Okay, so in another post, someone mentioned a cornucopia, and indian corn, so I got to thinking about how to model an ear of corn... how does this look so far? It's far from complete, and I know it's a little too "perfect" but if I completed the whole ear, do you think that this would be an effective way to model an ear of corn?

WOW That's so cool!!! big smile

It will work if you make the cob twice as long as it should be, then shorten it axially. Corn kernels aren't spherical sections.

Better still, what if certain randomly-chosen kernels belonged to a separate material so that with one simple color change we could make Indian corn? Hm? You'd probably want to have three colors. Kozaburo, care to do a cornsilk tex? (just kidding)

Duane - I had planned on picking bits here and there and assigning a different material setting, so that you could get the indian corn effect without a texture map... but then I got to thinking that it would probably be easier to do it with a texture map... that way you could vary it one from the next, rather than every single one having the same pattern... though I suppose you could just rotate it... nyar1ath0tep - I'm actually going to go back and start over with a more rectangularly shaped kernel, I was just trying to see if this method would work, and it seems like it would turn out okay... I'd also have to vary the size of the kernels as they get further towards the top or bottom... the kernels towards th middle of the cob are generally uniform in size, but as you get away from the middle they start to get smaller...

Would it be difficult to attach the kernels to a modified cylinder, for scenes in which the corn is actually being eaten off the cob?

Hmm... I dunno... I can try it... I don't have a lot of modelling experience, so I'm pretty much making it up as I go! :)

Cin I wouldn't think you'd have to be too detailed. Check out this pic I found on the web as an example. A bump map could be made out of it. That way you wouldn't have to model each individual kernel. This does sound like a good modeling learning curve. I know I need to learn LOTS.

Corn would be good for Fall/Autum scenes, especially corn with husks ;-) looking goooood....pass the butter please!