Maintain spacing of verteci

Hi there, just a Newbie.

I was hoping someone could help me bend a straight line of evenly spaced vertexes into a curve (2D) without changing the spacing of my vertexes, as they are each emitting a halo which is giving me my nice even neon glow but I need to create shaped neon.

I am using a scale where my vertex need to stay at 15 BU’s apart.

I tried using proportional editing and grabbing the end one but it expands and contracts the spacing.

I was thinking I might have to use armetures and put bones in between each vertex but I am not very well versed with these yet and it seemed like a bit of an overkill (but I’ll do it if it’s the only way).

I would just adjust the spacing manually for this project but I will be doing a lot of neon for my work purposes in the future and was hoping I could just have a template straight one and just keep bending it as needed.

Another thing that would be really handy is if I could create my outer tube from this bent line. I know you can extrude along paths using curves but is there a way of doing the same using meshes?

I’ve attached a bit of a diagram to help explain my dilema.

Any thoughts anyone?

Jon.

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Did you try to use the Curvedeform? Select your object, then the curve and hit Ctrl+P -> Curve Deform.
Then you probably want to enable “Curvestretch” in the Curve and Surface Panel and you might have to adjust the Track setting in the Anim Settings Panel for the object, too (just try which axis works out best).

I’m not sure but it seems (just tested it very quickly) that it maintains the spacing ratio between the verts. It obviously doesn’t keep the original distances though as it stretches the object to fit the curve. So, it might be possible to adjust the spacing to the original value again by adjusting the curve…(btw, if you want to see how the vertices are aligned in the bent object you need to apply the Deform modifier - that way the deformation becomes real and you can enter edit mode to see how the verts are aligned).

Just a quick thought.

Oh, and it is actually vertices, not verteci :wink:

Use a curve guide modifier to bend the line. F9, Add Modifier->Curve, in the Ob: field type the exact name of the curve guide. You may have to adjust the line’s axis tracking (F7 buttons, Anim Settings panel) so it follows the curve.

re: your 2nd question, you can convert beveled curves to mesh with Alt-C.

Thanks very much guys. I actually may be able to use your curve deform or curve modifier ideas in conjunction with what I came up with.

I created an armature with several bones along the same axis as my line of vertices (spelling’s never been my strong point Myke). Then I segmented each bone evenly so that their were the same number of total segments along my chain of bones as vertices in my line. Then while in Object Mode I parented the line of vertices to the armiture and selected the ‘group vertices to the nearest bone’ option when prompted during this parenting procedure.

I also parented my extruded circle mesh (which represents the actual neon tube rather than the glow) to the same armature, so now to modify my whole neon tube into the desired curve in one go I select the armature and manipulate the bones in Pose Mode - works a treat actually. This is where I may be able to use the curve deform or curve modifier ideas perhaps to take out the ‘curve by hand’ factor.

Only downside is the length can only be adjusted by taking out bones and their corresponding neon bits. Great thing is though the whole thing, mesh vertices and bones, go back to their original staight line position when you enter Edit Mode, which makes it really easy to trim down and recap the end of my tube with the semi-sphere.

Thanks again guys. Gonna go play around with curve deforms and modifiers now. What a great program :o

Jon.

I’m trying to wrap a line of 22 odd vertices around a curve for a different purpose now and the two methods suggested above are not working for me, no matter what I change in the axis panel. The line just moves about the screen but stays straight.

Could you be more specific? What do you mean by “wrap around” - bend it like the curve or really wrap it around the curve?

Also make sure to hit the right option - it sounds a little like you hit Follow Path or something…but a look at some screenshots and / or the .blend file would surely help.

What I mean is I have a straight line of vertices currently positioned along the x axis, and I have a bezier curve. I would like to bend my line of vertices into the exact same curved shape as the bezier curve (not actually wrap around it) while maintaining equal spacing of the 22 odd vertices along this new curved line. The curve has no y axis coordinates as it is 2D along the x and z axis but when I add the curve modifier to my line of vertices it shoots off into all sorts of 3D directions.

I’m not exactly sure but some tips for using the Curvebend modifier - make sure that “Curvestretch” is activated for the curve. Both objects, the curve and the mesh, should have the same center otherwise results may get funky. And if your curve is very complex, 22 verts might be too less to achieve a smooth bend. You know already about adjusting the axis…

I personally love the curvebend and use it quite often, it just takes some time to get used to it since it seems to make troubles sometimes if you are not exact enough or forget to set it up properly.

one way is to make one vertice thats emitting halo and then use the spin dub, an oldie but an goodie IMO.

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Thanks Myke. Got it. Worked like a charm. I didn’t have the centres aligned or the curvestretch enabled.

Am I missing something? Why not take the curve, that you want your vertices to parallel, and duplicate it. Then, convert it to a mesh. Have you tried that?

Kernond I did try this before anything else but the curve is not uniform. It is sharper at some points than others. So when I convert it to a mesh (setting the curve resolution to the number of vertices I want along it first), the vertices are spaced according to how sharp the curve is at that point instead of being even, ie vertices are crammed up more where the curve is more pronounced.

Here’s an idea similar to Felix’s. I haven’t actually tried this, it’s just something that seemed like it might work so…

  • create curve
  • create plane
  • delete all but one vertex of plane
  • “center new” the vertex
  • parent vertex to curve
  • follow path
  • dupliframes
  • apply halo to vertices
  • create tube profile for curve
  • apply to curve
  • orient new tube to enclose vertices
  • cap tube ends
  • texture
  • render

Now, of course those aren’t precise steps but I think it’s enough to give it a try.

Also, using Alt-S to scale a subdivided mesh curve will cause the spacing between the vertices to even out in the areas where they are bunched together (that’s not the actual function of Alt-S, it just happens to have the effect I mentioned). The flow of the curve is changed a little but the results may still be something you can use.

Keep us posted with what ultimately works for you. Thanks. :slight_smile:

Use dupliframing. Create an object that is a single vertex and dupliframe it along a path. By varying the speed you can equally spce the verts to anything you want. When done select the verts and join then to one object (you don’t need edges for the halos, just verts).

Video tutorial on paths and dupliframes can be found here:
http://www.ibiblio.org/bvidtute/

GreyBeard