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Author Topic: Interesting structure , help needed :)  (Read 3505 times)

OB

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Interesting structure , help needed :)
« on: January 21, 2016, 09:31:55 PM »
Hello everyone !
I have this kind of structure i need to populate with triangles by a given formula. On a flat surface it is perfect , though i need it to be on this object on the inside part of it.
https://db.tt/mrpcG0vy
Please find attached scene to play with , and i really hope Paul will join us in this fun ! :)
I have forestpro as well , so i thought it might help here ? I am thinking also about texturing this and distribute objects with a texture , though this will be a bit more complicated than using RC !
File is max 14 , RC 2.5.0
Thanks in advance !

Paul Roberts

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Re: Interesting structure , help needed :)
« Reply #1 on: January 26, 2016, 12:23:40 PM »
Hi!

Apologies for the delay in replying to this post, I've been away for a few days. This is a tricky effect to achieve with RailClone alone, because Surface mode projects the geometry along a single axis so it's not ideal for lining the inside of a shape like this. However I think there may be a viable solution that uses RailClone to create the pattern and then the Skin Wrap modifier to conform it to the shape of the dome. 



Here's how it works:

1. Apply a UVW Unwrap modifier and unwrap the dome so that when it is laid flat you can overlay the RailClone geometry correctly. Ideally you'd want the polys in the unwrapped version to match as closely as possible to their proportions in the original model to minimise deformation in the RC object later. In this example I created the UVs automatically used Peel, but you can manually edit them you want for more control on how the RC pattern is overlaid onto the mesh.



2. We now need to be able to deforms the geometry between its original 3d shape and a flattened 2d version based on the UVWs created in the previous step. The easiest way to do this is to use the Slideknit script which automatically converts the XYZ space of an object to its UVW space and then adds a Morpher modifier so that you can animate between the flattened version and the original shape.



To use it, after unwrapping the dome, run the script and enter a UV scale value. This value is used to determine the dimensions of the UV space and affects the size of the flattened version of the object, I found the maximum value of 100cm too small for your scene so I've attached a revised version of the script with this limit increased. Run the script, enter a value of 800cm and click Unwrap selected. You' now have a new version of the dome with a Morpher modifier. If you increase the percentage for the first morph target you can smoothly move from the flattened version to the original shape.



3. Now we can create a RailClone object that matches the flattened version of the dome. Temporarily add an Edit Poly modifier to the flattened dome and create a spline from its boundary, deleting the Edit Poly modifier when you're finished. Use this spline as the clipping path for your RailClone object.




4. Turn off the RailClone object's Display > Render > Use Instancing Engine and change the display mode to Mesh to ensure we're outputting full geometry.
5. Add a Skin Wrap modifier to the RailClone object, Click Add and select the flattened dome to add it to the Control Objects list. Turn on weight all points.

6. Now if you select the flattened dome and increase the percentage influence for the first Morph target, the RailClone object should deform as well to follow the shape of the dome.


This technique should work for any situation where you need a RailClone object to conform to the UVWs of an object. The disadvantage of course is that instancing has been disabled but since each individual segment would have been different this probably would have been the case anyway. Please feel free to download a sample file with this setup, the deformation from flat RC object to dome is animated between frames 0 - 5.

I hope that helps but if you have any questions about this technique please let me know.

Many thanks!

Paul
Paul Roberts
iToo Software

OB

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Re: Interesting structure , help needed :)
« Reply #2 on: January 26, 2016, 12:43:42 PM »
That is just unbelievable , Paul !
Thanks a lot for this , that is indeed a PRO technique to use !

antmarch

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Re: Interesting structure , help needed :)
« Reply #3 on: January 26, 2016, 04:25:28 PM »
That's cool Paul, definitely a useful technique to be used there.!

Paul Roberts

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Re: Interesting structure , help needed :)
« Reply #4 on: January 26, 2016, 04:29:22 PM »
No problem, glad it's helpful  :)
Paul Roberts
iToo Software

lebonmarie

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Re: Interesting structure , help needed :)
« Reply #5 on: January 27, 2016, 03:07:39 PM »
Hi !
I tried to make a brick dome, with two lenght of bricks. I follow this exemple, but I've problems with my model. We can see a lot of holesl.
Can you explain me my mistakes.
Thanks
 :D

Paul Roberts

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Re: Interesting structure , help needed :)
« Reply #6 on: January 27, 2016, 04:06:11 PM »
Hi!

It looks to me like your geometry needs a few more edge loops so that it can deform to follow the curves of the dome. Adding some to the bricks should help out.



With a regular dome that has a consistent cross section I'd probably create it using two splines rather that the surface technique described above. It's a lot easier to create and edit.



I've attached a file for you to check to see if it can help you to achieve what you need.

Many thanks!

Paul
Paul Roberts
iToo Software

OB

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Re: Interesting structure , help needed :)
« Reply #7 on: January 27, 2016, 08:07:32 PM »
Paul , i am sorry but i cannot download file you've made - the max one... OneDrive seems to be bugged , can you please upload to something like sendspace ? Thanks a lot !

lebonmarie

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Re: Interesting structure , help needed :)
« Reply #8 on: January 28, 2016, 08:56:20 AM »
Thanks a lot :D

Paul Roberts

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Re: Interesting structure , help needed :)
« Reply #9 on: January 28, 2016, 09:22:52 AM »
Hi,

My apologies for that - here's a Sendspace link you can use instead - https://www.sendspace.com/file/4bdndm

Many thanks,

Paul
Paul Roberts
iToo Software

OB

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Re: Interesting structure , help needed :)
« Reply #10 on: January 28, 2016, 09:31:47 AM »
Thanks a lot , Paul !