> NURBS Modeling
> Lesson 1: Creating a CV profile curve
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Maya / XSI modelling on Nokia mobile phones |
Tea Vui Huang's Maya On-The-Go mobile phone application lets you draw a NURBS curve by placing CVs. This application lets you draw a NURBS curve by placing CVs. The dotXSI 3.6 files it creates can be imported into SOFTIMAGE|XSI 6.5, while the Maya Scene files it creates can be opened / imported into Autodesk Maya Complete & Maya Personal Learning Edition 8.5 on the Windows, Mac OS X & Linux platforms. These NURBS curves can be used as draft sketches to create compelling 3D digital content, including models, animation, visual effects, games, and simulations.
To install Tea Vui Huang's Maya On-The-Go on the mobile phone
- Verify the mobile phone requirements.
Tea Vui Huang's Maya On-The-Go is designed for J2ME Java-capable mobile phones with 240x320 screen resolution, supports removable storage such as microSD cards or Memory Sticks (MS/M2), and minimally supporting MIDP 2.0, CLDC 1.1 and JSR-75.
- Go to http://teavuihuang.com/maya.
If you are doing an off-air installation, manually download the JAR application file from the web link - http://teavuihuang.com/maya/MayaOnTheGo.jar. Then transfer it to your phone via Bluetooth, or copying it to the phone's microSD card. Once it's in the phone, open it via the Messaging menu or the File Browser (for the latter). The phone will then prompt you to install the application. Alternately, you can use the phone's PC software such as Nokia PC Suite to install it from the desktop /notebook.
If you are doing an over-the-air (OTA) installation, open the WAP browser on your mobile phone and enter the WAP download URL - http://teavuihuang.com/maya/download.php, the application size is ~42KB.
To create a NURB curve on the mobile phone
- Locate the application titled Maya On-The-Go on the phone and launch the application.
On Nokia phones, it should by default be placed under Applications > My own.
On Sony Ericsson phones, it would be placed under Games.
If it's installed successfully, the title screen above will be shown when you launch Maya On-The-Go.
- Select an orthographic view for your workspace.
After the title screen is shown, you will be presented with a list of orthographic views for your workspace. In Autodesk Maya terms, these are front (xy-plane), side (zy-plane) and top (xz-plane). It is equivalent to Softimage|XSI's Front (xy-plane), Right (zy-plane) and Top (xz-plane). The selected view will be for the duration of the application. To change the orthographic view, you will need to exit and relaunch the application again.
- Add control vertices (CVs) to create the NURBS curve.
Use the direction keys (up, down, left, right) on the mobile phone to move the pointer and press the selection key to add control vertices (CVs). If you made a mistake or change your mind, simple press * on the mobile phone keypad to Undo (or pressing the right soft-key and selecting the Undo option). You may add up to 95 control vertices (CVs) for each NURBS curve. Do remember to save often if you are creating a curve with a lot of CVs.
You may toggle the Grid on and off by pressing the right soft-key and selecting the Grid option.
- Completing the curve.
Once you are satisfied with the curve, you an complete the curve by pressing the right soft-key and selecting the Complete Curve option. This will create a 1-degree Linear 3D Maya / XSI curve with uniform knot spacing & multiple end knots. If you realised you made a mistake or would like to amend the curve, simple press * on the mobile phone keypad to Undo (or pressing the right soft-key and selecting the Undo option). Otherwise, you will not be able to add CVs after you complete the curve.
- Saving the curve.
Once you have completed the curve, the next logical thing to do would be to save it. To do this, press the right soft-key and select Save Scene As.
Alternately, if you are not satisfied with the curve and wish to redo, select New Scene from the options list. This would delete the curve and present you with a clean workspace. Note that this action cannot be undone.
You can also scroll down the optiosn list and select Exit to quit without saving.
- Selecting file export format.
You may export the NURBS curve you created to Autodesk Maya and/or Softimage|XSI. To begin, enter the filename you wish to save the curve to, then select the Maya Scene or Softimage dotXSI file type. The former (*.ma files) can be imported into Autodesk Maya Complete & Maya Personal Learning Edition, while the latter (*.xsi files) can be imported into Softimage|XSI.
