Model a Detailed High Poly Fire Hydrant in 3ds Max
Tutorial Details
- Program: 3Ds Max
- Difficulty: Intermediate
- Completion Time: 40 minutes
Final Product What You'll Be Creating
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.
The reference picture can be downloaded at the following link: http://www.bentateonline.com/Images/Fire_Hydrant_Reference.jpg
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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Tnx Ben
Another gud tut… both twin brothers r doing excellent job 4 3ds max new commerce
Thanks! Glad to hear you like both of our tuts:)
The ref Picture direct link has failed, but i found the same pic but like 10x more HD in googles first img results…
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Downtown_Charlottesville_fire_hydrant.jpg
Hey man sorry about that! I recently updated my website with a new version, I must have forgot to copy the image over :) but it’s working now :)
Cheers
that looks cool.. thanks for the tutorial
No problem, hope you like it!
4 videos are amazingly detailed. Very clean outcome. Like it!
Really great tut. Only one thing. Making the hole int the cilinder can much more simple and quicker and it stay’s round.
Thanks, and you’re right the hole could have been done a few other ways. The reason why I did it this way was because I found it gave the cleanest base mesh with the lowest possible poly count. I also decided not to adjust the hole shape before extruding, because I wanted to show that there is still some freedom to manipulate an object even after subdivision has been added.
I find using a cylinder or a circle as a guide and then adjusting the mesh to it, is a fast and effective way of making simple positional tweaks. This is something I use often and I thought it might be useful to show:) I was also against the idea of using booleans or interpenetrating cylinders, although this might be a fast solution. It would not achieve a good or somewhat realistic final result.
awww :D keep on working Ben! You are pro ^^
Thanks for the vote of confidence:)
As always top notch! Every day i log on to cg tuts, hoping to find a tutorial from the tate brothers. I love the detail u put into it!
Hey Rune, that’s awesome! and thanks for always taking the time to leave a comment on both mine and Chris’s tuts. It’s very much appreciated:)
No problem. You deserve all the cred you can get! :)
Thanks for the great tutorial and keep them coming. I have to say your brother and you have probably the best tutorials in the 3ds max section. They are very clean, easy to understand, and don’t drift off from the main point.
Hey Andrew, Thanks so much!…That’s quite a compliment! I don’t know if it’s true LOL (There’s some really awesome and talented dudes on here!), but thanks for saying it:) and I think you’ll like what Chris has come up with for his next tut!
It is a very cool lesson!!! Very thankful an author, large respect him. Though with a modeling I the acquainted not first day, it was very interestingly me to look over him, the point of view of author pleased in relation to a modeling. Forgive for bad English. Hello from Ukraine :)
Very nice, Ben!
I learned far more from this tutorial than 99% of other tutorials that I have read/watched. I love how you explain every step and each shortcut used. Thank you for this!
Thanks a lot Mikkel, I’m glad to hear that you found it helpful:)
Exactly, more stuff learned from this one than from all the previous tuts I’ve watched summed up. I’m a fan of Your excellent moron-proof explanations Ben, if someday I become skilled and rich You’ll have a percent on my payroll :D
Thank you for making Max so easy to use. Your tut’s are so easy to follow and so detailed. Thank you very much.
Thanks, I appreciate it and sorry again I couldn’t be of help with the Mentalray thing!
thank you Ben, God Bless you. You don´t know how much you help people around the world. Thanks once more. You are great. Your teaching is cool and ease.
Thanks a bunch Herval for such great comments!!
dude….last time i asked a q in tire rim making and you didint reply.Nervermind.Can u uplod low quality version of these videos .??…thx
Sorry, we only provide our tutorials in HD quality. If they play too slow in your browser, you can download them and play them from your desktop video player instead.
Sorry I missed your question on the rim tut! if you send me an email I’ll do my best to answer it:) and sorry about the videos as well.
Thanks a lot for the tutorial! It is really great and I hope to see many more in the nearest future. :)
Thanks a lot! I hope to have another one out soon:)
great job, can i ask you something….
i wanna know how to create a cartoon film, can you explain me step by step how it does….
thank you….
Cartoon animation is a complete art form that takes years of conscientious study to master… and it would be impossible to explain how to create an entire animated film from scratch in a single step by step tutorial….or an entire series for that matter. I recommend picking up the “Animator’s Survival Kit” in either book or DVD form to start…after that it’s just a matter of finding what ever information you can from around the internet (there’s tons)…and practice, practice, practice!!
SORRY!!! I DO NOT SPEAK ENGLISH
THE TUTORIAL VERY VERY GOOD…THE ALL
MY WORK:
http://www.world3d.hu/galeria.php?artistid=3368
Thanks for excellent tutorial, learned a lot.
While browsing turbosquid I found the Fire Hydrant model being sold for $129, but Pekdemir isn’t you is it? http://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/3d-hydrant/501838 Is he profiting on your work?
As usual, awesome tutorial !
Learn a lot again with it ! Can’t wait for your next tutorial.
NIce Tut ben is there any way that we can get your video tuts in a zip or rar format that’d be aweesome.
Great, great, great!!!
HI EVER1,
PLZ CAN U TOLD ME WHERE AND HOW CAN I DOWNLOAD FREE 3D MAX MODELING VIDEO & RENDERING TUTORIALS
THX SO MUCH IN ADVANCED
REGARDS,
SHAH
Here on CGTuts+:)
Thanks for this great tutorial
This has been really helpfull. Thank you so much and keep up the good work!
