Box modeling is the process of starting with a pre-made geometric shape and then cutting into and adding to it to create a finished model. The process is very manual, but requires you to get comfortable with the basic modeling tools.
The following tutorial is a beginners guide to modeling, but even an advanced modeler, if getting started with Maya for the first time, might find it useful to get familiar with the basic tools. Follow the bullet points and, if you want more information, read the additional text.
Tutorial
Vase of Flowers
- Start in Panel > Perspective > persp
- Under the polygon tab, left click the Cylinder
- Click and drag on the grid to create the base circle
- Click and drag up from the circle to pull it into a cylinder
- In the channel box, left click polyCylinder1 and use the settings to the right
(remember that units in Maya are centimeters)
Giving the cylinder 16 loops around is a good balance of keeping the object simple, yet giving it enough detail to look good. Divisions of 4 or 8 will allow you to Quad the cylinder's caps later if it becomes necessary. The 5 height divisions will give you a good level of detail to start with, but you can add more in as you go.
Step 2: Shape your vase
- Go to Panel > Orthographic > Front
- Left click the cylinder to select it, then press 'W' to use the move tool
- Move the cylinder up until it sits on the ground plane (the dark black line in the grid)
- Press R' to use the scale tool
- With your mouse over the cylinder, hold the right button down and select 'Vertex'
- Left click and drag a box accross a line of vertex and scale it using the centre point of the scale tool.
- To add more detail, go to Edit Mesh > Insert Edge Loop Tool and then click on a vertical line of your mesh to create a horizontal one.
- Work away and keep the loops as even as possible while getting the shape you want. An extra loop close to the top and bottom of the vase will keep those parts sharper, while broadly spcved loops in between will give an even, smooth finish.
- Press three to see what it looks like smooth, and 1 to go back to un smoothed. Try to work mostly with it unsmoothed, but check it once in a while.
Step 3: The vase interior
- Go to Panel > Perspective > Persp
- With the object selected press F to focus on it.
- Hold alt and use the left mouse button to rotate around and look at your vase
- Hold the right button down and select 'Vertex' to go back to vertex mode and select the middle vertex on the top of the vase.
- Hold Ctrl and hold the right button down to open the radial menu. Select To Faces > To Faces. This turns your vertex selection into a faces selection, selecting the entire cap of the vase.
- Go to Edit Mesh > Extrude, and then scale down the cap as if using the scale tool. This will create new faces within the ones selected.
- Repeat and this time move the new faces down into the vase.
Step 4: Create a Leaf
- Under the polygon tab, left click the Cube
- Click and drag on the grid to create the base
- Click and drag up from the rectangle to pull it up, but just a little.
- In the channel box, left click polyCube1 and use the settings to the right to input the settings below.
- Shape the rectangle into a leaf shape in Panel > Orthographic > Top
Step 5: Refine your Leaf
- Go to Panel > Perpective > persp
- Add loops to either side of the leaf with Edit Mesh > Insert Edge Loop Tool
- In vertex mode, select the center line and pull it down (don't select the points of the leaf)
- Then bring the loops either side of the center up and model a gentle curve to the leaf
Step 6: Duplicate and Place Leaves in your Vase
Step 7: Create a Stem and Petal
Step 8: Instance some Petals to edit them simultaneously
Step 9: Bend Flower using a Lattice
Step 10: Duplicate and Place Flowers in your Vase
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