Star Wars Lightsaber << Part 3 >> Maya Modeling Tutorial

 Lightsaber-3dstud
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PART 3: HAND GRIP

The hand grip will be a little different in construction and can be a bit tricky.  Basically, we will create section 1 and then duplicate it multiple times to insure standard sized sections
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When you draw the initial curve, make sure the lower vertex on the curve is placed just below the lower black line of the first section.  It is important to line up the first and last

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After you make Section 1, we will move the manipulator to the top edge of hand grip Section 1, press {W} to activate the Move Tool, press the {Insert} key.  This will allow you to move the manipulator tool without the geometry. Select the green handle (Y-axis) of the Gridmanipulator, this will limit the movement to only the Y-direction. Here is the tricky part, we want the manipulator to be at exactly the top edge of Section 1, so with the green handle (Y-axis) of the manipulator still selected, move the your mouse on the top edge of the Section 1 while depressing the middle mouse button and the {C} key. The {C} key activates snap to edge.
Now we are going to duplicate Section 1.  Select Section 1 and press {Control} + {D} this is the short cut to duplicate a selected object. Move it down a bit to get it out of the way, then snap the duplicated section to the bottom edge of Section 1
Look in the Channel Box find the distance it was displaced in the Y-Direction.  My Translate Y changed to -0.33, yours maybe different, but close.  **Zoom in really close to make sure it was completely aligned.
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Select the new piece Edit > Duplicate Special  

Select the new piece and when the window opens up change the following:
Translate Y: {your displaced value here.}  *Mine was -0.33
Number of Copies: 7
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If done right the section should line up fairly close to the blueprint. Mine was just a little bit off, but manageable.   If it does not line up, we will adjust it below.
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Capture8Capture7If it does not line up, combine all sections of the handle. Mesh > Combine Switch to vertex mode, select all vertices, and then merge them – Edit Mesh > Merge.   Then scale the handle in the Y-Direction until it fits the blueprint.  You might have to move it a bit and then rescale it a few times until it fits.  * The easiest way is to snap the pivot point to the top edge of the grip and then scale it in he y-direction . 
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Repeat revolve for Section 2. After revolving Section 2, the top edge did not line up for me, I snapped it to the bottom edge of the last duplicated Section 1 or the bottom section of the handle.
Repeat for the Focusing Chamber, if needed.  Mine was not really aligned, so I selected the edges of the outside ring and adjusted them until they were lined up the the top of the handle.  To do so, select the connecting edge of the Focusing Chamber, double click on the edge to select, then scale it until it lines up with the handle. 
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Combined all sections of the handle and the focusing chamber. Mesh > Combine Switch to vertex mode, select all vertices, and then merge them – Edit Mesh > Merge.








Beveling the handle:

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When beveling the handle or anything for that matter, always check your reference image to see what it actually looks like.  With that said, majority of the edges are micro bevels (small) except for the edges between each section.  Those bevels are much larger.  

I selected the edges between each section that need to be a bit larger here and beveled them.  Then I went back and beveled outer edges with smaller bevel settings.

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