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346 Chapter 12: Animation
Axis—
Specifies the local axis that looks at the
target. The Flip check box is used to flip the
directions of the axis.
Use Target a s Up Node—When turned on, the
controller forces the object on which it acts (source
node)tokeeponeofitslocalaxesalignedwiththe
look-at direction (the vector between the source
node and the target node). it also prevents the
source node from rotating around the look-at
direction, to avoid flipping about the object’s local
Zaxis.
Theflippingbehaviorismostcommonlyseen
when the line between a targeted object and its
target is close to vertical; that is, their positions on
the World Z axis are nearly the same.
The option works by alig ning one of the source
node’s local axes with one of the target node’s local
axes. T hese axes are picked automatically by the
software.
Note: This feature lets you properly manipulate
Luminaire assemblies . It also provides for
trouble-free operation when you i-drop (page
3–523) manufacturer luminaire assemblies.
Tip: In some cases, the object will flip 90 or 180
degrees e ven when the Us e Target As Up Node
option is turned on. This behavior occurs due to
thefactthattheaxisalignmentisautomatic.To
resolve this, apply a roll angle to the object with
thecoordinatedisplay.
Position/Roll/Scale—These three buttons let you
specify the other rollouts that appear for this
controller. In all three cases, the Key Info (Basic)
(page 2–304) and Key Info (Advanced) (page
2–306) rollouts appear. When Position is active,
an additional Position XYZ Parameters rollout lets
you specify the position a xis.
Ma s ter Point Contr oller
Main toolbar > Curve Editor (Open) > Expand tracks on an
object with animated vertices or vectors in the Track View
hierarchy. > Master Point Controller
Graph Editors > Track View – Curve Editor > Open Track
View>Expandtracksonanobjectwithanimatedvertices
or vectors in the Track View h ierarchy. > Master Point
Controller
The Master Point controller is assigned
automatically whenever control points, vertices,
or vectors (tangent handles) are animated in the
sub-object mo de of an Editable Spline, Editable
Patch, Editable Mesh, Editable Poly, NURBS
surface, or FFD . By allowing you to select and
move all the sub keys, visually correlate keys to
points in the viewports, and change key properties
quickly, this controller helps to manage the
numerous tracks created w hen animating vertices,
control points, and vectors.
The Master Point controller is displayed as a track
with green keys in Track View. Sub tracks below
the Master track cont ain all the animated vertices,
control points, and vectors.
Procedure
Ex ample: To a nima te ver t ices, vi ewing the M a ster
Point controller tr ack :
1.
In the Front viewport, create a sphere.
2. Right-click t he sphere and select Convert to
Editable Mesh in the dialog.
3. On the Editable Mesh > Selection rollout, click
Ve r t e x .
4. On the Editable Mesh > Soft Selection rollout,
click Use Soft Selection.
5. Turn on Auto Key, and move the time slider to
frame 10.
6. In the viewports, select and move some vertices
on the sphere.
A key appears on the track bar at frame 10.