Proposing and Engagement Ring with 3D Coat.

[HonestAustin]

Dear 3D Coat Devs/Users,

 

My name is Austin. I believe this is my first time posting on this Forum. If, I did before it was a while back. Anyway, Hello to You all!!! :-)

 

Here is the plan. I am completely and utterly new to 3D Coat. I have been trying to learn it for about 2 months now but I keep getting stuck. Dimensions, Ratios, and Math in general is not my strong suit. and, I tend to get overwhelmed by all the options and UI. But, I am determined. I also keep finding a lack of English tutorials to learn 3D Coat on Youtube. As, I am 100% better learning from a video than reading Anyway, I am rambling. I have a longtime Bestfriend and We have been dating a while and have talked about Marriage many of times. We both are very much in Love with eachother and She is Extremely special to Me. and, because of this. I want to make something Extremely special for Her. I do not want to go into a Jewelry Store and Buy a ring. I want to be able to make Her one. and, design it myself. I found a 3D Printing company that will print whatever I make into 14k Gold. and, I already have a Heart cut blue topaz. I want to use 3D Coat to design the ring so that I can give the .obj file to the 3D Printing company to have them print the ring for Her. and, than have it sent to Me to finish assembling(putting the stone in) polishing it once more and than putting it in a ring box to propose to Her.

 

Now, Here is where it gets tricky. I know absolutely nothing about 3D Coat or the interface and what everything does. I do not want someone to "do it for Me" or "to design one for Me" I want to be able to do it on my own. I just need guidance, advice. I took the next 3 weeks off at work so I can learn and work on this and get it printed. as, I am planning on proposing to Her hopefully on Christmas morning. If, I can get this finished by then.

 

 

So, Where do I start?
 

and, I will Greatly appreciate any advice / help / e.t.c.!

-Austin

[Tony Nemo]

You might start with the "Ring" primitive in the Primitives tool selection. 

[Malo]

Hello

 

Did you have a concept of the ring?

It would be easier for us to point you in the right direction.

Edited December 3, 2014 by Malo

[HonestAustin]

Hello

 

Did you have a concept of the ring?

It would be easier for us to point you in the right direction.

 

 

Yes Sir.

 

Attached is the concept I am looking at doing. Not that exact ring.. But a cross between that one and another one. :-)

 

Thank you!

[Malo]

I would start with a cylinder and cut out the basic shape, smooth it a little bit and the basic should be done.

Not sure if it is necessary to smooth, because you want to polish it eather way, maybe only for bigger roundet stuff it would be helpfull.

 

Then i would create every part of the ring as single object.

The 12 little balls, the heart, the 2 flower or what that is and the frame for the heart.

And place it like you need on your ring.

 

I think, mostly you will need the Cutoff Tool, Pose Tool, and the Primitives Tool.

Should not be to hard as far as i think.

 

I would prefer to work in Voxel Mode and not Surface. Because Voxel are much easier to work with if you use Cutoff, Pose and maybe some calculation if you want to remove intersections between objects.

[HonestAustin]

I would start with a cylinder and cut out the basic shape, smooth it a little bit and the basic should be done.

Not sure if it is necessary to smooth, because you want to polish it eather way, maybe only for bigger roundet stuff it would be helpfull.

 

Then i would create every part of the ring as single object.

The 12 little balls, the heart, the 2 flower or what that is and the frame for the heart.

And place it like you need on your ring.

 

I think, mostly you will need the Cutoff Tool, Pose Tool, and the Primitives Tool.

Should not be to hard as far as i think.

 

I would prefer to work in Voxel Mode and not Surface. Because Voxel are much easier to work with if you use Cutoff, Pose and maybe some calculation if you want to remove intersections between objects.

 

 

I hear you. Now, I have kinda tricky question as I am not a expert at any of this. How would I measure the dimensions of the interior of the ring to make different ring sizes? since, I am pretty much 3D Printing a mold from this?

