In this lesson of 3D modeling, we learned a few new tools/techniques, the main one being the duplicate special.
Bevel Edge
The first demo was about how to patch a hole and bevel, both useful skills which seemed to have been skipped over by accident. I will be relaying the demo as if giving instructions because I did all of the steps pretty much exactly since I was following the teacher, the demo was simple and there wasn’t any confusion or misunderstanding.
Generate a cube and go into the attribute editor. Scroll until you find ‘polycube1’ or whatever it would be called for that particular shape, where all of the main attributes are. There, you can add more subdivisions (they make extra lines) and give the shape more dexterity, although this should only be done before any extruding and stretching. If you add them in after manipulating the shape, it will deform.
Now select the middle faces of the cube and delete them to make the hole. To fix it, you simply go into edge mode, select all of the edges around the hole, go to ‘mesh’ at the top and click the ‘fill hole’ option. The gap is then filled up although it is missing subdivisions.
To make the geometry line up again, you need to go back to the modeling tool kit and use the multi-cut tool to add the edges back in, by clicking from one point to another point and divide the space up. Make sure to quit the tool by pressing ‘Q’ after the edge flow of the shape is fully recreated.
Now to bevel, select all of the top edges of the cube and hold shift and the right mouse key. A different set of options will appear than the usual quick select panel, and the one that we’re after is ‘bevel edge’. Once this is chosen, the part of the cube where the edges were selected, in this case, the top, is cut off slightly or indented.
It won’t be smooth yet, however, and to actually achieve the bevel, more segments need to be added, which is done in the small window that pops up once bevel edge is applied. Adding more segments achieves a curve and changing the depth turns the bevel inside out.
Combine vs Merge
In order to do the first duplicate special task, we first had to learn how to combine and merge shapes and which one is appropriate for different situations. To start off, we were shown examples and asked how a person might tell the difference between a combined/merged shape. Since nobody could spot any discernable difference, the solution was revealed to be applying a smooth mesh preview.
Combined shape + SMP = Both shapes rounded
Merged shape + SMP = One rounded shape (clearly joined up
This is because shapes that have been combined share one mesh but their geometry isn’t altered, so they act separately, whereas fully merging them means that they become one shape.
It was now time to practice this and learn how to do this. We first created a cube, scaled it up and added subdivisions using the first demo of the lesson (3 x 3 x 3). We then generated a second cube that we lifted above the first one and didn’t scale up as much so it remained smaller. After deleting the top middle face of the big cube and the bottom face of the smaller cube, I was starting to guess which direction this was going in. I thought that we would probably be fitting the smaller cube into the bigger one, and using a particular option, merge them together.
This was correct, as soon after, we moved the smaller cube in the hole and scaled it until it almost touched the edges. There was a specific reason why this gap was left, which would play into the merging aspect of the process.
Combining turned out to be incredibly simple, we simply selected both shapes, went to ‘mesh’ and clicked ‘combine’ and now I was able to move them together, as one shape. They weren’t merged yet though, and I could tell because when putting on SMP, both shapes were smoothed separately.
In order to actually merge them, we entered the tool kit and clicked ‘target weld’, causing verts to appear all around the shape. This next part was a little finicky, and I found that I had perhaps scaled the smaller cube slightly too much since I had to zoom in a great deal. I still managed to select a bottom corner and connect it to the corresponding top vert of the larger cube. I noticed that this stretched the first vert to the second one, melding them together like the tool’s name suggested.
We did this all the way around so that the two cubes were knitted together at the edges of their holes. I checked that they were merged by selecting a vert in object mode and moving it about a little, and the entire corner moved as one. I also applied a smooth mesh and the difference from the previous time was quite clear.
Duplicate Special – Task 1
Now for the main skill of this lesson, to learn how to use the duplicate tool to speed up our modeling workflow. We created a step by flattening a cube until it was a long rectangular panel shape. We then duplicated this and moved the copy into position above the first one, slightly to the right. It was incredibly important and heavily instructed to us to not deselect, otherwise, the next part wouldn’t work.
