Model a Detailed High Poly Fire Hydrant in 3ds Max

on Nov 24th 2009 with 76 comments
Tutorial Details

Final Product What You'll Be Creating

This entry is part 5 of 12 in the Best of 3D Studio Max – Part 2 Session
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Subdivision modeling is a skill like any other…it is relatively easy to grasp the basics, but it can be extremely difficult to get a handle on the the more advanced techniques. In this two hour long, intermediate/ advanced level modeling tutorial, Ben Tate will demonstrate his process of creating a detailed high-poly fire hydrant using subdivision modeling.

Ben will begin by demonstrating how to build the main body, and manually add edge loops in order to extrude one cylinder from another without losing the smooth cylindrical shape (one of the most difficult tasks accomplish when modeling in sub-d). Next, he will show you how to re-work the topology, add support edges, and make adjustments to minimize any artifacts created by the subdivision. Finally, with the most challenging piece out of the way, he will walk you through the creation of the other parts of the hydrant using a wide variety of different modifiers and poly modeling techniques.

Additional Files/ Plugins:

  • Download the Reference Materials for this tutorial

      • Video 1

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      Note: click the ‘Monitor’ icon to view tutorial in full-screen HD.

      Video 2

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      Note: click the ‘Monitor’ icon to view tutorial in full-screen HD.

      Video 3

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      Note: click the ‘Monitor’ icon to view tutorial in full-screen HD.

      Video 4

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      Note: click the ‘Monitor’ icon to view tutorial in full-screen HD.

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Ben is one half (literally) of the editor duo here at Cgtuts+. Ben has over eight years of experience in the computer graphics field and although he's primarily a hard surface modeler, he's also experienced in the fields of uvmapping, texturing, lighting and rendering. He has authored many tutorials and training materials focused on 3d Studio Max and hard surface modeling. You can check out Ben's website at bentateonline.com to see more of his work.  

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  • sereesha

    this tutorial really helped me ben….thank u for updating ur tutorials….

  • Remon

    im having a problem with video 1 in where we are about to weld the Mirror to the original. It seems my vertices just won’t weld (manually doesnt work either). I tried it with snap on/off without succes.

    • http://www.bentateonline.com Ben Tate
      Author

      Hey Remon,

      That’s a strange one.

      Some things to check:
      - That ‘Copy’ is selected when doing the Mirror.
      - That both sides are attached together as a single object.
      - That there are no extra or stray polygons inside either half, preventing the verts from welding.
      - The “Weld Threshold” value is high enough to detect the matching verts.

      Another thing you can try is using a ‘Symmetry’ modifier (rather then Mirror to copy the piece over.)

      Starting with the original half in the Front view, add a ‘Symmetry’ modifier and choose ‘X’ for the “Mirror Axis” (you may also need to check the “Flip” option if you can’t see it.) Make sure the “Weld Seam” option is checked and it should automatically weld the center verts together. If not, slightly increase the Symmetry’s ‘Weld Threshold” until they all weld down the center.

      Hopefully this will fix the problem for you, and let me know how it turns out :)
      Cheers,
      Ben

  • Rohit

    Hey, im having a problem in the beginning of the second video, where we create the indents just below the main cylinder in the first video, when i mirror the plane after beveling and inseting the certain areas some of my edges of the copy and original just disappear after the mirroring. IF YOU COULD HELP THAT WOULD BE GREAT :D :D

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