kev030981 Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Hi all, I'm a fairly new user of 3DS max, determined to pick it up as my primary modelling tool (architecture student). At present I'm trying to model an abstract auditorium floor, which I've created using a loft taken from an arc and a series of stair profiles I drew in Autocad. This has worked fine, but now I'm trying to take it to the next level and model the structure. I've added a shell modifier to give it depth, but I need the back face to be smooth (or straight) - diagram attached. Is there a better modifier than shell? Or is there a better way of achieving this? (using 2013) Any help is much appreciated! Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josef Wienerroither Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 It would definitiely be better to adjust your profile first to have the back side smoothed and than create the loft. BTW: in Max you still have access to the source profile of a loft, thus you still can edit your source ( which is a spline i guess ) to have that flat backside. When doing this, the loft geometry itself updates accordingly - no Shell modifier required at all. Just be sure to remove the shell modifier before doing this, otherwise your polycount will skyrocket probably ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev030981 Posted April 3, 2013 Author Share Posted April 3, 2013 Brilliant! Thanks Spacefrog that worked, added some arcs to my profiles, attached them in modify panel (had to redo loft - but that was ok), seems to be 99% there but now for some reason the loft isn't capping the ends? I've tried off and on, tried redoing loft, and even cap modifier (shape goes mental) - any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josef Wienerroither Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 be sure that your profile is 100% flat, meaning all vertices lie on a plane. Otherwise the capping algorithm would have troubles to build it's geometry. BTW: such profile related things are best created in top viewport, looking down at your spline, which lies completely flat on zero. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beestee Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 The areas circled in red could be causing this issue: The profile needs to be a closed loop without overlap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev030981 Posted April 4, 2013 Author Share Posted April 4, 2013 Thank you very much for your help Josef and Benjamin - nailed it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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