Build face grids tool

[rudo_fr]

Hello Npower team,

Do you know why we don't have documentation about Build face grids tool ?

Do you know why this tool make three time same job ? look into undo commande and you will see what i'm meaning.

Thanks. I hope have answers because i asked questions on forum without answers(faces named selection).....

Rudolph.

[rudo_fr]

ok i found extract to curve tool to make what i need, but with this tool we can only have nurbs spline not max spline......

Here is what i'm doing with this tool (simulate TOON Render).



Please, can you react to my first post ?


Thanks, Rudolph.

[EricPinkel]

The face grid tool builds a grid network of intersecting curves by from the UV iso lines . The UV lines can be found under the curve display in the Viewport Display settings roll out in the command panel. Simply add as many UV lines on the surface as you want with the U and V spinners and select the face grid tool and it will convert the lines into intersecting curves that you can snap to. We have not had time to properly document this tool but will do so in coming releases.

Sincerly

Eric

[EricPinkel]

When I am doing toon rendering I use the Extr to Power Edge Mesh or use the Vray Toon shader.

Great Job on the Phone. If you need further help just let me know

Eric

[rudo_fr]

Thanks Eric, but i prefere control design of my render with shapes or splines, it's more precise. It's why i utilise extract curves tool to design exactly what i want and where i want, next render those splines.

Rudolph.

[PiXeL_MoNKeY]

You can also use the ink'n'paint or similar toon material that supports smoothing groups. The npower objects usually have different smoothing group information at the location of the construction curves/visible object edges. Would be cool if you could do build face grids and divide smoothing groups, or something similar.

-Eric

[zemmuonne]

It would be very useful if we could select which edges hide or show on toon renderings. Actually what I see on viewport in "smooth + highlights" + "edged faces" is rendered also in the toon renderer (using b2).

EDIT: woops, almost exactly what pixel_monkey said

[nPower_Dave]

Have you tried using the Power Edge Mesh feature?

Also, what you see in the viewport with "smooth + highlights" + "edged faces" options should be what you see with the toon render. Isn't this what you get?

[PiXeL_MoNKeY]

What you see in the viewport is the same as the render. What he wants is a way to select/define which Pwr edges split smoothing groups.

-Eric

[zemmuonne]

What you see in the viewport is the same as the render. What he wants is a way to select/define which Pwr edges split smoothing groups.

-Eric

Don't think I got this power edge thingy (power translator basic here). But I meant what Pixel_monkey said. Actually most of the toon renderers out there got the option to draw a line where different smoothing groups meet. This is very handful with polys, because it's easy to define where a line will be just changing polys smoothing groups. I've found no way to change this aspect in a powernurbs object. See attachment: I'd like to pick the red edges and "hide" them from being rendered - that's all.

[nPower_Dave]

O.k. That's a good suggestion. I don't know of any way currently to selectively hide our edges. However, in the example you show, I'm not sure how you got those red edges that you want to hide. Normally the fillet won't have that "center edge". It should look like the fillet on the corner. In that case, you probably wouldn't need to hide the line.

[PiXeL_MoNKeY]

If you could selectively weld and smooth edges or surfaces, instead of the whole object you could probably to get it to work as needed.

-Eric

[nPower_Dave]

Yes, good point.

[zemmuonne]

O.k. That's a good suggestion. I don't know of any way currently to selectively hide our edges. However, in the example you show, I'm not sure how you got those red edges that you want to hide. Normally the fillet won't have that "center edge". It should look like the fillet on the corner. In that case, you probably wouldn't need to hide the line.

In that specific case I solved with "clean edges" on those 2 specific edges. The model is a step that came out right off Inventor, from our tech guys. I'll go tell them that their filleting sucks :D

[zemmuonne]

O.k. That's a good suggestion. I don't know of any way currently to selectively hide our edges. However, in the example you show, I'm not sure how you got those red edges that you want to hide. Normally the fillet won't have that "center edge". It should look like the fillet on the corner. In that case, you probably wouldn't need to hide the line.

A quick update FYI:
opening the inventor's step file in rhino and saving it again in step, then importing them in max with PowerTranslator, removed these lines. I tried this trick with a few other files that had a bunch of unnecessary edges and worked. Choosing which edges show/hide would still be the best solution - but maybe this can help someone inbetween.

[zemmuonne]

Hi, are there any changes in ver. 5.0 for the edge visibility?

[PiXeL_MoNKeY]

I believe they have updated some of the clean edges code, but it is still not perfect. I think alot of my issues is related to the CATIA data which is pretty ugly to begin with. There has been no changes, AFAIK, in the ability to change what is and is not visible to render.

-Eric