Setting the Segments?

IppotamusIppotamus Posts: 1,579
edited December 1969 in Hexagon Discussion

So I'm following a tutorial and she wants me to adjust the segments.
But for the life of me (and a half dozen youtube videos later) I can not figure out how to do this.

I'm working with a primitive cube and the tutorial's instructions read like this.


"Let's set the segments in the X direction to 2 so we get a seam line right down the middle.
Also, let's break the Y axis into 2 segments as well. That should give us more than enough to work with for now."

I'm really trying not come back here with too many questions, but this one has me beat.

Comments

  • TapiocaTundraTapiocaTundra Posts: 268
    edited March 2013

    It is not a Hexagon tutorial I suspect, no mind, your lady is talking about tesselating the cube, in Hex, go to VertexModeling/Free Tesselate/Tesselation by slice, and by holding down the shift key it will enable you to click on the mid points of the edges of the cube and slice it up into segments.
    I guess it is a tutorial for "box modelling" a character of some sort? :)

    Post edited by TapiocaTundra on
  • IppotamusIppotamus Posts: 1,579
    edited December 1969

    Thanks for the answer.
    It looks like I have some lines now, but maybe not so precise.
    Is there a way to enter numbered positions or is it by eye only?

    You are correct, it is a Modo tutorial.
    But I do not have one million dollars. :)
    Some day this box will be a dress.
    Someday. :)

  • TapiocaTundraTapiocaTundra Posts: 268
    edited December 1969

    If you have used the shift key as per instructions, the cuts can only be from the centre of the edges, you can make sure your cube is set dead centre by manually typing in 0 for its position in the properties panel, you can always move it up.

  • JimmyC_2009JimmyC_2009 Posts: 8,891
    edited December 1969

    Here's a handy way to tesselate a cube in Hexagon.

    Left click on the cube primitive, drag and drop it into the viewport, then before you do anything else (ANYTHING), hit the 'plus' key on the Numeric Keypad, and it will Tesselate it once. Hit the plus key again, and it will tesselate it again.

    There is a little box called 'Tess' in the Properties panel, and you can use it to enter a number as well. It is handy if you need a lot of segments to begin with. If you create a cube the normal way by dragging out the size, the Tess box appears as well. Tess goes away as soon as you click anywhere else.

  • RedSquareRedSquare Posts: 0
    edited March 2013

    Tess goes away as soon as you click anywhere else.

    By this Jimmy means if you don't adjust the tessellations at this point using the numerical input, you will not get the chance to do it this way again for this particular object. You can only increase in the X,Y,Z directions by doing it manually.

    As TapiocaTundra said, as long as you hold the shift key down when you do it, it will automatically find the centre between two adjacent parallel tessellations, this is shown to you by the yellow outline square turning red when it finds the centre.

    These colours depend on how you set up your preference file of course, if for example you've changed the selection colour from yellow to blue then the blue box will change to red. etc :)

    Post edited by RedSquare on
  • IppotamusIppotamus Posts: 1,579
    edited December 1969

    Thanks, that does make some sense and gets me on track again.

    Working through this tutorial is a lot more difficult than I had expected.
    Every step I have to translate from modo to hexagon, even though I don't know hexagon that well or modo at all. :)
    The good news is I am learning a lot jumping between the manual, the coffee cup tut, and youtube.
    The bad news is it will take me about 2 years to finish this dress tutorial

  • JimmyC_2009JimmyC_2009 Posts: 8,891
    edited December 1969

    It all comes together all of a sudden.

    Most modelling packages have the same tools, only with different names, but you soon learn how to use them, and what tool you need. Stick at it, and the time you spend will be rewarded. It really can be fun, and gives you a sense of having created something.

  • IppotamusIppotamus Posts: 1,579
    edited December 1969

    Thanks for the encouragement, Jimmy. It is appreciated and needed sometimes. :)
    I've had a few false starts, but I'm very committed this time around,
    so I have made it farther into the program than ever before.
    The people in the community have been very supportive even though I don't speak hexagon, yet. :)

    I have no visions of grandeur, but I thought it would be fun to make something simple and original one day.

    Tallyho!

  • RoygeeRoygee Posts: 2,247
    edited December 1969

    Yes, you are so right about the helpfulness of the forums - I've learned most of what I know from here:)

    Just had a very disappointing reply from Daz on a very technical issue - they tell me that they don't have the resources to help and suggest I go ask in the forums!

    Of course, we had already thrashed it out in the forum and no-one had an answer:(

    It is true that most apps have the same tools, sometimes with different names, but it can be frustrating for a novice to try to translate them - what puzzles me is why use a tutorial from another app when the internet is brimming over with very good Hexagon tutorials.

