I've got a question: Is it mathematically possible to create a geometric solid from 250 equally sized n-gons? As wikipedia so succinctly states: There are precisely five Platonic solids. I don't think you can ask software to do what physics cannot.

This is not to say that maya shouldn't be able to construct a better approximation, and I think it can, but it might take a lot more work with no simple solution.

A bucki-ball or geodesic sphere would produce a very much closer approximation to a sphere.

I was just pointing out the primitive provided in Maya - the icosahedron - does not produce the best approximation to a uniform sphere.

This is why I tossed this out there as a "challenge". With the primitive provided you cannot produce a very good uniform sphere and cannot create uniform dimples.

I am sure there is a way to accomplish both of these objectives and not break any laws of physics, and yes it may or may not be hard, that is why it is a "challenge". (smile)

I see what you're saying now that i look better at it ct.
Though i will fall back on Nitro's question ( I thinit was him? ) when he asked, " How close will the camera be, does it need to be perfect" ect ect.


G-man

It's not really a matter of whether it will be "acceptable".

As I mentioned earlier the method found on the web produces a fairly acceptable result and in most contexts where it would be used I'd say it's okay.

However, seeing that a better result can be achieved with both modo and 3ds max I just would like to find a better Maya solution.

My intent is not to bash Maya. In fact I have invested so much time into Maya that I am not ashamed to say I have a clear Maya bias. So when something like this crops up I like to search for a better Maya solution.

I believe it is possible, one just would need to create a script to produce a better uniform spherical approximation then the icosahedron.

and I thought it would be something interesting to investigate and chat about.

i see.
well, based on teh script idea, i know that highend 3d has alot of primitive creation scripts that can be downloaded.

that might be a good place to start looking and research form there.
i might do that some tomorrow too.
g-man

Here's a Geodisc Sphere Generator. Have at it. Also, for the sake of completeness, I found this if anyone wants to try a bump or displacement map.

If you don't care about topology,
DUN dun dun........

Boolean a bunch of small spheres from a big sphere....


Yeah.


Also Nitro, how the crap do you use that script?

Or any python script for that matter... I am puzzled.

No idea. I've never used Python, only MEL. I just found it via googling. Looking at the first example here, it looks like you put it in your scripts folder and execute it like you would with a MEL script.

Tried it, but it didn't work. Then I read this on that site:
(this assumes you have successfully installed (and loaded) the Maya Python plugin)

So it says I need that, but I don't have it and cannot find any mention of it online.

Humph.

Yeah the python plugin thing kinda scared me as well because I did not think I needed to do anything special to support python in maya since it was added back in whatever version.

Anyway ty for the post. I am looking at another script that creates a spherical geosphere and I will look at the code in the python one.

I think if we can get a good uniform geosphere as a starting point making a uniform golf ball should be easy to achieve.

I have been suffering with a major tooth ache for the last couple days so it's hard for me to focus for very long and I am not in the best of moods.

I found a different geosphere plugin. It was originally written for maya 4.0 but seems to work fine with maya 2010. I looked at the script and it does not seem to use any legacy commands so it should be okay with any version of maya from 4.0 and up to 2010.

This produces a much better approximation to a sphere and consequently a rounder golf ball then the polygon>platonic solids>icosahedron method. Still not perfectly symmetrical divots but much better then the results from the built-in icosahedron.

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x..._geosphere.jpg

Here is the link to the plugin...

http://www.creativecrash.com/maya/do...on/c/geosphere

This is a really nice script if you are into low poly models as it will get you a much lower poly count sphere then the default maya sphere with the same relative resolution.

Here is a link to a tutorial on how to install and use the geoSphere plugin to model the gold ball...

http://www.screencast.com/t/NjZlZmZlM2I

I apologize for pausing a lot during the narration. I just had a double root canal on my rear molar and the whole left side of my face was numb, so I was struggling to stay focused.

BTW it would be nearly impossible to create a sphere by making strips of uniform dots, as someone suggested. As the circumference of the sphere shrinks to zero as you approach the poles so you would have fewer and fewer dots per strip and then you would have major connection issues. It may be possible to work some kind of solution out but I am quite sure it would not be worth the effort.