| How do I get started using Wings3D?
Right click in the workspace and select a primitive to
be added, such as a cube. Click on the cube and it will become
highlighted. Now right click in the workspace again and you
will get a context sensitive menu that has object specific
commands. These context sensitive menus are the real power
behind the Wings interface. Click on the Icons in the middle
of the Icon Bar and you will see the selection set on your
model change to the the different types of elements you can
manipulate (vertices, edges, faces or objects). After you
switch to a different selection mode, faces for example, right
click on the workspace and notice that you get a new context
sensitive menu with commands specific to faces. Play around
with this interface until you feel comfortable with it. Then
go do one of the tutorials on the Wings3D Home Page. You will
find several links to other useful tutorials there as well.
Are there any tutorials on how to use Wings?
Yes. As mentioned above, there are several tutorials on
how to use Wings3D (plus other related tutorials) on the main
Wings3D Page.
Is there a User's Manual?
Yes. There is a rudimentary User Manual on the Wings home
page. It is from an early version of Wings, but is still useful
for new users. There is a more comprehensive User Manual in
the works which hopefully will be available at the time of
the Wings 1.0 release. In the mean time there is an OpenSource
User Manual Project at the Wings 3D - Official Development Forum
which you can peruse. Bear in mind that this project
is a raw data collection effort and as such the UM Project
is not sorted or organized in any way, other than for a few
generally helpful user interface topics which have been made
sticky so that they stay at the top of the page.
How do I add textures to my models?
Fully functional texturing is not currently available
in Wings3D. However you can texture your model by exporting
it to *.obj or *.3ds format and then applying textures through
a texture mapping application. Two commonly used texture mapping
applications are UVMapper and LithUnwrap. UVMapper requires
models to be in the .obj format. LithUnwrap imports and exports
.lwo, .obj, .dxf, .3ds, .asc, .cob, and .x files.
To make texturing easier in these applications you can assign
materials to selected faces in Wings3D for various parts.
You might apply a material to the head, another to the left
arm, another to the right arm, one to the front torso faces,
one to the back torso faces, one to the left side faces, one
to the right side faces, one to the left leg and one to the
right leg. Then in your UV mapping application you can select
by material, drag that portion off to the side and apply the
appropriate map to it. For the head you might apply a spherical
map, for the front, back and sides planar maps, and for the
arms and legs cylindrical maps. Then you save the map and
re-save the model from the UV application, take the map into
your favorite paint program, and paint it as you like. Then
in your render engine apply the painted map to the model.
(Thanks to jstro)
What are UV Coordinates and how can I apply
them in Wings3D?
UV coordinates are points on a 3D model that get assigned
a in a bitmap or 'texture'. Once a UVMap is applied, a renderer
can take any image and "wrap" it onto the 3D model.
Wings3D currently supports UV's of imported file formats but
doesn't support them in wings file format. However, an experimental
plug-in is being developed to add texture coordinates to the
Wings data structure. If you are interested in trying it you
can get it here.
Where can I learn more about subdivision modeling?
One of the best places to start is at the Spiraloid Digital
Sculpting Forum. This is a closely moderated forum for 3D
artists, so be sure to read the rules before posting. Another
great source of information is the Subdivision Modeling Resource
Page. And a good book that discusses subdivision modeling
as well as other modeling techniques is 3D Modeling and Surfacing
by Bill Fleming.
What do I do with the models once I make them?
If you want to render your model Wings allows you to export
your model in 3d studio (*.3ds), Wavefront object (*.obj),
and renderman (*.rib) format.
So, how do I render my models?
As of right now Wings does not support anything other
than simple OpenGL renders of models directly. However, there
are a host of rendering options available to you. It is simply
a matter of exporting your Wings models into a format that
is compatible with your rendering system of choice. Many applications
will read and render .obj, .3ds and .rib files. Find one you
like and begin experimenting with it. Use one of the many
packages that reads .obj or .3ds models such as 3dCanvas,
Amapi3d, Strata3d Base , Vue d'Esprit, Bryce, or TrueSpace.
Many of these applications are free, have free older versions,
or have demos you can download and experiment with. Find one
you like and go with it. For advanced users among you, use
the 3ds conversion utility for VirtuaLight3d, or use K-3D
or Blender(both are freeware) to render your models with PRMan
compliant renderers (you could use Blender's excellent built-in
renderer too). BRMT is a free and powerful rendering engine,
but it is not easy to use. There are other free RIB renderers,
such as Air and Aqsis, which you can try.
