Autodesk VIZ Services & Support

Creating Cloth Objects

Lace that lets in the light, heavy drapes that lend splendor to a big windows, there is no doubt that designers use fabric to fill a room. Bedspreads, sofa flounces, chair cushions, and screens, you’ll find you need to know how to model them all in order to make your architectural environments look complete. By the time you finish this article, you will have the Autodesk® VIZ skills you need to make a wide variety of attractive, fast-rendering cloth objects.

Curtains & Drapes

Making curtains and drapes takes just minutes when you use the following approach:

1. On the Command panel, click the Create tab.

2. Then click the Shapes icon and the Line button (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: You can create lines and other 2D shapes using tools on the Command panel.

3. Select several points to create a jagged line representing the top profile of your curtain (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: Use lines to create curtain profiles.

4. Click the Modify tab.

5. Click the Vertex icon on the Command panel.

6. Select two points to put a window around all the vertices.

7. Right-click one of the selected vertices and select Smooth from the shortcut menu that opens (see Figure 3).

Figure 3: Right-click selected vertices, and then select Smooth to curve line segments passing through those vertices.

8. Click the Vertex icon again to turn it off.

9. From the Modifier List, select Extrude (see Figure 4).

Figure 4: You can use tools on the Modifier List to convert 2D objects into 3D objects.

10. Type the desired height of the curtain in the Amount spinner.

11. Type 5 in the Segments spinner. This value specifies how many rows of vertical faces appear on the curtain. If this number is too large, the curtain renders slowly. If it is too small, you can’t shape the curtain. You may want to increase or decrease this value as you shape the curtain (see Figure 5).

Figure 5: The value in the Segments spinner specifies how many vertical faces appear on your curtain.

12. From the Modifier List, select FFD (box).

13. Select the Control Points subobject (see Figure 6).

Figure 6: Use the FFD (box) control points to shape curtains.

14. Select and move the control points to shape the curtain.

Figure 7: Select and move control points to shape the curtain.

15. To indicate that you no longer want to move control points, reselect the Control Points entry in the Modifier List.

16. Type M to display the Material Editor.

17. Select an unused sample sphere.

18. Modify the diffuse color of the material to specify the desired color for the material. Note that you can click the blank square to the right of the Diffuse button on the Blinn Basic Parameters rollout to specify an image for use in the material.

19. Select the 2-Sided check box on the Shader Basic Parameters rollout to make sure that the material renders on both the front and back of the curtain (see Figure 8).

Figure 8: Make sure you apply 2-sided materials to your curtains or they will only be visible on one side.

20. Drag and drop this material on to the curtain (see Figure 9).

Figure 9: Drag and drop materials from the Material Editor on to curtains.

Use this technique to add flounces to the corners of a couch, create ruffles on chair cushions, and shape valences around window frames.

Tip: To create a lacelike material, first type M to display the Material Editor. Then, from under the Maps rollout, click the blank box to the right of Opacity. Select a black-and-white image of lace. When you apply this material to your curtains, they are transparent in some places, solid in others.

Making Beds

You can use patch grids to make cloth objects like beds and couches. This basic modeling object automatically preserves the soft corners that people expect to see on cloth-covered objects.

To create a bed with patch grids:

1. Click the Create tab.

2. Click Geometry, and then from the Geometry list, select Patch Grids.

3. Click the Quad Patch button.

4. In the Length Segs spinner, type 4.

5. In the Width Segs spinner, type 4. This setting provides enough flexibility in the patch grid to make converting it into a bed possible (see Figure 10).

Figure 10: Make sure your patch grids have enough segments or you won’t be able to shape them easily.

6. Select two points in the Top view to make a patch grid somewhat larger than a bed.

7. Click the Modify tab.

8. From the Modifier List, select Edit Patch (see Figure 11).

Figure 11: In the command panel, click the Vertex icon to display the vertices on a patch grid.

9. Hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard, and then click and drag multiple windows to select vertices on three of the four sides of the bed (see Figure 12).

Figure 12: Hold down the Ctrl key if you need to select vertices using multiple selection windows.

10. Type L to display a Left view of the model.

11. Move the vertices down to the elevation of the floor.

12. Click the Arc Rotate icon in the lower-right corner of the screen. Click and drag to display a Perspective view of the model (see Figure 13).

Figure 13: Note how the patch grid object has curved corners.

13. Select and move the vertices, as described previously, to shape the bed (see Figure 14).

Figure 14: Move the vertices of the patch grid to create a draped cloth effect.

14. To shape the outline of pillows near the top of the bed, select the vertices at the top of the bed and rotate them so they pull up the surface (see Figure 15). (You can also use the green control handles that appear when you select vertices to do the same thing.)

Figure 15: You can rotate vertices, or use the green control handles that appear when they are selected, to make portions of a patch grid swell up. This is a good way to create pillows and cushions.

15. Click the Vertex icon again to turn it off.

16. Create and apply a patterned material to the bed to finish it (see Figure 16).

Figure 16: Apply patterned materials to patch grids to create bedspreads and slipcovers.

You can use patch grids to create a wide variety of fabric-covered objects. It takes time to become comfortable manipulating these objects, but once you become familiar with all their features, you will use them frequently.

In Conclusion

If you experiment with all the tools covered in this article, you will find you can create everything from furniture to tents in a matter of minutes.