Tip: Scale button – can also be used as a ‘squash’ modifier- changes shape but retains volume.
LOFTING
1. Create a star shape using the line tool. select all vertices and convert to beziers.
2. Copy and paste the curvy star shape, and adjust the vertices so that they are smaller and smoother inside the border of the first shape. Repeat this to get another smoother 3rd shape inside the second. For the third shape you can simply convert the vertices from ‘bezier’ to ‘smooth’
3.Draw a vertical line in the middle of your shape- this will represent the direction that the shape will ‘grow’. Adjust the vertices with beziers again to add some curvature.
4. With the outermost star shape selected, go to Compound object> Loft, click on the pick path button, and select the vertical line.
5. This will give a bendy prism of uniform thickness. to alter the shape and thickness of this prism or ‘tube, increase the Path value in the Path Parmeters tab. This works as a percentage value, so change the value to 50 to affect the halfway point of the path. From here, click the ‘Get shape button again and choose the second, smaller spline. This will adjust the shape so that at point 1 it is the wide shape, and point 50 it is narrower. You can then add as many shapes along the path as you need.
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