Modeling a Signet Ring By Hand: Intermediate Level

If you’ve really, really wondered how our builders work, or you

just want to get a slightly different “look” to your signet ring, two
alternatives to create a signet ring by hand – one, traditional, one
in a custom shape – are explored in this tutorial. Intermediate
concepts include setting up an unusually-shaped Sweep 2
surface in order to later cut the surface to the finger-rail. The tool
Curve from 2 Views is used to get a tapered shape in the first
example. In the alternate example, the user can apply skills
introduced here to create virtually any shape for the ring. In order
to get the even, flowing surface for the second example, you’ll
learn to use Curve Network, an advanced skill we’re introducing
here in a “sneak preview” of things to come.

Alternative 1: Traditional Oval Signet Ring

Create two ellipses: one for the top of

the signet ring and one for the cross- Ring Rail Arc Direction
Steps section shape. Then, draw two arc
1-4 directions that connect them at their Ellipse Mirror
right- and left-hand Quad O-Snaps.
These arcs are the outer shape at the Quad O-Snaps
top of the ring.

Run Sweep 2, using the arcs as rails

Steps and the ellipses as profiles. Cap the Sweep 2 Cap Planar
5-6 surface and cut it to the finger rail.
Cut to Finger Rail

Extract the bottom surfaces of the

ring and use Dup Border to create Extract Surface Dup Border
profile curves. Try two ways to create
Steps the lower half of the ring: one using Sweep 1 Profile Placer
7-8 Sweep 1 to create a straight shank;
the other using Curve from 2 Views Polyline Join
and Sweep 2 to create a tapered
Curve from 2 Views
shank.
Alternative 2: Custom Shape (triangle / twist) Signet Ring

Draw a triangle to represent the top

profile, a rounded square for the Rectangle
Steps cross-section shape, and uniquely-
1-4 shaped rails at the front and back of Interp Curve
the ring.

Split the profiles with the rail curves

Steps and use Curve Network, instead of Curve Network
5-7 Sweep 2, to complete the surface.
1 Start with a Ring Rail (Size 8 used, below) in the viewports, centered at F4. Then,

draw an Ellipse curve, starting from F4 in the Looking Down viewport. Make this curve
the desired size for the top of the ring.

Tip: In Matrix, an ellipse is drawn by first placing the center point. Then, move the mouse to
indicate the length of one axis and click once. The third and final click indicates the length of the
other axis of the ellipse.

2 In the Through Finger viewport, “click and drag” this curve up in space to the height
desired for the top of the signet ring:

3 To indicate the thickness and cross-section shape of the ring at the sides, place another
ellipse in the Looking Down viewport, centered at F4, that extends the desired thickness (2 mm
used below) past the finger rail:
4 Next, turn on the Quad O-Snaps only and select the Arc Direction tool. In the
Through Finger viewport, draw an arc direction that starts at the Quad O-Snap at the side of
the lower curve and extends to the corresponding Quad O-Snap on the upper curve. Hold down
Shift to give the arc direction a smooth shape that is perfectly tangent to the lower curve. Click
once to end the command.

Start & End of arc direction: Hold down Shift to achieve this curvature:

Mirror this curve to the other side of the ring.

5 Believe it or not, you have now got two rails (red) and two profile curves (blue and green) all

set up for a Sweep 2 operation!! Select the two red rails and click on Sweep 2. Then,
select the two ellipses as cross-section curves and press Enter. MAKE SURE that Maintain
Height is selected in the Sweep 2 Options dialog box and click on OK to see the results:

6 Select this surface and click on Cap Planar. Two end caps will be placed on either side

of the surface. Now, select the solid object and click on the Cut to Finger Rail command.
Watch as the extruded finger rail trims the solid. Now it looks a little bit more like a ring!

