G3D- Cellphone tutorial

NURBS Cellphone Tutorial

Page 2 - Refining and Adding Details

This portion of the tutorial can be quite tedious,I spent a great deal of time struggling with surface continuity and seeds and other rather trivial NURBS problems. So be prepared!

NOTE: You may notice how my cellphone changes it's shape a bit while we work,that is because MAX updates the surfaces/curves when you modify the base curves/surfaces. This is very powerful and this is one of the few reasons why I still use MAX's rather inferior NURBS solution(as compared to that of Rhino and Maya.).

STEP 1: Make the profile curve on the TOP viewport of the hole in the middle of the phone where the LCD will be on. While still on the TOP viewport, vector project the curve to the surface and trim it. After trimming,extrude the PROJECTED CURVE Downwards,forming an inner wall.

Curve for the "hole" The extruded surface adds dimension and depth

STEP 2: Select the projected NURBS curve the clone it(make sure not to move it by accident!),then flip the trim so that you have the inner side,you can then detach these to make it a separate object so that later on,you won't have a big cluttered mess in your viewports when editing. This will be the part where the LCD window will be,and some of the buttons as well. Note that the curves and surfaces used in making the surface is also present in the new detached object,that is because the object we detached is dependent to those parts(If you made the top surface independent awhile ago,you will only have 1 curve bec the extruded syrface is no longer dependent on the other curve for reference.). You may wish to make it indendent but as for now,leave them as is.

The detached curve/s Detached surface

STEP 3: On the TOP viewport, make new profile curves for the button. Trim the surface with these curves,flipping trims as neccesary. When the trim fails,you can: 1) Make the surface independent then reparam it or rebuild.both steps are buttons found on the modify panel. 2) Repeat the trim over and over again,it may sound stupid but thats what I was told by noted MAX teacher Robert Polevoi(www.webreference.com). After trimming,you should have something like fig.1 with you. Extrude the PROJECTED CURVES downwards to make walls again. making things look more interesting.

Create the curves representing the buttons/holes Fig.1: Holes "drilled" to the surface

The addition of inner "walls"

STEP 4: Now to make the LCD, make a duplicate of what you are working so it becomes a new object,name it Clear_Parts and then delete the button holes and other parts that are not needed. Next, select the projected curve and flip the trim so that you will have the inner part of the trimmed surface. You have now created the clear LCD window.

Make a duplicate Deleting unwanted NURBS operations Select the projected Curve

Check on flip trim (modifier panel) The clear window What it should look like

STEP 5: Lets go back to the button holes and the phone's face(note that I had also extruded the outer "walls" downward.), select the the profile curve that we used for projecting the curve to the surface and copy it downwards, after doing that, create a ruled surface from the projected curve in the surface and the new curve. Make the surface's material ID to 2,etc.(because its made of another material in the actual phone).This will be the rubber "gasket" that cushions the LCD from being crushed. You can then add a Cap Surface to the lower curve so it becomes the actual LCD screen. If Cap surface doesn't work,add a *Surface Edge Curve to it then try it again.

The new ruled surface serves as an "LCD gasket/cushion"

* Discussed later on this tutorial

STEP 6: Draw keys and set them apart evenly, then creat the borders tthat suround the the buttons by using the Offset Curve tool under Create Curves Rollout then join them with Fillet Curve. To make the curves into one single continuing contigious spline, click on the Join button then click on the curves one by one,if the other end of the curve is flipped,flip it to the desired direction,then join them again. Take special care not to distort the curves while they are on the process of joining.This step can be rather time consuming,but the time you spend here will save you lots of efforts later on,so be patient. Clone/array them evenly so that they are distributed nicely. Then project the "border" curves to the cellphone's upper casing's surface one by one, Flipping trims as neccessary. Extrude the projected curves with a negative value to give it thickness. Click on the Surface Curve tool and select the edges of the extruded "walls",this creates a dependent curve on the edge of the selected surface. Click on Cap Surface tool then select the Suface Edge Curves that we made so that a flat plant is created. Use the button splines to trim holes on the Cap Surface to make "wells" on which the buttons will rest on. You may wish to extrude them downwards for better appeal,that is if they will be visible. To create the buttons,extrude them then check the cap hole radio button when possible,if not,make a Surface Edge Curve the add a Cap Surface. apply Fillet Surface to make things nice and rounded. You may apply Fillet Surface to the other holes and edges to make them receive highlights better and make the look better(At the cost of RAM and computing power.).

NOTE: When Fillet Surface fails to work(you get an orange surface.),set the seeds of the surface one by one,this is a hit-and-miss affair and can really get tedious, another reason is that your Fillet Surface is too large for the area covered,in this case, I suggest that you lower the radius of both the starting and ending radius of the curve to accomodate the area of the surfaces involved.

The curves used to make the buttons,etc. The layout of the cellular phone Trimmed

"Walls" created Extruded Button holes

STEP 7: Detach the button curves from the Face object of the phone and name them Face_Buttons to avoid confusion. Extrude them,while still on the Extrude Surface Dialog, click on Cap Holes.

Button curves detached Extrude the button curves Holes capped

STEP 8: Make curves for the "ear-holes". I used the same procedures used to create the button curves and their respective borders. Project,Trim, Surf Edge Curve and Trim again to get the neccessary geometry.

"Ear-holes" profile curves The finished "earholes"

STEP 9: By now, I am positively sure that you had already figured out how I got these details on middle portion. You may fillet them if you want,but be warned! by this time,your model will be complex enough to make your system creep like a snail when calculating/refreshing,so add them at your own risk! if your system isn't showing any sign of slowing down,then I suggest that you add them.

Extra holes and added details

We have now finished our project! Add details where needed and add numbers to your keys and a logo. The copper contacts were extruded and the scrolling wheel was made by just using an extruded polygon cylinder,it's more efficient this way. If your model shows seams and cracks on rendering, play with the Surface Approximation values and set them higher for the renderer so they won't be seen,and thus,eliminated. I'll discuss Surface Approximation on another NURBS-related tutorial that I will write in the near future. I hope that you had a fun and educational tme learning with me,till then, HAPPY MAXING! and,please,explore your new found NURBS skills,try to make planes,helicopters,etc....remember, PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!!!!!