I have been trying to model the top of a Les Paul style elctric guitar for
quite some time now.  I am having a very hard time getting a smooth looking
top.  I have used Wings 3D, Hama Patch, height fields and even some
Isosurfaces with mixed results.  The problem seems to be the little cut out
by the neck and that the finish of the guitar needs to be fairly shiny.

In Wings3D the mesh looks ok but when rendered with Povray the specular
highlights look funny because the mesh isn't dense enough. If I try to
make the mesh more dense I get problems near the cut out area because the
mesh gets to distorted using just the subdivision surface commands. If I
try to hand edit it I just end up making it look worse.

Height fields don't look smooth at all no matter how I try.

I have had the most success in Hama Patch but I always see some seams.  this
again is because the cut out part by the neck makes it difficult to model.

Does anyone have some suggestions.

Post a reply to this message