how to create these types of legs?

[beli Lorefield]

i got the top of the table okay... but I'm trying to figure out how the legs were done? I'm using blender.. I've tried curves which I can get the basic shape of the leg in the cuves but i can't seem to actually convert it to a leg.. if that makes any sense.. I've looked at hundreds of tutorials.. and nothing seems to be working or making sense to me.

http://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/3d-outdoor-garden-furniture-set-model/641768

 

Any help would be appreciated... 

[Dree Eames]

If you've created the geometry from the curve in the curve palette (icon looks like a piece of macaroni) with the extruding and beveling functions, etc.,  then In object mode select the curve object and press Alt C  "Mesh from Curve" to convert the curve to a mesh.

[Uriah Eulenberg]

1. Make sure you are in Object Mode, then add (Shift + A) Curve > Nurbs Circle
2. Stay in Object Mode, and scale the circle down. The size of circle = thickness of your chair legs.
3. Look into Properties window and press the special icon for NurbsCircle. Under the Shape tab, there's a Resolution setting (Preview U). Giving big number here is to make the circle more smooth by creating many vertices. For such skinny legs, I suggest you to lower the number like 1 or 2.
4. Deselect all by pressing A
5. Add another Curve > Path
6. Again in Properties window, press the icon for NurbsPath that you've just created. Look under Geometry tab, there's Bevel Object selector. Click in the box and select NurbsCircle (the one you created at 1-3).
7. Now you can get into Edit Mode and create the leg shape with the Path.
8. Just like you did for the Circle, you may want to decrease the number of Preview U under the Resolution tab (Select the Path > Look into Properties Window > NurbsPath > Shape Resolution). This number determines the quality of your Path shape. Big number makes it smooth but creates lots of vertices. Check how many of faces and vertices it'll have by pressing Z (Wireframe View).
9. If you finished modeling with Path, create a duplicate and keep it in another layer just in case, then back to Object Mode.
10. Select your Path, Convert mesh from Curves by Object Menu (at the bottom of 3D View Window) > Convert to > Mesh from Curves/Meta/Surf/Text or using shortcut : Alt + C.

Once you converted it to Mesh, you know how to unwrap or bake.
You can delete the circle you've created at first, or keep it in another layer with the copy of your original Path.

I'm sure there are many tutorials on YouTube, search with Blender and Curve.

[Kwakkelde Kwak]

I know nothing about Blender, but in 3ds max the workflow (or a possible one) is much much easier than the one you describe, so I was wondering if that could also be used in Blender.

In 3ds max you can simply make a line, in any shape, then give it thickness. The line stays modifiable. This of course only works for legs which have the same thickness along the entire length. Otherwise you need to do it with a path and sections too.

EDIT I wonder if this method is what Dree Eames suggested.

[beli Lorefield]

I'm wondering if I don't have a setting checked because when I do Alt C this is what I get.. Conver curve from Mesh/text and convert mesh from curve/metasurf/Tex and when I googled tutorials it said this too but these are the only two settings I have under Alt C

Uniah, thank you I'll have to try yours when I get home from work...  I saw a Youtube tutorial simular to what you're describing.. but it didn't make sense to me at the time... as it was rounded.. maybe I'm just over thinking things... 

[Kwakkelde Kwak]

Just a hunch...did you try to use a bezier curve instead of the nurbs curve as shown in your screenshot?

[beli Lorefield]

Nope I'm using path when I did the original curv, did as Uniah suggested and i'll have to play around with that one more when I get home as I'm about to leave for work.

[Uriah Eulenberg]

It seems you skipped the part of 1 to 4 or got issues when you linked the Path and the NurbsCircle. Try again and make sure to follow the steps one by one, then you'll see your path gets some thickness (even before you converting it into Mesh).

It's not really complicated as it looks, just need to get used to

[Drongle McMahon]

[Drongle McMahon]

If you learn to use Bevel and Taper objects instead of simple bevel, you can be a much more accomplished blacksmith...

[Dree Eames]

 Or the use of the shortcuts:

Alt S to Scale up the curves geometry at selected points (in the Tools/Transform palette as Shrink/Fatten) and CTL T to Twist the geometry at any selected control points (listed in the Tools/Transform palette as Tilt)

[Drongle McMahon]

Yes, those are good too. :matte-motes-smile: Now I'm looking for a way to thicken in one direction at a time, or to have two taper objects, one for each direction. Is there any way to do that? I suppose the bevel extrude, but that seems onlky to work on the whole thing if you have no bevel oblect? Has anyone done a wrought-iron addon?