With the duplicate still selected, we held shift and tapped the letter key ‘d’, and the miracle happened. The step on top was duplicated with each tap, the exact same shape in the same position as the first was in relation to the original, which created a stairway! I couldn’t believe how fast and easy it could be, and quite suddenly realised how much you could do with this one tool alone, and how much time it could save you when creating models of buildings or environments, or even creatures.
We repeated the same steps above, but this time rotated the copy slightly, and when it was duplicated, it rotated all the way around, creating a magnificent spiralling staircase. I was very impressed with how quickly something so beautiful could be achieved. I imagined how brilliant the future might be if we somehow managed to translate the building capabilities Maya has in real life, and shorten the time it takes to create something as complex as a structurally sound spiral stairway. I decided to play around with different shapes, and see what kind of things I could come up with along with mixing in the SMP tool – here are some of the models I made experimenting on the spot:
After having learned this, the task given to us was to create a picket fence, unsurprising as it is something with recurring identical shapes, perfect for the use of the duplicate technique we were just taught. What caught me by surprise, however, was that wasn’t in fact ‘duplicate special’, but rather an extension of what you could do with the basic duplication method in Maya. In another quick demo, before we began our task, we were shown how to use the more complicated ‘special’ tool.
First, creating the initial picket fence panel. In a similar manner to the step, we flattened a cube, but this time stretched it up, making a thin, standing, rectangular shape. Then, we inserted an edge loop in the middle, selected the top edge and dragged it upwards, making a point.
After this, it was time to apply duplicate special. We hopped into ‘edit’ (top left) and scrolled down to ‘duplicate special’, not clicking the option, but the little box next to it in order to make the options window for the tool appear. It was pointed out that there is an X, Y and Z box for translate, rotate and scale so that you could choose exactly where and how the copies would appear. The easiest way to do this is to look at the little icon at the bottom left of the grid to orient yourself and figure out which axis to duplicate in. In our case, this was Z, so we went to the translate Z box and inserted a number that would determine how far the copies would be, and added in how many copies we wanted. Finally, we ticked instance at the top, not copy, and clicked ‘apply’, making the duplicates appear along the grid. Editing the original in any way also edits all of the duplicates at the same time, making it handy in speeding up the process.
After creating as many of the panes that I felt was necessary, I flattened and extended a cube for the bottom base of the fence, duplicated this and scaled it down for a secondary panel, which I then moved upwards. I took care in making sure that they weren’t only positioned correctly in the front, but also the side; tumbling to the right, I moved both panels back slightly so that the panels passed directly through the middle of them. Finally, I quickly built the corner posts, which were simply a case of stretching up a cube and extruding for the top details.
Unfortunately, this is as far as I got with this task, because the most important step – the combining of all of the shapes – wasn’t working for me. Every time I attempted to select all of the shapes and click the ‘combine’ button, Maya entered a loading state which it would not get out of, and essentially crashed each time. I was really disappointed since I was looking forward to making a little fenced garden and adding colour, but I tried to duplicate and move the fence without combining it, and it wouldn’t work. It rotated each shape individually, as expected, which didn’t allow me to line a panel all the way around. I spent the last part of the lesson attempting to fix this, but nothing would work, and I missed my opportunity to add colour. If I get the time, I am going to try and model a picket fence again at home.
Duplicate Special – Rotation Workshop
We decided to explore how duplicate special can be used with another aspect of modeling in order to better grasp how it can be added in with different models and situations in Maya. As usual, the first step was to create a primitive, so we generated a cylinder and a flat pane on top (flattened cube). In edit pivot mode, we moved the pivot point of the pane to the centre of the cylinder so that when rotated, it spins around the cylinder instead of in the middle.
Afterwards, we opened the duplicate special box again and made sure that all of the translate box values were at ‘0’. This time, we went for four copies and put 90 in the X rotate box, since it appeared to be the one we wanted the copies to appear along. However, once we clicked apply, it went haywire and made duplicates pop up in all sorts of directions.
