First Sculptie Project - Need advise.

Hi Everyone,

I've decided to tackle my first sculpted prim, and see what I can come up with. And, low and behold, I do have a specific objective with this project. A slightly curved, but realistic unicorn horn.

So. I downloaded Blender, Wings3d, and SculptiePaint. All of which I have been tinkering with ALL day. And, well, maybe it's just the fact I've been at it and my brain is fried, or I just lack the ability to make it, but I have gotten absolutely no where.

So hence my post here. I have some questions if anyone has a moment to help me out.

a) Which program do you all think is easiest for a newbie to learn on?

b) How do you "twist" the object? (one of the things I cannot figure out at all)

c) Are there any templates or generic sculpties somewhere I could download and tinker with?

d) Has anyone else tried making a unicorn horn? If so, how were your results?

Thanks everyone!
Astray.

Rorkuro, tokoroten, and rokuro pro (3KL) are the easiest in my opinion. Tokoroten could make a straight one in seconds. You would need the pro for the "slightly curved" bit.

There is a cylinder template for Blender that is very useful here:

http://pkpounceworks.sljoint.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=28&func=fileinfo&id=9

The key to using blender is learning short cut keys. I'd be glad to walk you through how I would approach making the unicorn horn using this template as a base.

To make the horn I would start by deforming a sphere into a horn shape, then select alternate edges and scale them to add grooves that run along it, and then finally twist the entire object.

I'm not a Wings3D user, but I just took a peek to see how it twists things. Twisting will be the key function needed for creating a unicorn horn.

So here's how to twist stuff:

Go into Vertex mode, select all vertices, right click on your object and from the menu that appears select Deform and then Twist.

Rokuro, Tokoroten(?), and scultypaint are easiest but most limited in my opinion. Rokuro Pro could do a horn pretty easily, though I don't know about it being twisted. The best kinda all-purpose tool is in my opinion Wings 3d if you're going for easy and powerful. Still limited but nowhere near as much. Can do just about anything you want to some capacity

Well, in Wings3d you could select a segment, rotate it, select the next segment, rotate that, etc, all the way up it I'll append to the end of this a tutorial on making a unicorn horn, though it will be in text and off my head so i can't promise it'll work, but should give you the idea.

Plenty but iono where.. I'll be telling you one in the last bit of my post

Not me, but Now I want to, just to see if I'm right on how to do it at the end...



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Unicorn Horn Tutorial for Wings3d

What you need:
Wings3d Newest version (Not stable)
DanielFox Abernathy's 32 grid from this tutorial:
/8/70/210675/1.html

And a basic knowledge of Wings3d and how it works.

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The Method:

OK, first, use DanielFoxes tutorial above to make a basic unicorn horn. Just make the grid into a series of bumps, all the same size, and then rotate it into a cylinder to get the basic shape.

Next, select all, then deselect the first bump, so that you have all but the first bump on the left selected.

Now right click>scale radial, Z. (It may not be Z, I don't know without being in Wings, sorry. Scale it down a little smaller than the first. The size depends on the amount of bumps you have, and is totally up to you.

Next, deselect the second bump. You shouldn't have to reselect all, just ctrl-drag the second bump to deselect it. Again, right click, scale radial, radial Z, making them smaller again. Keep doing this all the way down the line until you have your horn shape. Play with it a bit to get it just how you want it. The last 'bump' should be pretty small, not 0 though, it needs to remain visible to close off the horn.
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Now that you've got your basic shape you have an option. THis gives a 'pseudo twisted' look pretty easily. It's not actually twisted, but isn't too bad. With enough tinkering with this same technique you can do an 'actual' twist using angled bumps instead of straight ones.

Your option is to twist it or not. If you don't, and you want it to have a 'twisted' texture, the texture will have to have angled lines. If you want it to have angled lines from a straight texture, you have to twist the model.
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The Twist

OK, this bit's actually pretty simple. Select only the farthest left horn 'section' using the select all-deselect method, and then right click>rotate>Z (Again, I'm not certain on the axis, so that may be incorrect). Just spin it a little bit, maybe hit tab and type in '10' or maybe even '20'. Now select only the next bump. Do the same thing, but rotate it a bit more. If you typed in a value for the first, then type one in for all the other too. If the first was 10, the second is 20, then 30, and so on.

