So I started making a few trees. I had some easy time using the sapling addon, like shown in many youtube videos.
But since that wasn’t real modelling I felt the need to do my own from scratch.
As always, I set my goal a little bit too high.
Anyways, I want to make a twisted tree. I got myself lots of reference images from google and started modelling, made a thin tribe and duplicated it with the spin tool. Then I edited each tribe one by one. There started my trouble. It was pretty hard rotating them to not get the tribe become too thin or too thick, but also the tribes not to overlap.
Since I’m still pretty new to blender, I don’t have any kind of workflow whatsoever.
Any advice on how to start/advance is welcome.
Should I use more Loop Cuts? More Vertices per cylinder?
At the end it should like this (just the middle “glowing” tree, as of now).
One way to get started:
Add Bezier curve and move it slightly off the center (green on image).
Apply location, Ctrl-A.
Add Empty and set up circular Array for Curve using Object Offset and Empty as a center.
Set up two views - Front and Top.
Grow and rotate curve using both views.
Convert Curve to the Mesh Alt-C.
Curves can not branch and you wont have individual control of the curves in Array until you convert them. Use Proportional editing from now on, add new curves where needed.
Thanks, I just don’t understand how to use the empty, and what kind of empty. Can’t i just use the spin tool?
How did you add thickness to the curve? If I wanted to do more of the “normal” modelling, starting with a cylinder and extruding/rotating it for each tribe, is there a simpler way to achieve it than I did it?
Ouch… This is Array modifier that makes 9 roots here which then go twisted up.
Array mod places Object’s copies on X,Y or Z axes in a straight line by default. If the Object Origin point is at the center and you rotate it leaving copies at certain intervals - Array can do the same, you just need to tell it WHERE that center is; this is where you add Empty object (same Add list: Mesh, Curves, Lamps…).
If you have Empty right where Object’s Origin is and enter that information on Array modifier tab (see checked tings in image) you can rotate Empty to distribute copies of Object. Even if it sounds complicated (and probably this ain’t the best explanation either) it is not so tough and allows to modify things later easily - change angles, amount of copies and so on.
If Array mod seem 2 much Shift-D and R using 3dcursor as a pivot works the same. You will have to deal with each curve separately though which defeats “easy way” idea somehow…
At the end all is a mesh. Even if you start from Curve. What is easier if you started from Curve - you deal with just a couple of points, not the Cylinder’s mesh where you need to move a ton of verts.
Add Bezier curve and look on the Curve Object data tab: set Fill to Full, Resolution to 1 or 2 and increase Bevel Depth to “cylinder” diameter you want. Alt -s scales diameter of individually selected curve points.
Alt-c to convert Curve object to Mesh (decrease Resolution Preview value to 5 or so before you convert).
you can rotate Empty to distribute copies of Object
Add Bezier curve and look on the Curve Object data tab: set Fill to Full, Resolution to 1 or 2 and increase Bevel Depth to “cylinder” diameter you want. Alt -s scales diameter of individually selected curve points.
;). One i was missing quite a long was that one can take a mesh loop from existing object, convert it to Curve, twist, bend, abuse and convert back to the mesh…
Curves do not branch. Pity. However (randomly?) selected mesh faces could be extruded by using MultiExtrude from Testing - Mesh:Extra Tools addon or Mesh:Extrude Along Curve.
Proportional edit - Random?
Just a suggestion.
