AUTODESK 3DS MAX 8 ® ® Reference Guide Volume I Autodesk Part No.: Date: 12811-050000-5000A 09.09.05 Colors: Black K Description: 3dsMax8_TutGd_BW_Mcvr.ai Dimensions: 7" x 9" or 177.8mm x 228.
Copyright © 2005 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved. This publication, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form, by any method, for any purpose. AUTODESK, INC., MAKES NO WARRANTY, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE REGARDING THESE MATERIALS, AND MAKES SUCH MATERIALS AVAILABLE SOLELY ON AN "AS-IS" BASIS. IN NO EVENT SHALL AUTODESK, INC.
toc Contents Introduction .............................................. xiii Welcome ................................................................... xiii What’s New in 3ds Max 8 ......................................... xiv 3ds Max Documentation Set.................................. xviii About MAXScript ..................................................... xx 1 Getting Started with 3ds Max ..................... 1 Getting Started with 3ds Max ..................................... 1 Project Workflow.
iv Contents Hide Rollout .............................................................. 53 Freeze Rollout............................................................ 54 Display Properties Rollout ........................................ 55 Link Display Rollout.................................................. 58 Object Display Culling Utility................................... 59 3 Edit Commands ........................................................ 92 Undo/Redo .......................................
Contents Expression Techniques......................................... 141 Expression Techniques ............................................ 141 Trigonometric Functions ........................................ 145 Vectors ..................................................................... 146 5 Creating Geometry .................................. 149 Creating Geometry.................................................. 149 Basics of Creating and Modifying Objects..........
vi Contents Tee Spline................................................................. 282 Wide Flange Spline.................................................. 283 Fin Adjustment Tools Rollout ................................. 390 Object Properties Rollout (Bone Tools).................. 391 Ring Array System................................................... 392 Editable Splines .................................................... 284 Editable Spline....................................................
Contents Transform Tools .................................................... 432 Transform Tools ...................................................... 432 Array Flyout............................................................. 432 Mirror Selected Objects .......................................... 433 Mirror Dialog .......................................................... 433 Array ....................................................................... 435 Array Dialog ................................
viii Contents Edit Patch Modifier ................................................. 617 Edit Poly Modifier ................................................. 619 Edit Poly Modifier ................................................... 619 Edit Poly (Object).................................................... 630 Edit Poly (Vertex) ................................................... 633 Edit Poly (Edge) ...................................................... 642 Edit Poly (Border) ............................
Contents Twist Modifier ......................................................... 865 Unwrap UVW Modifier ......................................... 867 Unwrap UVW Modifier .......................................... 867 Edit UVWs Dialog .................................................. 878 Edit UVWs Dialog Menu Bar ................................. 884 UVW Editor Dialogs .............................................. 889 Flatten Mapping Dialog...........................................
x Contents NURBS and Animation .........................................1092 NURBS Concepts ...................................................1093 NURBS Tips and Techniques .............................. 1095 NURBS Tips and Techniques .................................1095 How to Make Objects with NURBS Modeling ......1095 How to Fix NURBS Objects ...................................1099 How to Improve Performance................................1100 Animation, Textures, and Rendering.....................
Contents Reparameterize Dialog...........................................1238 Sub-Object Clone Options Dialog .........................1239 Select By Material ID Dialog ..................................1240 Curve and Surface Approximation.................... 1240 Curve Approximation ............................................1240 Surface Approximation ..........................................1241 Advanced Surface Approximation Dialog .............1246 Surface Approximation Utility .....................
xii Contents
intro Introduction Welcome Welcome to the 3ds Max User Reference This reference contains detailed information about all the features and capabilities of Autodesk 3ds Max®, which brings 3D modeling and animation to your desktop system. The reference is organized by functional areas. The “User Interface” chapter gives you a guide to program controls and where to find them.
xiv Introduction Object Properties (page 1–111) Creating Geometry (page 1–149) Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects (page 1–401) Creating Copies and Arrays (page 1–455) Using Modifiers (page 1–479) Surface Modeling (page 1–945) Precision and Drawing Aids (page 2–1) Space Warps and Particle Systems (page 2–51) Creating Animation (page 2–271) Lights and Cameras (page 2–1125) Advanced Lighting Panel (page 3–43) Material Editor, Materials, and Mapping (page 2–1239) Rendering (page 3–1) feature.
What’s New in 3ds max 8 • The bone twist controls (page 2–839), previously limited to the biped’s forearm, have been expanded to include all limbs and a twist bias setting has been added. These new settings allow better mesh deformation on skinned models (using Physique or Skin) when twisting occurs on animated limbs.
xvi Introduction Distributed Bucket Rendering Rollout (mental ray Renderer) (page 3–121). • Network rendering of 3ds Max scenes (MAX files) with mental ray via Backburner and the command line is no longer bound to a single license. Therefore an unlimited number of CPUs can be used, effectively behaving exactly as with the 3ds Max default scanline renderer. Standalone licenses are still required when rendering MI files (using ray.exe).
What’s New in 3ds max 8 (ASCII) file that lets users define paths for asset locations. pressing SHIFT as you change the sub-object level. Scene and Project Management Design Visualization Functionality • Project-management functionality is implemented via the new asset tracking system (page 3–492). Asset tracking works with a variety of source-control tools, but optimal support is provided for Autodesk Vault, included free with 3ds Max.
xviii Introduction Scripting • Analyze and correct problem scripts with the new MAXScript debugger (page 3–826), which follows the industry-standard method for debugging scripts. Set breakpoints and isolate issues in any script. • Rewritten expression and scripted controllers now have full MAXScript support. Name dependencies have been removed so that scripted controllers can be merged, XRefed, and copied in the same way as other controller types.
3ds Max Documentation Set Access the MAXScript Reference by choosing Help > MAXScript Reference. • Readme.rtf: Contains the latest information about 3ds Max 8. Find this file in electronic format in the program install directory. Additional Help Files In addition to the main documentation components described above, these additional online documents describe various features available in 3ds Max 8.
xx Introduction Note: By default, the SDK and its document files are not installed. You can choose to add them when you first install 3ds Max, or you can run the setup program to add them to your installation at a later time. See the Installation Guide for more information. selection, another dialog appears where you can choose your printer and other options. • The 3dsMaxSDKHelp.chm file is installed in the 3dsmax8\maxsdk\help folder on your local drive.
About MAXScript • Package scripts within custom utility panel rollouts or modeless windows, giving them a standard 3ds Max user interface. • Build custom import/export tools using the built-in file I/O. • Write procedural controllers that can access the entire state of the scene. Build batch-processing tools, such as batch-rendering scripts. • Set up live interfaces to external system using OLE Automation. The MAXScript language is specifically designed to complement 3ds Max.
xxii Introduction
Getting Started with 3ds Max Getting Started with 3ds Max You use 3ds Max to quickly create professional-quality 3D models, photorealistic still images, and film-quality animation on your PC.
