Circus Tent?

Ferin_Rosca

F
Hello,

I'm currently working on an overall spooky themed park and one of my intended lands is to be a dark circus like area.

I haven't seen much on the workshop in the way of the "big top" main tent you would normally see; and I cant seem to figure out how to make one myself given the curvature and overall shape of a classic circus tent.

Does anyone have any ideas/suggestions/know how on this topic?

I would greatly appreciate the assistance.

Thank you.
 

PC_OCD

PC_OCD
I think I have an idea of what you're looking for. I quickly made a "skeleton" (perfect for your spooky theme [haha]) tent out of vinyl walls that looks like this.
You could make the tent either round as I did here or it could have round ends and be straight in the middle. Of course this is only a mock up and would need more work. I did it quickly and its not perfect but is this what your looking for?
O4ILZtQ.jpg
 
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Bullethead

Bullethead
Ferin_Rosca said:
Does anyone have any ideas/suggestions/know how on this topic?
Click to expand...

You'll have to build your own from scratch. As OCD implies, you should probably start with a skeleton which is just a guide to help you place dozens to hundreds to thousands of parts (depending on the size of the tent) to make the tent canvas. Then delete the skeleton and install various poles, columns, and cables.

In effect, you'd be building a huge custom dome. You might want to watch Silvarret's tutorial on building domes:
https://youtu.be/an_hNSfxkgQ

It would be as huge project and of course would bring the potential for performance issues to due all the parts you'll need. But it would be cool. Good luck!
 

PC_OCD

PC_OCD
Bullethead said:
You might want to watch Silvarret's tutorial on building domes:
https://youtu.be/an_hNSfxkgQ
Click to expand...

Thanks for that link Bullethead. That is a great video for making domes and spires. Wow! (and duh!) The trick for using a center post makes it so much easier! ([haha] there was some comical, dare is say, engineering going on in my build) And yes, when making the circus tent skeleton, I quickly started realizing the enormity of the project. It will take hundreds if not thousands of objects to build the tent.

@Ferin_Rosca, I hope that you pursue this grand task. It would be really cool to see a finished product. A screen shot upon completion perhaps? Good luck!
 

PC_OCD

PC_OCD
So.. I couldn't let this rest. I had to figure out a way to make a tent with a lower object count. It has sort of a space age vibe to it but it does work. Here is what I came up with.

First, I used the steel roof. They have the most form and resemble the shapes seen in circus tents, unfortunately the color isn't editable. I made a building with one post on opposite corners, like so...

z7bD7zh.jpg


After making the building you then make a duplicate copy of the building in advanced edit mode using ctrl + x. Then Rotate it 15 degrees :

4ojuMvD.jpg


Select the duplicate and duplicate it and then rotate it 15 degrees. Continue doing that for a full circle. Until you get the tent. I added a spire and a flag on top for a circus feel.

KrgY69O.jpg


There are many varieties of tent tops you could do this way and the object count will be much lower than using small pieces over and over like Silvarret does in his video. Depends on how realistic you want it to look I suppose. Here's some of my experimentation:

qpozALw.jpg


Of course you could add walls and other features to give it some circus flair or plop it over the top of some rides for a new look. I hope this helps. I had fun playing around with it, and now I'm going to be using these ideas in my parks, I really like it! Thanks for the great idea Ferin_Rosca!
 
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WingardiumLevicoaster

Volunteer Moderator
WingardiumLevicoaster
PC_OCD said:
So.. I couldn't let this rest. I had to figure out a way to make a tent with a lower object count. It has sort of a space age vibe to it but it does work. Here is what I came up with.

First, I used the steel roof. They have the most form and resemble the shapes seen in circus tents, unfortunately the color isn't editable. I made a building with one post on opposite corners, like so...

http://i.imgur.com/z7bD7zh.jpg?1

After making the building you then make a duplicate copy of the building in advanced edit mode using ctrl + x. Then Rotate it 15 degrees :

http://i.imgur.com/4ojuMvD.jpg?1

Select the duplicate and duplicate it and then rotate it 15 degrees. Continue doing that for a full circle. Until you get the tent. I added a spire and a flag on top for a circus feel.

http://i.imgur.com/KrgY69O.jpg?1

There are many varieties of tent tops you could do this way and the object count will be much lower than using small pieces over and over like Silvarret does in his video. Depends on how realistic you want it to look I suppose. Here's some of my experimentation:

http://i.imgur.com/qpozALw.jpg?1

Of course you could add walls and other features to give it some circus flair or plop it over the top of some rides for a new look. I hope this helps. I had fun playing around with it, and now I'm going to be using these ideas in my parks, I really like it! Thanks for the great idea Ferin_Rosca!
Click to expand...

These are great!
 

PC_OCD

PC_OCD
Thank you WingardiumLevicoaster!

I'm working on a spooky circus tent just for kicks, and so far I'm happy with the way its turning out!
 

PC_OCD

PC_OCD
Ferin_Rosca said:
Wow, that's great!! Thank you, I never expected that my question would give someone inspiration. [big grin]
Click to expand...

My pleasure! Like I said, it was really fun. Figuring out the roof pieces and then assembling it was an entertaining challenge for me. Thank you to everybody for all the nice comments. I'm not finished. Next, I'm going to attempt to make a three ring, big top that's capable of housing either hyperspin or psychola. Hopefully, it works out. We'll see...

Bullethead said:
Do not feed the clowns LOL :)
Click to expand...
Happy you noticed that little detail. [big grin]
 

Jammy3112

Jammy3112
This is incredible! I never thought about the idea of building something and then rotating it multiple times to build a roof like that. Great work!
 

PC_OCD

PC_OCD
Thank you Citytrader. I'm in the process of making a three ring circus that can house rides. In doing so, I have discovered some neat things.. I think the next one is going to be even better. . . I hope
 

Ferin_Rosca

F
Well given that I've already have the one you previously made worked into my park; I'd say you should have no trouble making something great!
 
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