Maya 4.5 - Creating Dimensional Letters

[Tim L]

QUESTION:

We are making some small figures for solid object print-out and want to model dimensional letters to wrap around the circular base. After choosing a font style, is there a standard approach for modeling those letters in a dimensional way? Is there a particular technique for extruding individual letters so that they 'save' as single objects (not multiple curves - 'A', 'B', 'O', 'R' - letters with 'holes' in them)? Any thoughts? Thanks in advance for any clues!

Tim L.
Hester Studios

[xyz]

Select outer curve, Shift_select a hole curve then go to Surface/BevelPlus buttom. Then U have to tune the extrusion and bevel parameters (ant Poly tesselation step) of new created object in Attribute Editor. Then U perfom the bevel with this settings for other letters by filling the BevelPlus Toolbox (push a little square close to commant name in moled menu) with your values.
Generally it needs some curve preparation for a good clear bevel