Everyone has their own preferred techniques when it comes to being artistic, whether it has to deal with drawing, making graphics on Photoshop, making music or even modeling in 3ds Max. Sometimes though its good to experience every technique possible to help you improve on your artistic abilities. For example, when I first started using 3ds Max I was taught how to create models through box modeling however, the more I took the time to study outside of school I had found a new technique that would allow me to create more complex models through the use of Nurbs. So you may ask yourself, what is box modeling? Well have you ever seen someone make something extraordinary from trimming a bush or through ice sculpturing? Box modeling is very similar to this. The only difference is you're on a computer and you start "sculpturing" your model from a simple box. The way you could go about doing this is through the use of extrusions, inserts, bridging, and even bevels if you wanted to. Extrusions is most likely going to be the main thing being touch when it comes to box modeling because it allows you to pull out or push in polygons which create more polygons by doing so. When I first modeled a desk on 3ds max I actually used the box modeling technique by having a rectangle be my base and I basically started subdividing the corners of the rectangle so I could be able to extrude them out in order to create the legs.
Inserts are something you can do to polygons when it comes to box modeling if you want to. Inserts basically subdivide more polygons by scaling down the selected polygon you had chosen. This can be useful sometimes when it comes to creating a handle or even making fingernails on a hand.
When I first created a gasoline canister I actually used inserts on three locations of the model. The front handle, back handle, and the tube on the front of the model. By being able to place the inserts at those location I was about to scale down the base of both front and back handle and just extrude them out. Now when it comes to box modeling bridging is something I like to take advantage of when I have the chance to use it. Bridging is literally creating a bridge, but that bridge is connected from one polygon to another. As you can see when I created the handle I took the opportunity as soon as I had it to bridge the handles together finishing the handle of my model. When it came to modeling the desk I actually bridge the middle of the legs to give it more of a feeling of a desk. Now if you think that's cool then you still haven't yet to hear the last part of what you can do for box modeling which is bevel. Bevel is very similar to extruding where you push in or pull out a polygon. The only difference is with bevel is that after you finish with the extrusion you then are about to scale out the face of the polygon in or outwards. A good illustration of this is how I created the tube when I was modeling the gasoline canister. As you can see at the top, I used bevel where I extruded the tube and then scaled out the polygon a few times to give the tube a tip.
As you play with these techniques, you start to get more and more of a feeling of how box modeling works, but is that the only way you can create a model on 3ds Max? Remember when I said it's good to experience every possible technique that may help you out in the future? Well when it came to 3ds Max I actually spent the time to learn Nurbs, which is a different modeling technique. Nurbs stands for Non - Uniform - Rational - Bezier - Splines. I honestly like to think of Nurbs as Edge modeling because you're basically using these things called Splines that are like edges and creating more edges out of them or even curving the edges through the use of handles. Honestly when I was taking my 3d Modeling class I read in the book about Nurbs and the first thing I thought was...I need to learn this! I knew right away with a technique like this I could create much more complex models considering I was very good with creating edges or "splines" on adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Now what makes Box modeling and Nurbs different from each other you may ask? Well with Nurbs it's a whole different concept. You're not starting off your model from a box but from a spline shape. A spline represents a edge in a way where points/vertex's on a spline have handles. Manipulating the handles allow you to curve out the splines. Now with box modeling you're basically extruding a lot ad subdividing in order to create your model, but with Nurbs you can create a shape with splines and then after your finish with the shape you can then just extrude it out. When I first used Nurbs I created a katana based off of a tutorial. The tutorial taught the foundation of Nurbs or what I like to call edge modeling. What I like to do when it comes to Nurbs is create a plane and apply a material on that plane. The material can be a picture of anything you want, typically let it be the base of your model and how you'll start it off.
I'm actually creating a sword as a side project through the use of splines right now. As you can see in the picture I created a plane and applied a material onto it. Since I wanted to create a sword I thought having the blade base and hilt would be a perfect spot to create a shape through the use of splines and so I applied a material like this onto the plane. Now the cool thing is when your modeling through the use of splines you actually grab a vertex and that vertex has a handle which you can manipulate. Doing this allows you to manipulate the spline at the point. If you have that vertex be bezier then you can create curves for that spline. When I was modeling the hilt of the sword I actually had all points be bezier so I can get the curviness I wanted for the sword. After getting all the correct curves I closed off the spline by having the endpoint touch with the beginning point. Now here comes to cool part, you have a shape but!....It's not a polygon until you convert it into a editable poly or mesh. Once you do that you just given your self a shaped plane. In order to give that shape you just created more height, you would have to actually go to the modifiers panel and extrude the shape out. Then by doing that you can convert to editable poly. And thats how to model with Nurbs!
Now although I must admit I love creating models through the use of splines more than box modeling, I wouldn't recommend always to go this route, even with box modeling. When it comes to creating models on 3ds Max, you have to think....How should I go about modeling this? Box modeling or Nurbs? For something like a table, window, or house I would recommend box modeling honestly. It's much easier to do. However when it comes to modeling something like a sword or a character, I'd honestly recommend to do it with the use of splines. This is why I recommend to experience every possible technique that you can, because it can help you out in the future just like it has helped me with 3d modeling.
