This is a basic tutorial of the Florence Design Academy www.FlorenceDesignAcademy.com to understand how to use the SPLINES effectively in the field of Interior/Furniture Design. This tutorial is based only on splines. It is very important that your chair has the correct dimensions, otherwise the rendering with Mental Ray will not be optimal. Let’s begin our tutorial.

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Step 01

Create a rectangle in the TOP view. Make a right mouse button click (RMC) on it and choose convert to editable spline.

Step 02

Select the segments like in the image above and go to the slot DIVIDE. Put the number 2 in the slot and click on the button DIVIDE. This will create 2 additional vertexes on each selected segment.

Step 03

Select all vertexes and make a right mouse button click on them. Now choose CORNER (there are 4 different types of vertexes: Corner, Smooth, Bezier and Bezier Corner). This step will make the next steps easier.

Step 04

Now select the vertexes like in step 1 and move them down and left to get the shape of step 2. After this step select the vertexes of step 2 and move them right to get the shape of step 3. The end result seems to be a flipped letter C. Important: remember that in the front view you see only one side of the chair. Make always a REGION selection to be sure that you are selecting the vertexes on both sides of the chair.

Step 5

This is now what you can see in the perspective view.

Step 06

To create a 3D Object you must go to the modify panel and enable 2 slots which are : Enable in Renderer and Enable in Viewport. This will transform your spline in a object in which you can choose to change a few parameters. For our chair we need a radial section. Choose Radial and write in the thickness slot the diameter size .

Step 07

Select all vertexes and go to the command FILLET. This will round your sharp corners.

Step 08

Create a new spline with the shape of the letter L.

Step 09

Check again the slots enable in renderer and enable in viewport. Now select the vertex like in the picture and fillet it.

Step 10

Change the left view to a right view. In this way we can see the circular shape of our spline. Now create a circle (spline) in the center of the circular section of the spline like in the image. You need to convert it into an editable spline to be able to work with the vertexes of the circle.

Step 11

Select the vertex like in the image, and BREAK it. This will split a single vertex in 2 vetexes and break the circle.

Step 12

Select the upper vertex and move it to the right side. Transform the vertex with a right mouse button click into a CORNER vertex.

Step 13

Move the lower vertex like in the image and use the Bezier (also Bezier-corner works very good in this situation).

Step 14

Now select SPLINE and MIRROR it with COPY. Move the copy to the opposite side of the chair. Move it only from the X axis. You can mirror the spline from the modify panel or just using the Mirror tool. If you use the Mirror tool you have to ATTACH the two splines to be able to weld the vertexes.

Step 15

Select this 2 vertexes. Now go to the Weld button. Insert a big number in the weld slot and click weld. The number that you must write in the slot must be equal or bigger than the distance between the vertexes that you must weld. The easiest way is just to write a very big number like 100000.

Step 16

Now select SPLINE and outline the spline.

Step 17

Add an EXTRUDE modifier from the modifier list to the spline and adjust the amount of the modifier.

Step 18

Now you should have this result.

Step 19

Copy and rotate the extruded object like in the picture.

Step 20

From the Right view create a spline like on the image below.

Step 21

Now outline it (SPLINE).

Step 22

Extrude the spline and mirror it to the other side of the chair.

Step 23

Now you should have this result.

Step 24

Create a sphere and squeeze (scale) it in only one axis to make it flat.

Step 25

Create in each marked point a flat sphere.

Step 26

Create in each marked point a cylinder.

Step 27

Create an arc (Spline), enable it in renderer and viewport like in the image.

Step 28

Copy the arc like in the picture

Step 29

Here you can see the final result.

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial. Best Regards

Mario Malagrino

www.MarioMalagrino.com