Tire thread tutorial.

Post by **Tibs** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 5:45 am

<r>[center]Modelling a tire thread in Cinema 4D.[/center]

In this tutorial I will try to explain how you model a tire thread.

First of all you search the web for some good reference shots, www.smcars.net is a good place to start. They have loads of good reference shots needed to model an entire car.

If you have a good reference you place this into the background of the top view. You do this by going to 'Top view" ( hit F2, at least in my case it's F2 ) and then choose the "Configure" option under the "Edit" menu. You will now see the Attribute manager change. In this manager go to "Back" and place the reference shot in the Image field. You should now see the image appear in tha background of the viewport.

Now that we have our reference picture set up w can start modelling.

First of all you should create a new polygon object. I started by just using a plane size 800 x 100 with 1 subdivision on both sides.

Tire1.jpg

You can continue by making the polygon editable and cutting it in the necessary places. These will have to be the same as your reference pic. If you look at mine you can see how they should look. ( Don't worry if they aren't 100% spot on, we need to move them anyway. )

Tire2.jpg

As you can see I deleted one half of my tire and used a symmerty object, this will save you some work when moving the points around.

Well as I said before we have to move the points so they match the reference picture. You simply select the points and move them to where they should be. The result I got is shown on the pic. You will also see that I extruded the outer edges to fit the reference pic, simply do this by selecting the edges and extruding them <img src='http://www.killanet.net/forum3/public/s ... /smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /> .

Tire3.jpg

Well now that we have the basic shape of the tire we can extrude the polygons that need to be extruded. The height isn't very important, just make sure it looks realistic <img src='http://www.killanet.net/forum3/public/s ... igwink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';)' /> . You might also have to stitch some points together to make the little slope that is in a tire. You can simply do this by using the "Stitch and Sew" tool.

Tire4.jpg

[attachment=1868:attachment]

As you can see these few steps give us the basic part of the tire thread, now we will copy this bit a few times to make a rolled out tire.

We do this by going to the "duplicate" tool located in the "Functions" menu. Make sure you selected the polygon when you set up the tool. For my tire I had to copy it 104 times along the Z-axis, the distance between the copys is the length of the polygon. If you don't know the excact length you can always use the "measure" tool in the "functions" menu. Once you have this measurement you add a bit to it. ( You'll see why later. ) Also be sure to select the "Create Instances" this will be a great help once we have to edit the shape a bit. Ok now hit Apply.

As you can see on my example the points might not align very good with the copied part. Since you copied instanced you can simply select these points and move them closer to the other part. Do this as close as possible because this will help you a bit later.

Tire6.jpg

Once you made these changes and the points are aligned we need to make these copys into 1 shape. So go to the Null object called "Plane-copies" and select children. Make sure you l-also selected the basic polygon you used to make copies and now connect them. A new object should appear and it should look something like this.

Tire7.jpg

Now we can use a little trick, just co to the "optimize" tool when you right click in the viewport, make sure you have point mode enabled. Zoom in a bit and play around with the toleranze distance. When I placed mine on 5m the point of the copies jumped together. I tried to show this in the next picture.

Tire8.jpg

Ok now that we have the rolled out tire we have to roll it up <img src='http://www.killanet.net/forum3/public/s ... igwink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';)' />

To do this we use the "Wrap" tool located in the "Deformation" part under "Objects". You place this as a child of the thread and after playing around with the settings you should come up with something like this. ( Make sure the tire closes nicely, cause we'll have to use that optimize trick again later on )

Tire9.jpg

Ok the next thing you need to do is make a copy of the tire without the wrap tool. We do this by going into object mode, selecting the tire and choosing "Current state to object". This will create a copy of the rolle up tire without the wrap tool in it.

The next thing we have to do is closing it up. So we go back to point mode and do thet optimize trick again. The best way to do this is by looking at the part where the 2 ends meet. You play around with the tolerance again untill they weld themselves together. This is the bit where it's important not to have made the gap too wide, because if the gap was too wide you will weld points together that didn't needed to be welded.

If you now select the outer edges and extrude them a bit and replace them you should come up with this result.

Tire.jpg

And add a rim ro it and you get this.

[attachment=1874:attachment]

I hope you could follow these steps and you also get the result you should. If you have any problems don't hesitate to ask.

Deschamps Thibaut © 2006</r>

Post by **Scott** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 6:51 am

Nice work Tibs /good.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='(Y)' />

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 8:28 am

Will try this when I get home from school /smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /> Looks great though, tibs, Nice job! /biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D' />

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 7:04 pm

Wow, I can't get past the wrap deformation /blum.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':P' /> I've never used this deformation before and it isn't doing what I want. o.0 *keeps trying*

EDIT

Never could get the wrap deformation to work /lazy.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='-_-' />

Post by **Tibs** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 2:00 am

Well here's how you should use the Wrap tool.

