Hi again, everyone. In my next upcoming modeling tutorial, I'll demonstrate a few simple techniques I came up with to create a unique pendant, based on a mathematical shape known as a Sphericon (aka Femisphere). Originally invented by J. Roberts, an English joiner, Sphericon and it's "female" Femisphere, have historically made ideal candidates for artistic and sculptural possibilities, because of their aesthetically pleasing, curvaceous lines. It wasn't until the late 1990's, however, that they were discovered as "new" shapes by mathematician Ian Stewart, who wrote about them in a 1999 issue of Scientific American. You may also notice they have a strikingly similar geometric relationship to the Oloid, which was discovered by Paul Schatz in 1929. When it comes to things that inspire, I find myself enamored by symmetry and form, and the duality of mathematics and art. By no means do I consider myself mathematically inclined. I don't know very much about mathematical equations, formula, or expressions. I couldn't be considered a Numberphile, although I have a deep admiration for those who are. Anyway, I've worked out a simple solution to polygon model these beautiful shapes into manifold objects for digital design as a pendant/earring, or more specifically for 3d printing. I hope you like it. I'll post a link to the tutorial here on Renderosity, once it's available at my channel. I truly appreciate all the support everyone has shown. It's because of you that I continue to grow and be inspired.

Here's a quick render of the object:

Here's a link to the full tutorial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_HObZeVe8Q

Thanks.

I don't think there's many Max users here on Renderosity, Luxxeon. I hope you do a Blender version, like always. The part where you convert the middle part to hexagons can't be done like that in Blender, so there would need to be a different way I guess. That part alone would be worth the watch for me, because I've always wondered how to make a mesh from hexagon shapes. There's tutorials out there that show how to do it on a flat surface but it doesn't work good if you try to bend it into a curved shape.

Harry, if you build the hexagon surface flat with extra edges, like this one, you should be able to bend it? I made a hex cylinder using this tutorial... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gipp5Lh_aw8

I don't think that will help for Luxxeon's tutorial? Maybe.

Hi, guys. There's a number of different techniques available to create a hive or hexagonal pattern from surface geometry in Blender. I haven't decided yet which one is best suited for this tutorial, but one of the methods I've been experimenting with is to transform the original edge topology, by stacking specific modifiers, and changing some parameters. Blender may not have as large a database of modifiers as 3dsmax, but the ones it does have are quite modular and powerful. At their core, all modifiers do is automate parametric functions, which mathematically transform the edges and vertices of a given topology.

The hexagonal cube below was created very easily, with just a few modifiers and some basic edge operations in Blender. The nice part about this technique is that it can be done on just about any basic shape, with sufficient edge resolution.

Here's another example using that same technique in Blender, only this time on a torus object. I'll make a tutorial on how to do this, but I'm not sure it will be the same technique I'll use in this video.

Finally, here's a torus with a different strategy for creating the honeycomb pattern. Notice the hexagons here are a bit more irregular, and facing upright (vs. the slanted, uniform structure of the last two examples). This technique, like the previous one, makes use of modifier stacking to achieve a topology change, then you manually create the pattern by beveling the resulting edges, and applying a remove doubles command. There's barely any actual modeling required in either case, just combining specific modifiers to achieve the desired edge flow pattern.

The third strategy involves more "hands on" approach. I'll give you an example of that next.

That last one reminds me of a voronoi pattern, lux. You know, "VO-RO-NOY"? Im surprised with Blender, after seeing some of the stuff you were doing with it, but I'm still not convinced I'd ever use it over my Cinema. The only thing we seem to be missing in Cinema is that similar selection tools you have in Max and Blender. But there's plugins that can do it.

Hi guys. In this tutorial, we model a Sphericon pendant in Blender 2.76. This is the companion video to my latest 3dsmax tutorial of the same object. I'll attempt to translate the modeling strategy to Blender, and create an object which could be used in 3d printing, or as a unique design element.. Unfortunately, the video cut short on me, and I wasn't able to create the hole for the necklace in this video. However, if there is interest in seeing that part, please let me know in the comments, and if there's enough interest, I'll make a part 2, which shows how to quickly create a hole for the necklace.

Model A Sphericon Pendant In Blender 2.76

As always, if you have any questions, or need help in any way, please let me know. I hope you find this video useful in some way. Please be sure to like this video, and subscribe to my channel for more videos! See you soon!

PS: You can jump to 31:50 in the new Blender version, to go directly to the part where I build the hexagonal pattern in the mesh topology, as we were discussing earlier on in this thread. This particular technique, I've found, is much more suited to unusually curved shapes like we were discussing earlier on in this thread.

I already replied to your post in the Blender forum, but I'll do it here too. Like I already said, this is a powerful tutorial. I learned no less than 3 new things just from watching. I would have never guessed how you were going to take on those hexagon holes here, but the way you did it was so simple, it surprised the heck outta me. Gotta tell ya, there's no one else I now doing tutorials this way. You got something good goin on here, keep it up.

I just uploaded the continuation video for quickly and easily creating a hole at the top of the model, for a necklace or chain. See it here:

Model A Sphericon Pendant In Blender 2.76 (Part 2) | Making The Hole

Hope you enjoy. Thanks again!

Hey, guys. My friend and Wings guru, Micheus Vieira, has translated my original 3dsmax and Blender tutorials for this object to the Wings3D platform here:

Wings3d: Sphericon Pendant

It's worth a look, if you use WIngs3D to do modeling. Micheus is a brilliant modeler, and Wings3d developer. He uses some clever techniques to overcome some issues in the different ways Wings handles geometry, compared to Blender or 3dsmax.

Just wanted to share this amazing animation of the Sphericon Pendant, created by jewelry designer and architectural artist, Bernd Haier! Brilliant render, done in Iray for 3dsmax. Happy Holidays, everyone!