It turns out, if you think logically, that we would have to input a number in one of the Z-axis because that is the one we are rotating around. Once this was done, four blades appeared around the pivot point in the cylinder. In order to space them evenly, it would be 360 ÷ however many panes are needed, the answer to which is put in the Z box of rotate. Building a model in Maya of something functioning and that has a specific purpose is different to building make-believe objects using templates, such as a lightsaber. I think it helps to view the model as if you are actually building it in real life, because it’s incredibly similar to 3D; in the same way that the blades have to spin around something inside the engine, they have to spin around a point in Maya.
I was once again reminded that maths is everywhere, even in creative subjects and especially in 3D. I understand why some people find it hard to wrap their heads around. Thankfully, I don’t have too much trouble with getting into a 3D mindset and understand things like this pretty well once they are explained to me.
Before moving on to the last task, we were also shown how to model the panes in order to make them look like propeller blades, which was a massive clue on what we were going to be modeling next. We selected one of the panes and added the following subdivisions : 3 width, 8 height and 2 depth and clicked on the top two middle faces, dragging them up to make a rounded top. It wasn’t quite rounded yet however, so we added in more edge loops and pulled and adjusted the faces at the top to get a rounded edge. It didn’t need to be perfect since we would be applying SMP later on. Moving onwards, we actually got to touch upon some soft modelling for the very first time. We selected the top verts of the shape and clicked ‘B’ on our keyboards, which made a beautiful coloured gradient appear, highlighting the entire shape.
If we didn’t want the whole thing affected, we could hold ‘B’ and the mouse key, and drag so that the radius is altered to our liking. For now, we chose a range that was close to the bottom, bit didn’t affect the whole model. Then we rotated the entire thing to the right, and it curved the shape in an amazing way. It was so cool to see and it felt like advanced modeling, despite the fact that it was a simple thing to do.
The model was really coming together now. We selected the bottom verts instead of the top and scaled in before finally clicking ‘B’ again to exit soft select mode. Finally, we selected all of the outside edges, scaled them outwards from the top and side slightly, and applied SMP and voilà! We had created a propeller blade, and it looked awesome. This launched us into our final task for the day.
Duplicate Special – Task 2
As everyone had guessed by now, we were going to be modeling a propeller engine! Here was the reference that I grabbed from the board to use for my model. It wasn’t ideal that I could only see the front view, but I decided to go with my instincts and refer back to the image for inspiration, not using it to make an exact replica.
There’s not really much to talk about here since all of the skills I used to build it were previously learned in this lesson and already explained. To summarise, I used a cylinder as a base for the engine and extruded the front face in different ways for some variety in the nose. Every so often, I applied SMP to see what it would look like at the end, added any extra edge loops I felt were necessary, and of course, clicked ‘save’ if I was satisfied with where it was going. After adding on my blade, pre-built and ready, I moved the pivot point and used the duplicate special box to add two more along the cylinder 120 degrees apart, rotating them slightly more to the right and making tiny tweaks to fit my model. By selecting the faces and extruding, I could add extra details, like metallic holes where the blades connect to the nose so that they weren’t just jutting out randomly from the metal. I also used extrusion for the indents on the main circular face and scaled one end of the cylinder slightly inwards to make the engine more curved (although now I wish I had scaled outwards instead since that would make more sense). Once again, I regret not leaving enough time for colour, and I only managed to make the blade tips yellow, which took a while since I had to select all of the faces at the top because the shift, right-click method wasn’t working very well. Here are the screenshots:
At the end of the lesson, I stepped back for a second and took a proper look at my model. I was, and still am really proud of myself for creating something like that without an orthographic directly in Maya! I think it looks super cool, even though it probably wouldn’t even fit properly because of the angle of the cylinder, but I love how the blades turned out and the details around the nose part. It was definitely faster using duplicate special and I can’t imagine what I would have done if I had to didn’t have it, or copy and paste, and I had to model the blades identically every single time. It helps makes things faster and also more professional and realistic. My favourite part of the lesson, however, was learning about shift + tap ‘D’, because it inspired me greatly about the sorts of things it could be used for. I was left thinking about fantasy worlds, structures and natural details that would benefit from such a tool, and it makes 3D more exciting for me.