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Hi again,
Have been trying to import a dae file but need a little help please.

I can do the import o.k............but am stuck with the grey and black background........or in other words cannot get the object on its own?

I get the  message"file open successfully" but the only way I can view the object is by through the camera view. Cannot find it in numpads 7  3 or 1.

Tried to save as a blend file but it saves all the black and grey with it  "doh".

Tried to find or seperate the scene in  outliner  which returned over
90 meshes plus components. but no luck.

This is a Collada file  outliner named it  "Schetchup" .

The object is a Roman soldiers helmet with red plume.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

( Perhaps I should have a little corner of my own and name it "Blueblott Asks", as I seem to always be asking lol )

Kind Regards
Blueblott.
**

Hmm, your own Q&A forum.....could simplify things....LOL

Which Blender version are you using?

Is the original model something that can be freely downloaded? If so give me a link and I'll test on my end.

Lisar **Thanks,

Am using 2.49 version of Blender.
Roman Armor - Lorica Segmentata (Corbridge Type "B" - circa AD 50)
Google the above, I thought I would try another file from the same place
but it ended up the same.
. it seems to import the plane or scene it was created in ? After deleting this black background from the scene the object ( now very tiny ) is left. When first imported the only view I can see is if I hit num O camera view.
Be interested to see how you go .
Could not scale it up .
Perhaps should stick to playing with my building bricks mum got me !

Thanks for your patience.
Blublott
**

Well....it's not you. The .dae files from that source are junk.

I've tried importing the files into 4 different apps and the import either errors out or I get useless files. Didn't have any problems manipulating the views in Blender2.49 though, just wasn't any point in it after deleting the imported ground plane.

**
Lisar Thankyou,

that was my first attempt at trying to use Collada, i just found that particular
file in my search for Roman armor seeing Blender can import dae type files i thought "here goes"  ........but it did'nt !!
At least you proved I did'nt do anything wrong and I thankyou.
Will try a dae from another site just to see how it should work.

Also try and give you a rest from my questions for a while,lol.
You have been most helpful
Kind Regards
Blueblott

**

Quote - Also try and give you a rest from my questions for a while,lol.

?? Why...Giving up already??:tt2: LOL

You do know that if you stop asking questions you stop learning, right? Then your brain shrivels up like a sun-dried raisin and you start buying pre-made light sets for Poser.....it's true I read it on wiki!:lol:

**
" Oh Lisa you are my inspiration " lol.

Thanks......thats a good start to the week,fear not another stone wall is waiting just around the corner !!

Cannot give up Blender I like it too much  the challenge also.

Am trying to make chest armor of the Roman era....sooo thought i would try using  "Shrink Wrap".

Thanks again
Kind Regards
Blueblott

**

Shrink wrap should work but be prepared for odd results if the shrinking mesh is close to the arms. Since the verts snap to the closest points on the original mesh sometimes they shrink to the arms instead of the torso.

Retopo will also work pretty well for roughing in the curaiss.

Any way you approach the project define the volume in lowpoly then add edge loops and subdivide as needed to smooth and sculpt. I highly recommend using mirror modeling techniques, half the work and symetry is assured.

**
Thanks Lisa,

Yes I had a look at the CGCookie video tut and used the mirror modifier to great effect. Set offset to 2 ,selected shrinkwrap modifier after making it the first on the stack, named object,hit apply "Bingo"..............................nothing happened in the shrinking dept !
That was late last night so guess I missed a point along the way.
And then there is..  .........."Retopo"...where did you pull that one from?
Had to Google to find yet another of Blenders little treasures !
How curiass I did'nt find this before lol.
Thanks again Lisa, off to find a tut on Retopo now,
Kind Regards
Blueblott.
**

cg.cgcookie.com/2008/11/29/retopology-tools-with-blender

This tutorial explains the retopology tool using the standard CTRL+Left Mouse Button to add vertices. This works well enough for the subject matter covered in the tutorial.

You may however want to use the paint function to draw the rough mesh rather than the method shown in the tutorial.

To do this click the paint button that is visible directly below the Retopo in Step 03. This will put the tool into sketch mode then you simply draw the base mesh over the existing model.

The mesh is created and snapped to the original model automatically when you return to normal editing mode. You can then edit the resulting mesh as you would any other mesh object.

Are you planning to make a back plate also? If so I personally would create a basic lowpoly sleeveless "shirt", instead of using shrinkwrap or retopo, fit it to the figure then split that into separate front and back  base objects to further manipulate.

Are you starting to get the idea that there are multiple ways to handle just about any modeling project?:lol:

(Learn the different ways, then you have the flexibility to use whichever method works best for a given situation.)

**Thanks Lisa
that all looks like very good advice , must remember to try to approach  things from perhaps the less obvious, ("more than one way to skin a cat"!) well less obvious to me at the moment.
I believe you have it in a nutshell your last two sentences.

Yes, I will be making a backplate as well, the whole armor am going for leather finish with the detail of chest muscles . Later will attempt the same but in some metal texture and apply all the decorative scrolls etc once I decide what rank I am dealing with.

Thats a good idea a "shirt" will get Apollo to model with his non hairy chest to show off his muscles to great effect. yes that seems a good alternative, thanks for that , so many options, well thats enough food for thought,time for action.

Thanks for your continued support.

Kind regards,
Blueblott

**

The advantage in making a shirt then splitting it is that the front and back halves will match with little effort required to turn into armor plate by removing vertical faces at the spit to create space between the two halves. A few minor adjustments, make the straps, UV map, texture and you are done.

You can use the shrink wrap modifier on the shirt model if you like before splitting.

To split the model into front and back halves:

In EDIT mode press 3 then the decimal on the NUMPAD to frame the model in a side view.

Select either the front or back half of the shirt, press P then SELECTED PARTS in the dialog.

You will have matching front and back objects to use as the basis for the armor.

If you want to make the armor have actual thickness let me know and I'll point you to the scripts that you will need to make that easier to do.

**Thanks for being so very helpful Lisa and yes those scripts could indeed prove to be helpful. I have so many ideas that I can visualize I just want to get them onto canvas now lol.
Soon as I get a result I will post.

Kind Regards
Blueblott
**

Okay, just discovered that the script you would need has been hard coded into Blender 2.49, simplifies things.

What you will need to do is create a two part shell then connect the perimeter edge loops.

Example

1. Finish the modeling of the chest piece.

2. Presuming you are modeling in front view (Z up, X horizontal), in Edit mode select all the front polygons, press NUMPAD 3 to enter side view, press Shift + D + Y (to create a copy and constrain movement to the Y axis), either visually move the copy to it's required location or for more accuracy enter a numerical value for the displacement. Make any necessary adjustments to align the perimeter edges of the copy with the perimeter edges of the original.

*Note that using Shift + D in Edit mode creates a copy that is part of the original object while using the option in Object mode creates a separate replica object.

1. Still in Edit  mode change to edge select mode. Use Alt+ RMB to select the perimeter edge loop of one part then use Shift + Alt +RMB to select the perimeter edge loop of the remaining part.

2. Press F then select the Skin Faces/Edge-loops option in the dialog box.

5 Repeat for the back piece then create your straps and buckles.

**Thanks for that Lisa,
Regards
Blueblott.
**