In this tutorial we are going to explain how to make a transformation animation (morphing) between 2 shapes created with Spiros 3dsMax plugin.
At Spiros‘ trailer video, there’s an animation in wich a spiral shape morphs into a spherical helix that becomes the Earth globe (see the image above). That animation was made in 3dsMax with a little used technique: using the Morpher modifier to morph between splines.
This modifier is very powerful and it’s capable to make transformations not only between 3D meshes, but also between splines (and FFD lattices). The only restriction is the same as for meshes: splines must have the same number of vertices/knots.
Since Spiros let you set a specific number of knots for the shapes you create or modify, you can make any transformation between any shapes created with this plugin. Just make sure they have the same number of knots. Also consider to change the order of the knots in the spline (reverse it) if necessary, for getting a better result.
The better way to make this kind of morphing is to work on a single channel in the Morpher modifier. Just add all the shapes that will participate in the transformation to a single channel, then arrange the order of appearance and adjust the tension parameter to zero.
Try ity! There’s a lot of cool animations and effects you can do by morphing splines. Imagine you have many objects whose position or rotation depends on a path (path constrained) or they are wrapped to a spline (path deformed). If you animate (or morph) the spline, they will act in consequence. It’s an incredible tool for Motion Graphics animations.
That’s all for this tutorial. I hope you liked it and make great animations.
If you have any doubts or consultations you can leave a comment down here or write us through the Contact form.
In this tutorial we will learn how to model some ornaments in 3dsMax with Spiros, based on spirals and torus knot shapes, to make jewelry objects.
First, we’ll see how to create a bracelet with a triangular spiral shaped decoration. Secondly, we’ll learn how to make two different kind of pendants from torus knot shapes.
Before starting, let’s see which are the most common methods in 3dsmax to turn a spline curve into a volumetric mesh:
Make the spline renderable (Editable Spline properties)
Apply a Sweep modifier
Use Loft compound object
Use Path Deform modifier
Extrude Along Spline (tool from Editable Poly)
In this tutorial we use a different method for each of the three cases, but you can use the method that better fit your needs, or the one you are more comfortable with.
Making the bracelet
As you see in the image above, the bracelet’s triangular decoration was made starting with a simple spiral object created with Spiros.
Here’s the process:
1. In 3ds Max, open Spiros and create a spiral shape on the top viewport, with the size you like.
2. At the plugin’s UI, set the following values: Turns = 4.0; Knots = 13; Curve type:Line.
3. Now you will have a triangular spiral. Rotate it so that the triangle points upwards.
4. Edit the spline as shown in the image, to make all the sements perfectly parallel and delete the extra segment on the left.
5. Add a Sweep modifier. Use the built-in section called “Half Round” as the profile shape. This will turn the spline into a volumetric mesh.
6. Adjust the Sweep radius so that the mesh does not overlap itself, until it looks similar to the image.
7. Convert the mesh to Editable Poly to clean the geometry, remove undesired parts and add detail wherever you like.
8. Subdivide the mesh or add tesselation to increase the mesh resolution for applying later deformation.
9. Model the tube for the bracelet.
10. Place the triangular mesh on top of the tube and apply a Bend modifier to make the triangle conform to the tube’s surface.
11. Add any necessary details to finish the bracelet, apply materials and you are done!
Making the pendants
Celtic Knot
The first pendant, a celtic knot similar to a flower with 4 petals, was made the following way:
1. In 3ds Max, open Spiros and create a torus knot shape on the top viewport, with the size you like.
2. At the plugin’s UI, set the following values: Foils = 4; Variant = 2; Star/Ring = 6.
3. Scale down the shape in Z axis to make it flatter.
4. Create a rectangle shape to use as the profile section.
5. Apply an Extrude modifier and make a very tall box, with 100 segments for starting. (The advantage of this method over using the Box primitive, is that you can set the number of height segments to a very high value)
6. Apply a Path Deform (WSM) modifier to the box and pick the torus knot as its path. Press “Move to Path”.
7. Go down in the modifiers stack and adjust the Rectangle dimensions to give the knot mesh a reasonable thickness and proportions.
8. At the Extrude modifier parameters, adjust the Amount and Segments until the knot looks closed and with a nice mesh resolution.
9. Zoom in the part of the mesh where the start and end of the knot meet. You will need to make both ends of the mesh match perfectly. For that, go to the Path Deform modifier and adjust the Twist amount.
