Box Modeling with Symmetry

Box Modeling with Symmetry

Since Bobbingforapples asked and I'm semi-watching LOST right now, I thought I'd take a stab at this.

The purpose of this tutorial is to introduce what are probably the two most important concepts in "subdiv" or "box" modeling today -- box modeling itself and symmetry.

  1. Select Modeling from the view menu (left-most toolbar icon).
  2. Create a cube. (Select Objects > Polygon > Box.)
  3. Set the cube's SectionsX property to 2. (We want to cut the cube in half.)
  4. Make the cube editable (Select Objects > Make Editable).
  5. Switch to "face" mode. (Face mode is the third of the red cube icons, with red faces and gray edges and vertices.)
  6. Switch to the "area select" tool (Selection > Area Select).
  7. Switch to "front" view. (Select Front from the view menu in the grey bar above your 3d view.)
  8. Drag select the left side of the cube. Delete.
  9. Switch to "camera" view. (Select Camera from the view menu.)
  10. Option-drag in the 3d view to pivot rotate your view around the half cube to see your handiwork.
  11. Select the Symmetry modifier from the Modifier toolbar item (the green sphere in a box icon in the toolbar).
  12. In the Object Browser, drag the Symmetry modifier into your "Box" (the half cube).
  13. Hmm. Somehow we're back where we started from! Again, option-drag in the view to look at your handiwork. Yes, you've remade the cube -- but with a difference!
  14. In the Object Browser, click on your Box and then select Face mode. Note that only half of the cube "lights up" with visible edges; this is the base mesh; the rest is being created dynamically by the symmetry modifier. Option-drag to rotate your view until the editable half is more or less on the near side.
  15. Still in face mode, click on the transform tool (three axes with colored arrows).
  16. Now set the transform tool to tweak mode (check the box in the tools panel). In tweak mode you can select vertices, edges, or faces, as you please. You should try manipulating the faces using tweak mode to see how symmetry works. Use undo to get your cube back.
  17. Now, we could be doing this based on scanned photos, but we're just going to make this up as we go along. You need to imagine a crude airplane around the cube. Imagine the cube is the fuselage of a biplane just where the pilot sits ... what would we need to do to turn that cube into the plane?
  18. Let's make a wing. Select Tools > Polygon > Ring Cut. You want to cut (click on) a vertical edge about 3/4 of the way down. (If you screw up, just undo.) See how it neatly cuts your cube into two unequal parts.
  19. Now, select the transform tool, and then click on the lower part of the outer face of the cube.
  20. Right-click and select Extrude.
  21. Click and drag on one of the arrows to create a wing. (Again, if you screw up, undo is your friend.)
  22. Now, select transform again. Click on a "front" face (careful not to drag) and then shift-click to select the other "front" face. (If necessary, rotate the view so you can see the front faces.)
  23. Rather than extrude (to create the nose) we're going to use Cover. Cover creates the extruded face and the new sides joining it, but (a) leaves your current tool selected, and (b) it doesn't mess up and create inside faces on a symmetric model. So right-click and select Cover, then move the selected faces with the blue arrow.
  24. Now spin the model around so you can see the back faces, and use Cover to pull out fuselage from the back faces to about the size of the original cube.
  25. Repeat the above, but go twice as far. This will be the tail section.
  26. Using the transform tool in tweak mode, select the top edge of the rear faces and move it down slightly. Then select the middle and bottom edges of the rear faces and pull them up until the middle edge is roughly in the middle. Finally select the two outer edges and drag them in to taste.
  27. By now, your plane should be taking shape.
OK, LOST is almost over :) More later.
 

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Video Tutorial: Box Modeling with Symmetry

Owing to the limitations of the forums (which limit you to five pictures and don't let you place them exactly where you'd like) I've opted to attempt a video tutorial.

You can find the video here (~44MB):

http://loewald.com/tutorials/c3d_box_modeling_tutorial.mp4

Or watch it online here:

http://loewald.com/tutorials/c3d_box_modeling.html

Sorry about my voice; I'm suffering horribly from allergies right now. I'm told that it only lasts until October around here...
 
Last edited:
Downloaded last night - will have a go at it at some point today (hopefully I'll get my work done early!) Nice to see some more tutorial appearing!
 
Hi Podperson,

nice job you did! Cool! :icon_thumbup:

I like this kind of tutorials.
But if you turn around the object in the views, please not that fast - I could imagine beginner could have their problems with it. :tongue:

And if you like to do some more, perhaps with some scripts like haar or loft etc. :wink:

But as I said before, really nice tutorial!

Best regards
Wolfgang
 
Hi,
Sorry if this tutorial was done a while ago, but I started with C3d a day ago, and this tutorial really helped to get me started with the basics. Nice, clear-cut and simple.

Thanks.
 
Very Well Done

I was able to do from memory after walking through once. Great Job and Thanks. I am having the hardest time with UV tincturing. I am familiar with the process with wings and Strata, which is why I am having a hard time here, old baggage I think. I can do simple boxes but how would I do a complex model like the plane used in this tutorial. Maybe a part II of this tutorial would be a walk through on UV tincturing this model.

Thanks

Craig
 
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