Though you can't see it without a texture, that causes the model to actually be twisted. Try both methods then texture to see what you like best.

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The bend

You want your horn slightly curved? Not hard at all!

This will be done using the technique from DanielFoxes 'rings' tutorial. Just watch it, I can't remember everything that the bend command asks for so can't tell you all the information, but you bend the horn the same way his rings were made. Just curve it to your liking.

Rings tutorial URL:
/8/10/210888/1.html

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You're done! You now have a basic, curved unicorn horn, handmade in Wings3d!

Sorry that it's not a video..maybe I'll do one if you ask real nice

And also, DanielFox's tutorials are wonderful anyway, and you should definitely watch them!

Hope this helps!
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Method 2, The 'real twist'


A second way, would be to raise bumps length-wise (from purple edge to purple edge) and then rotate it into a cylinder, making it look kinda like tubes made into one tube, if that makes sense.

Then, as 2k said above, deform>twist it, and you should be able to get a rounded twisty horn.
Now, the scale radial for individual bumps won't work. THe method I'm about to describe, I honestly don't know if it's possible, as I've never tried it. I'm hoping it will use magnets like alt-move, but I'm not sure.

To get the horn into the gradual cone, select just the very last part of it, a small bit to act as the point, then right click>alt+scale radial>Z. Now the vertices should highlight 'puffy' if I'm correct, then you can select a vertex in the very last row on the opposite end, then right click to initiate it. Now dragging your mouse right and left should scale the entire thing gradually, calculating it for itself.

From there, the rest of the tutorial still applies, the curve.

Hope this method works, I'm still not sure, so please don't hate me if it doesn't!

Hope this helps again!

Here's a great tutorial about twisting in Blender from Blender Underground:
http://tinyurl.com/2r4rqn

The site has a few videos on the basics of Blender too, all necessary to learn how to use the program with its vast array of functions:
http://tinyurl.com/2llrv7

The twisting tutorial above won't result in something that can be converted to a sculptie - at least I don't think so. But the technique shown can be useful for other things.

Rokuro pro could most certainly twist. I would grove first, then "cone", then twist, then curve.

Wow, thank you all for the advice and support! I just got off work, and am eager to give these a shot!

*cracks his knuckles*

Time to get to work! I will post my results here shortly!!

And thank you Renee for the map and horn in-game I REALLY appreciate that.

Rokuro Pro is asking for my SL acct name and password???

Um.....

I *don't* think so!

Is this normal?

No its not ^_^ when you buy it in SL to get the 'license' you actually buy a box, which you place on the gruond and click. It assigns your SL name a password. Thats the pass it's asking for!

EDIT::

Also, if you try my wings pseudo-tutorial above, the second method (The real twist) works wonderfully.

However, when scaling it, you need to do it in a few sections, so you alt+click scale radial>z (It is Z!), then scale maybea third of it (Select a vertex abut 1/3 of the way down the horn and then right click to initiate), then start from that point, and so on, until you get the desired look. Otherwise, getting an actual point will cause it to scale too rapidly at first.

Oh whew.. Thanks Okiphia! I was a little worried there for a moment. Let me see if I can find this box to buy

on the rokuro website there is a SLURL I beolieve ^_^ and its rather obvious what to buy once there too

Also, edited above post about the wings 'tutorial' I did earlier, now that I've had a chance to actually do it.

I'll be making a video tutorial out of the one I wrote above, since it uses a couple more techniques not in DanielFoxes tutorials. Some of it will be rehashed from DanielFoxes, but some is new.

I'll be going through it, step by step, starting from the grid all the way to the finished 'Horn'.

Working on it now ^_^


Have fun all

Well everyone, here is my close to final map... I've been working so hard and am a bit disappointed, but it's progress

I know it's not great, but I am somewhat pleased with my progress, for being a complete newb to things like this.

The default plywood texture makes it harder to see the shape. If you give it a solid color and perhaps a low shine it might look a whole lot better. Nice job.