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armchair using subdivision


Phil hunt

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i know there is a video soon to be released from VW

but i have tried to create a simple armchair today created a subdivision primitive as a cube 800mm

i then have then used the edge split tool to give me the first shape vw subdivision.jpg and then tried the transform tool to give me this shape

see transform.jpg

i then went over to form Z see form z subdivide.jpg and split the shape

by using the soften tool it gives me this shape see chair option.jpg

just with 1 click which is the basis of what i am trying to achieve.....

am i using the wrong shape for the subdivision primitive in the first place.....

or am i going about it the wrong way....

i am sure the VW video will be informative and show what each tool works

but in 30 seconds with Form Z i had the shape i required

as VW exports to artlantis with ease for rendering.....when this tool was released for 2016 i was exited that at last i could create all the shapes and form i needed

instead of having to use 3d warehouse to get items to add to my models

i hope the video not only tells me about what each tool does but also gives a demonstration of how to build simple models like the chair in question

sorry to have gone on for so long.....but his is really important to get this running right so it improves my workflow

Edited by Phil hunt
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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

You're close, you'll want to select and bring down that front top edges as well, not just the top face.

The top corners where in formz its smooth and curved and in VW its sharp angles? Thats where the Crease mode comes in. Click on some of those flat faces with the Crease mode to stop the subdiv from adhering to the cage so strictly and you will start to see the smoother form.

When you start with a cube everything is auto-creased, if you start with a sphere everything is NOT creased. In fact, thats the only different between the cube and sphere primitives, if you made a sphere primitive and then creased against all the cage faces, youd get a cube.

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I think it's already been wishlisted by JimW himself, but this is why it would be good to be able to convert any object into a Subdivision object.

You could start with the basic shape of the chair using the push-pull tool, and then Subdivide it repeatedly until you get the proper smoothness.

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i agree in formz.....its a 1 click solution to give you the basic shape with all the handles to manipulate as you wish

this is not an easy tool to get to grips with and i 3d model all day every day

i know some of the other guys on the forum may find this really easy but i for one

don't......

i guess practice makes perfect....but i don't have to much practice time in my day

when i saw the promo video i thought this is a piece of cake well it may as well be that...... as i can't bake cakes either!

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The answer for me so far is to keep the mess as simple as possible so it can then be UV mapped. I can now take a simple mesh object and texture it and produce a map that can be used in VW.

I have approached it from a modelling and a texturing pov as without the texturing the modelling is not a lot of use for interior design.

Progress is ongoing but I will try something more complex over the next week.

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

I do not see us getting full-on UV mapping anytime soon however, unfortunately. I suspect we may double down on our compatibility and integration with Cinema4D instead and focus efforts on getting a seamless transition back and forth between the two applications instead.

It isn't that we don't WANT to, but we always have to mind the resources devoted to various areas of focus.

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I do not see us getting full-on UV mapping anytime soon however, unfortunately. I suspect we may double down on our compatibility and integration with Cinema4D instead and focus efforts on getting a seamless transition back and forth between the two applications instead.

It isn't that we don't WANT to, but we always have to mind the resources devoted to various areas of focus.

That's really disappointing to hear, especially since UV texture mapping has been a wishlist item on these forums for over 10 years.

I hope that there is another solution in the works to fix all of the other mapping issues, beyond just Subdivison objects, because saying that you'll rely on better Cinema4D integration really limits the usefulness of Subdivison objects if they can't receive a texture.

I find it hard to accept that I would need to buy Cinema4D (minimum $995 USD) just so I can properly texture the Cabinet PIO (or Door, Subdivision, Framing member, etc).

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Thats the thing, there is always a development cost to adding new features.

So if we removed all complexity and just used a dumb example:

For us to develop something that already exists in other software, we would have to spend the same amount of money that the other software company did to develop the same tech. OR we would have to license it, which would cost whatever it was that they currently charged their users for it. So, if we DID develop an immensely complicated system for doing something that a subset of users wanted, we would have to recoup the R&D costs by raising the price of the software, most raising it by more than the total cost of C4D today.

That means that either ALL users of Vectorworks would have to pay more for the software, even if UV mapping wasn't something they wanted which would very likely lose us customers, and if we made it a separate module that users could choose to buy only if they wanted, then that module alone would very likely be prohibitively expensive.

So pretty much, either way users would end up paying an extra premium for an advanced feature like that, and in the end users would likely see that "Hey Vectorworks without the UV module and C4D costs less than Vectorworks WITH the UV module!" and they'd go that route anyway.

I don't LIKE that reality of software design, but its a simplified version of what we actually have to think about when we pick features. We don't develop in a vacuum, and sometimes the most efficient solution is to use multiple software packages. I would rather it be possible for Vectorworks to be a completely standalone solution that trounced all contenders, but that would be very, very hard and expensive to achieve.

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I never expected uv mapping would appear in VW which is why I have taken a different route. I agree that's just the way it is

I am happy with the tool and my relatively low cost uv option. I have used VW for the last few years alongside PS and have never worried that VW can't do what PS does.

Edited by barkest
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@JimW: It is good to hear that you feel the texturing issues of the Cabinets, Doors, Framing members, etc can be fixed without UVs.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - I really do appreciate the honesty and candor that you always express on these forums. I know many other software companies would not be so forthcoming.

I definitely understand that Vectorworks, Inc. needs to prioritize future development of Vw in directions that best serve all Vw users. I have never thought that Vw should try to be an all-in-one software package, because when you try to do everything you usually end up doing a lot of things not very well. And none of us want that.

I did not expect that Vw would provide full-on UV mapping with mesh unwrapping and everything else that is much better accomplished by third-party UV texturing software.

I was only hoping for the level of texturing that is possible in SketchUp, for example, where you can have different textures on the sides of a simple box object without having to first extract each face. Per-face texture mapping.

Whether that technically requires UVs or not, doesn't really matter. I was only asking that we be able to texture objects without having to break their functionality.

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I never expected uv mapping would appear in VW which is why I have taken a different route. I agree that's just the way it is

I am happy with the tool and my relatively low cost uv option. I have used VW for the last few years alongside PS and have never worried that VW can't do what PS does.

@barkest: Would you be willing to share a little more about the workflow you're using regarding mapping in Vw? Thanks.

EDIT: I saw that you gave some hints about your in-progress mapping workflow in this other thread.

Edited by rDesign
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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

I did not expect that Vw would provide full-on UV mapping with mesh unwrapping and everything else that is much better accomplished by third-party UV texturing software.

I was only hoping for the level of texturing that is possible in SketchUp, for example, where you can have different textures on the sides of a simple box object without having to first extract each face. Per-face texture mapping.

Whether that technically requires UVs or not, doesn't really matter. I was only asking that we be able to texture objects without having to break their functionality.

Gotcha, I should have clarified, the Per-face texture mapping for PIOs is WAY more likely and something I fully expect to see in the future, separate from a full UV mapping solution as I was talking about above. My brain latched onto a specific concept and I gave me tunnel vision in that post.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - I really do appreciate the honesty and candor that you always express on these forums. I know many other software companies would not be so forthcoming.

Thank you! I walk a delicate and unproven line still, I am glad that our shift in policy has been so well received by nearly our entire user base.

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