http://beautifuldecay.com/2015/03/30/jonathan-monaghan-renders-utopian-universe-modeled-faberge-egg/

J1 – Beautifully designed necklace by Simon Williamson. You can see his full project at:

https://www.behance.net/gallery/24918679/J1

More of his work at:

https://www.behance.net/Row0

by PAULOGABRIEL Wed, 03/18/2015 – 15:42

skip ahead to 0:48

In the video below, show 3:00 to the end.

T-points and star points

In some subdivision surface programs, if you want to add detail to one area you have to subdivide the entire mesh, which produces heavy and complex geometry.  In T-Splines we can add T-points to add complexity just where we need it.  Add t-points by inserting an edge in a small area or by inserting a point.

When the topology diverges in two different directions it is necessary to add a star point.  We don’t usually have to think much about adding these points because T-Splines inserts them as needed.  To see a star point appear simply extrude a face on any form.  Star points will appear at the juncture.

Topology in T-Splines

Examples of effective topology are included below. Notice the colorized edge loops in the far right example. Edge loops are very important in T-Splines for proper smoothing of the model.

Effective topology in T-Splines does the following:

1. flows with the contours of the form (see the image below on the far left as an example of how an artist can plan effective topology)
2. emphasizes quads (four-sided planes)
3. emphasizes edge loops
4. it is as simple as possible (remember that simpler geometry is easier to work with)
5. locates star points on flat parts of the model.

These considerations make the model easy to work with, and give the smoothest results.

 Examples of how I’ve used T-Splines in my work:

http://cargocollective.com/joemeiser/Process/Horace-process-images

http://cargocollective.com/joemeiser/Process/Kinetic-Radiolarian-Project-work-in-progress

http://payload225.cargocollective.com/1/14/456944/6806896/cuckoo_vulture42_41_1200.jpg

http://cargocollective.com/joemeiser/Process/Hercules-and-the-Centaur-process-images

The sculptor Barry X Ball is known for interesting projects. One called ‘Masterpieces’ was especially riveting. He took two Italian sculptures made in the 16th century: Corradini’s La Puria (“Purity (veiled woman)”) and Court’s La Invidia (“Envy”) and created perfected versions of the original. In a statement to his collectors he explains in detail the changes he made and why they are valid artworks on their own and not just copies or appropriations. Ball’s documentation also discusses his process and gives invaluable insight into it.

Both of these sculptures were made using materials other than white Italian marble such as onyx, calcite and black marble. This lends a different dynamic to the work altogether. Unlike white marble, onyx has the ability to glow from within and through the veils of Purity we are able to see light. On the other hand, the calcite material is veined and therefore camouflages Envy’s folds and sweeps creating complexity not there with the original.

Another different perspective on the two Ball pieces is that they are made to depict someone looking into a mirror. This is done with today’s advanced technology and adds a strange narcissistic glance. It’s almost as though we are looking at a more refined version of the sculptures which captures the very old paired with something new. Other changes involved refining of drape, finishing the back and making the pedestals which they are placed much sturdier in order to view the work correctly from all sides.

taken from: http://beautifuldecay.com/2015/03/06/process-behind-making-barry-x-balls-purity-envy-sculptures/

Step 1: Create a new folder for your project

When creating custom materials you’ll be working with a Keyshot file and a number of other image files.  From one work session to the next, it’s easy to misplace your images, and if you open a Keyshot file and the program can’t locate the image files, your custom materials won’t show up properly.  If this happens you’ll lose time and need to redo a number of steps.  To keep this from happening I suggest creating a new folder in your netspace for your Keyshot project, and then save your Keyshot file and all of your custom material image files to that one folder.  Then, when you backup your project to an external hard drive you’ll want to copy the whole folder.

Step 2: Create a seamless image with Photoshop

This youtube video will show you how.  Watch from the beginning to 4:30.

Contrary to what the narrator suggests, I’ve found that the clone stamp works quite well for removing seams.

Step 3: Create bump/normal maps, and specular maps with Crazy Bump

Watch from 1:00 to 4:00, and from 7:30 to 10:00: http://www.blenderguru.com/tutorials/the-secrets-of-realistic-texturing/

Although Andrew Price’s Blender Guru tutorial covers texturing in Blender, it’s still relevant to our workflow in Keyshot.  One key difference, though, is that in Keyshot we’ll use only the following: the color map (which you created in step 1), the bump/normal map, the specular map

Crazy Bump offers a free trial; download it here.

