[Thomas]

With this tutorial, we are going to show how to model a candle in the Carrara 5 Vertex Modeler, set-up appropriate lighting and, more specifically, how to create a realistic wax material thanks to the new Subsurface Scattering. At the end of this tutorial, you will be able to download a video that summarizes the whole process. Please note that this video has been shortened to be 15 minutes long (real time: 40 minutes), and in doing so some redundant parts of modeling and render tests have been deleted or accelerated.
Part One: Modeling the Candle
Let's start by inserting a polygonal object in the scene, in the Assembly Room.
This action opens the Vertex Modeler, in which we are going to build our candle. Since the body of a candle looks like a deformed cylinder, let's insert a Cylinder which we'll find in the Primitives pull-down menu (first left icon in the menu).
Once the element is positioned, we can refine the definition (the quality) of the cylinder, thanks to the +/- keys on the numeric keypad. For this tutorial, a value of 4 is fine. It is now time to change the proportions of the cylinder a bit, to give it a shape more like a candle, so we’ll stretch its height. For that purpose, let's use the Universal Manipulator, by clicking on the small cube on the top of the Z-axis (the blue one). Left, the original cylinder; right, the modified cylinder by clicking on the small blue cube of the Universal Manipulator. (Surrounded above, and dashed, because it is located inside the 3D volume).
We are now going to work on this cylinder. As you know, the top of a candle is a hollow, because of the heat that makes the wax melt. We are going to use the Dynamic Extrusion Tool to modify the top of the candle and to form a hollow. Let's select the face to extrude (the top cap), then take the Dynamic Extrusion Tool and create an insert toward the center, then to the bottom, then again toward the center. From left to right, the steps of the extrusion : 1- Face selection / 2- Inset Extrusion / 3- Down Extrusion / 4- Inset Extrusion.
Now, smooth the body of the candle, to work with a result close to the final shape. Caution: some edges are automatically creased, shown in yellow, and visible on the below snapshots. They will generate unwanted breaks when smoothing the shape and we must force them to be smoothed. If the faces of the cylinder are not selected, select them all, then go to the "Model" menu and choose "Smooth Edges". Do not modify the default value, just validate. To apply smoothing, we go to the Properties panel, on the right of the screen, and we choose, in the Modeling tab (the first one), in the "Subdivision" properties, "Smooth". Define "1" as the value for the Modeling (the smoothing level that is used to display the shape in the 3D working area), and "2" as the value for the Rendering. This value will be used only at rendering time, and will increase the quality (and the number of polygons) of the model only for the image calculation, which saves time during the modeling process. From left to right, the smoothing steps: 1- Smoothing edges. 2- Validate all smoothed. 3- Smoothing quality. 4- Result.
Let's continue to modify the structure of our candle. The smoothing has "corroded" the angles a bit and we need to refine that part by adding some polygons. The easiest way is to apply a Bevel on the inside and outside contours of the top that we extruded two steps earlier. Let's select one single edge, and then select the whole contour with the "Loop" selection tool, and repeat the operation on the other top contour and finally, apply the Bevel to this multi-selection, as shown in the below snapshots. Top: 1- One selected edge then "Loop". 2- The "Loop" selection tool result. 3 - The same operation done on the other contour. Bottom: 4- The "Bevel" applied. 5- The result.
For future needs, we are going to modify the working plane positioning mode. As you certainly know, in Carrara the 3D creation and manipulations are performed according to a defined plane: front, left or top, that can be toggled by clicking on the corresponding faces of the Working Plane icon: The default mode is often the best, but in the case of quick vertex modeling of visual editing, this may not be the most convenient way to work. Carrara 5 now has an automatic mode, which defines the working plane as the most perpendicular to the view. Let's activate it by opening the "View" top menu, then "Most Ortho Plane Mode". Note: In the video, this mode is activate from the beginning.
It is now time to give a more natural style to our candle, by moving several faces and vertices, utilizing the "Universal Manipulator". The action mode is very easy: with the Manipulator, directly drag-and-drop the chosen face, edge or point. This will move your selection according to the most perpendicular plane. You can, of course, use the Manipulator to perform constrained displacements. The snapshots below show different steps of the model edition.
Finally, the last big step of modeling is the creation of the wax that has flowed along the candle's body. We are going to explain this step only once, which you will then replicate several times. Let's first select a vertical edge, near the top cap, then two or three other edges that form a prolongation of the edge toward the bottom: this will form the path of the wax. Thanks to the "Extract Around" Tool , we are getting a set of edges surrounding what was selected. Let's re-select the original edges, and move them toward the outside to create an extrusion of the material. We can quickly see that it looks more like a peak rather than wax running down. Let's apply a Bevel to these edges in order to round this part. Now we have just to adjust the location of some vertices to get something more natural and to refine the shape. Let's do this using the "Universal Manipulator" . Let's do this again as many times as wanted. From left to right: 1- Selected edges. 2- "Extract Around" applied. 3 - Initial edges moved. 4- "Bevel" applied.
And this is the result, after several operations like described above: Vertical edges selection, "Extract Around" , "Bevel" , and by-hand refinement by moving some edges: