In this detailed tutorial you will learn how to create rims for a sports car by using the Bridge feature for an Editable Poly. This new feature was introduced in 3D Studio MAX version 7 and can save a modeler a lot of work. Not only will you be able to create the wheel in shown in the screenshots on the left, by using the techniques in this tutorial it will be a piece of cake to create your own original wheels. Apart from that, many of the common modeling techniques (Extrude, Bevel, Chamfer, Bridge, Soft Selection) are used in this tutorial, so it can serve as an excellent way to learn some new selection methods and basic poly-modeling skills.
This tutorial is aimed at the beginner and every step is outlined and displayed in detail. If you are absolutely new to 3D Studio Max , you may want to start with our Chess Pawn modeling tutorial first.
Note: Click on the thumbnail in each step for a larger screenshot that includes the viewports and the relevant portion of the user interface. Some thumbnails lead to more detailed instructions on how to perform certain selections and other tasks.
Create a Cylinder on the Top viewport with the following attributes:
Radius: 40
Height: 30
Height Segments: 4
Cap Segments: 2
Sides: 30
Step 2
Left-click the Snaps Toggle button on the main toolbar and then right-click it to open the Grid and Snap Setting dialog box. Click the Clear All button and then enable the Pivot option. Close the dialog box.
Enabling the Snaps option will allow you to allign the following object correctly.
Step 3
Create a Tube on the Top viewport with the following attributes. Start creating the tube from the center (pivot) of the cylinder you created in step 1.
Right-click the Snaps Toggle button to disable it. Move up the cylinder on the Front or Left viewport as shown in the screenshot.
Step 5
Select the Top viewport and click the Maximize Viewport Toggle button on the bottom right of the screen.
Select the tube and rotate it -3 degrees on the Z-axis so it lines up as show in the screenshot.
Step 6
Convert the tube to an editable poly by right-clicking Tube on the Modify tab and selecting Editable Poly below Convert To:.
Select the cylinder and use the same steps to convert the it also to an Editable Poly.
Step 7
While the cylinder is still selected, click the Attach button on the Modify tab in the Edit Geometry section and click the tube to attach it.
You should now have a single Editable Poly object called Cylinder01. Click the Attach button again to disable it.
Step 8
Press the F3 key (to see the shaded model), press the F4 key (to see the edges on the shaded model), and press the J key (to get rid of the selection bracket). Click the Arc Rotate SubObject button and rotate up a bit.
Go to Edge sub-object level and select an edge on the upper inner side of the tube and click the Loop button.
Step 9
Move down the row of edges half way the top row of the polygons and scale it up as shown in the screenshot.
Click the Maximize Viewport Toggle button on the bottom right of the screen again.
Step 10
Go to Polygon sub-object level and select the polygons as shown in the screenshots. Make sure you select them on all sides, meaning the inner side of the tube element and the outer side of the cylinder element. These will be the ends of the six spokes we will create for the rim in the next step.
Continue with the second part of this tutorial on the following page.
