Rhino: Air or Space Craft

Today we will be using the "box modeling" process to create an air or space craft.

1. Create a new Rhino document using "Large Object > Inches".
2. Create the basic starting shape.  In my example, I start with a box that is approximately the size of the air/space craft.
3. Click "Explode" to break the box into individual surfaces.
4. Type "Rebuild" and enter your preferred mesh settings (I do 8,8,3,3)
5. Turn on Control Points (F10)
6. Select Control Points and stretch your box shape into the shape you desire.  I try to select points on the opposite side

Box has been pulled into a shape looking like an air/space craft.

Textures have been applied.  I used a line to cut out a cockpit window and made it black and glossy.

I added a large, flat wall behind the spaceship and applied a texture to make it look like space.

I finish by positioning the scene, zooming in, rendering and saving the finished project.

Rhino: Tissue Box

Today we will be putting together a tissue box in Rhino using exact dimensions and a new "loft" technique to join two curves together.  We will also use the "bend" command to adjust a tissue emerging from the box.

1. Begin your project as "Small Object - Inches"
2. Create a box shape with the exact dimensions of a tissue box
1. Our example box is:  ______" wide by ______" long by ______" high.
3. You can lightly fillet the edges if you would like a little bit of rounded edge
4. Draw a curve [in the top viewport] which will be the open space on the top of the box.
5. Extrude the curve to go through the box top, then cap it to make a solid shape.
6. Do a Boolean Difference, keeping the box and using the new shape as your cutting object.
7. Create a box inside the main box [make sure it's not touching any of the edges]
8. Do a Boolean Difference, keeping the outer box and using the inner box as the cutting object.
9. Draw a curvy line which will be the top of the tissue and drag it up above the tissue box
10. Draw a curvy line which will be the bottom of the tissue and drag it toward the bottom of the box
11. Draw a shorter straight line which will be the exit point for your tissue.
12. Deselect everything and type "Loft"
13. Select all 3 curves (the lines we will be using for the tissue) and press Enter.
14. Bend your tissue until it looks fairly natural.
15. Apply textures and transparencies to taste.  :)

Rhino: Wooden Box

Today we will be creating a wooden box using some basic shapes and tools:

First we will create a regular box [block] -- probably around 10" long by 6" wide.

Fillet the Edges of the box -- .5" for example.

Draw a straight line which you will use to cut through [Split] the box.

Separate the top of the box from the bottom.

Cap both pieces (top and bottom) to make solid objects.

Create a new box in the center (smaller than the other pieces) which we will use to cut out [Boolean Difference] the inside of the box.

Your finished box model should look something like this.

Next add texture and gloss.  I chose a wood texture with a 50 gloss.

If you would like, click Explode and select individual pieces to texture, color, or adjust.  In my case, I remove the texture, changed the color to black, and kept the shine at 50.

You can separate the lid from the base by sliding it to the side, leaning it against the base, or even rotating it at an edge to make it appear hinged.

Finally, add a base (i.e. a table) and lights.  Finish by Saving, Rendering, Saving a JPEG, and uploading your finished project to your portfolio.

You can also separate the lid completely and add your box to another scene.

Or you can make your box out of a cylinder for a similar effect.

Photoshop: Dieline Package Design / Re-Design

Today we will taking a dieline (a shape that is flat and ready to be folded into a package) and designing [or redesigning] the package.

The example on the left demonstrates how a flat dieline looks.

Note: Some packages may have panels that appear upside-down when flattened [depending on how the folds are made].

Remember to add important elements to your package.  Include nutritional information if you are doing a food package, for example.  The example on the right shows several key pieces for a package.

Once completed, you may want to create the actual package.  Since we are doing a "box" package, you may want to get some card stock [something that will work in your printer] and print your dieline in color.

You will receive extra credit for a completed package design.

Cereal Box Template

 

Remember when you are looking for photographic components (i.e. cereal, bowls, spoon, cartoon animals, or whatever) that you look for large images.  It's much easier to reduce the size of an image without distortion than it is to increase it.  As you have found, expanding an image makes it blurry or grainy.

If you're considering doing a cereal box, think about cereal names:

• ______ Loops
• ______ O's
• ______ Nuggets
• ______ Smacks
• ______ Puffs
• ______ Crunch

Also, consider types of cereal flavors:

• Honey ________
• Sugar _________
• Crunchy ________
• Apple ________
• Spam _______
  

Is your new cereal based on your favorite movie?  Rock band?  TV show?

If you are interested in going the extra mile and trying a fancy cereal box font, check out this tutorial:  http://www.dzyneo.com/sugarpuffs.php

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Also, this image was in the iStock.com "Free Image of the Week" gallery:

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Recently Adobe (the makers of PhotoShop) did a contest asking graphic design students to create an "Adobe Cereal".  Here are some examples of what was created (I don't expect your boxes to be anywhere near this professional!):

You may find additional resources, dieline patterns, etc. on the Internet.  You can do a Google Search for dieline, do an Image Search for dieline pattern, or check out some of the industry websites such as The Dieline (http://www.thedieline.com/).