December 5, 2013

3D organic shapes

3D programs have evolved over the years at a tremendous pace. Today it is possible in many of them to create realistic organic shapes, somewhat similar to molding clay, which - as opposed to stone carving - allows to remove as well as add material to objects that are being built. In addition to the real life molding process, the software takes care of calculating smooth transitions between adjacent areas while automatically creating a symmetrical half of the object if so desired by the artist. Creating symmetrical shapes is therefore no longer a tedious task that consumes shiploads of the artist's time.


3D design created in Rhinoceros R5 + I-Splines




The automotive and aviation industries have almost traditionally been at the forefront of applying organic shapes. Over time these have become more complex, because the increase of the software capabilities allowed it. The major motorcycle manufacturers continue to amaze the world by annually introducing new models that rarely share parts with other models of the present or previous generations. Their design departments probably are very busy and most certainly welcomed the functions in 3D design software that allows them to create complex organic shapes.