AeaeA
07-02-2009, 05:40 AM
OK so i just joined, and have to say am wholly impressed by this site, so i thought i would share this technique i found when modelling cars from blueprints, and altho i have never seen it done like this , i suspect that a few people are already using it, so here goes.
step 1 find and download blueprint of choice
Step 2 edit it in photoshop or similar graphics programme
step 3 (and heres the bit that will knock a lot of work off the whole process)get a raster to Vector conversion program and load the seperate images into this program, i used Magic tracer, altho its not free the demo allows 20 unrestricted uses each session lasting 12 hours, once you have converted the raster image to a vector one save it out as a DXF file.
Step 4 import the DXF Files into 3DS Max and hey presto you have the blueprint as a spline object which can be edited as a spline or converted to NURBS, all that tracing is now done and a lot more acurately than can be done with the eye, it took me about 2 mins to complete the process and now i have the front side and top splines.
now i am not saying that there isnt anywork left to do and you will by some miracle have a shiny new lamborghini Reventon on your screen ready to render, but what this will allow is a more accurate spline representation, and it also means that the actual body panels can be surfaced as Body panels would be, from 4 nurbs curves, as i said i have just come across this technique and i have to see what the drawbacks are, and i will update this post as i discover the benefits and pitfalls of using this, hope it works for some of you.
Michael
step 1 find and download blueprint of choice
Step 2 edit it in photoshop or similar graphics programme
step 3 (and heres the bit that will knock a lot of work off the whole process)get a raster to Vector conversion program and load the seperate images into this program, i used Magic tracer, altho its not free the demo allows 20 unrestricted uses each session lasting 12 hours, once you have converted the raster image to a vector one save it out as a DXF file.
Step 4 import the DXF Files into 3DS Max and hey presto you have the blueprint as a spline object which can be edited as a spline or converted to NURBS, all that tracing is now done and a lot more acurately than can be done with the eye, it took me about 2 mins to complete the process and now i have the front side and top splines.
now i am not saying that there isnt anywork left to do and you will by some miracle have a shiny new lamborghini Reventon on your screen ready to render, but what this will allow is a more accurate spline representation, and it also means that the actual body panels can be surfaced as Body panels would be, from 4 nurbs curves, as i said i have just come across this technique and i have to see what the drawbacks are, and i will update this post as i discover the benefits and pitfalls of using this, hope it works for some of you.
Michael