2 Chapter 1: Getting Started with 3ds Max Windows method. The figure below shows the application window with a scene file loaded. Main program window Note: If you open 3ds Max from a Command Prompt window or batch file, you can add command-line switches. See Starting 3ds Max from the Command Line (page 3–719). Note: 3ds Max is a single-document application, meaning you can work on only one scene at a time. However, you can open more than one copy of 3ds Max and open a different scene in each copy.
Project Workflow Material Design and Radiosity (page 3–50) provides incredibly accurate light simulation in renderings. See Lights (page 2–1126). You can learn more about lighting by following the Introduction to Lighting tutorial. The cameras you create have real-world controls for lens length, field of view, and motion control such as truck, dolly, and pan. See Cameras (page 2–1210). Animation You design materials using the Material Editor, which appears in its own window.
4 Chapter 1: Getting Started with 3ds Max controllers, or edit motion curves for your animated effects. The Lip Sync tutorial covers Track View usage.
Modeling Objects Setting Grid Spacing Set spacing for the visible grid in the Grid And Snap Settings dialog > Home Grid panel (page 2–46). You can change grid spacing at any time. See Precision and Drawing Aids (page 2–1) for information about the system unit, unit display, and grid spacing. Setting the Viewport Display Viewport layout options The default four viewports in 3ds Max represent an efficient and popular screen layout.
6 Chapter 1: Getting Started with 3ds Max modifiers you apply to an object are stored in a stack. You can go back at any time and change the effect of the modifier, or remove it from the object. See Basics of Creating and Modifying Objects (page 1–149). Using Materials You use the Material Editor to design materials and maps to control the appearance of object surfaces. Maps can also be used to control the appearance of environmental effects such as lighting, fog, and the background.
Placing Lights and Cameras Placing Lights and Cameras You place lights and cameras to complete your scene in much the same way lights and cameras are placed on a movie set prior to filming. The program includes the following standard light types: omni, spot, and directional lights. You can set a light to any color and even animate the color to simulate dimming or color-shifting lights. All of these lights can cast shadows, project maps, and use volumetric effects.
8 Chapter 1: Getting Started with 3ds Max see in a viewport is just an approximation of the true lighting. Render your scene to view lighting accurately. Tip: If the Daylight system appears to wash out the scene, try using the Logarithmic exposure control (page 3–293). Placing Cameras You create and place cameras from the Cameras category of the Create panel. Cameras define viewpoints for rendering, and you can animate cameras to produce cinematic effects such as dollies and truck shots.
Rendering Your Scene Rendering Your Scene Rendering an animation is the same as rendering a single image except that you set the renderer to render a sequence of frames. You can choose to render an animation to multiple single frame files or to popular animation formats such as FLC or AVI. See Render Scene Dialog (page 3–2). The 3ds Max Window Rendering "fills in" geometry with color, shadow, lighting effects, and so on.
10 Chapter 1: Getting Started with 3ds Max • Group (page 3–722) contains commands for managing combined objects. Command Panel • Views (page 3–722) contains commands for setting up and controlling the viewports. This collection of six panels provides handy access to most of the modeling and animation commands. • Create (page 3–723) contains commands for creating objects. You can "tear off " the command panel and place it anywhere you like.
The 3ds Max Window 1. Menu bar 2. Window/Crossing selection toggle 3. Snap tools 4. Command panels 5. Object categories 6. Rollout 7. Active viewport 8. Viewport navigation controls 9. Animation playback controls 10. Animation keying controls 11. Absolute/Relative coordinate toggle and coordinate display 12. Prompt line and status bar 13. MAXScript mini-listener 14. Track bar 15. Time slider 16.
12 Chapter 1: Getting Started with 3ds Max other informational displays. See Viewports (page 3–772). Viewport Navigation Buttons The button cluster at the lower-right corner of the main window contains controls for zooming, panning, and navigating within the viewports. See Viewport Controls (page 3–778). and navigate the panel quickly. And most other windows, including Schematic View and Track View, have right-click menus that provide fast access to commonly used functions.
Special Controls To open and close a rollout: • Click the rollout title bar to toggle between expanded and collapsed. • Place the pointer over any part of a toolbar, then press and hold the middle mouse button. 2. When the pointer icon changes to a hand, drag To move a rollout: • You can move a rollout in the expanded or collapsed state. To move the rollout, drag the rollout title bar to another location on the command panel or dialog.
14 Chapter 1: Getting Started with 3ds Max The expression you enter is evaluated, and its result is displayed in the Result field. Click Paste to replace the field value with the result of the calculation. Click Cancel to exit the Expression Evaluator. The expressions you can enter are described in Expression Techniques (page 1–141). You can’t use variables in the Expression Evaluator, but you can enter the constants pi (circular ratio), e (natural logarithm base), and TPS (ticks per second).
Managing Files discard your current scene and revert to the held scene at any time. Managing Files You can choose to open and save files in any path location. The Configure Paths dialog contains four panels for the general categories of support files. Setting General File Paths File-management dialogs 3ds Max supports many types of files for working with plug-ins, image maps, models from other programs, rendering images and animations, and of course saving and opening your scene files.
16 Chapter 1: Getting Started with 3ds Max are used for many purposes, such as material and map definition, light projections, and environment effects. Setting XRefs File Paths The XRefs panel (page 3–857) contains multiple path entries that the program uses to search for externally referenced files. These are used for sharing files in a workgroup situation. the Files Of Type list in the Select File To Import dialog.
Using the Asset Browser Replacing Scene Objects Use Replace (page 3–476) to replace objects in your scene with objects in another scene that have duplicate names. Replace is useful when you want to set up and animate your scene with simplified objects, and then replace the simple objects with detailed objects before rendering. The Replace dialog looks and functions the same as Merge, except that it lists only objects that have the same name as objects in your current scene.
18 Chapter 1: Getting Started with 3ds Max You can load the preset defaults that ship with 3ds Max, or you can create your own. In general, you don’t need to work directly with the auxiliary files, but it’s good to know about them. Among the auxiliary files the program uses are: • 3dsmax.ini : This file gets updated when you start and exit 3ds Max, as well as when you change most Preferences settings.
Backing Up and Archiving Scenes Startup conditions are also defined by the maxstart.max file. To save any particular startup condition, create a MAX file with the condition present and then save it as maxstart.max. 3ds Max will automatically use this file when you start 3ds Max. The 3dsmax.ini file has the following categories: [Directories]—Defines the default paths for various file operations. [Performance]—Controls that speed up viewport performance.
20 Chapter 1: Getting Started with 3ds Max not always work: the recovered scene could be damaged during the crash. The recovered file is stored in the configured Auto Backup path. It is saved as "_recover.max" in this path. It is also placed in the INI file as the most recently used file in the File menu. This makes it easy to return to the file, if you choose to do so. The crash recovery system identifies when something in an object’s modifier stack is corrupt.
