Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
SplineModeling Tips and Tricks
The major pitfalls of spline modeling can be
avoided by following these simple tips and
tricks.
•
Tip 1
: Use splines for their strengths,
not their weaknesses. It sounds obvious,
but you'd be surprised at how many people
don't get this. Splines work best as a visual-
ization tool, allowing you to establish the
overall form of your object quickly and eas-
ily. They do not work well for creating
intricate details, but I see people attempting
this all the time. They build spline cages
with an incredible amount of detail and
expect to simply patch it and be done. It
sounds great in theory, but it rarely works
out in practice. So rather than using splines
as a be-all and end-all, use them for what
they're good for — namely building the
overall form of your object. Then use the
other tools at your disposal to model in the
details.
•
Tip 2
: Build quad cages. It's best to
build your cage so that every region is
bounded by four splines. I call this a quad
cage. It consists of splines for the top, bot-
tom, left, and right for each area in your
cage, both large and small. Building a quad
cage is perhaps the most critical component
of spline modeling, and I'll be teaching you
more about it as we proceed.
•
Tip 3
: Use simple patches. One of the
most time-consuming aspects of spline
modeling is determining the proper Parallel
and Perpendicular patch settings. Figuring
this out is like some sort of twisted game.
You have to remember which spline you
selected first in order to establish how the
perpendicular and parallel patches are con-
structed. And then you have to ensure that
the patches line up properly to those around
them. It's a hassle, but here's a simple solu-
tion: Use the same patch settings for the
whole object. If you construct your splines
properly (by making sure your patched
areas are roughly the same size), you can
use the same patch settings for your whole
object. This can save you loads of time and
frustration down the line.
Keep these simple tricks in your back
pocket and they will make your spline mod-
eling job much easier.
Now that we've covered the basics,
we're ready to start modeling. Here's an
outline of what we'll be doing:
1. First we'll build the spline cage. I'm
going to show you how to construct a
cage with great flow using the tricks
outlined above. Once built, this cage
can be saved and used over and over
again to quickly knock out other head
models.
2. Next, we'll patch the splines, add a few
details, and learn how to reduce the
number of polygons to obtain an opti-
mal poly count.
3. Lastly, we'll construct the remaining
details using tools you're already famil-
iar with.
Fire up Modeler and let's get started!
