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We get a
lot of messages from developers who wish to branch out beyond 2D texture swapping and move into creating their own 3D models. Most of
this correspondence centers around the frustration felt when
first opening a 3D application and facing the daunting learning
curve that is necessary to make the jump from 2D to 3D. Although
it would be impossible to give you a full lesson in 3D modeling,
I can attempt to demystify some of the basic principles involved
and maybe dispel some of that initial fear.
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* For those
of you "meshers" out there that are already experienced
3D model builders, you will find this stuff pretty basic, but we would
love your input if you see any areas I should elaborate on, or have
missed entirely. It is also worth noting that we are using 3D Studio Max to illustrate these initial principles of 3D design, you will find other application unique, but not completely dissimilar. |
An Introduction
to 3D Modeling - Don't Panic!
Okay,
before we start I would like to get out into the open a dirty
little secret about 3D modeling. It is my opinion that although
3D applications, like 3D Max and Maya are powerful tools,
they have made no real attempt to make their applications
intuitive or easy to use. These are complex tools that have
been built on simpler, earlier incarnations and their evolution
has added depth to appeal to a wide range of power users,
from the gaming to the entertainment industries. These applications
can do amazing things and even veteran users of these programs
find themselves discovering new depths and shortcuts to getting
their work done. If you have experience using Photoshop you
know what it is like to have used the program for years and
be introduced to a new trick that would have probably saved
you weeks of your life if you had just known it years ago.
Although
I know that the designers of these programs are doing their
best to create these deep applications, I have to wonder if
they actually use them on a daily basis. As an example, to
import a Bitmap image into 3D Max to use as a texture to apply
to a mesh, I have to click a button that has no label or icon
on it. The only conclusion I can come to is that whoever decided
to design a button with no label on it (to do something as
important as importing a texture) must secretly hate me.
Still, in their defense, all good things take work to understand,
and one of the realities of modeling in 3D is that you have
to learn the obscure language used by the software engineers
responsible for creating these applications. |
Viewports - The
windows into the 3D world
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The
Basics:
Most 3D software gives you the default option of viewing your models from various
viewpoints at the same time. In the case of 3D Studio Max, this
means you will see the front, top, left, and perspective views of
your modeling environment as soon as you open the application. In
Max, these are called "Viewports". |
![](http://www.imvu.com/catalog/web_images/adventures_in/3D_Modeling/images/axis.jpg) |
Axis
In the 2D world of programs like Photoshop, we are dealing with the
two dimensions of Up and Down (Z), and Side-to-Side (X)... but in
3D we have a third dimension to work with, the "Y" axis,
Back-to-Front. This is frequently represented by a graphic like the
one depicted here, indicating each of these directions, depending
on the view you are currently working within. |
"The
Gizmo"
To make the act of manipulating your mesh in this 3D space easier,
both Max and Maya give you a device to help you grab your object and
move it along any of these three axis'. In Max this is called a "Gizmo"
(please don't ask my why that call it that). This consists of three
oversized "Handles" that always point along the three axis'
x, y & z. |
![](http://www.imvu.com/catalog/web_images/adventures_in/3D_Modeling/images/gizmo.jpg) |
![](http://static.imvu.com/imvufiles/DevTutorial/Mesh/Mesh_BasicShapes.jpg) |
"The Create Tab"
All new projects begin somewhere, and in the case of 3D applications like 3DS Max you start at the Create Tab. A sub Tab under the Create Tab is the Geometry Tab, which allows you to access primitive shapes that will become the foundation of your new model. These are the initial building blocks that you can distort, extrude, bend, and manipulate into whatever object you desire. Here you will be able to create a Box, Sphere, Cylinder, Cone, Tube, and Plane. You can also create a variety of more complex shapes like a Torus, GeoSphere, Pyramid, and the Max signature... Teapot.
As you create your initial shape, you will be able to adjust the Parameters of the shape. In the example below, the Box has been set to include multiple segments at its Length, Width, and Height. This adds complexity to your basic shape, but it also gives you more Verts to work with as you continue. |
The Parameters window is especially useful when determining the number of sides to a Cylinder, the amount of facets on a Sphere, and the number of sections in something like a vertical post. Be sure to play with these settings to see what you can come up with. |
![](http://static.imvu.com/imvufiles/DevTutorial/Mesh/Mesh_Parameters.jpg) |
![](http://www.imvu.com/catalog/web_images/adventures_in/3D_Modeling/images/vertex.jpg) |
Vertex
Versus Polygon
While
there are many elements to the creation of a 3D mesh, for your work
in IMVU you will work mostly with both vertices and polygons. You
can think of your mesh like a wire cage. At each point where one "wire"
interacts with another wire is a dot/handle that can be manipulated,
this is called a Vertex. |
The
surface we customarily think of as the skin of our mesh is called
a Polygon. Technically, when we are working with a mesh, the
vertex points dictate the location, relationship, and properties of
that surface, so when you move a vertex point, you move one edge of
a poly. Polygons are three sided and when limited in number they can
make your model look faceted. Typically, the fewer polys in your model
the more angular your model will appear, so, more ploys mean a smoother
surface. This is why hardware developers are constantly pushing the
power of their technology to render as many polygons as possible.
