Drapes - Tips

[Chic Aeon]

So there is a current conversation going on over on the "all in one home furnishings" topic.  One LI drapes that don't degrade with distance? Sure. And some folks working on learning more about mesh making are wondering. So while I posted my findings over there, I wanted to post some mesh making details in a more appropriate spot so that they could come take a look.   

The drapes (on sale yesterday) that started the discussion had a disappearing rod at 15 meters (LOD2) as well as no second side and would (could) look horrid to neighbors.  I had made some LI one drapes a few years ago and had stretched one for a BIG window over at my new place on Lilly Ave. I popped over to see the LI on that mod and it was 4.  I had never been happy with the proportions of that drape but had moved on to more fun decorating areas.  I decided that today would be a good day to redo my current drapery and see what improvements I would make after almost four years. 

 

Here is a shot of the old drape window (designed for Victorian houses - so long narrow windows). This was resized to fit a five meter window.

It was 4 land impact.

And here is the new version at 2 LI with a completely finished cornice (the previous model didn't have that).

In this new version all areas are finished so even nosy folks camming around will see niceness.

The new version is 2.2 li and holds its LODs to 28 meters for those at LOD2.

 

Here are some tips on how this was done.

 

The original model was 15,000 tris. This was necessary because drapery needs topology to -- well, DRAPE LOL.   But once that has been accomplished and your have baked your texture or AO map then that topology can change and be more efficient.  One of the easiest ways to do this that often works well (there are sometimes issues with edges and things so be aware of that) is the DECIMATE modifier.  I rarely use it except for fabric, but THEN it comes in very handy.   

 

Here is what the drapery looked like at 15,000 tris:

 

And here is what it looks like afterwards:

The actual drape looks the same but half of the triangles are no longer adding up in the download measurement.  The texture still fits on the model. 

I have used the COLLAPSE method here:

 

One more important thing:  BECAUSE this drapery was large, and because I build for LOD2 folks :D,  I ignored all but the top LOD.   Now I can't remember the last time I did this; I think it was on a large all-in-one piece item and I can only remember that one time.   But I did it as a test to see what would happen.  Did you notice that TEST part of the sentence? TEST TEST TEST. Do not assume :D.

 

And since my test ended up with a 28 meter LOD distance (15 for those on the Linden viewer default) I was OK with that.  This will ONLY work well for a space like it was designed for. If I resize the window down the viewing distance will ALSO change.  So this would not be a good product (IMO anyway).  I will upload a high LOD version too while I am doing this. It should be 1 land impact because although it will have more triangles at different viewing distances it is ALSO smaller.  And since it is more or less the same model as the drapes I made long ago, the LI should be about the same. 

 

So shoppers as well as new mesh makers -- remember that not only does the LOD get better on a bigger item, the land impact increases --- and the opposite applies also, naturally.  There are a few rare cases that this doesn't work on because of physics, but don't lose sleep over that; you may never run into it. 

 

 

The beauty shot. I am much happier with this look for this house.

[Aquila Kytori]

23 hours ago, Chic Aeon said:

Here is what the drapery looked like at 15,000 tris:

 

 

I am guessing the reason you have so many horizontal edge loops in your model is because you are using Blenders cloth simulator to create the folds?

 

 

 

Just thought we should mention another way to create curtains without all the horizontal edge loops.

 

 

  Starting from the ground up :

1: Create a row of half circles laid out approximating the lower edge of the curtain.

2: Join the half circles together creating a continuos wavy edge (using the merge tools). Edit this edge to better simulate the folds along the bottom edge.

3: Extrude up to the upper edge of the drapes. Edit the upper edge curves.

4: Add a Mirror and Solidify modifier, Add seams etc etc.

 

 

 

 

[Chic Aeon]

Yes, made them long ago :D.   And I was thinking the other day that using curves and extruding seemed like a "better" idea LOL.  Imagine we could have done something like that long ago though not as fancy as this video. Since this isn't my interface (wink) and I am no longer making products I won't be experimenting but hopefully some creators will see this and make some great things using the new improvements.   

 

Thanks for adding!   

[Chic Aeon]

PS.  It is probably time that I retire from the MESH forum since I am definitely "outdated" in oh so many ways now (with no plans to change).  It is important to know what you know. It is more important to know what you don't know. 

[Kyrah Abattoir]

@Aquila KytoriNice example aquila, and much nicer than what I would have said.