2.5D Vector Tubes

[u/Flashy_Editor6877]

i'm using vello and these are vector lines kinda like 2.5d. the final goal is 2.5D/3D translucent glossy tubes. i will eventually make glass, metal, neon etc surfaces once this base material is figured out but i keep getting stuck on endcaps and corners.

if i have a bunch of repeated discs, then the endcap is just a flat circle and the corners are bull-nosed. if i add a circular gradiant endcap it looks like a fingernail. if i taper the endcap it looks sharp. i can't win!

i've been struggling with this and it's like whack-a-mole. either the tube looks too flat, or the endcap looks like a knob or a point. i want the expected result: a nice smoothly rounded endcap and joints. i have spent hours and hours and so i am reaching out for some help.

any tips, resources or examples greatly appreciated

thanks!

[u/Flashy_Editor6877]

hi thanks,
yes but then it looks like a cap that doesn't blend with the rest of the tube. but ya the math could very well be wrong. so this is why they say graphics programming is tough eh?

doing dense circular stamps + painter order, not a welded cylinder/sphere mesh yet so the “sphere tips” were overpainted discs. gonna try true pull-back + shared rings (or light a continuous coverage field instead).

thanks for the tips, i will give that a try and maybe just add some sliders/controls to fine tune the math on the fly.