[Dree Eames]

I just noticed you wrote: "In 3ds max you can simply make a line, in any shape, then give it thickness."

In blender you can take a line (vertices connected by edges in Blender-ese)  and extrude it out to a shape, then in Object mode, press  the shortcut key combo ALT C to covert the line (mesh) to a Curve.  Then from the curve palette you can access the bevel, extrude, taper, etc. controls.  Probably a very similar feature to what you use in 3d Max.

I enjoy watching modeling tutorial videos done in 3d max. The users are very skilled modelers and there are many great videos on Youtube using 3ds Max   Over time I finally figured out (for the most part) the "translation" of terminology for many of the features/modifiers from 3ds max to what is similar in Modo and Blender.

[Dree Eames]

I found a similar wish for two taper objects on a very old Blender Artist forum thread.  There wasn't much activity on that topic.

As a consolation prize I offer a link to the Curly Curve Add-on: 

http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?316651-AddOn-Curly-Curves

This is as close to a wrought-iron addon that I've come across

An interesting option to  using ALT S is to select a control point and press W>Set Curve Radius and then press F6 and set the radius numerically.  The nice thing about this option is it retains the number you input and the next time you select a control point and repeat the command it will reapply the last setting - or you can change it.  Nice for a consistant taper that follows a desired pattern.

[Drongle McMahon]

I discovered this blacksmithing is hard work. This started as a curve with bevel and tape, duplicated four times with 90 degree rotations and then proportional edit rotation on each end of the combined curve. Then changed it into mesh. Still a lot of work needed including UV map so I could use a normal map. Just about worth the effort, although I'm not sure I will do any more. This is inworld with 3pm daylight a single additional light source.

[Dree Eames]

Beautiful!!

[Drongle McMahon]

Thak you. A couple of things I learned, that might be useful for anyone wanting to do similar stuff...

1. When you do the curve twisting with rotate, set the the "Z-Up" twist method in the Curve "Shape" properties section. Otherwise you get unevenly twisted parts. (Eta: I was twisting around the X axis, The effect may be axis-dependent.)

2. Don't use sharp edges. Use a narrow Bevel with Segments set to 2, Profile set to 1.0, and Limit Method set to angle 60deg, so that the shader produces the highlights along the edges. Without these it just doesn't look right. It's 3 x the number of triangles, but only 1.5 x the vertices,compare with sharp edges. (I put the bevels in with loop cut&slide, which, in retrospect, was a waste of time. I had forgotten you can use those bevel settings to keep the adjacent faces completely flat). The limit angle stops it bevelling between segments. The UV map survives the bevel with these parameters.

3. I use a nearly black colour with blank texture, a normal map I made for sand (with no alpha) and blank specular map, glossiness 25, environment 12.

[Drongle McMahon]

Here's a way to make wrought iron spirals.
1. Start with a single edge of a plane, just two verts and an edge, centered at 0,0 and with the cursor snapped to it. Then apply the screw tool with the parameters shown.
2. Now select one radial edge, use select-similar-length to select them all, and delete these edges, leaving just the spiral.
3. Convert it to a curve.
4. Now if you select one point and do Ctrl+L, you see it's actually two curves, one from each end of the original edge*.
5. So select one of the overlapping points and delete it, leaving a gap.
6. Then select the two free ends and connect them with the F shortcut. (See the arrows now all point the same way).
7. Now that you have one curve, you can put a bevel shape curve (red, just a circle with resolution=1, rotated 45deg and squeezed), and a taper curve (orange, just to taper one end). Convert the result to mesh and carry on as usual. Some excess edge loop removal will be necessary to get reasonable LI.

*ETA: If you do Mesh-Vertices-Remove Doubles before converting to curve, then you get only one curve and don't need steps 4-6!

[Drongle McMahon]

I was sure there must be a way of doing this without curves. Here is one ...

1. Start as before, but do two turns of the screw.
2. With everything selected, do Inset Faces (shortcut I, then drag).
3. Alt-right-click to select the middle faces.
4. Delete faces.
5. Alt-right-click to select outer spiral faces and delete them.
6. Select the two distorted faces and delete them too.
7. Select everything.
8. Extrude (shortcut E, then drag).
9. Finish off rounded end manually. Set smooth shading. Add Bevel with profile=1, segements=2.

[Dree Eames]

Thank you so much for your generosity Drongle.  There is such a incredible wealth of modeling and material goodness in your postings here! And that gorgeous material.... I, for one, will be "forging" all weekend.