on the subject.Take care,Udo.

[Guest DanielBu]

Wow...I used spline modelling on my YF-23, but I never knew the possibilities! Well, I don't have time for this time consuming stuff anymore ;), still looks impressive.-Daniel

[Guest A_Delta_Sierra]

You are now on the right track. Merry Chrismas!Regards,BobS

[Guest airhead]

Good stuff JoeAnother thing that might be of interest to designers using methods like this for aircraft building. Many times when using splines, patches and lofts you can automatically assign mapping coorinates to the objects you build. I used lofts to create harnesses in the cockpit for a project I'm working on and used the generated mapping coords. It does a nice job of forming the texture's bitmap to the final geometry, far better than I could ever hope to do by hand. Obviously this type of mapping might not work out too well on something like Joe's cowling, but it's nice to know that the feature is there.Beaver Fever? Hmmmm....not goin' there.. :)