Step 4: Apply your Crazy Bump files in Keyshot

These instructions explain the process

Step 5: Learn about the various methods of texture mapping available in Keyshot

These tutorials will help you determine what kind of mapping (spherical, cylindrical, box, UV, etc.) is most appropriate for your form.  The default is box, which works well in most situations.

https://www.keyshot.com/keyshot3/manual/texturing/texture_mapping.html

Keyshot texture overview youtube video

Step 6: Learn how to use UV coordinate mapping when necessary for complex forms

With some really complex forms you’ll find that mapping with box, spherical, cylindrical, etc., doesn’t give good results.  It is sometimes necessary to unwrap complex forms and use the UV editor to align the unwrapped form with the image you created in step 1.  I had to use this process in my Seneca project because all of the other mapping methods produced visible seams.  In the Seneca project, by unwrapping and using the UV editor I was able to put the seams on the back of the warthog’s legs so they wouldn’t show up in the renders. I also used this process in my Aristotle project to make the wood grain align properly with the boat.

Watch this youtube video from 6:30 to 9:00

Additional resources

Advanced Keyshot tutorial videos on material creation (skip to lesson 3 if short on time):

• Lesson 1: The basics
• Lesson 2: Using textures
• Lesson 3: Putting it all together

This program can be used to create and pose a figure for your project.  Easy to use.  Some figures are free; others require a purchase.  Finished figures can be imported in Rhino in OBJ or STL format.

http://www.daz3d.com/home

• zoom selected: ZS
• zoom selected all: ZSA
• scale (1D, 2D, 3D)
• rotate
• rotate 3D
• undo: CTRL Z
• redo: CTRL Y
• copy: CTRL C
• paste: CTRL V
• invert
• hide
• show
• lasso left to select all touching
• lasso right to select only within
• turn control points on: F10
• turn control points off: F11
• extract surface
• join
• explode
• group
• ungroup
• loft
• project
• project to c-plane
• set c-plane
• ortho toggle: hold SHIFT
• o-snap toggle: hold ALT
• move
• planar surface
• extrude curve
• extrude surface
• repeat previous command: right click, space bar, or enter
• command help
• tool tips
• select duplicate
• picture frame
• fillet curve
• fillet edge
• chamfer edge
• nudge: use arrow keys – small nudge with CTRL and arrow key – big nudge with SHIFT and arrow key – page up and page down will move a part up and down when in perspective viewport
• trim
• split
• sweep 1
• sweep 2
• network surface
• offset (for curves)
• offset surface
• revolve
• rail revolve
• boolean union
• boolean difference
• boolean intersection
• boolean split
• boolean two objects
• cap
• create solid
• volume
• split planar face
• extrude face
• subselect: hold CTRL and SHIFT and left click a surface or edge
• convert extrusion
• merge all faces
• delete hole
• make hole
• move hole
• rotate hole
• heightfield
• history
• smart track
• linear array
• rectangular array
• polar array
• array along surface
• array along curve on surface
• twist
• bend
• taper
• stretch
• flow along curve
• mirror
• flow along surface
• cage edit
• clipping plane

For additional help, see:

• the Rhino help page: http://docs.mcneel.com/rhino/5/help/en-us/index.htm
• keyboard shortcuts: http://docs.mcneel.com/rhino/5/help/en-us/user_interface/shortcuts.htm

Technical crash course for Keyshot – Professor’s NOTES

Visual narrative examples

Check out some of the Rhino projects made by students at other schools at: https://www.rhino3d.com/gallery/47

Required:

1) External hard drive of at least 250 GB. Since all of your projects will be created digitally, you’re bound to run out of space on the network. I use and recommend Western Digital’s My Passport.  If you can afford it, I suggest buying a 500GB or 1TB drive.  Here’s a link to the Western Digital hard drives that are available on Amazon.

2) Headphones — please bring these to class so that you’ll be able to watch video tutorials during open work time.

Recommended:

Hours of clicking can be hard on your wrist, and an ergonomic mouse can help prevent tendonitis. Click here to link to the 3M ergonomic mouse that I use. (Note that this is a small version– if you have large hands then you may want to consider purchasing a large version of this mouse)  Alternatively, a gaming mouse and wrist rest can also be a good combination. Gaming mice are more responsive than basic mice, and they have built-in adjustments of tracking speed, which can be handy when modeling.  This is the setup I just bought for my computer, which I’m quite happy with: Logitech Optical Gaming Mouse G400, and 3M Gel Wrist Rest

Not needed, but good to have:

License of Rhino 5 for your personal PC computer.  The cost to a student is $138.  Follow this link to learn more.  If you have a 64 bit computer then be sure to purchase the 64 bit version of the software.

If you purchase Rhino 5 for your personal computer then, as a student, you can download an educational license of the T-Splines plugin for free.  Follow this link to learn more.

