Part 2: Creating a Rocket (continued)

Punching in the Back of the Ship

The next task is to make the back end of the ship look indented by extruding, scaling, and pushing points.

  1. Open a new file by choosing File > New. Then import shipConical.wrl, a file provided for this tutorial. Choose File > Import. Clear the Selection field, then type in this pathname and press Enter:
    /usr/share/Insight/library/SGI_bookshelves/Help/books/CosmoWorlds_UG/Models/shipConical.wrl

    You can save this new file as rocket.wrl (the file you've been working on) or give it a new name.
  2. Select the shape and enter the PEP modeler by pressing Ctrl-e.

  3. Reposition your view so you can see the back side of the rocket shape. (Alt-drag

  4. Activate the PEP Jack by clicking its button on the PEP palette:


    Drag it to the center point on the back end of the ship and click to place it there.

  5. Drag a box around the points on the back end of the ship to select them.


    PEP Jack placed on center point and endpoints selected.

  6. Click the Extrude Polygons button , then drag the scaling cube on the PEP Jack to scale in the second ring of points, inside the first.


    Click Extrude Polygons, then drag PEP Jack handle inward to create a second ring.

  7. Put away the PEP Jack by clicking on its button again.

  8. Now push the inner circle into the body. Make sure the inner circle of points is still selected. (Use Ctrl-z to undo if you've accidently deselected the points.) Click the Extrude Polygons button. Place the cursor over the side of the cylinder, then Shift-drag to the left (along the side of the cylinder) to push the selected points in.


    Press Extrude Polygons, then Shift-drag to push the selected points in.


    The final product for this section.

  9. That's it for the tail end of the rocket! Take a moment to save your file before continuing with Shaping the Fin.

Shaping the Fin

The next task is to extrude and push out segments to create the fin. You've already learned about extruding. This section combines a split function with the extrusion. If you're pressed for time, you can skip this section and learn about coloring the rocket in the next section.

  1. Select a long quad on the ship's side, towards the back end.


    Click to select a polygon.

  2. Click the Extrude Polygons button, place the cursor over the top of the selected polygon, then Ctrl-drag to pull out a new segment. Repeat to add a second section (press Extrude Polygons, Ctrl-drag).


    Press Extrude Polygons, then Ctrl-drag up to create a new section. Repeat.

  3. Now, select the face of the most recent extrusion that is facing towards the back of the ship. Make a point on the back of the fin by clicking on the Split Quads in an X Shape button found on the Split palette:



    Select polygon and split into X shape.

  4. Click on the background to deselect the quads, and click on just the center point to select it. Place the cursor on the side of the quad, and Shift-drag to the left to push out the point.


    Select middle point of X, then Shift-drag to push point out.

  5. Looking at the ship sideways, sweep-select all the top points of the fin to select them. Use Shift-sweep to select any missed points. Then Shift-drag along a side and move the selected points to the left.


    Select polygons making up top of fin. Shift-drag along side to elongate.

  6. That's it for the fin! Next, you'll color the rocket. Save your file before continuing.

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