More polys = More Realistic. |
Although the area depicted here is a square, each
square is invisibly divided in half, to create a 3-sided surface
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![](http://www.imvu.com/catalog/web_images/adventures_in/3D_Modeling/images/modifiers.jpg) |
Modifiers
Modifiers are tools you can use to help you manipulate the verts and
polys in your model. Like the Filters in Photoshop, Modifiers are
applied to your model, and are too numerous and varied to fully list
here, but it is highly recommended that you play and experiment. You
never know when you might get just the effect you are looking for
by simply manipulating your mesh with an applied modifier. Modifiers
include such tools as Taper, Squeeze, Lathe, Mesh Smooth, and many,
many more, including Material Mapping tools, which we will talk about
later.
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Smoothing
Groups
One handy tool that many 3D applications include is the ability to
add a "Smoothing Group" to an object. This is usually applied
to a model's surface and gives the illusion that the surface is smoother
then it actually is. This is handy when building low poly objects,
since it can give the effect that there is more surface detail then
there actually is. In the case of IMVU, there can only be one smoothing
group number applied to any one model. Smoothing applied to a faceted
surface can be very effective, but because it does not actually smooth
the geometry itself, your model will still retain a faceted edge.
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![](http://www.imvu.com/catalog/web_images/adventures_in/3D_Modeling/images/materials.jpg) |
Materials
- Putting Textures on the Surface of Your Mesh
Once you have created your mesh, you are ready to apply textures to
its surface. 3D Max calls these textures "Materials", which
suggests not merely textures, but a texture and all its additionally
applied attributes. One way to think of applying materials to a model
is to imagine you are applying wallpaper, or contact paper, to the
surface of your mesh. Materials are Bitmap or JPG images that are
created in a 2D program then imported into your 3D application. Depending
on the depth of detail in that 2D image, you can make up for a lot
of limits in your mesh with a more complex, or higher resolution material
applied to it.
Materials can
also contain additional information, such as alpha, bump or even
reflective and illumination maps that give your texture even more
detail and surface characteristics. At the moment IMVU only supports
alpha maps, which we will discuss further in an upcoming section.
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SIDE
NOTE: Remember that button I told
you about earlier... the one without a label? The one that you use
to import bitmaps? Well, there it is. Did I mention how much I hate
that button? |
![](http://www.imvu.com/catalog/web_images/adventures_in/3D_Modeling/images/nolabelbutton.jpg) |
Mapping
Your Mesh
The act of applying a material to a model is called Mapping. There
are a variety of ways to Map a material to your model's surface, and
a wide array of additional tools to help you manipulate it once it
is there. There are some mapping tools you will use more often then
others. The short list includes: |
![](http://www.imvu.com/catalog/web_images/adventures_in/3D_Modeling/images/map_planar.jpg) |
Planar
Projects the map from a single plane flat against the object, somewhat
like projecting a slide. Planar
projection is useful when only one side of an object needs to be mapped.
It is also useful for obliquely mapping multiple sides, and for mapping
two sides of a symmetrical object. |
![](http://www.imvu.com/catalog/web_images/adventures_in/3D_Modeling/images/map_cylinder.jpg) |
Cylindrical
Projects the map from a cylinder, wrapping it around an object. Seams
where the edges of the bitmap meet are visible unless a seamless map
is used. Cylindrical projection is useful for objects that are roughly
cylindrical in shape. |
![](http://www.imvu.com/catalog/web_images/adventures_in/3D_Modeling/images/map_sphere.jpg) |
Spherical
Surrounds the object by projecting the map from a sphere. You see
a seam and mapping singularities at the top and bottom of the sphere
where the bitmap edges meet at the sphere's poles. Spherical mapping
is useful for objects that are roughly spherical in shape. |
![](http://www.imvu.com/catalog/web_images/adventures_in/3D_Modeling/images/map_box.jpg) |
Box
Projects the map from the six sides of a box. Each side projects as
a planar map, and the effect on the surface depends on the surface
normal. Each face is mapped from the closest box surface whose normal
most closely parallels its own normal.
