How to make a thin tentacle ?

How to make a thin tentacle ?

I want to make a simple, long and thin "droid like" tentacle. I tried with the sweep tool, but it doesn't let me choose the start size and the end size. The tentacle must be thick at one end (beginning) and very thin at the other end. How can I make an object like that in Cheetah3D ?
 
Hi there,

You should use the Taper tool - it will shrink the tentacle at one end, and does a nice job of it too. Find it in the Modifier section, and drop it onto the object you wish to constrain. Screenshot:
 
Hi,
you can also use the polygon tools. I would use the "Cover" tool in combination with the transform tool. When you are done with the rough shape you can apply a subdivision step.

By,
Martin
 

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uiiiiiih Martin, this is a tentacle.
I would have rated this til I saw your excellent solution:

Hi Kali and Randy
If polycount counts use cone instead of sweep, reduce it´s radius, set sections height up to 10 or so and stretch it vertical. Then use one or two tapermodifiers. Voilá. (just 660 polys)

So forget this :roll:

frank
 
Martin said:
Hi,
you can also use the polygon tools. I would use the "Cover" tool in combination with the transform tool. When you are done with the rough shape you can apply a subdivision step.

By,
Martin

Thanks for that trick. I'll try it this weekend. I still have so much to learn about 3D modeling, sometimes I find it depressing.

By the way, how do you make those numbered pictures ? The numbers are pretty, and it's so clean. I need to do something like this too.
 
Kali said:
By the way, how do you make those numbered pictures ? The numbers are pretty, and it's so clean. I need to do something like this too.

Hi,
that are just four screenshots which have been copied together with Photoshop. The numbers were also added by Photoshop.

By,
Martin
 
I'm putting some constraints on my tentacle. It's not supposed to be very organic like, but "mechanical" in some SF way. What I'm trying to do is a long thin tube with a prefect circular cross-section. But that circular section should follow a curved path in space and decrease its radius gently from start to 0 at the end, like a long deformed cone. How can I do that ?

The sweep operation should be perfect here, but it doesn't let me select the start and end radius.
 
Tentacolum 1.1

Hi Kali.
if you like this, try it. Forgot sweep, even for its entertainment factor.
Begin with a cone: sections longitudal 20 or more/ sections heigh 12 or more/ radius 0.1. Then stretch the thing for a desired proportion. Make editable. Choose edge mode.
In perspective sight choose loop second level. Go to above sight and move loop eastside a bit.
In perspective sight choose loop third level. Go to above sight and move loop northside a bit.
In perspective sight choose loop fourth level. Go to above sight and move loop westside a bit.
In perspective sight choose loop fifth level. Go to above sight and move loop southside a bit.
In perspective sight choose loop sixth level. Go to above sight and move loop eastside a bit.
And so on; except the heighest point. Throw in a catmull.

with kindest regards

frank
 

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frank,

thanks a lot for the trick. It works great, except that if I stretch the cone a bit too much, the cross section isn't circular anymore. On your picture, the cross section looks very circular. This is the constraint I'm trying to respect, for any curved path.
 
Hi Kali.
I couldn´t agree to that. Stretching the cone will have no effects to the level rings/circles.
If we talk in architectual manner: the floors are circles, but the staircases eliptical. I don´t think the sweeptool would be very helpful here, because the floors go parallel to vertical height and so every change of direction other than pure y-axis will cause again eliptical "staircases".
I hope it´s now fine for you. :roll:


with kindest regards.
frank
 

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Frank,

yes, your are right, but it wasn't what I was talking about. "cross section" means the figure you obtain by cutting the shape perpendicularly to the path, on the FINAL shape. On your "horn", the cross section (perpendicular to the path) is an ellipse, not a circle. Of course, it is for the initial cone.

I'm convinced the sweep tool should be the natural way to do this.

I wanted to make a curved shape with a circular cross section everywhere.
 
Hi Kali,
some good news for you. Cheetah3D 2.4 will offer a "scale" property which scales the profile along the path. So you can create the tentacle with the perfect circle you described.

By,
Martin
 

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