Viewing and Navigating 3D Space Viewing and Navigating 3D Space Everything you create in 3ds Max is located in a three-dimensional world. You have a variety of options for viewing this enormous stage-like space, from the details of the smallest object to the full extent of your scene. Using the view options discussed in this section you move from one view to another, as your work and imagination require.
22 Chapter 2: Viewing and Navigating 3D Space General Viewport Concepts Another way to use viewports is to place a camera in your scene and set a viewport to look through its lens. When you move the camera, the viewport tracks the change. You can do the same thing with spotlights. In addition to geometry, viewports can display other views such as Track View and Schematic View, which display the structure of the scene and the animation.
Home Grid: Views Based on the World Coordinate Axes Home Grid: Views Based on the World Coordinate Axes Axes, Planes, and Views The grid you see in each viewport represents one of three planes that intersect at right angles to one another at a common point called the origin. Intersection occurs along three lines (the world coordinate axes: X, Y, and Z) familiar from geometry as the basis of the Cartesian coordinate system.
24 Chapter 2: Viewing and Navigating 3D Space Home Grid and Grid Objects • Axonometric views (page 3–1007) show the scene without perspective. All lines in the model are parallel to one another. The Top, Front, Left, and User viewports are axonometric views. Axonometric view of a scene Above: Inactive grid object in a scene Below: Activated grid object The home grid is aligned with the world coordinate axes. You can turn it on and off for any viewport, but you can’t change its orientation.
Understanding Views to create the scene, then use a perspective view to render the final output. Axonometric Views If you turn on Orthographic Projection on a camera’s Parameters rollout, that camera produces an axonometric view like a User view. See Cameras (page 2–1210). There are two types of axonometric views you can use in viewports: orthographic and rotated. An orthographic view (page 3–1080) is a straight-on view of the scene, such as the view shown in the Top, Front, and Left viewports.
26 Chapter 2: Viewing and Navigating 3D Space Resizing the Viewport After choosing a layout you can resize the viewports so they have different proportions by moving the splitter bars that separate the viewports. This is only available when multiple viewports are displayed. The viewport on the right looks through the lens of a spotlight in the scene. Resized viewport Setting Viewport Layout Changing the View Type 3ds Max defaults to a two-over-two arrangement of viewports.
Controlling Viewport Rendering Key V iew type U User (axonometric) view. Retains viewing angle of previous view. Allows use of Zoom Region (page 3–785). None Right view. Use viewport right-click menu. None Shape view. Use viewport right-click menu. Automatically aligns view to the extents of a selected shape and its local XY axes.
28 Chapter 2: Viewing and Navigating 3D Space Tip: If your scene mysteriously disappears and only displays as boxes when you rotate your viewport, you have pressed the “o” key on the keyboard, and unintentionally turned on Adaptive Degradation. See Rendering Method (page 3–896). Properties (page 1–111). These options affect display performance much the same way as viewport rendering options. For example, turning on Vertex Ticks for an object with a lot of vertices will slow performance.
Using Standard View Navigation Using Standard View Navigation To navigate through your scene, use the view navigation buttons located at the lower-right corner of the program window. All view types, except Camera and Light views, use a standard set of view navigation buttons. You can step back through the Undo View/Redo View buffer until you have undone all of the stored view-navigation commands.
30 Chapter 2: Viewing and Navigating 3D Space of changing FOV is similar to changing the lens on a camera. As FOV gets larger you see more of your scene and perspective becomes distorted, similar to using a wide-angle lens. As FOV gets smaller you see less of your scene and the perspective flattens, similar to using a telephoto lens. Warning: Be cautious using extreme Field of View settings. These can produce unexpected results.
Using Walkthrough Navigation one of the directional keys (forward, back, left, or right). This feature is available for perspective and camera viewports. It is not available for orthographic views or for spotlight viewports. Animating a Walkthrough When you use walkthrough navigation in a Camera viewport, you can animate the camera walkthrough using either Auto Key (page 3–760) or Set Key (page 2–275).
32 Chapter 2: Viewing and Navigating 3D Space Forward, Backward, and Sideways Movement For movement, you can use either the arrow keys, or letters at the left of the keyboard pad. Tip: When you are in a Perspective viewport, you can use Undo View Change and Redo View Change (SHIFT+Z, SHIFT+Y) to undo or redo your navigation. However, when you are in a Camera viewport, walkthrough animation transforms the camera object, so you must use Edit > Undo and Edit > Redo (CTRL+Z and CTRL+Y).
Navigating Camera and Light Views Lock Horizontal Rotation—Pressing Lock Horizontal Rotation (no default key) locks the horizontal axis, so the camera or viewpoint tilts only vertically. rotating the camera or Light, or changing their base parameters. Lock Vertical Rotation—Pressing Lock Vertical • Changes made with Camera or Light view navigation buttons can be animated the same as other object changes. Rotation (SPACE) locks the vertical axis, so the camera or viewpoint tilts only horizontally.
34 Chapter 2: Viewing and Navigating 3D Space intensity as objects approach the falloff boundary. See Using Lights (page 2–1128). target. The line of sight is also the same as the camera’s or the light’s local Z axis. Moving a Camera or Light View Changing Camera Perspective You move a camera or light view by clicking one of the following buttons and dragging in the camera or light viewport. • Dolly (page 3–788) moves the camera or light along its line of sight.
Grab Viewport Adaptive degradation causes shaded objects to be replaced by a quicker display mode. By default, shaded objects are replaced by their bounding boxes. You can change the display option, and set other adaptive degradation parameters, on the Viewport Configuration dialog (Customize menu > Viewport Configuration > Adaptive Degradation panel (page 3–901)).
36 Chapter 2: Viewing and Navigating 3D Space Views Menu (page 3–722) Views Menu (page 3–722) Undo View Change / Redo View Change (page 1–36) Quad Menu (page 3–741) Save Active View (page 1–37) Undo View Change / Redo View Change Restore Active View (page 1–37) Display Color Rollout (page 1–52) Views menu > Undo View Change or Redo View Change Grids Submenu (page 2–33) Keyboard > SHIFT+Z (Undo) or SHIFT+Y (Redo) Viewport Background (page 1–38) Viewport Background Dialog (page 1–38) Select Backgr
Save Active View Interface Procedure Undo View Change—Cancels viewport changes. The name of the change you’re undoing is displayed in the View menu beside the command. To save an active view: Undo is useful when you are working with a background image in the viewport. You can zoom into the geometry to adjust it, then use Undo Viewport Zoom to restore the original alignment of the geometry with the background. 2. Choose Views menu > Save Active View.
38 Chapter 2: Viewing and Navigating 3D Space 3. The viewport returns to the saved view. If you’re not sure whether a viewport has a saved view, check the Views menu. Restore Active View is unavailable unless a view is saved in the active viewport. Viewport Background Views menu > Viewport Background Keyboard > ALT+B This command displays the Viewport Background dialog (page 1–38), which controls the display of the background image in the active viewport.
