Software : Revit Architecture
Category : Reference Lines, ellipses,
Description : This tutorial covers how to use reference lines to constrain or drive radial shapes. In the past i have found this to be tricky when using Reference plane but with a reference line it is quite easy. I dont get to much into adding parameters but one could imagine using a length parameter to drive the length of the reference line as well as the ellipse.
Software : 3ds Max
Category : 3d Modeling, Wire Parameters, Expression Controllers
Description : This is a tutorial that i have tuned into a video from a PDF written by Theo Calvin and Omer Barr. Using wire parameters and expression controllers we will make a panel that opens and closes based on the distance of a point.
Modifier : Cap Holes
Works on: Meshes and Poly’s
3ds Max Description : The Cap Holes modifier builds faces in the holes in a mesh object. A hole is defined as a loop of edges, each of which has only one face. For example, one or more missing faces from a sphere would produce one or more holes. The modifier works best on reconstructing planar holes, but can do a reasonable job on non-planar holes as well.
Modifier : Affect Region
Works on: Meshes, Poly’s, and Patches
3ds Max Description : The Affect Region modifier is a surface modeling tool, primarily used with vertex sub-object selections while surface modeling. With Affect Region, transforming a selection of vertices can also transform vertices in the region that surrounds the selection. This can help you form a bubble or indentation in the surface of an object. The easiest way to see this modifier’s effect is with a shallow, flat box object with plenty of subdivisions. The Affect Region modifier has a two-part, arrow-shaped gizmo plus numeric controls.
Modifier : Bevel
Works on: Shapes (lines)
3ds Max Description : The Bevel modifier extrudes shapes into 3D objects and applies a flat or round bevel to the edges. A common use for this modifier is to create 3D text and logos, but you can apply it to any shape. Bevel takes a shape as the base of a 3D object. You then extrude the shape up to four levels and assign an outline amount for each level.
This is the fist personal project I post on this site. I’ve been really weary of doing this since this site really is not about personal promotion. But i figure if I’m showing all these techniques folks shoudl be able to see how they are applied. So i think my strategy for posting work on Design ReForm is going to be based on “How To” not so much about the project but how i did them. If anyone wants to know more about the project I’ll link back to my personal blog where i post my past works (not many these days since I’m out of school and work at SHoP - lots of NDAs)
So, I modeled this Shoe about 3 or 4 years ago for Tronic Studio (Motion graphics firm run by Columbia grad, they do amazing work, and they are good people) for a web commercial they were working on . The entire shoe was poly modeled in 3D Studio Max. It took me about a 8 weeks of off and on modeling. As much as i enjoyed this project this is something i don’t think i would like to do again. That might be partly because i had to learn Brazil to render it. I didn’t know it so i was at a bit of a lose. I had been focusing my rendering efforts on Vray and Mental Ray.
by:by Helmut Pottmann (Author), Andreas Asperl (Author), Michael Hofer (Author), Axel Kilian (Author), Daril Bentley (Editor)
Just wanted to give everyone a heads up on this book. Probably the most comprehensive book on architectural geometry i have ever seen. The authors are also speak to technology and it relevance to geometry. At the end of the book they get a bit into various methods of making from Rapid Prototyping to CNC technologies. They start to bridge the gap between the funky things made in the computer to how we bring them to life. Definitely worth checking out.
Here is a link to buy directly from Bentley, It’s a great deal if you are a student.
Software : 3d studio max
Category : 3d Modeling
Description : This Tutorial covers how to turn your mesh into Hexagon poly’s. This is a technique I learned from Toru Hasegawa while we were in school together at the GSAPP. You essentially triangulate a quad poly surface then collapse the triangles to have hexagons.
So…. I’m not getting very many comments on the tutorials and post i make. Please feel free to post comments and request for other topics or videos. I’m always looking for materials to cover. Just as a heads up to anyone visiting the site, the next series of videos will be short videos explaining almost all of the 3ds Max modifiers individually. I may go alphabetically, but I’ll probably do it in order of the modifiers i find most helpful (Shell!!!!). Anyways thanks for checking out the site.
Dave
This is a program i used quite a bit while i was in school. I threw some crazy .stl files and it always fixed them. It’s a bit pricey so i haven’t been able to get a copy at work but we’re working on it. Many of the rapid prototyping machines require “water tight” models. Even though i can clean my models up bunch by modeling cleanly there are times when you are going to need this program. if your spending $3000 on a model you don’t want to run the risk of it coming back all messed up. (i don’t get paid to say this stuff, just sharing a resources) If you can try to down the trial version and give if a shot. Magics can pretty much boolean anything you throw at it. When i download the demo I’ll make a video tutorial showing how to use the fix wizard.
Design ReForm is meant to be a source of information for the integration of design and technology. The ambition of Design Reform is to publish tutorials and explorations in parametric modeling with software such as 3ds Max, Revit, Maya, and Rhino.
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