I would greatly appreciate some support with a tricky surfacing challenge. I would like to make a Y- branch but with different cross sections for each of the 3 pipes (it’s due ot be a kind of VR controller form in the end, one branch for grip, one for buttons, one for triggers) I’m having difficulty finding the right patch layout for proper surface continuity.
The design intent I would like is something like this:
Would anyone have any advice for me? is there a tool or plugin I’m missing? and for professional users, is the kind of thing you would still do with single span these days, or has SubD taken over for these kinds of transitions?
Thank you Artstep! I’ll have a go with the intersecting pipe trick. I still wonder if my situation is a bit more bespoke since the cross sections are all slightly different, but thanks for giving me another clue! Interesting that they used patch to solve the tricky middle surface, I wonder if it could be done single-span in some way?
There are several different ways to create an Y-branch, but here is the most common one.
Surfaces with degree 6 and 7 control points offer a considerably better quality than degree 5 with 6 control points. I recommend you to start with degree 5 to make the basic shape, then increase the degree to 6 to get that extra row of control points in the middle to further adjust the general flow of the surfaces.
Hi Bobi! Thanks for the link, I have been admiring your videos on YouTube already. The biggest challenge I have is that since the cross sections of the pipes are all slightly different (narrow tube of the hand grip, wider tube for the trigger area etc.) it’s tricky for me to get the midpoints of the three tubes to converge on a single flat point. any tips on how to do this? is there a “converge curve ends” command hidden in a menu somewhere.
I might adjust the design for greater symmetry between the pipes and then your method would work perfectly, but then I lose some of the design intent.
I’ve heard it’s good, but alas I have not downloaded it. I’m also somewhat new to single span surfacing so I’m using this as a learning opportunity. If I’m still struggling in a week then rhino 9 it is!
The model in my video is symmetrical, hence I worked on one surface only and then made a couple of array copies. However, the principle remains the same with different angle between the pipes, just needs some more work to match the remaining surfaces to each other. Once you create one of the surfaces (I would start with the largest one), you can proceed with the rest surfaces (the smaller ones).
One good practice is to use custom macros for control point modeling, such like the ones from post #69 here:
The Move UVN toggle is especially useful for moving the selected control point along the normal direction. The LMB is set to 100% for quick adjustments, while the RMB is set to 2% for precise adjustments.
y branch patch.3dm (406.3 KB) Here is that Patch in the WIP , but saved in V8. Depending on how big this thing is, it makes you wonder why single span is needed. —Mark
Single-span surfaces with the minimum amount of control points allow you to adjust the shape precisely. They are also knot-free, meaning that moving the control points will not result into unwanted areas where the highlights will break in an ugly way.