  • IppotamusIppotamus Posts: 1,579
    edited December 1969

    Well it is a clothing tutorial, which there are not too many of, from a PA whose style I really do like.
    And it is in PDF which I like as well.
    But I am using the many Hexagon tutorials at the same time.
    It's all just good fun. :)

  • RoygeeRoygee Posts: 2,247
    edited December 1969

    There are actually tons of really Hex tuts on modeling clothing - Google "modeling clothing in hexagon" and see the pages of hits:) Mostly vids, though, so if you prefer PDF you won't have a lot of luck.

    Still, as long as you are learning and enjoying it, that is what is important:)

  • IppotamusIppotamus Posts: 1,579
    edited December 1969

    Phew, this stuff is hard.
    I just barely got through the coffee cup tutorial.
    Working on the hairbrush this week.
    Hoping some of these tools will sink in along the way.
    It's like throwing Hexagon at a brick wall sometimes.

    I'm the brick wall.

  • Joe CotterJoe Cotter Posts: 3,259
    edited December 1969

    Here's something that might help Ippotamus. My experience is that we learn in layers. Basically, we learn x amount of a topic working on it over a given period of time. What x is varies from person to person, what related knowlege one has, etc... at a certain point we start to find things difficult. After a while, if we come back to the same topic we are able to start absorbing the material on a whole new level and what seemed hard is now only challenging. Again, after absorbing as much as we can, we need time before we can start to absorb on a whole new level, at which point the material becomes understandable, and finally, after the next such iteration, it becomes easy. Meanwhile, all along we find other things to fill the other slots of hard, challenging, understandable... Basically, it seems our brain needs time to sort through all we have processed on a conscious level and fit it into the unconscious sub-matrix we work from as a base, so we need to build it up in layers.

    This of course is totally speculative on my part, coming from learning and teaching experience rather then scientific methodology, but it works as a useful construct for me.

  • RedSquareRedSquare Posts: 0
    edited April 2013

    Bingo!

    My experience is that we learn in layers
    He is sooo right ippy' I much prefer his explanation for the plateau effect, I also come from that background although with a technological bent thrown in. ;-)
    Post edited by RedSquare on
  • Joe CotterJoe Cotter Posts: 3,259
    edited April 2013

    Well that's the point. The plateau effect people talk about I believe is just a temporary pause while our brain plays catch-up with processing and filing everything we've learned recently. This is the time we need to take a vacation and go scuba diving in the Caribbean for a month or so (I wish ;p )

    Actually, in my experience the pause period can be short, or in some cases months or more... when it extends over a long period we tend to think we are just stuck but I believe it's just we have a lot processing in the background.

    Post edited by Joe Cotter on
  • IppotamusIppotamus Posts: 1,579
    edited December 1969

    Oh, I just knew patience was going to work its way into this.
    I guess I can practice that while I wait for things to sink in. :)

  • TigrestripeTigrestripe Posts: 65
    edited December 1969

    Gedd said:
    Well that's the point. The plateau effect people talk about I believe is just a temporary pause while our brain plays catch-up with processing and filing everything we've learned recently. This is the time we need to take a vacation and go scuba diving in the Caribbean for a month or so (I wish ;p )

    Actually, in my experience the pause period can be short, or in some cases months or more... when it extends over a long period we tend to think we are just stuck but I believe it's just we have a lot processing in the background.

    That would explain it. I have very little time, about 3 hours in the evening, to tool around with 3D and any other stuff I might be doing. I thought it would be better just to keep to modeling first and then move to the next parts. UVs, materials, mapping etc.

  • Joe CotterJoe Cotter Posts: 3,259
    edited December 1969

    DaRkWyNdE said:
    I have very little time, about 3 hours in the evening, to tool around with 3D and any other stuff I might be doing.

    Yes it is tough when time is so limited. This I think is one of the secrets behind 'professional' vs 'hobbyist.' People who decide to be a 'professional' at something make a life commitment in hours etc that give them an advantage over someone with less hours to put towards it. This comes at a cost ofc for the person who decides to be a professional in something as challenging as the arts in making a living. The other thing is, there are no guarantees in life. Many hobbyists end up doing some very professional level work where some professionals never really break out even after all the work and commitment they put into it. Either way, it's good to encourage any and everyone to express themselves creatively, for themselves and all of us as a whole imo. It's good for the soul, and no one ever knows what may come from the nooks and crannies.

    (Definition 'Break Out': to reach a point the tools become second nature and allow the full capacity of the brain to explore creative aspects. Possibly an elusive goal where whatever gets created ends up being during the process of trying to reach it.)

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