Viewport Background Dialog The image is displayed in a single viewport or all viewports. To update the image or map in the viewport: Because of the time it takes to render the image or map in the viewport, the map is not automatically updated when you alter the bitmap or assign a new bitmap. • Choose Views menu > Update Background Image. The revised image or map is displayed in the viewport. To display the environment map in a viewport: 1. In the Environment dialog, assign an environment map.
40 Chapter 2: Viewing and Navigating 3D Space In the Mapping field, Screen is automatically selected. This is the only mapping type you can use for this purpose. 5. On the main menu, choose Rendering > Environment. 6. Drag the map from the Material Editor > Maps rollout to the Environment Map button in the Environment dialog. Click OK on the Instance (Copy) Map dialog. 7. In the Viewport Background dialog > Background Source group, click Files to assign the same bitmap. 8.
Viewport Background Dialog Files—Displays the Select Background Image dialog (page 1–42), which lets you select a file or Start Processing group sequence of files for your background. Determines what happens in the viewport background before the start frame. Devices—Displays the Select Image Input Device dialog. This lets you use a background from a digital device. (No device is supported by the default 3ds Max installation.
42 Chapter 2: Viewing and Navigating 3D Space Display Background Turns on display of the background image or animation in the viewport. Lock Zoom/Pan Locks the background to the geometry during zoom and pan operations in orthographic or user viewports. When you Zoom or Pan the viewport, the background zooms and pans along with it. When Lock Zoom/Pan is turned off, the background stays where it is, and the geometry moves independently of it.
Select Background Image Dialog 2. Choose Views menu > Viewport Background. 3. Under Background Source in the dialog that displays, click Files. 4. In the Look In field, navigate to the directory containing the file you want to use for the background. Note: The Select Background Image File dialog uses the last location where a bitmap was chosen, rather than the default bitmap path defined on the Configure User Paths dialog (page 3–852). path to a CD-ROM drive, because you cannot save the file there. 7.
44 Chapter 2: Viewing and Navigating 3D Space List Window—When Details is on, the contents of the directory are displayed with Name, Size, Type, Date Modified, and Attributes. You can sort the files by clicking the label of each parameter. File Name—Displays the name of the file selected in the list. Files of Type—Displays all the file types that can be displayed. This serves as a filter for the list. Open—Selects the highlighted file and closes the dialog.
Reset Background Transform • Changing the camera view. 3. Turn on either Match Bitmap or Match Rendering Output, and then turn on Lock Zoom/Pan. • Undo (for views). • Undo (for objects). • Assigning a different view type. • Toggling Safe Frames display on or off. 4. Click OK. 5. Choose Views menu > Reset Background Transform. • Changing the rendering parameters. The background image readjusts in the viewport. • Moving the time slider when the viewport contains an animated background image.
46 Chapter 2: Viewing and Navigating 3D Space the Axis tripod is disabled, the Transform Gizmo is also hidden. Tip: The converse is not true. If the transform gizmo is turned off, turning on the axis tripod visibility does not display the transform gizmo. Procedure To scale the transform gizmo, do one of the following: • Press – (hyphen) to shrink the Transform gizmo. • Press = (equal sign) to enlarge the Transform gizmo. To change Ghosting parameters choose Customize > Preferences.
Shade Selected Procedure To shade only selected objects in a scene: 1. Choose Views menu > Shade Selected. 2. Right-click the viewport label and choose Wireframe. 3. Select the object. Only the selected object is shaded. Show Dependencies Keyframes with frame number shown on a trajectory. Shade Selected Select an object to be shaded. > Views menu > Shade Selected Shade Selected shades only the selected objects in the scene when the viewport is set to Wireframe or Other.
48 Chapter 2: Viewing and Navigating 3D Space Procedures To show dependencies between objects: 1. Select an object with an instanced modifier (page 1–496). Create Camera From View Views menu > Create Camera From View Create menu > Cameras > Create Camera From View Keyboard > CTRL+C 2. On the Modify panel, choose the instanced modifier in the modifier stack. 3. Choose Views menu > Show Dependencies Other objects with instances of the same modifier appear in a different color.
Add Default Lights to Scene 2. If necessary, adjust the viewport using Pan, Zoom and Arc Rotate until you have a view you like. lights are added to the scene as omni lights. You can add either the key light, the fill light, or both. 3. Leaving the viewport active, on the Views menu choose Create Camera From View or press CTRL+C.
50 Chapter 2: Viewing and Navigating 3D Space If you have already added one or both default lights, a warning prompts you to rename or delete the previous default light object before you add another. Procedure To add the default lights as objects: 1. Right-click a viewport label, and click Configure. 2. On the Viewport Configuration dialog > Rendering Method tab, in the Rendering Options group, turn on Default Lighting and choose 2 Lights. Click OK to close the dialog. 3.
Deactivate All Maps Deactivate All Maps Views menu > Deactivate All Maps Deactivate All Maps turns off the Show Map In Viewport flag for all materials assigned to the scene. To undo this action, use Views menu > Activate All Maps. This will turn on the maps for all materials. If you only want to turn on individual maps, you need to turn on Show Map in Viewport in the Material Editor.
52 Chapter 2: Viewing and Navigating 3D Space Hide Rollout (page 1–53) Freeze Rollout (page 1–54) If the object color box displays black and white rectangles, this indicates that the object has its display properties set to By Layer.
Hide Rollout You can use any of the default display filters provided, or add new display filters for fast selection of objects to hide. Particle Systems—Hides all particle systems in the Interface Bones—Hides all bones in the scene. scene. Bone Objects—Hides all bones in the scene. IK Chain—Hides all IK chains in the scene. Point—Hides all points in the scene. All—Hides everything in the scene.
54 Chapter 2: Viewing and Navigating 3D Space Interface Unhide by Name—Displays a dialog you use to unhide objects you choose from a list. See Select Objects Dialog (page 1–78), which describes nearly identical controls. Note: If you select an object on a hidden layer, a dialog will pop up prompting you to unhide the object’s layer. You cannot unhide an object on a hidden layer. Hide Frozen Objects—Hides any frozen objects. Turn it off to display hidden frozen objects.
Display Properties Rollout Interface Note: If you unfreeze by name an object on a frozen layer, a dialog opens prompting you to unfreeze the object’s layer. You cannot unfreeze an object on a frozen layer. Unfreeze by Hit—Unfreezes any object you click in the viewport. If you press CTRL while selecting an object, that object and all of its children are unfrozen. If you select an object on a frozen layer, a dialog will pop up prompting you to unfreeze the object’s layer.
56 Chapter 2: Viewing and Navigating 3D Space By default, object trajectories appear with the following properties: • The trajectory curve is drawn in red. • Frame increments display as white dots on the curve. • Position keys display as red boxes surrounding the appropriate frame dot on the curve. The boxes are white when the object is selected. • If Views > Show Key Times is turned on, the keyframe numbers are displayed along side the keys on the trajectory.
