When you model rounded objects, such as the helmet in this tutorial, we recommend that you avoid using a sphere as a starting point.

The next illustration shows the polygons that make up a sphere. The top of the sphere is composed of triangular polygons whose vertices tend to pinch together at the pole. This can lead to problems later on.

It is therefore best to model a rounded object, other than an actual sphere, using rectangular polygons only. You will use this technique in this lesson.

Create the basic helmet shape:

1. Start 3ds Max.

   By default, a minimized version of the Graphite Modeling Tools ribbon displays directly below the main toolbar.

   

   NoteThe ribbon on your workstation might display differently if you customized the ribbon in a previous 3ds Max work session. This tutorial assumes you are using the default configuration.
2. Click the expand/minimize icon a few times until the full ribbon displays.

   

   The tools in the Polygon Modeling tab are inactive, since no polygon model exists in the scene.

3. From the Customize menu, choose Units Setup, and in the Units Setup dialog Display Unit Scale group, make sure Generic Units is chosen.

   

4. Activate the Perspective viewport, and press Alt+W to maximize it.
5. On the Create panel, activate (Geometry), then on the Object Type rollout, click Box.
6. Drag to create a box of any size.
7. On the Modify panel Parameters rollout, set Length, Width, and Height to 50.0.

   

   Currently, the pivot point is at the base of the object. You need to set this point to the center of the box so you can manipulate the object more easily.

8. In the Hierarchy panel Adjust Pivot rollout Move/Rotate/Scale group, click Affect Pivot Only to turn it on.

   

9. In the Alignment group, click Center To Object, then click Affect Pivot Only again to turn it off.

   

10. On the main toolbar, click (Select And Rotate) and rotate the box.

    The box now rotates around the object’s center of mass.

11. Undo the rotation.
12. Right-click the box, and choose Transform Move.
13. Right-click the X, Y, and Z transform spinners to set each of them to 0.0.

    

    The center of the box is now at the center of the world coordinates.

14. Click (Select Object) to turn off the Move tool.

Turn the box into a sphere:

1. On the Modify panel Parameters rollout, set Length Segs, Width Segs, and Height Segs to 4.
2. Press F4 to turn on Edged Faces, so you can see the segment divisions in the viewport.

   

   After you press F4, the Shading viewport label should show “Smooth+Highlights+Edged Faces.”

3. From the Modifier list, choose Spherify.

   

   

   Box with Spherify modifier applied

   The object is deformed into a spherical shape, but retains its geometric composition of easily editable quadrilateral polygons.

   You only need a hemisphere to create the helmet, so next you will delete the lower half of the box and deform the remaining polygons into a conical shape.

Refine the shape:

1. In the viewport, right-click the sphere and from the Transform (lower-right) quadrant of the quad menu, choose Convert To Convert To Editable Poly.

   

   The ribbon updates to display a range of polygon-editing tools.

2. Click the Point-Of-View (POV) viewport menu (at present, it reads “[ Perspective ]” and choose Front as the view to display.
3. On the ribbon Polygon Modeling panel, click (Vertex) to go to the Vertex sub-object level. Region-select all the vertices in the lower half of the object (but not the equator), then press Delete.

   

   

   You now have a hemispherical dome for the helmet. Next, you will give the object a slightly conical shape.

4. Click the POV viewport label again, and return to the Perspective view.
5. Select the vertex at the top of the helmet and move it upward along the Z axis.

   

   Top vertex after transformation in Z

   Notice that only the polygons that share the vertex are deformed. You need to use Soft Selection to involve the adjacent vertices and polygons as well.

6. Undo the vertex move.

Use Soft Selection to shape the helmet:

1. On the ribbon Polygon Modeling panel, click (Soft Selection) to turn it on.

   

   At the end of the ribbon, on the right, 3ds Max displays a Soft Selection panel, which provides options that control how the soft selection is carried out.

2. On the Soft Selection panel, set Falloff to 30.0.

   

3. Move the top vertex of the helmet upward along the Z axis again, until the object appears similar to that in the next illustration.

   

4. On the ribbon Polygon Modeling panel, click (Soft Selection) again to turn it off.

   Next, you will use the MeshSmooth tools to smooth out the helmet surface.

5. In the viewport, drag to select all the object vertices (or press Ctrl+A), and then on the ribbon Subdivision panel, click MSmooth.

   

   This option takes each polygon and divides it into four, making a smoother, more detailed geometry.

   

6. On the ribbon Polygon Modeling panel, click (Vertex) to exit this sub-object level.

Save your work:

• Save your scene as my_helmet_01.max.