Modeling a Braid in 3DS Max - Method 2 - Including Multi-Strand Braids

Skill Level: Intermediate to Advanced
A basic knowledge of using 3d Studio Max is assumed.

As any 3DS Max user knows, there's more than one way to model an object. So, once I figured out how to make a braid, I set out to learn how to make multi-strand braids. This led me to realize that my first method isn't exactly perfect, so I have devised this second method of making braids, which works quite well for making multi-strand braids.

The grid can get a little messed up on the thumbnails, so click on the images for a larger version.

1) With snap-to-grid on, make a line in the front viewport from X:-100 Y:0 Z0 to X:100 Y:0 Z:200 to X:-100 Y:0 Z:400.

2) Determine how many strands you want in your braid (has to be 3 or more), in this tutorial, I'll be using 5.

3) With the line selected and with the front viewport active, go to the Tools->Array menu.

4) Click the right arrow button next to the label 'Move' and enter 400 into the Totals Y column (the 400 comes from how tall the line is). Put into the Count text box the number of strands you decided on, in this case, 5. Click Preview to make sure it looks correct.

5) Select the bottom-most line, the original one.

6) Select the top segment. Count how many of the other lines are crossing this segment (in this case 4) and divide the segment into that many smaller segments. This should create a vertex at every intersection.

7) Select the second vertex from the top. Determine the distance horizontally between it and the next vertex. For example, this vertex is 40 horizontal units away from the other vertices next to it. Once you have that distance, make the Y value of the selected vertex to be half of that calculated distance, (in this case 20).

8) Select the third from the top vertex, make it's Y value to be a negative version of the previous vertex's Y value (in this case, -20).

9) Continue on, making the fourth from the top positive, the fifth negative and so on, until you reach the corner vertex. Do not move the corner vertex.

10) Select the bottom segment and divide it by the same number that you divided the top segment.

11) Do the same thing you did to the top segment with the positive and negative Y values. However, invert them so that if the second from the top was a positve Y value, then the second from the bottom (the one underneath it straight down vertically) should have a negative Y value.

12) Move the end vertexes to the right by the same distance/2 amount (in this case 20) and move the corner vertex to the left by that same amount. (It's easier to move them in the front viewport, if you have auto-weld on and move in the top viewport, the vertices will weld together, which is not what we want).

13) Delete all the other lines you haven't been working with.

14) With snap-to-grid on, shift-drag straight up in the front viewport to clone more copies of the line. Make the bottom of the new line meet at the top of the old line. Clone enough to have a long enough braid for your project. Keep them as copies.

15) With one spline selected, attach the others.

16) Weld the vertices down the left side that correspond to the top and bottom of each line.

17) Select all the vertices and make them smooth (Right click menu).

18) Make the spline renderable and change the interpolation to whatever you usually do.

19) With the spline selected, in the front viewport, use the Tools->Array again, keeping the same settings.

20) Attach all the splines to one spline and change the thickness to whatever you think looks good.

21) Your multi-strand braid is finished.

A 10 strand braid

If you are having trouble with this tutorial or you just want to ask me some questions, contact me at kevinjohn3d@gmail.com or just leave a comment on this post.