Display Properties Rollout Edges Only—Toggles the display of hidden edges and polygon diagonals (page 3–1022). When on, only outside edges appear. When off, all mesh geometry appears. Applies to Wireframe viewport display mode, as well as other modes with Edged Faces turned on. Trajectory—Toggles trajectory (page 3–1119) display for the selected object so its trajectory is visible in viewports.
58 Chapter 2: Viewing and Navigating 3D Space Keyboard shortcut (default): ALT+X Link Display Rollout Ignore Extents—When turned on, the object is ignored when you use the display control Zoom Extents. Use this on distant lights. Show Frozen in Gray—When on, the object turns gray in viewports when you freeze it. When off, viewports display the object with its usual color or texture even when it is frozen. Default=on.
Object Display Culling Utility Object Display Culling Utility Utilities panel > More button > Object Display Culling The Object Display Culling utility lets you navigate and manipulate large and complex scenes more easily and quickly by intelligently hiding less-important objects as you work. Interface Affect Scene XRefs—When on, XRef scenes (page 3–416) are culled as well as native objects.
60 Chapter 2: Viewing and Navigating 3D Space
Selecting Objects Selecting Objects Most actions in 3ds Max are performed on selected objects in your scene. You must select an object in a viewport before you can apply a command. As a result, the act of selection is an essential part of the modeling and animation process. This section presents the selection tools available in 3ds Max.
62 Chapter 3: Selecting Objects because you first select the object (the noun) and then select the command (the verb). Identifying the Selection Interface In the user interface, selection commands or functions appear in the following areas: Selection Buttons Another way to select an object is to click one of these buttons, then click the object.
Introducing Object Selection Edit Menu Commands Selection Floater The Edit menu contains selection commands that operate globally on your objects. The Tools menu contains an option for a modeless (page 3–1067) selection dialog called the Selection Floater. You can place it anywhere on the screen. Edit menu selection commands include: Select All (page 1–86) The Selection Floater has the same features as Select By Name. See Selection Floater (page 1–79).
64 Chapter 3: Selecting Objects Basics of Selecting Objects The cursor changes to a small cross when it’s positioned over an object that can be selected. The valid selection zones of an object depend on the type of object and the display mode in the viewport. In shaded mode, any visible surface of an object is valid. In wireframe mode, any edge or segment of an object is valid, including hidden lines. 3.
Selecting by Region Tip: You can also hold down ALT while you click to remove objects from selections. Selecting by Region To lock a selection: 1. Select an object. 2. Click the Selection Lock Toggle (page 3–754) on the status bar to turn on locked selection mode. While your selection is locked, you can drag the mouse anywhere on the screen without losing the selection. The cursor displays the current selection icon.
66 Chapter 3: Selecting Objects Setting Region Type Choose Edit menu > Region to display a submenu of the following two items. Only one can be active at a time. The option is also available on the main toolbar. • Window—Selects only objects that are completely within the region. See Select Region Window (page 1–87) • Crossing—Selects all objects that are within the region and crossing the boundaries of the region. This is the default region. See Select Region Crossing (page 1–88).
Using Select By Name Using Select By Name You can select objects by their assigned names, avoiding mouse clicks completely, from the Select Objects dialog. Procedure To select objects by name: 1. Do one of the following: You can also edit the contents of named sets from the Named Selection Sets dialog (page 1–89). Editing Named Selections As you model and create a scene, you’re likely to rearrange the objects making up your named selection sets. If you do, you’ll need to edit the contents of those sets.
68 Chapter 3: Selecting Objects To edit named selection sets: • On the main toolbar, click Named Selection Sets to display the Named Selection Sets dialog. Selection is now limited to objects defined in this category. The category remains in effect until you change it. The following categories are available: All—All categories can be selected. This is the default setting. Using Selection Filters Geometry—Only geometric objects can be selected.
Selecting with Track View drop-down list. For more information, see Selection Filters List (page 1–83). To open Track View and display and select objects: 1. Selecting with Track View On the main toolbar, click Curve Editor (Open). 2. Click any cube icon in the list to select the named object. You can make the following kinds of selections: • Select several adjacent objects in the list. Click the first object, hold down SHIFT, and click another object elsewhere in the list.
70 Chapter 3: Selecting Objects Procedure To open Schematic View and display and select objects: 1. Click Open Schematic View on the main toolbar. 2. Click the rectangle containing the name of your object. You can select any number of objects in Schematic View using standard methods, including dragging a region. For more information, see Using Schematic View (page 3–690). Freezing and Unfreezing Objects You can freeze any selection of objects in your scene.
Hiding and Unhiding Objects by Selection Hiding and Unhiding Objects by Selection You can hide any selection of individual objects in your scene. They disappear from view, making it easier to select remaining objects. Hiding objects also speeds up redraws. You can then unhide all objects at once or by individual object name. You can also filter the names by category, so only hidden objects of a certain type are listed. Note: Hiding a light source doesn’t alter its effect; it still illuminates the scene.
72 Chapter 3: Selecting Objects Procedure To access Hide options, do one of the following: • Open the Layer Manager (page 3–706). In the Layer Manager, you can easily hide groups of objects or layers. • Open the Display panel. Click Hide, if necessary, to expand the rollout. • Choose Tools menu > Display Floater. This modeless dialog has the same options as the Hide rollout. It also contains Freeze options.
Isolate Selection (see Hiding and Unhiding Objects by Selection (page 1–71)). These objects remain hidden. You need to use the controls on that rollout to unhide them. • Unhiding by selection does not return a hidden object to the scene if the category of the object is hidden. The Unhide All and Unhide By Name controls continue to work, but the effect is not seen until the category is cleared. • Lights hidden by category continue to shine. Views through cameras and targeted lights are still active.
74 Chapter 3: Selecting Objects Exit Isolation Mode—Click to end isolation, close the dialog, and unhide the rest of the scene. The views are restored to what they showed before you chose Isolate Selection. Introduction to Sub-Object Selection This is a general introduction to sub-object selection. For specific information, see Editable Mesh (page 1–984), Editable Patch (page 1–950), Editable Poly (page 1–1012), and Editable Spline (page 1–284).
Introduction to Sub-Object Selection as vertex, edge, face sub-objects, and so on. You can’t deselect the current object, nor can you select other objects. To leave sub-object editing and return to object-level editing, click the top-level name of the object in the modifier stack, or click the highlighted sub-object level. right-click the viewport label and choose Wireframe or Edged Faces view. Tip: For a detailed selection, you might want to zoom in on the object. 6.
76 Chapter 3: Selecting Objects • Your selection is locked. Click the Lock Selection Set button in the prompt line to turn it off. • You’ve set the Selection Filter (page 1–68) on the main toolbar to a specific category of object, so you can’t select any of the other categories. To fix this, select All in the Selection Filter list.
