Need help to create a hard surface model

[Michael Haar]

Hi there,

 

I'm new to 3D-Coat and while I'm already getting used to organic sculpting I need some help with this hard surface item I want to create. I'd like to do something like this plastic pipe: http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/corrugated-plastic-pipe-2906909.jpg

 

Okay, I've got that pipe but I don't know how to get those seams on the surface. I tried to extrude them or carve them but I don't know:

 

1. how to extrude or carve around the whole pipe (not just on the side I'm looking at).

2. how to extrude or carve each seam excatly in a straight line.

3. how to space the seams evenly across the whole pipe.

 

Any help is really appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Michael

 

[chingchong]

You can also create with primitives and bolean Operation (two cylinders of different radius) one basic element, and then use this object als a spline. Look in the Manual for using/creating splines.

[Denis]

Not sure if this is what you want, but you can get this effect by left cliking the curves tool and then left click this spline in the splines tab. You can move the points on the curve by left click and drag and you can resize the  points on the curve by right clicking and dragging. Or you can resize the whole curve by adjusting the scale slider in the curve tool optins.

 

PS

if you don't see the splines tab, go to the Windows- popups-spline at the top of the UI.

[digman]

One thing I like about 3DC is the ability to create objects in several different ways... I will add another to the list using the clone tool.

This was done down and dirty as I am just showing a method. You can be more precise than I was as I did this in about 10 minutes and I did not use the grid to line things up but just by sight.

 

load a default cylinder. switch to Orthro mode.

Use the clone tool to clone a ring.

Enlarge the ring using the transform tool.

Position the ring and press enter

Now under View menu choose the 2D grid.

Keep positioning the ring and pressing enter each time.

Use the smooth tool, bottom left tool panel if you want to round off the ring edges some.

 

Grab the vox tree layer that has your pipe in it to the spline tool and drag/drop it into the splines folder at the top.

Now as ChingChong and Denis have said use the curve tool and choose your spline model just created.

 

Picture shows the voxel pipe, spline curve pipe and the normal map applied on a 128 low polygon quad cylinder.

Edited November 5, 2013 by digman

[AbnRanger]

Similar to what has been shown, here, you can always create a quick object that 3D Coat can replicate along a curve. This video shows the process somewhat.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX5He53oFpk&list=PL0614F2A03AD725CD&index=38

 

This one also covers the usage of the Curves tool to replicate an object you have stored in the Splines pallet or one you create from scratch (in the voxel room) and subsequently store in the Splines pallet to use now or later.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNTmHK86w0s&list=PL7D9A514EEC320105

Edited November 5, 2013 by AbnRanger

[Michael Haar]

Thanks a lot, guys! Quite some ways to get this done. I'm not in fornt of 3D-Coat right now but I'll try out these solutions as soon as possible!

Thanks again!

[AbnRanger]

Thanks a lot, guys! Quite some ways to get this done. I'm not in fornt of 3D-Coat right now but I'll try out these solutions as soon as possible!

Thanks again!

There may be a preset shape in the Splines tool that you can use straight away, but if not, it's simple enough to quickly create a base object to replicate. This way you can use it currently and re-use it for later projects. These two videos might come in extremely handy at some point, for hard surface projects.

 

New Primitive Tool Options:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9okaYcnEmU&list=PL0614F2A03AD725CD&index=7

 

New Lathe Modifier:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81k2AjW3C8Q&list=PL0614F2A03AD725CD&index=6

 

If you need to remesh your work, to have a lower polygon version to export, make sure to check out the newly improved Auto-Retopo toolset. Andrew did some spectacular work on it, and it should be a boon for hard-surface work (works good on organic models, too).

 

Auto-Retopo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzjMakQL4_I&list=PLlQ3JITh9bXOfcZqGuO8gClZisN6yUd1x&index=26

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3jwEx2sxWI&list=PLlQ3JITh9bXOfcZqGuO8gClZisN6yUd1x&index=27

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aMkWrnl4ds&list=PLlQ3JITh9bXOfcZqGuO8gClZisN6yUd1x&index=28

Edited November 6, 2013 by AbnRanger

[Michael Haar]

Thank you all, guys! With the help provided in this thread I finally made it!

Really like this community and I'll try to give something back as soon as I do understand this complex software!

Thanks!