9

Add Visibility Track 557
Va r i a b l e opa c it y i s supp or t e d i n t he s h a d e d
viewports. For ease of use, the object never
completely disappears fro m the viewports.
Visibility Inheritance
An object can inherit the visibility of its parent
(as determined by t he p arent’s Visibility track
intheTrackView).UsetheObjectProperties>
Inherit Visibility check bo x to specify the visibility
inheritance of an object.
Groups and V isibility
All members of a Group inherit the visibility of
the parent when a visibility controller is assigned
to the parent. Transparent materials and hidden
objects have no effect on this function.
Level of Detail Utilit y and Visibility
The Level of Detail utilit y (page 1–1253) lets
you construct an object that alters its geometric
complexity or level of detail based on its size in the
rendered image. You create several versions of the
same object each with different levels of detail; you
group them as one, and then assign the Level of
Detail utility. This automatically creates a special
LOD controller as a Visibility track.
Pr ocedur es
To add a v isibility track to objects:
1.
In Track View Curve Editor or Dope Sheet Edit
Keys mode, highlight the object you want to
affect in the Hierarchy list on the controller
window.
2. From the Track View > Tracks menu, choose
Visibility T racks > Add.
3. Select the keys then use Controller > Properties
to adjust the key values and interpolation.
A value of 0 creates an i nvisible objec t, a value
of 1.0 creates a f ully visible object. Change
the interpolation to step for sudden visibility,
rather than gradual fades.
A visibility track appears below the selected
object(s). Add and edit keys in the visibility track
to control the object’s visibility.
To add visibility k eys:
1.
Once you have a visibility t rack assigned to the
object, highlight the track.
2. On the toolbar, click Add Keys.
3. On the Track View Key window, click in a
visibilit y track to add a key at that time location.
Example: To create a nd a nimate a v isibility track
using the Object Pr oper ties d ial og:
1.
Create a box.
2. Turn on Auto Key.
3. Movethetimeslidertoframe10.
This is the frame at which you’ll set the box to
disappear.
4. Right-click the object and choose Properties
from the shor tcut menu.
5. In the General t ab, set Visibility to 0,andthen
click OK.
6. Scr ub the time slider.
The box fades. This creates a visibility track in
Track View and adds a key with a value of 0 to
the track.