Select Object Select Object To toggle the selected/deselected state of multiple objects in the selection set: Main toolbar > Select Object • Hold down the SHIFT key and drag to region-select the objects to toggle. Right-click to open quad menu. > Transform quadrant > Select To select objects and move, rotate, or scale them: Select Object lets you select an object or objects for manipulation.
78 Chapter 3: Selecting Objects active, the dialog lists groups but not solitary objects. Select Objects Dialog Main toolbar > Select By Name > Select Objects dialog Edit menu > Select By > Name Keyboard > H The Select Objects dialog allows you to select objects by choosing them from a list of all objects in the scene. Drag, or click and then SHIFT+click to select a continuous range of objects and CTRL+click to select noncontinuous objects.
Selection Floater Select Subtree—When this is on and you select an item in the list window, all of its hierarchical children are selected as well. Select Dependents—When this is on and you select an item in the list, all of its dependent objects are selected as well. Dependents include instances, references, and objects sharing a common modifier (the same objects that appear green when Show Dependencies is on in the View menu).
80 Chapter 3: Selecting Objects Selection Region Flyout Main toolbar > Selection Region flyout 2. Drag in a viewport, then release the mouse. The first location you click is one corner of the rectangle, and where you release the mouse is the opposite corner. Important: If you’re using Select Object (page 1–77), you can start dragging anywhere to select a region: on an object or off.
Circular Selection Region Procedure Procedure To select using a rectangle: To select using a circle: 1. Click the Rectangular Selection Region button. 2. Drag in a viewport, then release the mouse. 1. Click the Circular Selection Region button. 2. Drag in a viewport, then release the mouse. The first location you click is one corner of the rectangle, and where you release the mouse is the opposite corner.
82 Chapter 3: Selecting Objects Procedure To select using a fence: 1. Click the Fence Selection Region button. 2. Drag to draw the first segment of a polygon, then release the mouse button. A "rubber-band line" is now attached to the cursor, anchored at the point of release. 3. Move the mouse and click to define the next segment of the fence. You can make as many steps as you want. touched by the selection shape (crossing method).
Selection Filter List shortcuts or other user interface items for the actions Paint Selection Size Up and Paint Selection Size Down. Note: Paint Selection Region respects the Window/Crossing selection toggle (page 1–88) setting. If the toggle is set to Select Region Window (page 1–87) and the brush is smaller than an object Down action items. See Main User Interface Shortcuts (page 3–922).
84 Chapter 3: Selecting Objects You can also add specific types of objects, or Class IDs, to the list. For example, you can set a filter that lets you select only Sphere primitives. Interface Procedures To create a combination filter: 1. Open the Selection Filter list and choose Combos. The Filter Combinations dialog appears. 2. Turn on one or more of the check boxes in the Create Combination group. 3. Click the Add button.
Named Selection Sets Delete—After choosing one or more combinations in the Current Combinations list, click this button to delete them. All Class ID group Class ID list—Lists all the available categories that can be added to custom filters for display and selection. Highlight a category to add, then click Add. Add—After choosing a class to include in the filter list, click this button to place the class in the Current Class ID Filter list, as well as at the bottom of the Selection Filter list.
86 Chapter 3: Selecting Objects 3. Whenever you want to access the selection, choose its name from the Named Selection Sets list. To select a named selection set, do one of the following: • To select a single item, click it in the list. • To select more than one item in the list, select one, and then select others while holding down the CTRL key. • To deselect single items after you’ve selected multiple items, hold down the ALT key.
Select By Name (Edit Menu) Select By Name (Edit Menu) Select Region Window Edit menu > Select By > Name Edit menu > Region > Window Keyboard > H Main toolbar > Window/Crossing Selection Select By Name lets you select objects by choosing them from a list of all objects in the scene. For a full description of the Select By Name function, see Select By Name button (page 1–77). Tip: To select objects by material, use Schematic View (page 3–690).
88 Chapter 3: Selecting Objects painting a selection region, the brush must completely encompass an object or sub-object to select it. 2. Click the Window/Crossing Selection Toggle (page 1–88) to display the Crossing icon. 2. From the Main toolbar, click the Selection 3. Drag to specify the region and select the objects. Region flyout (page 1–80) and choose a method: Rectangular, Circular, Fence or Lasso Selection region.
Named Selection Sets Dialog To add objects to a named selection set: Named Selection Sets Dialog 1. Edit menu > Edit Named Selections Main toolbar > Named Selection Sets The Named Selection Sets dialog, available from the Edit menu, is a modeless dialog (page 3–1067) that lets you create named selection sets or select objects to add to (or remove from) a selection set, directly from the viewport.
90 Chapter 3: Selecting Objects To select objects in a set: 1. Highlight the set in the Named Selection Sets dialog. 2. Create New Set—Creates a new selection set, including any currently selected objects as members. Note: If no objects are selected, an empty set is Click Select Objects In Set to select all of the objects in the highlighted set. created. Tip: You can also double-click the selection set to select all of its objects. selection set.
Edit Named Selections Dialog Rename—Lets you rename the selected set or object. Tip: You can rename objects or sets by pressing F2 on your keyboard. Cut—Removes the selected object or set and stores it in a buffer for reuse with the Paste command, similar to the Cut command in Windows. Tip: You can cut an object or set by pressing CTRL+X on your keyboard. Highlight Selected Objects—Highlights all of the named selection sets that contain the current scene selection.
92 Chapter 3: Selecting Objects Interface Combine—Merges all objects from the highlighted selection sets into a single, new selection set. Select two or more selection sets, and then click Combine and enter a new name for the selection set. Use Delete to delete the original sets. Delete—Deletes all highlighted items from the Named Selections window. This affects only selection sets, not the sub-objects they refer to. Subtract (A-B)—Removes the sub-objects contained in one selection set from another.
Undo/Redo Note: Viewport changes such as panning and zooming have a separate Undo and Redo. See View-Handling Commands (page 1–35). The Hold and Fetch command pair serves as an alternative to Undo and Redo. Hold saves the current state of the scene. After using Hold, you can restore that state at a later point by using Fetch. Sometimes, when you are about to perform a risky operation, an alert prompts you to first use Hold.
94 Chapter 3: Selecting Objects Some actions cannot be undone: for example, applying the Collapse utility or Reset Transform utility, and saving a file, thus overwriting the previous version. When you know something cannot be undone, use Hold (page 1–94) first. Then if you want to undo it, use Fetch (page 1–95). Hold and Fetch are also commands on the Edit menu (page 3–721). Redo. You must select a continuous selection; you cannot skip over any items in the list.
Fetch AutoBackup path in the Configure User Paths dialog > File I/O panel (page 3–856). See also Undo/Redo (page 1–93) • Fetch also deletes all recorded operations in the Undo and Redo History lists. See also Fetch (page 1–95) Assemblies and Groups Fetch Using Groups Edit menu > Fetch Fetch restores the scene and settings previously stored by the Hold (page 1–94) command. Information stored includes all geometry, lights, cameras, viewport configuration, and selection sets.