After Cap Planar: After Cut to Finger Rail:

7 Once the solid object has been trimmed to the finger rail, click on the Extract Surface
command and select the two surfaces at the bottom of the ring as the surfaces to extract. Delete

them, leaving the surface open. Now, with the open surface selected, click on Dup Border
from the Curve fly-out menu, which places two curves right on the open edges of the surface:
 After Extract & Delete Surfaces: After Dup Border (new surfaces highlighted):

8 Now, you can try a couple different options for the bottom of the shank. Job Bag this model

first and try each different example if you want, just for practice! It’s fine to select Sweep
1 and sweep the lower part of the finger rail using the two profile curves just created. Join the
top and bottom surfaces and you’ve got your solid signet ring!

To create a tapered shank, select the ring rail and input it into the Profile Placer
builder. Specify a profile shape (square with rounded sides used here) and scale down the height
and width to indicate the desired taper:
 Now, turn on the Quad & End O-Snaps. Activate the Project command and select the

Polyline tool. When Project is turned on, the lines will snap to the grid in the active
viewport. Working in the Side View viewport, start the polyline at the End O-Snap of the
surface at the top of the ring and extend it to the corresponding Quad O-Snap on the side of
the profile curve. Click once to end the line. Now, select both this polyline curve and the ring rail

and click on Curve from 2 Views. Mirror the resulting curve to the other side of the ring
so the model resembles the illustration below, right:

Select the two rails and click on Sweep 2. Then, select the three profile curves, in
order, and press Enter. Arrange the seam point arrows correctly and press Enter again. Click on

OK to see the results. Again, Join the two halves to complete the ring.
Alternative 2:

1 What if you don’t want an oval signet ring? It’s possible to make the ring any shape you
want, in any of the four viewports, using a slight variation on this method! In this case, we’ll
create a triangle-shaped signet ring with a unique “twist” on the sides.

To begin, select the Polyline tool and draw a triangle in the Looking Down viewports (you
may wish to use Grid Snaps to help ensure this is symmetrical). Move this to the desired height
above the finger rail.

2 This time, we’ll create a cross-section shape that is rectangle with rounded edges. Use the

Rectangle command with the “Center” and “Rounded” options selected.

3 To create a funky Side View profile for this ring, select the Interp Curve tool and
draw a curve that touches both the End O-Snap on the point of the triangle and the Mid O-
Snap on the lower profile curve:
4 Now, to create an entirely different shape for the other side of the ring, select the Arc
Direction tool and start the arc at the Mid O-Snap on one side of the lower profile curve. End
the arc at the End O-Snap on the rear point of the triangle. Create the arc in the Through
Finger viewport by holding down Shift. It will “arc” back in space as well as out from the ring rail
this arc creates the “twist” in the ring. Mirror this curve to the other side of the rail curve.

5 Now, select the rounded-square profile and Split it with the three rail curves. Also,

Explode the triangular profile (corresponding profiles are on the same layer color, below.
Here’s the curve ball in this version (no pun intended!!) … try using the Curve Network
command to create this surface. It usually does a better job creating smooth, free-flowing
surfaces than Sweep 2, although, sometimes, the difference will be indistinguishable. Depending
on your need, Curve Network might work better for you! To use Curve Network to create the

surface, select the corresponding-colored profiles and the rail curves they touch and click on
Curve Network. A surface like the one shown below will appear:

Rails & Corresponding Profile Curves: Rails & Profiles for Curve Network:
Resulting surface from Curve Network: Surface from Sweep 2 used with same curves:

Tip when using Curve Network vs. Sweep 2: Although the difference is subtle in this case,
you’ll notice that Curve Network evenly spaces the isocurves, or, the “checkerboard” wireframe
that can be seen when surface is un-shaded or (can be seen lightly when) shaded, as above, so
that the surface is more even. In this case, this command works very well: in other situations, it
can be a little tricky. We introduce it here so you know it’s sometimes the best option, but be
advised that you’ll get more mileage out of it in situations introduced in the advanced tutorials.

6 Complete the surface using Curve Network. Then, Cap the surface. Select the solid and
click on Cut to Finger Rail.
7 Select the Extract Surface command and delete the two surfaces at the bottom of this half
of the ring. Then, select the open surface and click on Dup Border. Use Sweep 1 on the
bottom of the finger rail, with these two curves as profile curves, to create the bottom half of the
ring: