Why model with 4,000 control points when 1,000 will do?

• Smooth, gap-free surfaces
• Easier to tweak (fewer control points than NURBS)
• Fits into your modeling pipeline

About the T-Splines Maya plugin

The T-Splines Maya Plugin was created for artists who want the precision of NURBS without limiting themselves to its stringent restrictions. In T-Splines, arbitrary detail is easily added, and the entire model can maintain just the optimum level of detail. This means creating seamless models is the rule, not the exception. Additionally, there is no need to worry about keeping tangencies between different parts of the model T-Spline models are automatically curvature continuous throughout.

These qualities make T-Splines the natural successor to NURBS. Invented over 25 years ago, NURBS established itself as the foundation of high-end modeling in animation and CAD because it is mathematically precise. This precision isn't free, though: the artist obtains it only by carefully restricting the modeling to rectangular control points grids. Rarely do artists attempt to complete an entire model out of a single NURBS; instead, they use a series of NURBS patches. Nor is the precision automatic: care must always be taken to make sure the patches comprising a model line up and are tangent. Such unfriendly restrictions have made NURBS modeling less accessible to beginning modelers and the source of frustration for more experienced modelers. Although the beauty and utility of a well-constructed NURBS model is undisputed (NURBS are fit to be used in any setting, from video games to industrial design to CAD because of their precision), the effort that goes into crafting a NURBS model makes many artists think twice before choosing NURBS over polygons and subds. Forward and backwards compatible with NURBS, T-Splines is breathing new life into NURBS modeling with its liberating capability of accommodating detail and is leading the way towards the next generation of high-detailed modeling.

T-Splines also includes subdivision surface modeling attributes. Since T-Splines is a superset of both NURBS and subdivision surfaces, it converts losslessly from both surface types and can export to either NURBS or polygons. One significant benefit T-Splines enjoys over subdivision surfaces is that local detail can be added in T-Splines without changing the surface, while upon adding detail in subdivision surfaces the surface is slightly deformed.

NURBS frog (11625 control points) Courtesy Zygote Media	T-Splines frog (5035 control points)

Using the T-Splines Maya plugin

The T-Splines Maya Plugin Version 1 was designed to accommodate two basic workflows: using T-Splines to create a new model and converting existing models to T-Splines for simplification or downstream use.

1. Using T-Splines when creating a new model
There are a number of ways to take advantage of T-Splines when creating a new model. Since the main advantage of T-Splines is in editing and detail work, artists can create the general shape of their model with polygons, then convert to T-Splines to add detail and make changes. It is also possible to begin modeling directly in T-Spline primitives.

2. Using T-Splines to simplify and merge existing models
As 3d models become more and more realistic, every industry is demanding more high-detailed models. Achieving this level of detail in NURBS or polygons can result in heavy models that are unwieldy to edit and expensive to render. By converting existing NURBS and polygon models to T-Splines, you can subsequently cleanse the model of unneeded data and merge multiple-patch NURBS models into a single surface. This results in a T-Spline model that is easy to animate and edit, and accommodates arbitrary areas of high detail while leaving less detailed areas of the surface uncluttered with control points.

Additionally, T-Splines can be used as a translator to bring polygon models into industrial design or CAD packages as a NURBS or a T-Spline.

Try the plugin free

You can download a trial of the T-Splines Maya Plugin and start modeling today. Leverage our online tutorials to get up to speed quickly. When you're convinced T-Splines will save you significant modeling time, you can purchase online.