Modeling a T-junction

Modeling a T-junction

Just finished my first modeling tutorial. Because of the length and number of images, it's posted on my blog:

Cheetah Tutorial: Modeling a T-Junction

Not a glamorous subject. But I needed a T-junction for a larger scene and thought it might be a good project for beginning- to intermediate-level users, since it uses several tools and involves merging several meshes.

Comments and suggestions welcome!
 

This is a very detailed and well thought out tutorial.

I have a great appreciation of simple shapes like this,
and recreating them provides me great satisfaction.

I love it and I hope to see more. :icon_thumbup::icon_thumbup:

 
@smboerner: Very enjoyable and informative tutorial. Very nice job.
I have one question is there a reason to use mirror instead of symmetry? Thanks
 
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Thanks. I enjoy that as well. The craftsmanship that goes into items that we use every day can be amazing . . . and most of the time we don't even notice.
 
@smboerner: Very enjoyable and informative tutorial. Very nice job.
I have one question is there a reason to use mirror instead of symmetry? Thanks

Thanks. That's a good question. I guess using Mirror is just a personal preference. The Mirror–Optimize sequence is very efficient if you have shortcuts assigned to the two commands. And some of the tools, like Bridge, require a single mesh. But if you expand the object ("make editable") before those steps it wouldn't be a problem. I don't see why you couldn't use Symmetry instead.
 
:icon_thumbup: :icon_thumbup: :icon_thumbup:
Good in-depth detail.
Lots of pictures.
Very helpful techniques.
Orderly.
Covers a lot of different tools.
Thanks so much.

Blessings
Jeanny
 
Thanks. That's a good question. I guess using Mirror is just a personal preference. The Mirror–Optimize sequence is very efficient if you have shortcuts assigned to the two commands. And some of the tools, like Bridge, require a single mesh. But if you expand the object ("make editable") before those steps it wouldn't be a problem. I don't see why you couldn't use Symmetry instead.

Thanks I used mirror( you do mean the script right?) or is there a mirror tool now in Cheetah that I am missing? Anyway I used it for years until I found out the script was for rigging. So I started to use symmetry so I could keep remodeling the original mesh. But I see the point about one mesh.
 
Thanks I used mirror( you do mean the script right?) or is there a mirror tool now in Cheetah that I am missing? Anyway I used it for years until I found out the script was for rigging. So I started to use symmetry so I could keep remodeling the original mesh. But I see the point about one mesh.
It´s an extra tool with lots of options:

Cheers
Frank
 

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Thanks I used mirror( you do mean the script right?) or is there a mirror tool now in Cheetah that I am missing? Anyway I used it for years until I found out the script was for rigging. So I started to use symmetry so I could keep remodeling the original mesh. But I see the point about one mesh.

The Mirror Tool is quite old and overlooked, it's right above Insert Point.

Oops Frank beat me to it.
 
Great tutorial Steve. It had just the right amount of detail for my skill level. Even making the screw head was a revelation in how to model something so simply, including the tips on making quads. The mirror tool is really useful.

Here is my attempt...
 

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Much more than an attempt! Very nice work, and I second ZooHead's opinion on the rendering. Glad you found the tutorial to be useful!
 
Thanks Everyone

I didn't give much thought to the render; it came together nicely really quickly. It's the Cheetah renderer + entrance hall pano HDRI + camera light off. I fiddled with the SilverRoughBrushed material to remove the brushed effect and I think I reduced the reflectivity a bit (can't quite remember whether I undid that setting). The render took under 40 seconds.

Just upgraded my 2008 MacBook to a second hand mid 2010 MacBook Pro running Sierra on 4GB of memory, for $103.00 NZD. It came with a recently installed SSD, so was worth it just for the SSD alone. It really flies compared to the 2008 MacBook. I have 16 GB of memory on order from OWC, so I will be able to have more apps open and running at the same time.

Thanks again Steve. I'm going to do this tutorial again from scratch. There are some things that you obviously thought of ahead of time that I want to go over, e.g., the lateral thinking as to what shapes to start with, dividing the shapes into the right number of sections so when merged, they match up, and mitigating triangles. This is something I need to do more of until it becomes second nature.

Cheers

Chris
 

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That's a nice shader. Makes a convincing reflective metal surface.

I'm just getting to the point where I can plan several steps ahead while modeling. It just takes a lot of practice. And I still find myself backing up and restarting when I run into problems.

I learned much by watching others on this forum. Frank taught me (though he may not know it) to think carefully about where you start, and to consider beginning with unintuitive shapes like disks and tubes. And to count subdivisions. And many others here as well. There's so much to learn, and that's what makes it so much fun.
 
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