- ALIGNED IMAGE PLANES
- ALPHA ONION SKINS
- MAYA CARD TRICKS
- MAPPING VERSUS MODELING
- INSERT HERE WHILE DRAWING CURVES
- EXPLICIT, R-RATED NURB TESSELLATION
- TESSELLATION VERSUS CVs
- LINEAR VERSUS CUBIC HEROICS
- CONSTRAIN THOSE UNRULY CURVES
- THE REVOLUTIONS WILL NOT BE TELEVISED
- BI-RAILING THE MISSING GLASS SLIPPER
- SLIPPER REBUILDING
- SHADY, UNDESIRABLE ELEMENTS IN MAYA
- RANDOMIZE THOSE CVs
- JUNKYARD DUMPING SIMULATION
- USE OF PHOTOSHOP AS A MODELING TOOL
- AUTOTRACING FOR FUN AND PROFIT
- PHOTOSHOP PATHS TO MAYA CURVES
- WRESTLING WITH DISPLACEMENT
- ANIMATE YOUR MODELING
- SET SUBTLETIES
- TRANSFORM TOOLS SHORTCUT
- INTERROGATING POINTS AS TO WHERE THEY LIVE
- FACE PROPOGATION VIA SHELL IN POLY SELECTION CONSTRAINTS
BI-RAILING THE MISSING GLASS SLIPPER
If you ever find yourself needing to model a glass slipper for a CG feature animation involving fairy tales (it HAS happened), there is no better way than using the wondrous Birail command. This example is intended to show how Birail can solve some particularly sticky topologies, such as a shoe, by effectively sweeping a changing profile across two guide rails. If you can conceptually break forms down into this scenario, it can work wonders. In this case, draw shoe profiles in the top and side views. Now extrude or loft the side profile curves so that there is a horizontal extrusion that passes over the top profiles. Project a top profile curve onto the extrusion using Edit NURBS, Project Curve on Surface tool. Now pick that Curve on Surface and copy it using Edit Curves, Duplicate Surface Curves. Do the same for the lower profile and attach the side profile curves to the newly created rails. Use Surfaces, Birail, Birail2 Tool to create one half of the shoe. Now use Edit, Duplicate with a negative 1 in the X Scale filed to mirror the other side, giving you a shoe fit for a princess.