You make it a child of the tire and make sure it looks like this.

[attachment=1880:attachment]

The most important part is that you make sure the Blue arrow points to the center. If it still doesn't look good try turning it around for 180° that will reverse the wrapping.

My settings are :

- Radius = 1400
- Height = 400
- width = 5390

I hope this helps, if it doesn't please repost

Akorn · Post by **Akorn** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 7:05 pm

alright now that i gott the wrapp tool all done and handles i cant get the extrude to work /blink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':blink:' /> what setting did you use.. and any help on that would be great /yes.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='(nod)' /> and then finaly i have tires i can use.. /smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 7:23 pm

Well first, make sure you have it all editable (Which I'm assuming it is if you just can't do the extrude) Next thing to consider is, make sure you have the polys selected that you want to extrude. All you have to do after that is just right click, select extrude, click and drag. /smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

Post by **Tibs** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 4:41 am

Also did you do " Current state to object " ? You have to get a single object, this means the wrap tool shouldn't be visible ( adjustable ) anymore. Other then that Dren mostly said it. If you have any more problems, the scene file would be handy /bigwink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';)' />

Joli · Post by **Joli** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 4:42 am

I have tried to make a tire but whitout succes /cry.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':(' />, Could someone make a videotutorial of this?

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 1:24 pm

I would gladly make one if my system could withstand doing video/audio recording while trying to render the viewports... I can't, I'm very sorry /cry.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':(' />

Post by **Tibs** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 11:07 am

I just downloaded a free recording program and I'll see what I can do.

Joli · Post by **Joli** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 1:21 pm

Thats very kind /biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D' />

Post by **Tibs** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 11:01 am

Here's a vid, I'm really sorry for the frigging BAD quality but it's free software so ...

[url="http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/10/1/252336/Tutorial.rar"]http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/10/1/252336/Tutorial.rar[/url]

Ambiguity · Post by **Ambiguity** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 12:35 am

Can you re-upload that for me?Or can I send you my .c4d file so you can fix it?All I need is for it to be wrapped but I think I did something wrong because the wrap deformer isn't doing a whole lot.

Post by **Tibs** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 9:17 am

I don't seem to have that file anymore, but you can send your file to me. I will be happy to take a look and try to make it work for you /smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 9:46 am

I am recording a new video tutorial of this. No Voice...well...maybe there will be voice lol

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 1:10 pm

I had trouble with voice. /cry.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':(' /> Sorry... Watch for the rotation settings..that seems to be the problem. You can download here: [url="http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VCLM1Q8J"]http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VCLM1Q8J[/url]

Ambiguity · Post by **Ambiguity** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 2:56 pm

Alright I got the wrap settings right(Thanks Ðrëñ), but now I can't grab the edges so I can extrude them /blum.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':P' />. Does any1 have c4d 10 so i can send them the file or will it work on any version?

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 6:08 pm

Any C4D R10 files that are saved will not be able to be opened by any earlier versions, unfortunately. I think I'm the only one here who has Release 10

Ambiguity · Post by **Ambiguity** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 8:04 am

Here, maybe you can figure it out:
[url="http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VNHMJIWF"]http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VNHMJIWF[/url]

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 8:44 am

So you just want the edge selected around the tire so you can extrude?

Ambiguity · Post by **Ambiguity** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 12:23 pm

Well if you could go ahead and extrude it for me and i'll just size it the way I want after that.I know where to find the select tool and stuff but for some reason it select point in the back and misses some in the front :\.

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 1:21 pm

That's because you have it selecting visible elements only.. If you untick that option then it should be able to select everything in the front and back. /smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

Ambiguity · Post by **Ambiguity** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 1:46 pm

Oh really?Thanks for the tip, I gotta try that out.Sorry for all the question and stuff but do you know why this is happening now?

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 4:32 pm

Ah... all your points aren't the same. I'm not exactly sure how to work around this. Perhaps Tibs can shed some light on this when he comes online tomorrow?

Post by **Tibs** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 1:57 am

It's really hard for me to know what's happening there when I don't have a scene file, and since i'm not on R10 I can't open yours.

I think it's because your points aren't well aligned, try selecting them and extruding them just a small bit. Now you can go into the coordinates window, one of the world coordinates should be a rather small number. Try setting this to 0 and hit enter.

If you will extrude them now it should be solved?

I don't know if you understand what I'm trying to explain here but is it possible to save your file into one that I can open? I'm on R9.6

Ambiguity · Post by **Ambiguity** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 12:03 pm

It was happening because I couldn't fully select the edge, so I just decided to bridge the gaps.

.:Edit:.
Nvm, it didn't help as much as i thought...