* Mapping images and descriptions supplied by 3D Max
User Reference Datebase. |
UVW
Map & Unwrap UVW Modifiers
For your work creating materials for your IMVU products in 3D Max,
you will most likely be using two modifiers to help you apply textures
to your meshes. These include UVW Map, and Unwrap UVW. |
UVW
Map is the tool that allows you to decided which method you would
like to use to apply materials to your mesh (see above list). |
![](http://www.imvu.com/catalog/web_images/adventures_in/3D_Modeling/images/UVmap.jpg) |
![](http://www.imvu.com/catalog/web_images/adventures_in/3D_Modeling/images/UVunwrap.jpg) |
Unwrap
UVW allows you to fine tune how your material is applied to any
one, or group of polys within your mesh. |
Multi-Sub
Materials
Just when your brain was experiencing the dull ache of comprehension,
we have one more abstract concept to throw at you, and that is Multi-Sub
Materials. IMVU insists that if you are planning on applying multiple
textures to a single Mesh, that you only apply them as a Multi-Sub
Material. Simply put, a Multi-Sub Material is a single material that
is made up of a collection of textures and their attributes. Each
mesh you create can have many textures, but only one Sub-Material
attributed to it. |
![](http://www.imvu.com/catalog/web_images/adventures_in/3D_Modeling/images/submaterial.jpg) |
![](http://www.imvu.com/catalog/web_images/adventures_in/3D_Modeling/images/submaterial_menu.jpg)
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To create a
Sub-Material in Max, select a material preview sphere in the Materials
Editor Window, then click the Standard button to change the
material type. In the pop-up window choose Sub-Material.
You should see your materials window transform into something like
this:
Now you can
start adding textures to your Sub-Materials list by clicking on
the Add button. Each new material will appear in your list, and
will be given a unique Material ID Number. This ID number will be
used later, under the UV Map Modifier, to help you apply that specific
Sub-Material to your mesh.
NOTE:
Currently, IMVU requires a very specific naming and numbering
convention for the materials you apply to your models, so I encourage
you to read over the Mapping Materials Tutorial before
jumping into texture application for your meshes.
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Alpha
Maps
Another technique you have in your IMVU bag of tricks is the use of
Alpha Maps, or Opacity Maps. These are additional black & white
bitmaps that you apply to a texture to create a "cutout"
effect. Opacity maps can also be used to create translucent materials.
An Alpha or Opacity Map works like a frame, solid White becomes opaque,
Black is transparent, and shades of Gray are various levels of translucency.
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![](http://www.imvu.com/catalog/web_images/adventures_in/3D_Modeling/images/alphamap02.jpg) |
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Example of a texture and its accompanying opacity map. |
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Skinning
and Weighting Your Mesh
Although first-time meshers won't necessarily run into the concept
of "Skinning" or Weighting your models, it is one of the necessary steps
to getting your completed mesh into the Create Mode Editor , and eventually
into the catalog.
Thinking
of your Mesh as an Avatar
In the creation of IMVU, its designers chose to apply the metaphors
used in the building of avatars to the building of just about everything
else. So
the surface of your mesh, whether it is an avatar asset,
a room, or an article of clothing, is referred to as a "Skin"
and many of the nodes as "Bones". The process of skinning
a mesh is done once your model is completed, textured and ready to
be exported to the Create Mode Editor. Any additional changes you make to your
mesh will necessitate it to be re-Skinned and re-Exported for everything
to work properly. |
![](http://www.imvu.com/catalog/web_images/adventures_in/3D_Modeling/images/skinning.jpg) |
The exact steps
for Skinning your mesh are covered in the Weighting a Mesh Tutorial, but in a nutshell, Skins are applied to a mesh as
a Modifier, with several quick steps that will apply weighting information
to that mesh, making it ready to be exported. For static models
weighting is a necessary step but does not greatly influence your
models. Once you get into creating animated avatars (pretty advanced
stuff) you will lean more heavily on how your meshes are weighted.
Either way, it is all good stuff to know as you become more familiar
with your 3D tool set.
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Now Get Out There And Start Building Cool Stuff!
This may all seem like a head spinning jumble of things to figure
out, and you would be right. With anything worth knowing you have
to expect a little bit of a learning curve, but there is no reason
you can't start today with something small and work your way up to
more complex models later.
Anyone who has
taken the leap to 3D would tell you that it really takes a year
of use before you feel comfortable with using 3D tools, but the
effort is worth it. It has been our hope at IMVU that the tools
we use to create our virtual products are the standard tools the
computer game and film industry use every day. The knowledge you
learn here will be applicable to any 3D project you might attempt
in the future, in any situation. So, take the leap, and whether
you are learning in 3D Max, Maya, or some other 3D application,
you can feel more confident that you can build anything you can
imagine, and share your creation with the world! |
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