I love you Ben!
Very good tutorial, but the reference image is not in the server.
Hey sorry about that! I forgot to copy it over when I changed website versions…but it’s online and should be working fine now :)
Thank you very much.
This is the best tutorial site. I will try to do all the tutorials.
very nice
thank
Good tutorial, but it’s to difficult for me to sit through listening to your droned out voice.
I like the way he speaks. I am not native English speaker and I am able to understand everything he talks.
nice man, nice, i didnt think id have much to learn from this but i was curious to see if u used a ffd box for the top section so i watched anyways.. and well u tought me allot about topology while using turbo smooth, beautiful model and excellent tutorial man, keep up the good work
I am begginer of 3d max, my learning status is 0% on seeing your video tutorial. Now I have feal some changes in 3d max knowledge and I can learn completly.
Thanks a lot for your teaching.
i got 3DS 2010 2 days ago and was completly lost, Im going for game design but since i just started classes all im taking is math and some other cheesy classes but decided to get the program and give it a shot. tried make some basic shapes and i failed, tried looking up some tutorials from other ppl and i failed again, tried using the 3DS Chess piece tutorial, dont ask :P then came across yours and even tho it seemed way out of my league i decided to give it a shot and i did it. Great tutorials, awesome job at explaining what to do and whats going on while you work unlike some others ive seen. its 2 am here and will deff move on to the next one and see what happenes. im catching on pretty fast i think :) thanx again and keep the tus coming will def try them all.
Wow…! very details tutorial….. Thanks Ben..
can you plz make a tut on a high-poly gun plz!!!!!
You’re in luck! I just finished a medium poly gun tutorial! That covers modeling, uvmapping and texturing :) I’m not exactly sure when it will be up on the site, but it should be very soon :)
This is one of the best tutorials I’ve ever done. I’ve taken classes before but this gave me a different perspective on the type of workflow you could have given some different methods and techniques to making your work much smoother. Thanks so much! This is a great help and I’m looking forward to doing the next one.
Thanks for another great tutorial Ben your consistent high quality instruction is very much appreciated.
Brilliant tut I have learned heaps, as well as your expertise modelling you also
have the gift for teaching, thanks again
Thank you very much Ben! this tutorial was just amazing, I learned a lot! I saw the final render at your web site, maybe you could do a tutorial or an article with the settings you used.. the final result is sweet! Sorry for my english, and thanx again!
Hey man, I recently made a (slightly different) fire hydrant myself, and watched your tut to see how you did yours. While I have nothing bad to say about your tutorial, I have to agree a bit with the guy above saying your voice is hard to listen to. I mean, fine talk slow but can you please stop saying “ok or “right” after every sentence? If you find this offensive I’m sorry, it is not my intention. But it does actually have a lot of effect on whether or not many people just fall asleep or get annoyed listening to you.
I was also wondering why you converted your model to editable mesh before you extruded the bottom part in the first video. To me that seems like an utterly pointless step, considering you only extruded and moved some vertices, then converted it back.
Still thanks for making tutorials, people like you make it possible for people like me to do this! You are appreciated.
Who cares how Ben talks mentioning no names (cough….Stephan!) turn the volume down if you don’t like it. Back on the modelling side, yes really enjoyed it and like many others I’ve picked up many useful techniques from watching your videos – thanks again :)
awesome tutorial. I’ve been using max for about 2 years and modeling is definitely a weak point for me.
One question. when you are modeling the bottom rim, you convert to editable mesh. why? it seemed like everything you do on the mesh could have been done on edit poly.
Thanx alot for ur great tutorials, we ‘ve learnt alot from u
thanks man ! simple but usefull tutorials! love it
Hello from Albania Ben,
oh man, unfortunately I’m 1 year late for this tutorial october 2010.
Very detailed work, i learned a lot….
Thanks Ben!
Hey Ben,
I just came across this tutorial and your brothers water tower, both very cool and concise and easy to follow tutorials. I’m new to max but learning alot thanks to tutorials like you guys have provided. I do have one question tho, I’m able to cut out the large circle on the front of the cylinder/poly with no problem, but when I go to cut the circle on the left side it won’t cut out the circle. As I’m snaping to the vertex it seem to cut the faces of the polygon in a “V” shape from the circle to the bottom of the cylinder/poly. I’ve tried with the vertex snap on and off multiple times with no success. My constraints are on none, but I’m not sure if it is a setting problem or not. I am using Max 2010. Any suggestions or help is appreciated
THANKS a lot Ben for this kind sharing.
I just followed you and now more confident than before.
Here is my end result with environment:
http://al-kabeer.deviantart.com/art/Fire-Hydrant-196862624
Waiting for more videos.
Good Luck!
Hello Ben,
Can u please describe about video settings u have… FPS, BIT RATE ETC.
Thanks.
:-O)
The second of you tutorial which I started to do and ITS GREAT !
The second of you tutorials which I started to do and ITS GREAT !
I am very much liking your work. The fire hydrant was very good and now I am watching another series of yours. You do not miss any details and the explanations of what you are doing as you go is perfect.
awesome tutorial. i’m using maya but didn’t have any big problems.
this tutorial really helped me ben….