96 Chapter 3: Selecting Objects When you create a group, all of its member objects are rigidly linked to an invisible dummy object. The group object uses the pivot point and the local transform coordinate system of this dummy object. Groups can be nested. That is, groups can contain other groups, up to any level. Transforming and Modifying a Group You can transform or modify a group as if it were a single object, and you can animate the transforms and the modifiers.
Using Assemblies • Named selection sets (page 1–67): Let you reselect the same pattern of objects, but the positional relationship between those objects (their transforms) might be different each time you recall the named set. • Grouped objects: Maintain their positional relationships unless you open the group and rearrange them. A group also keeps its identity as an individual object. Each object in a group retains its modifier stack, including its base parameters.
98 Chapter 3: Selecting Objects The main difference with assemblies is that, when you assemble (page 1–104) the member objects, you specify a head object (page 1–108): a Luminaire helper object (page 1–108). The head object acts as a front end for the assembly, and its parameters appear in the Modify panel when the assembly is selected. You can use these parameters to control the light sources in the assembly via parameter wiring (page 2–393).
Using Assemblies You can transform and animate individual objects within an assembly independently from the assembly itself. However, when you transform the assembly itself, the transform affects all assembled objects equally. The assembly transform is uniformly added to objects that have independent motions. An analogy is a cage of birds, each flying around on its own, while the cage itself is being moved.
100 Chapter 3: Selecting Objects panel > Make Unique command does not make the controllers unique. You can make them unique by doing the following: Open Track View, select the Transform track for object whose controller you want to make unique, and click the Make Unique button in the Track View toolbar. Dissolving Assemblies You can permanently dissolve assemblies by either disassembling or exploding them. Both commands dissolve assemblies, but to different levels.
Group Commands 5. If necessary, wire (page 1–105) the assembly luminaire to its light source or sources. 6. Select the assembly, and then use the Modify panel settings to adjust the intensity of the light with the Dimmer control. To use an assembly with radiosity: • Right-click the Luminaire, choose Properties, and on the Object Properties dialog (page 1–111) choose the Radiosity tab. You can exclude and control radiosity parameters of the geometry and lights independently.
102 Chapter 3: Selecting Objects Group Group menu > Group The Group command combines a selection set of objects or groups into a single group. Once you group objects, you can treat them as a single object in your scene. You can click any object in the group to select the group object. You can transform the group as a single object, and you can apply modifiers as if it were a single object. Groups can contain other groups, up to any level.
Ungroup When you link an object to a closed group, the object becomes a child of the group parent rather than of any member of the group. The entire group flashes to show that you’ve linked to the group. Procedures To close all opened groups nested within a main group: 1. Select the pink bounding box representing the main group. 2. Choose Group > Close. To close a nested group: 1. Select any object in the nested group or its dummy. 2. Choose Group > Close.
104 Chapter 3: Selecting Objects Procedure Close Assembly (page 1–107) To detach an object from a group: Attach Assembly (page 1–108) 1. Open the group. Detach Assembly (page 1–108) 2. Choose Group > Detach. The selected objects are now separate, independent objects, no longer members of the group. Attach Group Select one or more objects. > Group menu > Attach The Attach command makes the selected object part of an existing group.
Assemble Assemblies are considered whole objects in the Light Exclude/Include dialog, so you can exclude (or include) all objects in an assembly by selecting the assembly in the list. If an assembly is nested within another assembly, only the "outer" assembly is available in the list. To exclude only certain objects in an assembly, open the assembly before displaying the Exclude/Include dialog. See also To define a nested assembly: 1.
106 Chapter 3: Selecting Objects 7. Between the two hierarchy lists, click the Interface Control Direction arrow button that points from the selected Dimmer item to the selected Multiplier item. 8. If you’re wiring a photometric light, skip this step. If you’re wiring a standard light, or any light whose default Multiplier setting is 1.0, do this: • The Expression box below the selected Multiplier item contains the word "Dimmer." Edit this to read "Dimmer/100".
Close Assembly Procedure To open nested assemblies: 1. Select the assembly within the opened assembly. Disassemble Select one or more assemblies. > Group menu > Assembly > Disassemble 2. Choose Group menu > Assembly > Open. Close Assembly Select the luminaire. > Group menu > Assembly > Close The Close command reassembles an opened assembly. For nested assemblies, closing the outermost assembly object closes all open inner assemblies.
108 Chapter 3: Selecting Objects performed. However, objects retain any individual animation. Note: If you have wired the luminaire head to any other parameters, those parameters are still controlled by the wiring setup after exploding and are not adjustable until you apply a standard controller, such as Bezier Float. Use Track View to do this. 3. Click any member of an assembly. The selected objects become part of the assembly, which is now selected.
Luminaire Helper Object You wire this parameter to one or more light sources’ Multiplier settings. Filter Color—An RGB color parameter that you link to a light source’s color or filter color. A luminaire object groups and manages the components as a whole. Interface When a selected assembly is closed, the Modify panel displays the Luminaire parameters. However, when you open an assembly, 3ds Max shows you the parameters of the whichever object is selected.
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Object Properties Object Properties Select object or objects. > Edit menu > Object Properties Select object or objects. > Right-click a viewport. > Transform (lower-right) quadrant of the quad menu > Properties Choosing this option displays the Object Properties dialog (page 1–111), which lets you view and edit the properties of selected objects. Object Properties Dialog Select object or objects. > Edit menu > Object Properties Select object or objects. > Right-click the active viewport.
112 Chapter 4: Object Properties Interface Object Properties Dialog Panels General Panel (Object Properties Dialog) Edit menu > Object Properties > Object Properties dialog > General panel Select object or objects. > Right-click. > Transform (lower-right) quadrant of the quad menu > Properties > Object Properties dialog > General panel Layer manager > Click the icon next to an object’s name.
General Panel (Object Properties Dialog) Interface these values are the values used if you have made the shape renderable. Faces for renderable shapes are generated only at rendering time. Shape Vertices and Shape Curves—Appear only for shape objects. Shape Vertices is the number of vertices in the shape, and Shape Curves is the number of polygons. (Shape Curves is the value that appeared as "Polygons" in previous releases.
114 Chapter 4: Object Properties Frozen objects appear in the viewports, but cannot be manipulated. To unfreeze frozen objects, use the Display panel (page 3–818) or choose Tools > Display Floater (page 3–818). Note: Objects residing on a frozen layer are automatically frozen, regardless of this setting. Tip: The Layer Manager (page 3–706) is the easiest way to freeze groups of objects or layers.
General Panel (Object Properties Dialog) Edges Only—Toggles the display of hidden edges and polygon diagonals (page 3–1022). When on, only outside edges appear. When off, all mesh geometry appears. Applies to Wireframe viewport display mode, as well as other modes with Edged Faces turned on. Trajectory—Displays the object’s trajectory (page 3–1119). Default=off. Note: This option is also available in the Display panel (page 3–818) and by choosing Tools > Display Floater (page 3–818).