10. With 3dsMax snapshot tool, take a snapshot of the mesh. Then convert it to Editable Poly. Now you can delete or hide the old mesh and path. You will work with the new object now.
11. Weld the start and end of the mesh. Perform some cleaning if necessary and then model any extra details you desire to finish the pendant. Apply materials/textures and you are done!
5-Pointed Star
The making of the second pendant, a 5-pointed star (or pentagram), will be explained very briefly because the procedure is very similar to the previous objects.
1. In Spiros, draw a torus knot with the following values: Foils = 5; Knots = 5; Curve type: Line. (or choose 5 Point Star preset from the dropdown list)
Tip: You can make Star shapes with the Torus Knot tool by setting the same number in Foils and Knots, and set the Curve Type to line.
2. At the spline parameters, make it renderable in viewport and renderer. Set the section shape as Rectangular and adjust its dimensions as desired. Now you have the star mesh.
3. Convert it to Editable Poly. Perform some cleaning and then add the necessary detail to the mesh.
4. Model the ring to complete the pendant and then put both pieces together. Apply materials/textures and you are done!
Hope you enjoyed this tutorial. If you have any doubts or consultations you can leave a comment down here or write us through the Contact form.
“Mystical Explosion”. Art by Rodolfo Rodríguez, CG Artist & Animator.
Hi guys!
In this tutorial we will see how to recreate this cool VFX work, called “Mystical Explosion”, using TurboSplines3dsMax plugin.
Although this kind of special FX (light trails and light rays) are usually made with 3D particles, VXF plugins or directly in postproduction, the power and versatility of TurboSplines allows you to easily create them as 3D meshes, so you can have a fast realtime representation of the whole thing and control every aspect of the final shape. Let’s start.
First, we need to create the nucleus. It’s like a magical gem about to explode.
Create a geosphere. Then add an EditPoly modifier and extrude all its faces a bit outwards to make it look like it’s cracking because of the internal pressure.
To make the paths for the light trails, you can use circular shapes and place them like orbits around the nucleus. Another way is to make a torus knot object (Control Panel > Extended Primitives) and extract one of its edge loops to use just a single spline as the path. But the better and easier way to get a cool path for this, is using Spirosplugin. It’s as simple as creating any primitive shape in 3dsmax. The one in this tutorial was made with that plugin. Look at the image below.
Now open TurboSplines. At the Creation section, load the path/s and create 5 or 6 cylinders along the path/s to make the light trails. Use the extra feature Taper to make the trails look more dynamic and appealing.
To make the bigger end of the cylinders look smoother, change the basic geometry of the meshes from cylinder to capsule (with rounded end). Go to Creation > Mesh Type and select Capsule. Then press ‘(Re)Buil Geometry’.
Adjust the meshes’ radius, segments and height at the Edition section.
Once you are happy with shape of the light trails, hide them to start making the radial light rays coming out of the nucleus.
For this example, instead of using a post-render effect, we will build the light rays as 3D geometry (for the same reason we did that with the light trails).
Although there are other methods to create objects like spikes on the surface of another object, we recommend you to try this great free plugin called Vertices to Splines.
Download the script and do the following.
Make a copy of the geosphere, scale it down a bit and delete the EditPoly modifier. This way you can use its vertices as starting points for the radial light rays.
Using the script and the second geosphere, generate the radial splines with some length variation to make like the bright of a star. See the image below.
Then use TurboSplines again (cylinders with taper) to quickly create like spikes, emerging from the geosphere. Delete this second sphere.
Unhide the light trails meshes and check the general shape and volume of the final model. Make the necessary adjustments.
Create a camera and set a nice view for the final composition.
Assign some nice materials for the light trails, the nucleus and the radial light rays.
Render the image, with all the channels you need to have enough freedom for compositing (diffuse, reflection, z-depth, transparency, etc.)
Finally, in your favorite image-editing or post-production software, retouch the image/s, add glows, smoke, bright and additional effects to your final render.
That’s all! I hope you liked this tutorial. If you have any doubts or consultations, please post them down here on the comments section or write us through this Contact form.
Here are 3 videos that will show you the basic procedures for creating, editing and animating your path deformed meshes with TurboSplines3dsmax plugin.
This video will show you how to use the tools in the Creation section to quickly make path deformed meshes.
Load your paths
Use different mesh types (cylinder, box, capsule, ribbon, custom profile, custom mesh)
Create multiple meshes per path
Add extra features to your meshes: Taper, Tip, Slice start/end
This video shows how to use the tools in the Editing section.
