help with forming .....

[dimaknight]

I was wondering if someone could please tell me how I can go about creating a antenna with a spiral near the base.

I'm using 3D max 7.

Thanks

[Masakari987]

I don't have Max 7 (mines's version 9), so I don't know if you will have some of these features or not. Here's how you can create the spiral part.

One way is to create a Helix spline. Then in the modify panel, expand the Rendering section and check "Enable In Renderer" and "Enable In Viewport", and then just adjust the settings.

The other way is to create a Helix spline and a polygon object. For instance, lets say you used a plane. Position it so it is at one of the ends of the Helix. Convert it to an edible poly, go to face mode and select the face(s). Under Edit Polygons, open the settings for "Extrude along Spline" and click "Pick Spline" and select the Helix and adjust the settings to your liking. This process may require some trial-and-error as you may need to reposition the object to a different end of the spline, or change the size of the plane before extruding, etc.

Or you can create a bumpmap and have that handle the spiral shape.