What is an edge loop and what are they used
for?
In the most basic sense an edge loops is a series of edges
all connected together at four way intersections. If an intersection
has less than four edges or has five or more edges, it is
called a pole. Poles interrupt the natural flow of edge loops,
stopping them dead in their tracks.
Edge loops are important on two levels. First of all, they
are directly selectable and manipulatable in Wings, so they
can be used to efficiently and effectively model. Second,
they can (and should) define the overall form of the model
at an aesthetic level so that the overall model flows naturally.
How do I keep my central edge loop from becoming
distorted?
Keeping your central edge loop straight on one axis is
only essential if you plan on using a mirror image of the
model (i.e. if you model the right half a human body, then
you can mirror the mesh to instantly create the other half).
To keep your edge loop aligned to an axis (for example the
x-axis) simply select your edge loop then press V for vertices
then choose flatten X. Now your edge loop vertices are all
alined on the x-axis.
What are advanced menus and how do I use them?
Wings has an Advanced Menu option that can be activated
through the Edit | Preferences menu. It is generally agreed
that new users should get used to the standard menus first
before delving into the Advanced Menus. If you decide you
want to use the Advanced Menus then simply check the option
in the Preferences Menu. Once checked, some additional functionality
becomes available that heretofore had remained hidden. Without
Advanced Menus activated Wings behaves very much like Nendo®.
Very briefly, this is how they work:
· Create a cube.
· Select the top face.
· Now hover over Move. Don't click anything!
· Read the status bar and notice that a left click
will use the standard axes whereas a right click will use
custom vectors.
· Click the Right Mouse Button. The status bar will
tell you to Select Axis for Face Move. This is how you will
define the vector.
· Click on the positive Z face and notice the appearance
of a blue vector.
· Now click on the positive X face and notice that
the direction of the vector changed. It sort of became the
average of the two selected faces. You can continue to select
and deselect faces to your hearts content until you get the
vector going the way you want it to. Note that you are not
limited to faces in the definition phase of this operation.
You could switch to vertices or edges, for example. But keep
it simple for now and stick with faces.
· Once you are happy with the direction of your vector
then click the Right Mouse Button. A short menu will come
up where you can Face | Move or Abort Command.
· Choose Face | Move and drag the mouse. The face will
move in the direction of your custom vector. Just try doing
this a couple of times then try a few of the other commands.
You'll have the routine down in no time.
How do I get to the magnets?
Magnets are only available if the Advanced Menus have
been activated. This is done via the Edit | Preferences menu.
Once activated, Wings will display small magnet icons to the
left of any command that can use them. To use magnets simply
click on the icon instead of the name of the command.
Okay, so how do I actually use the magnets?
The easiest way to learn about magnets it to try them
out on a grid. First make sure Advanced Menus are activated
via Edit | Preferences menu. Here is a brief explantion of
how they work:
· Add a grid to your workspace.
· Select the next to last row of vertices in the -X
direction.
· Right click the mouse and select Move.
· Hover over the little magnet icon to the right of
Free and read the status line. It gives you three choices;
Pick influence radius, Specify radius numerically, and Use
last radius.
· Left click the mouse on Pick influence radius. A
new prompt will come up that says Select magnet influence
for Vertex | Move.
· Spin your model over so you can pick the four vertices
on its underside. As you click on these vertices notice the
big blue dot that appears and adjusts position as you pick
the center of influence.
· Now spin the model right side up and right click
the mouse again. You will get a short pop-up menu with the
choices Vertex | Move and Abort | Command.
· Left click on Vertex | Move and start dragging the
mouse. Notice that on the status line you have several options:
[+] or [-] Tweak R [1] Bell [2] <<Dome>> [3] Straight
[4] Spike to choose from. This means that while still in dragging
mode you can increase or decrease the radius of influence
with the plus or minus keys, you can Tweak the movement with
the R key, and you can interactively change the type of magnet
you are using by hitting the 1, 2, 3, or 4 keys on the main
keyboard. The current type of magnet is enclosed in double
brackets <<Dome>> so you know what you are using.
· Left click to complete the magnetic move operation.
Play with these magnets on a grid until you get the hang
of it.
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