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Lofting is one of the most useful
features in 3DStuidio MAX. You can
think of it as pulling one shape
along another shape. Extrusion, for
example, is just lofting in a
straight line. Observe.
Except with lofts you can pull the
shape along anything, not just a
straight line.
And you can do cool stuff to the
shape as it is pulled along the
path.
And you can have multiples shapes at
different levels on the path.
Here's
a quick example of how you can use
lofts and deformations to make a
flower vase that would be nearly
impossible to make by other means.
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Make a
simple loft with a hexagon (I
rounded it with edit spline; you
can do the same if you want)
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Then add a twist and a scale
deformation.
(see below how to do that)
Here is what the two
deformation curves look like:
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A
deformation graph is a graph of to
what percent or angle the shape is
deformed vs. percent distance along
the path. By manipulating these
graphs (essentially the same way you
edit splines) you can achieve a wide
variety of shapes.
Okay, this is broken up into three
sections:
a)
how to make a
loft object
b)
how to do
deformations (except fit,
because that requires a little
explanation that I don't quite have
time to give)
c) how to manipulate shapes
along the path.
HOW TO
MAKE A LOFT!
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First make two splines: a path
and a shape.
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Then go to the create tab, press
"geometry", and select "Loft
Objects" from that menu.
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Select the shape you want to be
the path
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Press the Loft button
Press the Get Shape button
Click on your shape
Presto: a loft!
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To
see it render in the perspective
viewport.
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HOW
TO DO DEFORMATIONS:
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First select your loft. Then
drag the window up, and click
the deformations button if
necessary.
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Pick a deformation, any old
deformation. I picked scale.
Press the scale button.
Now a graph will pop up that
looks something like what you
see to your right.
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To
add points to this curve, press
the add points button. If you
hold it down, you can choose
between a corner, bezier, and
bezier corner point.
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To
adjust the points and the
tangent handles, click on that
move-resembling button and move
them.
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HOW TO
MANIPULATE SHAPES ON A LOFT:
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Take a loft (hey, you can even
use the one from before, if you
are doing these in order <gasp>)
and select it.
Now drag the path spinner under
path parameters to some
significant number (like 50) or
just click in the field and type
it in. This adjusts what
percentage along that path your
new shape will be at.
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Make another spline. I'll do a
rectangle.
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Now select the loft again, press
the get shape button, and click
on the square.
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Look; the circle morphs into the
square as it goes along the
path. Lofts are awesome, aren't
they?
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Summary:
Questions, comments, and complaints
go to
mattei@bergen.org
AAST
200
Hackensack Ave.
Hackensack, NJ 07601
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