Lynda.com has some excellent tutorials on Rhino that could be a useful reference for you during the first month or two of working with the software.  A 30-day subscription to Lynda’s site will cost you just $20.  Here’s a link: Rhino on Lynda.com

If you do a lot of 3D modeling, it can also be handy to purchase a 3D mouse which can help with navigation of 3D space.  I use the Space Navigator by 3Dconnexion.  I’m not sure that we’ll be able to hook these up in our lab because there is some basic software that must be installed on the associated computer.  Check with me first if you’re thinking about ordering one and I’ll bring mine over to the lab and test it out.

Appearing by telepresence robot, Edward Snowden speaks at TED2014 about surveillance and Internet freedom. The right to data privacy, he suggests, is not a partisan issue, but requires a fundamental rethink of the role of the internet in our lives — and the laws that protect it. “Your rights matter,” he say, “because you never know when you’re going to need them.”

http://archive3d.net/

Since 1999 Stephen Cartwright has recorded his exact latitude, longitude and elevation every hour of every day. Cartwright uses digital and traditional fabrication techniques to translate his collected data into his sculptural projects. Since the inception of the Latitude and Longitude recording project Stephen Cartwright has completed several grand bicycle journeys through North America, Europe and Asia, totaling more than 20,000 miles. Prolonged observation of his location has led Cartwright to his recent work investigating the use and alteration of the landscape.

http://www.stephencartwright.com/

Mark your calendar for Simon Williamson’s visit!  On February 28 at 1:00pm he will give a lecture about his work in the Gallery Theater, located on the top floor of the LC.  Then from 2-5pm he will hold a workshop on Rhino and Keyshot in the BERT 012 Computer Lab.  Students in Digital Sculpture are expected to attend if at all possible.  Attending the lecture and workshop will count for two artsXpose.

http://keyshot.com/simon-williamson

http://www.behance.net/Row0

Three-dimensional NURBS surfaces can have complex, organic shapes. Control points influence the directions the surface takes. The outer form–which resembles a wire basket–shows the location of the control points, and the inner organically-shaped form is the resultant surface…. click here to read more

http://ericvanstraaten.com/

Phil was right. I’m bound to have apocalyptic nightmares tonight after seeing this robot in action.

This work may not be very conceptually developed but it is technically amazing.

http://www.munozvelazquez.com/3d-gallery-.html

Joshua Harker has been a maker and artist his whole life. He worked professionally as a product and toy designer for a few years before turning to 3D art. Within the last year and a half, he’s created the first and fourth most funded sculpture projects on Kickstarter, and sold thousands of beautiful works of art, all created with 3D Printing. I spoke to him about his process and his views on the current state of the 3D Printing industry.  Read more here: http://blog.makezine.com/2013/04/18/a-conversation-with-3d-artist-joshua-harker/

Here is a link to an article I found about the use of Keyshot in industrial design and CGI. It is amazing how far CGI has come and car companies, LEGO, and many others use Keyshot to make their commercials.

Microsoft used Keyshot in the development of their Surface Commercials.

Images from the LEGO company using Keyshot to make commercials.

Half of this image is real and the other half is CGI. Can you tell which is which?

Link to the Article on WIRED.

T-Splines is a powerful solution for creating organic forms.  You’ll be amazed at what can be accomplished with the program.

T-SPLINES MANUAL

Basic T-Splines Tutorials: http://www.tsplines.com/support/basictutorials.html

Advanced T-Splines Tutorials: https://www.tsplines.com/store/tstutorials.html

Make Human: An open source tool for making 3D characters  http://www.makehuman.org/

Picture an assembly line not that isn’t made up of robotic arms spewing sparks to weld heavy steel, but a warehouse of plastic-spraying printers producing light, cheap and highly efficient automobiles.

If Jim Kor’s dream is realized, that’s exactly how the next generation of urban runabouts will be produced. His creation is called the Urbee 2 and it could revolutionize parts manufacturing while creating a cottage industry of small-batch automakers intent on challenging the status quo. click here to read more

Photo courtesy of Birds of Prey Northwest.

Sometime in 2005, Beauty the bald eagle was shot in the face by a poacher, which damaged her beak badly enough that she couldn’t eat on her own. Animal rescue workers found her before she starved to death, and volunteers at the nonprofit group Birds of Prey Northwest nursed her back to health via tube-feeding and, later, hand-feeding with forceps. But it became increasingly clear that her beak was never going to grow back — meaning that Beauty would never be able to feed herself. She was on track to be euthanized.

