Pixels3D_jellyfish

(Click Images for larger view) The Final Image	In this tutorial, we undertake the creation of one of nature's quirkiest creatures, the jellyfish, using PiXELS:3D for the Macintosh. Fortunately, the jellyfish is composed of some easily realized geometric shapes. Follow step-by-step as we proceed towards the final image, pictured at left.

Jellyfish bell spline.

Working in the front view, open the window to full screen view and turn on "snap to grid," as it helps to align starting and ending points to the Y axis. Create the Jellyfish bell outline using the Shape > Spline tool. Select B-spline and then OK. Keep in mind that you will need to not only create the outside of the Jellyfish bell, but the inside as well, in one continuous path.

The lathed jellyfish bell.

Starting seven grids spaces from the intersection of the Y and X axis, attach a point. Click points to form the outer edge of the bell and continue adding points on the inside to establish wall thickness. Vary the inside forms a bit to suggest "innards." These innards will serve later as attachment points for the tentacles. It's okay to be creative here.

Attach the last point to the center axis and double-click to end it or press the Esc key. With the spline still selected, choose the Shape > Lathe tool and accept its defaults. Subdivide the model by 2. Open the object info palette and call the lathed object "Jellyfish_bell".

To aid our next step, uncheck the visibility to hide the "Jellyfish_bell". You can also delete the original spline, since it will no longer be needed. Turn off snap to grid. Collapse the front view and look at the camera window. The object appears a little large. No problem, simply zoom out by clicking on the magnifier tool in that view.

The tentacle spline.

Creating the Tentacles
Select cylinder from the shape menu. When the cylinder options dialog box appears, change the V step to 1 and the radius to 2.0. Click OK to accept. Choose Park from the control panel to park the object. Create a tentacle path. Choose Shape > Spline and select NURBs. Switch to full view in the front view and draw a wavy spline path. Park the path. While holding down the command key, select the cylinder or choose it from the object info palette. Next, command/shift the spline to select it.

Tentacle extrude.

The spline path is now the parent object. With both objects selected, choose Path Extrude from the shape menu. Park the object and call it "tentacle_1". Choose close ends from the Reshape menu and enter .5 in the percentages dialog. Click to accept. Create five more tentacles with different splines paths using the techniques outlined above. Again, use creative license. When you are done, "hide" all of the tentacle objects by unchecking the "visible" box.

Bell rotation.

Rotating the Jellyfish Bell
Make the Jellyfish_bell object visible again by checking its "visible" box. Open the object info palette and enter -21.5 in the Y rotation box and -46. in the Z rotation box. Park the object. Attach tentacle_1. Select its name in the object info palette and check its "visible" box. With the object selected, choose the move tool under the control menu and move it into position, in the middle and underneath the jellyfish bell. Attach tentacle_2 in the same manner but rotate it on the Y axis by entering 25.0 in the Y rotation box. Attach the other tentacles in the same fashion and vary the rotation of the Y axis for more natural movement

Attaching the first tentacle.

Linking the Tentacles to the Jellyfish Bell
Open the Object info palette and select tentacle_1. While selected, command/shift on the Jellyfish_bell object, making it the parent object. Choose Link/Unlink from the Control menu to link tentacle_1 to the Jellyfish_bell parent.

Final attachments.

Link the rest of the tentacles to the Jellyfish_bell object in the same manner. When the Park dialog box comes up, park the objects by clicking OK.

Total Shader Manager

Adding the Jellyfish Shader
Open Shadermanager by choosing from the menu Window > Shaders... Click on an empty square in the ShaderManager box to open Shadermaker 3.0.

Load Shader

Load the Jellyfish Shader from the CD or from PiXEL's FTP website. Click on the word "Shader_1" and change it to "Dome_shader". Click on an empty square and load the same Jellyfish Shader from the CD. This time, change its name to "tentacle_shader".Open the tentacle shader and change the diffuse color from clouds to user defined. Change the user defined color to R: .95, G: .3, B: .45, to create a warm reddish color. Click OK.

Environment image map.

Choose File and Select Render Setup
Turn backside culling on by checking its box. Click OK to exit render setup. Create a "quick render" to see how the shader mapped to your model. Depending upon the shape of your Jellyfish_bell, you may need to adjust its position by clicking on image map in the Environment node and rotating the map along its U axis. Try lower numbers first (i.e., .2 up to .9) followed by a quick render to check the results.

Founded in 1991, the San Diego, CA-based Pixels developed artist-friendly software for content creators in such fields as video, film, interactive game and CD-ROM production. Originally an animation studio, Pixels has a unique perspective on the market it serves. In fact, PiXELS: 3D Macintosh modeling and animation software was originally written as an in-house tool, explaining its industrial-strength design. Since 1993, Pixels has put more and more resources into R&D, leaving production to those strong souls with iron wills. Today Pixels is geared exclusively toward software development, keeping its finger on the pulse of the industry through strong ties with animators from top-level studios. Version 3.2 of PiXELS:3D has just been released. Vist the PiXELS web site at http://www.pixels3D.com