Modeling the 2010 World Cup ‘Jabulani’ Soccer Ball Football · Modeling the 2010 World Cup ‘Jabulani’ Football | William Vaughan Now that we have some polygons to work with,

Modeling the 2010 World Cup ‘Jabulani’ Soccer Ball Football

By William “Proton” Vaughanwww.pushingpoints.com

Layout, Matt Gornerwww.pixsim.co.uk

(Ed: Corrected by Matt!)

“We are continually faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.”

- John W. Gardner

Years ago, I was tasked with creating a detailed soccer ball for a client and knew that I would need to model in all of the seams, since a bump map just wouldn’t hold up for any close-up shots. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to come across an amazing tutorial that took what could have been a difficult task and simplified the steps for me, resulting in a perfect final mesh.

Visit this url to access the tutorial that walks you through creating a traditional soccer ball:

Over the years, I have used this technique anytime I have been called on to create a traditional soccer ball. Recently, I was tasked, yet again, with creating a variety of soccer balls -including one using the traditional black and white pattern. As the tutorial suggested, I started with a tessellated sphere and ended up with a sharp looking, fully-detailed traditional soccer ball. I then started on the next soccer ball on my list which was the 2010 World Cup Jabulani Soccer Ball.

Unfortunately, starting with a tessellated sphere produced questionable results. It was time to head back to the drawing board.

After a few hours, I was able to create the unique pattern of the ball. As with many models, my first pass was acceptable, but I was convinced there was a more refined solution that would produce a cleaner result. The steps that follow are the result of a day’s experimentation with the goal of creating easily reproducible results when modeling a 2010 soccer ball.

By going back and breaking down the model into refined steps, you truly become a better problem solver in my opinion. I’d suggest doing the same on your own projects from time to time.

www.panebianco3d.com/tutorials-3d-soccer-ball.htm

FOREWARD

4Modeling the 2010 World Cup ‘Jabulani’ Football | William Vaughan

I started by gathering reference material and carefully studied the design of the ball. The Jabulani ball is comprised of eight panels that are spherically molded. There are two distinct shapes that make up the eight panels and it’s important that these shapes are exact so that they connect perfectly together.

Follow these simple steps to create your very own 2010 Jabulani Soccer Ball:

Although it will seem like we’re starting off heading in the wrong direction, stay with me on this first step. I found that starting with a either a segmented or tessellated ball produced undesirable polygon flow so start by creating a Tetrahedron, using the Platonic Solid Primitive.

Create > Primitives > More > Platonic

Next we need to split the tetrahedron into several sections. Instead of measuring or guessing where to split the polygon faces, we’ll subdivide the object into smaller faces that will make it easier to work with. Use the Subdivide operation set to Faceted three times.

Multiply > Subdivide > Subdivide

GETTING STARTED


To keep the object manageable, let’s give the tips of the tetrahedron a different surface.

Bottom Menu > Surface

Now that we have the tetrahedron sectioned off, we need to remove the excess polygons that make up each section. Simply select the polygons that make each section and merge them into one.

Note: Only merge polygons that are on the same plane and not the entire tip. Use the reference image as a guide.

Detail > Polygons > Merge Polygons

GETTING STARTED


I like to keep my work area clean as I go, so I’d recommend removing any points that are not connected to any polygons after you’ve finished merging.

One easy way of doing this is to open the Point Statistics window.

Bottom Menu > StatisticsThen click on the + next to “0 Polygons”

With the points selected, press the Delete key to remove them from the object. There are still a number of points that we need to remove from the tip portions of our object. Select the 12 unneeded points per tip (total of 48 points) that are located along the edges.

HOUSE CLEANING


Your object is now clean and should now be ready for the next operation.

Select the four points that are located at the very tips of the tetrahedron.

LAYING FOUNDATIONS


With your Action Center set to Selection (Bottom Menu > Modes > Action Center: Selection).

Use the Size tool (Modify > Transform > Size) and scale numerically by a factor of 50% to move the points so that they become flush with the points that make up the base of the tip portions of the mesh.

I want to end up with the cleanest polygon flow as possible, so we need to reconfigure the geometry that makes up the tips.

To do this, we’ll need to split the edges that make up the base of the tip sections. Working on one tip section at a time, select the bordering edges and add a point in the center using the Connect operation (Construct > Combine > Connect).

Do this for all four tip sections before moving on to the next step.

LAYING FOUNDATIONS


Pick one tip section to work with and select the three new points you just created as well as the center point.

With the points selected, use the Connect operation to add new edges that will connect the outer points to the center point.

LAYING FOUNDATIONS


Now all that’s left for the tip sections is to merge the polygon pairs so that you end up with a diamond shape configuration.