But raptor specialist Jane Fink Cantwell, who dresses like Indiana Jones, refused to take “dead bald eagle” for an answer. She joined forces with mechanical engineer Nate Calvin of Kinetic Engineering Group, and together with other scientists, engineers, and even a dentist, they designed a nylon polymer beak that would perfectly replace Beauty’s lost upper mandible.

Calvin developed the new beak using a 3-D modeling program, then used a 3-D printer to fabricate it. After an arduous procedure to attach her prosthetic, Beauty was able to eat, drink, and preen herself on her own.

Beauty’s new beak isn’t secure enough for her to return to the wild, so Cantwell is still caring for her. But she’s a lot more self-sufficient than she was — and her case may help pave the way for making better prosthetics for wildlife in the future.

I’ve seen so many bald eagles crying a single tear over terrorism or gay marriage or whatever that it’s really hard not to interpret this as some kind of metaphor about America. Ruined by guns, kept alive by nonprofits, technology comes to the rescue? Sure, I think it works.

http://grist.org/list/injured-bald-eagle-gets-new-3-d-printed-beak/

“Our first priority is making America a magnet for new jobs and manufacturing. After shedding jobs for more than 10 years, our manufacturers have added about 500,000 jobs over the past three. Caterpillar is bringing jobs back from Japan. Ford is bringing jobs back from Mexico. After locating plants in other countries like China, Intel is opening its most advanced plant right here at home. And this year, Apple will start making Macs in America again.

“There are things we can do, right now, to accelerate this trend. Last year, we created our first manufacturing innovation institute in Youngstown, Ohio. A once-shuttered warehouse is now a state-of-the art lab where new workers are mastering the 3D printing that has the potential to revolutionize the way we make almost everything. There’s no reason this can’t happen in other towns. So tonight, I’m announcing the launch of three more of these manufacturing hubs, where businesses will partner with the Departments of Defense and Energy to turn regions left behind by globalization into global centers of high-tech jobs. And I ask this Congress to help create a network of fifteen of these hubs and guarantee that the next revolution in manufacturing is Made in America.”

Read more: http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulletin/3d-printing-the-8216next-revolution-in-manufacturing-president-obama/12628

Check out some of these cool product designs I found on the web.  See more at: http://elds205.blogspot.com/ 

Jonty Hurwitz uses computer modeling and specific deformation to create his works of art. Among his more interesting pieces are a set of sculptures which began as a computer model and were distorted around a center point so that the true shape appears when reflected in a cylindrical mirror.

Rejuvenation – a sculpture by Jonty Hurwitz at Gofigurative Broadgate

http://www.jontyhurwitz.com/

An artist similar to Nathan’s presentation on the “Falling Rain”.  His site has really cool videos of his kinetic work:

http://www.reubenmargolin.com/waves/index.html

Sydney Jay Mead, commonly Syd Mead (born July 18, 1933), is a “visual futurist” and concept artist. He is best known for his designs for science-fiction films such as Blade Runner, Aliens and Tron. Of his work, Mead was once moved to comment: “I’ve called science fiction ‘reality ahead of schedule.'”    —http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syd_Mead

See more at: http://keyshot.com/simon-williamson

OR:   http://www.behance.net/Row0

See more at: http://bathsheba.com

See a longer version here: http://www.itsartmag.com/features/the-vfx-of-the-amazing-spiderman/

See more, and download Rhino files at:  http://www.rhino3d.nl/pythposter/pyth3dm.html

See more at  www.danielwidrig.com/

Check out Complex Geometry’s Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/ComplexGeometry

–or their website at: http://complexgeometry.com/

See more at: http://www.michael-hansmeyer.com/

by Dan Collins, Associate Professor of Art, Arizona State University

This paper was first given at the 6th Biennial Symposium on Art and Technology, Connecticut College, February 27 – March 2, 1997

Introduction

Digital sculpture draws upon recent advances in data acquisition techniques, computer visualization, and rapid prototyping technologies. It utilizes the unique virtual space of the computer to pre-visualize form, to enable extraordinarily sophisticated formal innovations, to design at heretofore unmanageable scales with technical accuracy, and to produce objects impossible to create with the human hand. It opens a floodgate of questions regarding the use and future use of a technology that is predicated upon a “rapid response” to the needs of a culture.

Before addressing the larger question of “how to become a better tool user,” let me address the convergence of technologies behind what I am calling “digital sculpture.”

Three domains must be understood and mastered by the digital sculptor: Data Acquisition (input technologies); Computer Aided Design, modeling, and visualization (CAD), and Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM)…. to read more, click here

The tools are a bit different, but the topology created with Maya is closely related to what is achieved by using T-Splines in Rhino.  To see more, visit: http://www.jinoppa.com/

See more by clicking here…