 

Thank you Malo!

[Malo]

There is a measure tool, where you could use for that. But i have never ever used it and not sure how it measures.

Maybe it would helps you to import "fingers"  for the dimension. A simple cylinder with the units you need should work.

Or you create it with a cylinder in 3d coat, but i have no ideas what are the dimensions in realworld.

[HonestAustin]

There is a measure tool, where you could use for that. But i have never ever used it and not sure how it measures.

Maybe it would helps you to import "fingers"  for the dimension. A simple cylinder with the units you need should work.

Or you create it with a cylinder in 3d coat, but i have no ideas what are the dimensions in realworld.

 

Know where I might get some different finger sized models for 3D Coat? :P [EDIT: Nevermind, Found some :P]

 

I tried the measure tool and it gives me the diff points. However, it doesn't tell me what it is "actually" measuring. if it's cm's, mm's, inches e.t.c. it's just like a 8 - 12 string of numbers lol [EDIT: Figured it out. You can change the measuring points and what it measures inside settings. Also, Paint has a nicer measuring tool]

 

 

EDIT:

New problem. How can I make a perfectly cut circle in the center of a cyclinder? I keep trying and it keeps coming out lopsided to one side

Edited December 5, 2014 by HonestAustin

[TimmyZDesign]

Hi Austin:

 

Here is a quick tutorial on how to "make a perfectly cut circle in the center of a cylinder."

 

Step 1: Choose Primitive Tool.

 

Step 2: Choose the Cylinder Primitive.

 

Step 3: Use the gizmos to size the cylinder preview into a ring shape and HIT ENTER on your keyboard to create the cylinder.

The actual cylinder will be created, but the preview cylinder will remain superimposed on top.

 

Step 4: The cylinder has been added to a layer in the VoxTree. Rename it to "1st Cylinder".

 

Step 5: Make sure to hit Enter on your keyboard (or click on "ok") to apply the new name.

 

Step 6: Create a new layer and rename it "Inner Cylinder". To create the new layer, click on the new layer icon in the lower left corner.

 

Step 7: Now resize the cylinder preview to be a smaller cylinder inside of the "1st Cylinder". When it is the correct size, hit enter on your keyboard to create the actual cylinder.

It will be placed on the layer that you named "Inner Cylinder". The 1st Cylinder will remain on the layer named "1st Cylinder" because that layer is no longer selected.

 

Step 8: Right-click on the layer named "Inner Cylinder" and choose "Subtract From" in the menu that appears. Then choose "1st Cylinder" when it appears.

 

Step 9: The "Inner Cylinder" will be subtracted from the "1st Cylinder" and a therefore a hole will be created in the middle of "1st Cylinder".

To see the results you need to remove the cylinder preview by getting out of the Primitive Tool and selecting any other tool. You can choose the Grow Tool for instance.

 

Step 10: This is what it looks like at the end. You can see that the hole is a perfect circle inside of the original cylinder.

 

Hint: If you accidentally moved the cylinder preview at some point and it is no longer centered perfectly, you can always reset it to the World Center (x=0 y=0 z=0) by pressing the "Refresh List" button in the Tool Options panel. (There is also a "Reset positions" button that does the same thing but only for the current primitive.) That way you can always center your "cutting objects" perfectly in the future.

 

There are also other ways of perfectly centering things. One option is to use the 2D grid and snap things to it. Here are tutorials on how to snap things to the 2D grid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxINVJVbDns

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AA-j5OyxxLk

 

Also, there are ways of centering things quite well when using the CutOff Tool. You can create a selection, first move it to your desired position, and finally commit to the cut at the end.

This is achieved by first creating your selection, but while doing that, hold down your left-click button (do not release to apply the cut), while holding it down, press and hold space bar on your keyboard. Now you can move your selection to the desired position. Finally, release your left-click button, and the cut will be applied. That way you will have greater control of where your cuts are made.

 

Edit: I made some edits to this for clarity.