Reconfiguring the tip sections may seem trivial right now, but it will drastically change the way the final polygon flow for the better. Trust me!

Make sure all four tip sections have been reconfigured before moving on to the next step. We need to split the center sections into smaller components so we can control the polygon flow of the final mesh.

Start by selecting the two points that will allow us to split one of the center section right down the middle.

LAYING FOUNDATIONS


With the two points selected, use the Connect operation to create a new edge.

Select the new edge that we just created, and add a point to the center using Connect.

Select the points that are on the edges that border the section we are working with as well as the newly created point.

LAYING FOUNDATIONS


Use the Connect operation to create edges between the selected points.

We’ll repeat the steps on the lower portion of the mesh. Select the center point and the points bordering the tips on the other side of the triangle.

LAYING FOUNDATIONS


Use Connect to create new edges.

Using the Connect tool, Complete this section so that you end up with 12 polygons in the same configuration.

Repeat the steps until all four of the center section are identical. One quick way to tackle this portion of the model is to start by selecting the edges that that surround the tips.

LAYING FOUNDATIONS


Once selected, use the Connect operation to generate a new edge loop.

Repeat these steps for all four tips and you’re done.

FINAL STAGES


Believe it or not, the tedious portion is now complete. What we now have is the magic configuration that will allow us to create the soccer ball I promised.

To speed up selecting individual sections in future steps, let’s go ahead and give each of the center sections their own surface.

Before we convert this geometric shape into a sphere, we’ll need to increase the geometry a bit.

Use Subdivide > Metaform twice to increase the geometry. Multiply > Subdivide > Subdivide.

FINAL STAGES


Now that we have some polygons to work with, let’s perform a little magic shall we?

To turn this odd shape into a sphere, use the Spherize command. Modify > Transform > Spherize. The Result will be a perfect sphere.

We need to increase the tip panels so that they are in proportion to the center panels. Select the polygons that make up the tip sections. One easy way to do this is to select by surface using the Polygon Statistics window. Bottom Menu > Statistics

FINAL STAGES


Expand your selection four times using the Expand Selection command. Selection > Modify Selection > Expand

Change the surface of the selected polygons so that they are all sharing the same surface. Bottom Menu > Surface

FINAL STAGES


If you’re wanting to keep the polygon count down on your model, feel free to skip this next step. I want my soccer ball to be higher resolution so I’m going to Subdivide it one more time using the Metaform option.

It’s also a good idea to apply the Spherize command after you Subdivide to insure that the mesh is still perfectly round.

To create the seams on the ball, we need to create a beveled edge around each patch. Since we created a different surface name for each patch, this will be an easy task. Select the polygons that make up one of the center patches using the Polygon Statistics window and bevel it using Multishift. Multiply > Extend > Multishift

Use 2mm for the Inset Amount and 4mm for the Shift amount. Before committing to these settings, click the Quick Store option so that we can quickly use these settings for the other patches. Now that we’ve stored these values, commit to the Multishift operation.

FINAL STAGES


Deselect the polygons and select the polygons that make up the next center patch. Select MultiShift and use the Quick Restore option. This uses the last value we stored and can speed up the shifting of the remaining patches.

Repeat this process until all eight patches (triangle centers and tips) have been beveled.

To tighten up the seams, let’s add four more edge loops that border the tip sections. Select the loop of polygons that border one of the tip sections and use Band Saw Pro to split the polygon loop 10% away from the inner edge.

Note: Make sure each new edge loop that you create placed 10% from each seam and not on the outer edge of the polygon loop. You may need to use a value of 90% to accomplish this.

FINAL STAGES


Repeat the steps for the remaining three patches. Activate Subpatches by pressing the Tab key, or using the menu option Construct > Convert > SubPatch

Change the surface of your object to solid white so we can get a better look at our handy work, or change the color of your existing surfaces which would allow you to go back and edit each patch independently at a later time.

There you have it! We’ve successfully created the eight panel design that makes up the 2010 World Cup Jabulani Soccer Ball.

By taking a little extra time, we have not only successfully completed what we set out to create, but we have set ourselves up with clean polygon flow and patches that are identical.

GOAL!!!


I hope you have found these steps to be useful and I look forward to seeing your version of this unique design for a soccer ball. If you’re looking for another challenge, try modeling the 2006 Teamgeist Soccer Ball.

It’s not as challenging but it’s a fun one to tackle. Here’s a hint to get you started… The first step involves another platonic solid. You’ve gotta love geometry!

THE CHALLENGE

“If the only tool you have is a hammer,you tend to see every problem as a nail.”

- Abraham Maslow

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Modeling the 2010 World Cup ‘Jabulani’ Soccer Ball Football · Modeling the 2010 World Cup ‘Jabulani’ Football | William Vaughan Now that we have some polygons to work with,