Hi all,
I need to start saying that I am really new to 3d graphics in general and to Maya...
I am a PhD student in computational neuroscience and lately I am getting more and more interested in the 3d modelling world. The idea of mix art and science…is too tempting.
I’m trying to build a 3d model of a piece of neuron with all that it’s inside it using data from imaging experiments.
All of this for saying that I am “force” to use specific geometrical constraint.
Long story short, I have polygon, (egg shaped, but really irregular) empty inside, and on the upper half of it, facing the inside of the polygon, I need to insert little objects (cylinder like) with a specific density. Every cylinder has to be distant from the next one of 134 ± 28 units. These cylinders also need to be parallel to the normal of the face they are inserted in. I can’t find a way to specify all of these together.
I try to modify the polygon in order to have all the vertices at equal distance but of course, the geometry felt apart.
I also try to use LT_tools: using it I am able to correctly position the cylinder (following the normal) but again I can’t find a way to get the spatial distribution (the equidistant function doesn’t work for me).
Last week I got the idea of use the n-Cloth function: starting from a polyplane formed by quads with edges length of 134 units I had inserted a cylinder per vertex (so I got the right distance between them). Then I created the n-cloth for the polyplane and a passive collider for the “egg” and let it fall over…. I don’t know why, but every times I can see the plane slide on one side of the egg, create a little bump but then literally fly away and fluctuate in the air..
Any idea of how I could do it guys? Do you know how to specify a mean distance between neighbours object on a non-flat surface? Do you maybe know why my n-cloth doesn’t work? Thanks so much in advance for all the possible help.
Frida
PS: doing it manually is something not really possible since the number of cylinders to insert is something like 300 cylinders.
Last, for sake of clarity a Maya 2011 binary with the “egg,” 2 “cylinders” can be found here