Maya for 3D Printing - Rapid Prototyping
In this course we're going to look at something a little different, creating technically accurate 3D printed parts.
# 1 06-10-2008 , 08:24 AM
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 58

how to smooth a polygon?

i want to smooth a cube.

i read the related help file, but when i try to select uv faces i get an error message in the bottom of the screen.

how do i select uvs? what is a uv?

could someone pls give me a step-by-step guide on how to slightly smooth cube's corners just to give them a round look?

# 2 06-10-2008 , 11:23 AM
Gen's Avatar
Super Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: South FL
Posts: 3,522
You're looking to edit the wrong component, leave UVs alone unless you're going to prepare the model for texture painting, and even then, you cannot move,scale, or rotate Uvs in 3D space, it must be done via the UV Editor, hence the warning message. Faces, vertices and edges are the components you manipulate to edit the mesh, not Uvs.

The insert edge loop tool is your friend. Drop a row of edges in the height, width and length, the closer the edges are, the less its going to be rounded when you smooth.

Attached Thumbnails

- Genny
__________________
::|| My CG Blog ||::
::|| My Maya FAQ ||::
# 3 06-10-2008 , 12:27 PM
happymat27's Avatar
Subscriber
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,257
Genny's right,

the edge loop tool is your friend.

Another way to go about this though would be to use the bevel tool. Simply select the cube and hit the bevel command (edit mesh > bevel) you can then adjust the offset and the segments (highlighted in the image) to suit your needs.

Take it easy,

Mat user added image

Attached Thumbnails
# 4 06-10-2008 , 02:52 PM
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 58

thanks!

i made it.

user added image

# 5 07-10-2008 , 03:24 AM
Chirone's Avatar
Subscriber
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: NZ
Posts: 3,125

Re: how to smooth a polygon?

Originally posted by sifidis
how do i select uvs? what is a uv?

UVs are 2D coordinates that get mapped into 3D space.
Used when you want to put textures (pictures) onto something




that's a "Ch" pronounced as a "K"

Computer skills I should have:
Objective C, C#, Java, MEL. Python, C++, XML, JavaScript, XSLT, HTML, SQL, CSS, FXScript, Clips, SOAR, ActionScript, OpenGL, DirectX
Maya, XSI, Photoshop, AfterEffects, Motion, Illustrator, Flash, Swift3D
Posting Rules Forum Rules
You may not post new threads | You may not post replies | You may not post attachments | You may not edit your posts | BB code is On | Smilies are On | [IMG] code is On | HTML code is Off

Similar Threads