Examining Cinderella’s Slippers
We only had 6 entries for the shoe modeling challenge. Congrats to everyone who submitted stuff. As usual, I picked up a few ideas and saw lots of stuff I liked. I used Kyle Stellpflug’s model for the main post image because I thought he did the best job of laying out the model. Here are some things I learned from your submissions, the model referred to is in parentheses after the comment:
- Don’t be afraid to use the Freeform feature. Really. The interface for it is not as nice as SolidThinking, but it’s exactly the kind of functionality I look to ST for. (#1)
- Build the wireframe. Really. (#2)
- Don’t be afraid to overbuild the surface, then trim back. This is often the best way to get the most natural looking surfaces, but it conflicts with a suggestion given later, about modeling from curves. These methods are at odds with one another – face building vs edge building.
- The fastest way or the way with the fewest features is not always the “best” way. Sometimes an accurate shape can only be created with multiple features. (my model)
- Try to make your sketches align with the “flow” of the surface. Making sketches at an angle to the flow can create surfaces that look stretched. (my model, #5, #6)
- You get better continuity if you can make a shape in a single feature, but you don’t always get the shape you want. Everything is a trade off. (#4)
- Modeling from edges (curves) helps you make shapes more predictably (achieve the shape you intend), but curve features in SW are not as accurate as edges. Plus, working from edges has the tendency to produce degeneracies, which are not always a problem, but often are. Again, everything is a trade off.
- Trimming a surface right at the edge of the surface can break the edge around the trim. (#4)
Next challenge to come soon.