#Splines vs. Polys
7 messages in this thread
I know that splines are the 3D animation wave of the future. I'm convinced!
But the other thing that is making animation available to the masses (Martin
Hash's theme) is the availability of lots of ready-made textures, 3D clip art
etc., either freeware or commercial. The latter is where a spline-based model
has a major disadvantage – there are not enough spline modellers or models
around.
3D model capture is another thing. Scanners lend themselves to polygon models.
Spline models have to be carefully built and tweaked by hand (am I wrong?)
Just look at the activity over in the Autodesk forum, people are giving away,
swapping and modifying models from all over. (Yes, they are all
polygon-based.)
You guys really have to further address your interface with the polygon world.
DXF import is not enough. A DXF editor at the front end, with tools to aid
sensible conversion to spline, would be a good idea. The number of
spline-based models around would mushroom and even more people would want to
use your excellent software.
Richard / Has Inc.
I am a 3D Studio user but am very interested in spline modelling.
After the Spline Modeller fell through on 3DSr4 I went in search of a spline
Modeller, which has led me to here. Is your product modular ? Do you sell the
Modeller separate from the entire package. ( Don't think I could climb another
Full learning curve these days 🙂 )
Brendan G.
This is really one for Hash. I do know that the SCULPT module exports DXF for
use in other animation tools. ( The purists would probably be aghast at the
thought of converting good spline models to nasty polygons.)
Richard
Thanks Rich,
Anyword out there from HASH Inc. ?
Unfortunately, we don't sell the modeler separately…. you could buy
Playmation and only use the modeler though…. I converts very nicely to DXF
that 3DS can read and only costs $349.00…. hey, that's about the cost of a
good IPAS routine…
Steve, Hash Inc.
Steve,
Thanks for the info. And I definitely agree with your sentement
about
IPAS. gurmble, grumble, grumble. I will send away for more info on your
product line, sounds interesting.
B-
If,
You don't mind a comment from some one talking through his hat……
Patch or spline models don't need to be a slow painful process. I have
yet to actually start using AM, so I don't know but for the demo tape on how
this is done. There are some very powerful spline based NURBS programs that
allow things like T-Rex bodies in less than 30 minutes, using but a single
mesh, which if I read this forum right can be loaded into AM as .dxf which
means that almost any model what ever it's original sourse (?) which can be
converted ahould be available.
Aftere reading the manual a bit more it occured that almost any solid
shape can be "Scanned" into AM very simply. it only requires Video in and some
real world preporartion.
For instance you could use a ball, cast thin line shadows on its surface
using a cheese slicer or other such thing, save it as and .rgb or targa file,
bing into AM make the spline. Once you have this method in place you could move
your realworld model to any position you wanted and get a new "perfect" set of
spline lines in any axis. Al that is left would be the gluing of the splines
and any minor fine tuning.
Just a thought…:-)
lee