OK, I'm faced with the task of creating a 3D model of my company logo. I'm decticing whether to import it as a vector file into the spline modeler or do it in the vertex. I've tried in Rhino and, it's not working out right for me. My boss wants the face of it to be beveled like it is now in 2D. I've tried in the spline modeler, bet I can't get it to happen.. Any ideas or solutions??? This is a low res export from illustrator of the vector drawing I'm dealing with.

And it has to be beveled on the front side like a button, like in this pic,the "S" was just a bevel buttin filter in Photoshop. I know it can be done.

Knowing that you are intending on getting C3 from your other post, I would say, if you can, wait for it to arrive. The spline modeler now has a bevel tool in it. While I haven't had to use it myself yet, (still playing with the non-photo renderer! :> ) it's there and may help. Or, try importing into the spline modeler a simple thin version of the logo, then convert to vertex modeler. Then, using litst's method of extruding a small amount of the top level, then re-sizing smaller to make another tier of the model. Turn on sub-division modeling, and watch it smooth out your bevel. :> Texture using the new altitude shader to get interesting smooth shading from the base as black to the top as red. Hope this helps!

Howdy Kaom, Long time, no hassel. Good to see you back. The picture should clarify most of it. If I remember from your earlier post, you're not using C3 yet so you'll have to go the Illustrator route (which is how I created the example). Another option that I didn't show to create a really rounded/bubble bevel logo is using the Terrain Modeler. In Photoshop or PhotoPaint have a white logo on a black bacground, select the white areas and the blur. This will allow the black to gently creep into the white areas but will keep the edges crisp. Save off as a tiff or jpeg and import as a height map into the Terrarain Modeler. Mark

Kaom , Just a thought here, could you create it in Photoshop or whatever 2d app you have and create a grey scale image showing all the bevels etc, and then import it to the terrain modeller. I have been thinking about this to help create landscape terrains but I think it could work for you. Regards Mike Moir

Thanks for the ideas, I wish I could wait for v3, but I have to do it this week. Hey Mark B! What's up man? How's life in Colorado? I no longer live there, I'm in San Diego now, whick is on fire at the moment. I think Marks idea is the one I'm going to work at. How many cross sections did you use to get that done Mark?

Thanks guys!

Mark, what did you set the extrusion envelope to? And arevthe cross sections shape to shape and filled. And was it symmetrical or sym in plane or free? I think this will work if I get the details. Thanks, kaom

And did you offset it only once?

For some reason, it kicking my butt. I import the shape in the sline room, then I crate another cross section and import the smaller offset shape, and it isn't working. What am I doing wrong?

I'm trying but somethings wrong, it's twisting it and not doing it like yours Mark, what am I doing wrongs here?

Hmmmmm, tough to tell without seeing the actual file. If you want to zing it over I can take a look: mark@markbremmer.com My envelope was set to Symmetrical. I'm just takin a few guesses here: 1. the bevel cross section may not be centered on the plane and other CXs. (It will need to be centered the the one shown with red and green lines a couple of posts above.) 2. If you're working with a scaled down cross section vs. an offset one, it won't work. Try these things: 1. Make sure that the CX options are set to shape-to-shape 2. Move the bevel/CX closer to the preceeding CX and readjust the bezier curves 3. Increase fidelity of the object. It may be a C2 spline modeler issue too. I don't have time to try building it in C2 right now (my example was built with C3) but will try later. They have made some quality improvments with the spline modeler in C3. How's all this for a non-answer!?

Is there any help on litsts technique? That would be nice, but I'm terrible with the vertex modeler and could use some help trying that out.

As an alternative, start in photoshop with the picture of the file. Fill the outside black and the inside white. Apply a blur filter so the edges fall away gradually. Save the file. Go into Carrara. If you have Anything Grooves, create an AG primitive, create a shader from the texture and use it as the height map on the primitive, with 0 being transparent. Alternatively, create a terrain and load it as the terrain height map. The file is a quick and dirty import into Anything Grooves. If you used a bigger resolution source image, left some space around the logo and a higher density AGr mesh the result would be a lot smoother. Mik