Last Modified: 23rd Jan, 2002
How to create a basic Water-drop shape in Draw3D v4.0.4:
- Open Draw3D
- Click on "File->New" (can press 'Ctrl' & 'N') to start a new file.
- We need to create the outline for the curve of the Water-drop, which can then be Swept (rotated) to create the 3D Waterdrop shape.
To create a curve, you first need to create the curves control points, which give the curve its shape.
Click on "Edit->Create a New Object" (simply press 'N') to create an empty object. Press 'Enter' (or 'Return') to change the name of the new object. Type in something like 'Control Points'.
- Click on "Edit Mode->Edit" (simply press 'E') to start editing.
- Hold the 'Ctrl' (or 'Control') key down. Now if you click the left mouse button somewhere, it will create a vertice there. Create about 6 vertices in the 'Front View', as shown in the diagram.
Note: The vertices must be placed in order (either from top-to-bottom, or bottom-to-top)
- Because you want the generated water drop to be closed both at the bottom and top, you need to make the X co-ordinate of the first and last vertices to a value of 0.
To do this, double-click on the X co-ordinate of your first vertex in the 'Vertices List' on the right side of the screen. (Instead of double-clicking it, you can use UP/DOWN and LEFT/RIGHT arrow keys to navigate the editable item in the current list, hit TAB to switch between the lists, and hit ENTER (or RETURN) to edit the value.)
Type in '0' as the X co-ordinate. The first vertex you created should now be red (meaning it is the current vertex) and it should be exactly on the vertical line in the Front View. Do the same for the last vertex you created (at the bottom of the 'Vertices List').
- Click on "Insert->Create a Curve" (simply press 'I' followed by 'U') to create a curve between your selected points.
- Type in '20' for the Density and hit 'Enter'. A red curve should be shown in the Front View.
- You can play around with the curve if it isn't right. Right-click near a vertex to make it the current vertex, then drag it around by clicking the Left-mouse button in the position. Play around until the curve changes into your desired shape.
Finally, hit 'OK' on the 'Object Properties'. A curve of 21 vertices should now be created. Notice that the vertices of the curve are blue because they are automatically selected, whereas the black vertices (for the curve's control points) aren't selected any more.
- Now that we have our outline, we can generate the 3D water drop shape. While the curve is selected, click on "Insert->Create a Sweep" (press 'I' followed by 'W') to create a new 'sweep' of the selected vertices rotated around the Front View. Use the default Sweep setting by hitting ENTER for the 'Object Properties'. A 3D water drop should now be generated.
- To look at it in the 3D View, click on "Edit Mode->Rotate" (simply press 'R') to change to Rotate mode. (The vertices in the 3D View will automatically be hidden in Rotate mode). Play around with it in the 3D View by dragging the Left or Right mouse buttons in the 3D View. To show a better looking object, click on "3D Settings->Gouraud & Z-Buffer" (simply press '5') for the best possible rendering.
- Now that the body is selected, click on "Color->Set Triangle Colors" (simply press 'C') and select a nice water color.
- To see a bigger 3D View, click on "View->Show3D View only" to see it much larger. You can also click on "Edit Mode->Zoom" (simply press 'Z') and drag the left mouse button up/down in the 3D View to zoom in/out.
People have been here since 23rd Dec, 2001
by Shervin Emami (the_pope@OldSchoolPunk.com)
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