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Other
ClydeSight2.0! Bryce 5 Tutorials
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Make
a Working Simple Steam Engine in Bryce — What We Need:
All we need is a version of Bryce that supports animation, linking and tracking. I know that Bryce 4 and 5 do support these features. They work the same way on MAC and Windows machines, but this tutorial will show MAC screens for Bryce 5. They should be similar on Windows versions of the product. This tutorial assumes that you know how to get around in Bryce and are familiar with most of its terminology.
In this tutorial, I will tell you what I have done to make the model. You can, of course, use other methods if you like. But I will take you step by step through the way I did it, and we'll do most of it by the numbers, using the Attributes Box.
NOTE: There are quite a few NEGATIVE numbers you must use to make this model work correctly. To alert you to a negative number, it will be in RED type. So when you see RED for a number in the instructions (not the images-- those are pictures of Bryce things) don't forget to use a minus sign when you give it to Bryce!
Let's MODEL!
Step 1: Set up Bryce
NOTE VERY IMPORTANT: We'll be animating this model. By default, Bryce 5 turns ON the AutoKey in the animation time line, even if you have not set up any animation! When you open your workspace, before doing anything else, go to the animation palette and TURN OFF THE AUTOKEY! (Otherwise, your animation won't work as expected) (Many thanks to the viewers who pointed out this problem.)
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Launch Bryce. Use the DOCUMENT SETUP and pick SMALL (320 x 240) resolution. (You can use a larger resolution if you like. I am using a small one because I am taking screen shots.) Make sure Antialiasing is turned ON and NORMAL. Click the Check Mark to close the Setup. |
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Switch to the TOP view (press 2 on the keyboard) and move the camera to the bottom of the screen so it is facing UP. To match my set up enter the following data in the Attributes Box: (Negative values are in RED) Position:
X = 0, Y = 30, Z = -100 Get rid of the Ground Plane (we don't need it.) Click on it and press the DELETE key. Click the Check Mark to close the Camera Attributes Box. |
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Remove the Sky! Click on the Sky & Fog Palette. Click on the little cloud on the right of the palette to open the SKY LAB dialog. Make sure you are in the Sun & Moon tab. Find Sun/Moon Shadows and turn if OFF. (This will reduce render times!) Click the Check Mark to close the SKY LAB. Click on the Sky Mode box (leftmost box of the Sky Palette.) Choose ATMOSPHERE OFF. Click just below the picture in the box and set the color to a light/medium gray. This reduces rendering times even further!
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Step 2: Make the Flywheel
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Switch to FRONT view (press 4 on the keyboard). Select the CREATE Palette and pick the Cylinder. You'll need to enlarge the image so you can work with it. Press the magnifying glass 5 times to do this. You can ignore the camera (blue box). When the Cylinder
appears in the working window, click on it and then on the Attributes
Box (A box) and enter the following data: . |
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We need some way to see the Flywheel turn. I did it with knockout holes. Click once on the Flywheel (be careful NOT to move it!) and press COMMAND + D (MAC) or ALT + D (Windows) to duplicate it. Open the Attributes
Box for the Duplicate. Enter the following data: |
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Let's do it again! Click once on the Flywheel (be careful NOT to move it!) and press COMMAND + D (MAC) or ALT + D (Windows) to duplicate it. Open the Attributes
Box for the Duplicate. Enter the following data: . |
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And one more time! Click once on the Flywheel (be careful NOT to move it!) and press COMMAND + D (MAC) or ALT + D (Windows) to duplicate it. Open the Attributes
Box for the Duplicate. Enter the following data: |
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Now for the crankshaft and we're done with the Flywheel assembly! Click once on the Flywheel (be careful NOT to move it!) and press COMMAND + D (MAC) or ALT + D (Windows) to duplicate it. Open
the Attributes Box for the Duplicate. Enter the following
data: (Negative values are in RED) Pick a "simple"
material for the Crankshaft (I used Black)
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GROUP! Now all we have to
do is group the objects. Click on the cylinder object and hold the mouse down. In the pop-up that appears, choose All of Type. You'll see a G box in the object icon stack (where the Attributes Box is). Click on it. The objects will be grouped. Finally,
Click on the Attributes Box, and give the group the name:
Flywheel Group. Your
grouped object should have the following attributes:
(Negative values are in RED) Click
the Check Mark to close the Attributes Box.
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RENDER! Render the image in the FRONT view. If you followed the directions above, it should look something like this image. If it doesn't, check to see that you set the Boolean properties correctly, and that you grouped the objects. Once it looks right, SAVE YOUR WORK! Call it whatever you like. Congratulations, we're
almost done with the modeling!
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Step 4: The Piston Housing and Piston Rod
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To make this easy, we'll use the Cube primitive. A realistic piston assembly would use cylinders! Select the CREATE Palette and pick the Cube. When the Cube appears in the working window, click on it and then on the Attributes Box (A box) and enter the following data: (Negative values are in RED) Position:
X = -6.16, Y = 29.85, Z =
-4.23 Pick a "simple" material for the Flywheel (I used Blue/Green) |
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We'll make the Piston Housing from the Piston Rod. Click once on the Piston Rod (be careful NOT to move it!) and press COMMAND + D (MAC) or ALT + D (Windows) to duplicate it. Open the Attributes Box for the Duplicate. Enter the following data: (Negative values are in RED) Position:
X = -23.16, Y = 29.85, Z
= -4.23 Pick a "simple" material for the Flywheel (I used Red). You
will have to slide the view to the right to see everything.
Make SURE you are still in front view and the grab the
pan tool (small hand on the right) and drag right until
everything comes into view. This will NOT affect your
camera render, so it's safe to do it. |
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RENDER! Render the image in the FRONT view. If you followed the directions above, it should look like this image. If it doesn't, check your numbers in the Attributes Boxes (It's sometimes easy to forget to make a number negative, that minus sign is easy to miss!) Once it looks right, SAVE YOUR WORK! Congratulations, we're done with the modeling and can move on to linking and ANIMATION!
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Tutorial copyright - © ClydeSight Productions - 2002
