uncurvy for the more mechanical

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sculptor
Posts: 736
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2009 1:52 am
Location: uk

uncurvy for the more mechanical

Post by sculptor »

i am not :lol:

but just to remind people that the new curvy inflate can produce
mechanical part shapes.

Image
Last edited by sculptor on Sat Mar 31, 2012 11:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
motleyjust
Posts: 28
Joined: Thu May 13, 2010 5:18 am
Location: Phoenix AZ

Post by motleyjust »

Really nice.
How about a tutorial on it?
A really simple steps tutorial, because I am just starting with Curvy 3D.
sculptor
Posts: 736
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2009 1:52 am
Location: uk

Post by sculptor »

curvy is a little bit like a pencil or a paintbrush :D but in 3d.
it has a very simple interface unlike most 3d programs :D
it took me some time to get away from the idea that you need to follow a precise set of instructions to create things.
The more you play with the tools, the more ideas you get.
I have been able to make almost anything i set my mind to with curvy 2.0.
As i discover different ways of working with this "pencil"
i usually pop some little tutorial up in this section and there are a few
dealing with inflate e.g.
viewtopic.php?t=2083
motleyjust
Posts: 28
Joined: Thu May 13, 2010 5:18 am
Location: Phoenix AZ

Post by motleyjust »

The reason I like tutorials is I don't know yet how these pencils work, and it is easier for me to understand by following steps than just reading what each tool is supposed to do. Especially when there are a lot of variables that influence it. :?

When I follow steps, I know what happens in that case and I can go on from there. :)
motleyjust
Posts: 28
Joined: Thu May 13, 2010 5:18 am
Location: Phoenix AZ

Post by motleyjust »

:idea: OK I think I just got the idea (at least for some cases).

Now I know how to make some gears I need--Of course, if I could find an easy way to made drawings of gears, it would be easier.

Any ideas about that?
sculptor
Posts: 736
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2009 1:52 am
Location: uk

Post by sculptor »

well there are lots of ways really.

i use an ancient version(8) of corel paint usually .
draw a white circle on a black background
draw a little triangle (or any other shape tooth) and copy and paste it round the circle)

if i use corel draw(8) it makes it a lot easier because it remembers the last movement and rotation using duplicate.

another way is to get a photograph or drawing of the internet and convert it to black and white.(but remember curvy needs 24 bit rgb for inflate so you will need to convert drawing back to 24rgb)

serif drawplus (and i am sure many other paint programs have a polygon tool to draw a star with as many points as you wish)

many cad drawing programs are designed to draw gears easily.

the higher the resolution of your drawing the more accurate it will be in curvy
(but the longer it will take to inflate and will use more memory)


here is a link to one method
http://www.techdrawingtools.com/2/l0201.htm

if you google drawing gears i am sure there will be plenty more ways

edit:
here is one drawn with serif photoplus adjustable selection tool
(about 20 seconds)
inflated with curvy(about 15 seconds)
Image
Last edited by sculptor on Sat Mar 31, 2012 11:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
sculptor
Posts: 736
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2009 1:52 am
Location: uk

Post by sculptor »

added an example of a really fast method of drawing gears
motleyjust
Posts: 28
Joined: Thu May 13, 2010 5:18 am
Location: Phoenix AZ

Post by motleyjust »

I found Inkscape is a free program with automatic (but limited options) gear making.

How can I reduce the thickness of the gear? It is about three times thicker than the diameter.

Also, is there a way to get rid of the ridges caused by the jagged edges?
sculptor
Posts: 736
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2009 1:52 am
Location: uk

Post by sculptor »

best to reduce the thickness in the inflate image dialogue (meshscale(z))
(i use 0.1 usually)

but it can be reduced after inflate using the scale tool with the keyboard z key

ridges can be smoothed with s key
or reduce the quad size in dialogue
or user higher resolution image(better image means better inflate)
or export to meshlab(and do some polygon reduction)
you'll need to try them to see which method suits you best.
its a balance of size and time
motleyjust
Posts: 28
Joined: Thu May 13, 2010 5:18 am
Location: Phoenix AZ

Post by motleyjust »

Thank you for the answers.

Reducing thickness worked by both of those methods.

The s keymakes ALL the edges smooth, therefore less gear like.
The quad size 2 or 3 seems to help, 1 makes Curvy crash

What is meshlab?



I'm using a black and white picture.
If "Relief-create height map using intensity" is checked it comes out looking like a gear.
If "Auto-Create 3D model from selected/white area of image" is checked it comes out looking like a fancy bead.
This is the opposite of what I would expect.
sculptor
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Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2009 1:52 am
Location: uk

Post by sculptor »

the auto create i assume trys to fill out a body(e.g. teddy bear)
so your results are what i would expect.

meshlab is a free to use utility
but be warned it is not too user friendly unless you are a computer science boffin

try searching the forum for meshlab tips
then google it
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