achieving averaged planar faces of different degrees??

# 1 17-03-2013 , 11:46 PM

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Join Date: Mar 2013

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achieving averaged planar faces of different degrees??

Hi, i really hope someone out there can help with the problem i've been trying to solve? Heres my frustrating problem. I am modelling an egg as part of a personal project. I started out with a truncated icosahedron and merely stretched the upper portion to resemble an egg. I then deleted all edges of triangulation to reveal the hex and pents which make up the shape.

Now my problem is that as a result of stretching and reshaping, none of the faces are truly planar. I have downloaded a script which allows the user to make faces planar but its not the answer for me as selecting individual faces constantly adjusts verts from surrounding faces making it a vicious circle as i move around the object - i need ideally a way to select all faces and planarize them at once while still keeping close to the overall shape i have now. If this isn't possible, could anyone give any guidance as to how this would be achievable - i need all the hexagons and pentagons to remain sharp and flat while still keeping the form of the egg. I thought it would be simple but my limited knowledge is really showing. . . user added image

The pics below should show what i mean? The first pic shows that the faces 'look' planar but aren't as the second pic shows when the cleanup option is selected to weed out and correct non-planar surfaces.
user added image

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# 2 19-03-2013 , 07:28 AM

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hi buddy,

some years back I was working on a crystal for swarovski. I had exactly the same problem you describe here. by that time there was no solution at all (script-wise) other than working with booleans (pure handcraft and calculating faces with pen and paper ). I think those kind of modeling jobs belong into the section of solidWorks, AutoCAD etc. I mean real construction & engineering software. Since maya is far from class A surfacing (in terms of precision and available tools), I found that the only working procedure was to stonecut the desired shape out of a polygon cube.

maybe someone else can propose some more usefull idea, but I´d try with booleans. (prepare for maya crashes tho user added image

)

everything starts and ends in the right place at the right time.

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# 3 19-03-2013 , 06:20 PM

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Thanks for taking the time give your input Falott. Its appreciated. Your comparison of the crystal you worked on is a great comparison to my problem. Deep down i know you're right in saying that this project requires more precision ala AutoCAD etc. . . Especially as i want to physically make this object at some point. I'm just looking for possibilities other than wrangling with unfamiliar, brain melting software again at this point in time?

Maths was never a strong subject of mine which would be distinct advantage working out required angles and tolerances etc.

Don't fancy playing with booleans as ive been close to poking my own eyes out in frustration when things have just 'crumpled' while altering geometry in the past. If anything else springs to mind - i'd love to hear. Thanks again.

Has anyone else encountered anything similar to this? Any workarounds/advice for this situation at all would be FANTASTIC. . . Its getting to be one of those projects that started off with such enthusiasm and excitement that is slowly draining away the more brick walls and hurdles get thrown my way. . . Don't get me wrong - i'm no quitter - would just be nice to catch a break on this and actually feel like i'm making progress! ? ! ? !

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# 4 19-03-2013 , 06:50 PM

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Join Date: Aug 2009

Location: England

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You could try selecting the object then untick keep faces together then extrude and scale the faces flat in locate space then merge the verts...............dave

Avatar Challenge Winner 2010

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# 5 22-03-2013 , 11:45 AM

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Thanks for the suggestion Dave. . . I've had a little mess around following your advice and got to the point where i have all the individual faces planar (but not joined to one another). I have then had a quick look at the new angles when extruded back inwards to a point where most of the edges are close - (the new flat angles look off with regards to mating to the neighbouring shapes as expected). Am i right in assuming that if i extrude the faces back inwards to a point where the majority of edges are very close and then tweak each vert to its closest neighbour using normal mode on the tool settings, the shapes will stay flat? Will normal mode allow me to move the verts along the plane instead of bending to meet the other verts? I realise that doing this may change each individual face slightly and i dont have a problem with that at all as long as the hex's and pent's stay planar. Will this work? ? ?

Hope it makes some sense?

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# 6 22-03-2013 , 12:52 PM

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Join Date: Mar 2007

Posts: 1,055

Think this will be a tricky one to solve, but I'd be interested to see how you manage it. You would need a very exact arrangement of planar hexagons in real life, to form an oval shape like this, so obviously you'd need the same in a 3d app.

Good luck!

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achieving averaged planar faces of different degrees??

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