These files will be saved to the mobile phone's removable storage. On Nokia phones, it will be placed into the "\Others" folder of the microSD card, while on Sony Ericsson phones, it will be place into the "\MSSEMC\Media files\other" folder of the Memory Stick.
For this exercise, let's save the NURBS curve to the files 'Boat.ma' for export to Autodesk Maya, and 'Boat.xsi' for export to Softimage|XSI.
- Sending out the curve files.
Subject to the capabilites of the mobile phone and subscription plans, you can email or transfer the Maya Scene and Softimage dotXSI files via MMS, Bluetooth, Infrared & Wi-Fi. This is convenient if you need or wish to send someone draft sketches of NURBS curves when you are outside of the office. You can also send it to yourself as a back-up or if you are running out of storage space on your phone.
Exporting to the desktop / notebook
- Connecting the phone's removable storage to the PC.
A simple way would be to pop the microSD / Memory Stick out from the mobile phone and inserting it into the card reader slot of the PC. By default, Windows will pop up a box to inform you that a removable storage has been connecting, and prompts you for further action. If you choose to view the file contents, you will see a window pop-up similiar to the image above, albeit with different folder contents.
The NURBS curve we previously saved to the files 'Boat.xsi' for export to Softimage|XSI, and 'Boat.ma' for export to Autodesk Maya can be found in this folder of the phone's removable storage.
- Move / copy the files to your project directory.
Just drag-and-drop the files as you would normally do to your working Maya / XSI project directory.
Importing into Autodesk Maya
- Launch Autodesk Maya Complete / Maya Personal Learning Edition.
Open Autodesk Maya Complete or Maya Personal Learning Edition on your Windows / Mac OS X / Linux PC. The Maya Scene files exported by Tea Vui Huang's Maya On-The-Go is compatible with Maya 6.0 onwards including version 8.5.
- Import NURBS curve from the Maya Scene file.
Select File > Import.
In Import window, browse to the drive / directory that the Maya Scene files reside in. If you are importing straight from the microSD / Memory Stick card reader or mobile phone (via USB cable or Bluetooth), the drive is generally labelled 'Removable Disk'. If you are using a Nokia phone, go to the "\Others" folder. If you are using a Sony Ericsson phone, go to the "\MSSEMC\Media files\other" folder.
Select the Maya Scene file (*.ma) you wish to import and click on Import.
- View the NURBS curve.
To select the imported NURBS curve, go to Window > Outliner and click on the item with the name of the imported file (e.g. 'Boat.ma').
The curve will appear in the respective view panel that it was created in, e.g. a curve drawn using the 'front' orthographic view on the mobile phone will appear in the Maya panel with the 'front' orthographic display. The same goes for curves created in 'side' and 'top' orthographic views on the mobile phone. If the imported curve is not visible in the panel, select View > Frame All.
These curves are undoable, queryable, and editable. Uniform knot spacing are used to create curve U position values that are easier for you to predict. The curve's end edit points are also superimposed on the end CVs to make the curve's end region easier to control. You can refine the curve using Edit Curves > Fit B-spline, or Edit Curves > Rebuild Curve etc.
Importing into Softimage|XSI
- Launch Softimage|XSI.
Open Softimage|XSI on your PC. Tea Vui Huang's Maya On-The-Go exports dotXSI version 3.6 files that is compatible with Softimage|XSI 6.5.
- Import NURBS curve from the dotXSI file.
Select File > Import > dotXSI.
You can leave the import options as they are and click on 'OK'.
In Import window, browse to the drive / directory that the dotXSI files reside in. If you are importing straight from the microSD / Memory Stick card reader or mobile phone (via USB cable or Bluetooth), the drive is generally labelled 'Removable Disk'. If you are using a Nokia phone, go to the "\Others" folder. If you are using a Sony Ericsson phone, go to the "\MSSEMC\Media files\other" folder.
Select the dotXSI file (*.xsi) you wish to import and click on 'OK'.
- View the NURBS curve.
The curve will appear in the respective view panel that it was created in, e.g. a curve drawn using the 'front' orthographic view on the mobile phone will appear in the XSI panel with the 'front' orthographic display. The same goes for curves created in 'side' and 'top' orthographic views on the mobile phone. If the imported curve is not visible in the panel, click on the camera icon and select Frame All.
Credit
- Written by Tea Vui Huang - http://teavuihuang.com/maya.