To be honest...this is one area that XSI needs to address. All too
often, we have to build something that's slightly mechanical or
engineered only to get our heart handed to us on a platter by some kid
with Maya or better yet....Max which has an amazing array of tools built
for this kind of stuff. Not trying to flame here but I can't help but
wish some of the R&D that has been put into XSI's incredible character
and animation tools would go into just a few more nice poly modeling
tools or precision based NURBS tools to create the occasional mechanical
model.
Kris
Joey Ponthieux wrote:
Andy,
NURBS would have been the best method for this type of object. You are
attempting to create what is called "complex curvature" in NURBS-speak.
If you were looking for the interior scoop to meet accurate
specifications, this example would be rather difficult to reproduce via
polys or even subDs. Not impossible, just would require immense effort.
This is a very rudimentary type of modeling procedure for Maya, and
it's even easier in Studio than in Maya. It could be done quite
accurately in most solids modeling apps but solids modelers are not
typically known for their ease of use at the interface. Morten's
solution was quite innovative but works well only if it doesn't matter
if the interior scoop is warped by deformation.
Admittedly I've barely touched NURBS in XSI in recent months so I used
this example as a refresher. I was completely unsuccessful at
replicating it via NURBS in XSI. I am surprised to see that XSI has an
intersection fillet feature, but lacks simple multi-surface intersection
to generate trim curves. I'm not sure what's up with that. I hope I am
missing something there. XSI's NURBS seems to be a real mixed bag,
possessing some very advanced features while lacking some of the most
simple features required to do effective NURBS modeling. I would hope
that the NURBS toolset improves in the future. I would certianly love to
relax my dependence on Maya for NURBS modeling, especially since I'm
finding it far more difficult to transfer NURBS from Maya to XSI than I
had hoped.
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