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 2:34 pm

Can I see the reference image you used for the tread?

Ambiguity · Post by **Ambiguity** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 4:40 pm

It's attach to this post.I couldn't figure out how to get that center piece in it, or how to mold the end piece exactly.

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 7:31 pm

Wow... that is really complicated. I've actually had to modify the tread to make it work for me ... Maybe if you select a more simpler one and redo the tire tread you can more easily do that extrusion ... I'm out of suggestions here lol

Ambiguity · Post by **Ambiguity** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 9:22 pm

Yeah I might have to, I think the way you do it gets a lot more complicated when you have to use two splines instead of one big one like in the tutorial.

Post by **Tibs** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 8:58 am

I would agree that the thread is a bit complex, it should work though but with some more extra work.

If you need a simpel thread use the one from the tut /bigwink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';)' /> should be ok then.

Ambiguity · Post by **Ambiguity** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 7:07 pm

[quote name='Tibs' post='31053' date='Jan 6 2006, 08:45 AM'][center]

If you now select the outer edges and extrude them a bit and replace them you should come up with this result.[/center][/quote]
What did you mean by "replace them"?I tried this with your threads and then same thing happened.

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 7:14 pm

That actually looks really neat lol.

Ambiguity · Post by **Ambiguity** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 7:31 pm

[quote name='Ambiguity' post='40207' date='Aug 8 2007, 03:46 PM']Oh really?Thanks for the tip, I gotta try that out.Sorry for all the question and stuff but do you know why this is happening now?[/quote]
Well I know one thing I was doing wrong on that ^ one, that's why it looks a little bit better.You wouldn't mind doing a video tutorial on this would you Dren?It shouldn't take but 5 minutes to recreate it, no?

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 8:07 pm

a Video tutorial of this written tutorial?

Ambiguity · Post by **Ambiguity** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 8:14 pm

Yes sir. /happy.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='^_^' />

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 8:23 pm

Alright, give me a few... I'll even add audio lol

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 9:15 pm

Do you know how frustrating it is when you make a video tutorial that's a good 15 minutes long and your screen recording software crashes while it's saving? I'll get this to you soonish .. /cry.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':(' /> I'm real frustrated right now.

Ambiguity · Post by **Ambiguity** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 9:24 pm

It's okay bro, take your time.And thank for doing this BTW.

Post by **Tibs** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 3:54 am

You need to make sure the outer edge of your thread is even, what I mean by this is that when you duplicate it several times every point is in a straight line. When you bend them they will make a nice circle. If there's no straight line you won't get a nice circle and not a good tire.

Does this make any sence?

Ambiguity · Post by **Ambiguity** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 1:34 pm

[quote name='Tibs' post='40305' date='Aug 12 2007, 05:54 AM']You need to make sure the outer edge of your thread is even, what I mean by this is that when you duplicate it several times every point is in a straight line. When you bend them they will make a nice circle. If there's no straight line you won't get a nice circle and not a good tire.

Does this make any sence?[/quote]
Eh, kind of, but I think it might have something to do with the spacing, do you have a bigger picture of the unwraped tire then the one in the tutorial?

Also when I do the duplicate part it brings up more options then are listed in the tutorial.:
[img]http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/7420/untitled1hz7.png[/img]

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 2:08 pm

Keep in mind this tutorial was written with C4D R9. We are on R10 so some things will be different.

Ambiguity · Post by **Ambiguity** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 7:21 pm

What I've been doing is settings it to linear, enabling only Z, enabling Instances, setting copies to 104, leaving Per Step on, and setting Z to the size of my threads.Is that how you did yours Dren?

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 9:19 pm

Yes, that's exactly how I did it lol. My copies was a different number though, but that shouldn't matter.

Post by **Tibs** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 1:44 am

Can you show me a pic of what you try to copy? A side view would be good, just to see if the points are well aligned.

Ambiguity · Post by **Ambiguity** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 3:19 am

The ends look pretty straight to me...

This is starting to piss me off, I know I'm just being retarded somewhere along the way if Dren can do it with C4D R10 lol.

Post by **Tibs** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 3:40 am

Just keep calm, you will get there /bigwink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';)' />

Here are your images with some adjustments.

When duplicating you need to make sure that all your points have another point to be welded on, you didn't have that with your thread. When you made these changes can you post a wireframe of the duplicated thread? I only need to see 2 or 3 instances though.

Ambiguity · Post by **Ambiguity** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 3:48 am

Are the green points in the second image what needs to be deleted?

Post by **Tibs** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 4:12 am

well the upper green line needs to be deleted, the other lines need to be added aswell as the points. That way you will get a quad poly (4 points) instead of a tri ...

The difference between these isn't really anything you need to know right now but it's good to try and work with quad poly's all the time.