116 Chapter 4: Object Properties its usual color or texture even when it is frozen. Default=on. Note: This option is also available in the Display panel (page 3–818) and by choosing Tools > Display Floater (page 3–818). Vertex Channel Display—For editable mesh (page 1–984), editable poly (page 1–1012), and editable patch (page 1–950) objects, displays the assigned in your renderings, but more importantly, you can quickly turn large groups of lights on or off using the Layer Manager (page 3–706).
General Panel (Object Properties Dialog) For shapes, the Renderable check box in the Object Properties dialog affects the main object, so the check box also affects all instances of and references to the shape. Inherit Visibility—Causes the object to inherit a percentage of the visibility of its parent (as determined by the parent’s Visibility track in Track View). When a group parent is assigned a visibility track, Inherit Visibility is automatically turned on for all children in the group.
118 Chapter 4: Object Properties Note: If multiple objects are selected and have different By Layer settings, this button will read ‘Mixed’. Multiplier—Affects the length of the motion-blur streak. If you choose either form of motion blur here in the Object Properties dialog, you must also choose to apply that type of blur in the Render Scene dialog (page 3–2). The rendering speed of object motion blur depends on the complexity of the geometry to which it’s assigned.
Advanced Lighting Panel (Object Properties Dialog) Interface layer settings affect all objects on the same layer as the selected object. Most settings on this rollout are available only when this toggle is set to By Object. Default=By Object. Note: If multiple objects with different settings are selected, this button will read “Mixed.” Adv. Lighting General Properties group Cast Shadows—Determines whether objects will cast shadows in the radiosity solution.
120 Chapter 4: Object Properties For more information on the Radiosity-only Properties group, see Radiosity Control Panel (page 3–60). Object Subdivision Properties group Use Global Subdivision Settings—When on, the object’s meshing settings correspond to the global subdivision settings on the Radiosity Control Panel. When off, you can change the meshing settings for each object. Default=on. • Subdivide—When on, a radiosity mesh is created for the objects regardless of the global meshing state.
mental ray Panel (Object Properties Dialog) When off, the light’s direct illumination is used only when you render the scene. This is comparable to the Render Direct Illumination option. for more information about the Re-Use Direct Illumination and Render Direct Illumination options, see Rendering Parameters Rollout (Radiosity) (page 3–70). In general, re-using direct illumination stored in the radiosity mesh improves render time, but shadows appear coarse and inaccurate unless the mesh is very fine.
122 Chapter 4: Object Properties Displacement group These settings let you apply displacement parameters on a per-object basis. Use Global Settings—When on, applies to all objects the Displacement settings on the Render Scene dialog > Renderer panel > Shadows and Displacement rollout (page 3–111). Turn off to make settings on a per-object basis. Default=on. View-Dependent—Defines the space for displacement. When View-Dependent is on, the Edge Length setting specifies the length in pixels.
Rename Objects Tool Interface Interface Selected—When chosen, renaming affects currently selected objects. Pick—Click to display a Pick Objects to Rename dialog (page 1–78) to choose which objects to rename. Base Name—Enter a base name for all objects. The User Defined Properties—In this text box, you can enter properties for the object, or comments about it, that you define yourself.
124 Chapter 4: Object Properties • Step—The step by which the base number is incremented in succeeding renamed objects. Rename—Click to rename the affected objects and have your changes take effect. As you customize an attribute, the result is displayed on the Testing Attribute rollout at the bottom of the dialog.
Custom Attributes Type level, and then adds the parameter to the Custom Attributes entry. If an object has more than one Custom Attributes entry as a result of collapsing its stack, the parameter is added to the first Custom Attributes entry. If a custom attribute parameter is assigned to an object or modifier, you can see and edit its value on the Modify panel after adding it by activating the entity to which the attribute is assigned.
126 Chapter 4: Object Properties To delete a custom attribute or parameter: 1. Select the object. 2. Choose Animation menu > Parameter Editor. The Parameter Editor opens. 3. From the Add To Type drop-down list, choose the type of parameter to delete, and then click Edit/Delete. The Edit Attributes/Parameters dialog opens. Note: If you chose Add To Type > Picked Track, the Track View Pick dialog might open first to prompt you to choose the animation track from which to delete the attribute. 4.
Custom Attributes Note: If you choose Selected Object’s Current Modifier and multiple modifiers are highlighted in the stack when you click Add, Parameter Editor applies the custom attribute to the first modifier you highlighted and removes the highlighting from the other modifiers. [pick explicit track]—Click this button to open a Track View hierarchy window from which to choose an animation track. Navigate the hierarchy to find the desired track, highlight the track, and then click OK.
128 Chapter 4: Object Properties available for that material in the Material Editor. To access a parameter that’s assigned to an animation track, open Track View, highlight the track’s Custom Attributes entry, and then right-click and choose View Attribute Dialog. • WorldUnits: Spinner (page 1–128) or Slider Edit/Delete—Opens the Edit Attributes/Parameters controls the parameter. dialog. The UI types available depend on which parameter type you specify.
Custom Attributes Size group Size group Width—Sets the width of the spinner. Width—Sets the width of the slider. Range group Range group From—Sets the minimum value of the spinner. From—Sets the minimum value of the slider. To—Sets the maximum value of the spinner. To—Sets the maximum value of the slider. Default—Sets the default value of the spinner. Default—Sets the default value of the slider.
130 Chapter 4: Object Properties Boolean UI Options rollout: Check Box Size group This is a standard 3ds Max check box that the user can turn on and off by clicking it with the mouse. Width—Sets the width of the check button. Height—Sets the height of the check button. Alignment group Left/Right/Center—Sets the alignment of the check button in the rollout. Offsets X/Y—Fine-tune the position of the check button on the horizontal and vertical axes.
Custom Attributes The item at the top of the array list is the default selection. Node UI Options rollout: Pick Button A node is any object in the 3ds Max scene. The Node UI element creates a button that, when clicked, lets the user pick a scene node other than the one to which the attribute is attached. After selecting the node, its name appears on the button. Size group Width—Sets the width of the pick button. Size group Width—Sets the width of the list. Height—Sets the height of the list.
132 Chapter 4: Object Properties Size group Width—Sets the width of the material/map button. Size group Width—Sets the width of the color picker. Height—Sets the height of the color picker. Alignment group Left/Right/Center—Sets the alignment of color picker in the rollout. Offsets X/Y—Fine-tune the position of the color picker on the horizontal and vertical axes. Height—Sets the height of the material/map button.
Parameter Collector Label group Label above text box—When off, the label (parameter name) appears to the left of the text box. When on, the label appears above the text box. EditText Default Text group Default Text—Enter any default text that should appear in the box before the user edits it. Collections are saved with their scenes and can be merged into other scenes.
134 Chapter 4: Object Properties 5. Click X Position: Bezier Float. 14. The parameter highlights. 6. Click OK to close the dialog. A new rollout named Parameters 1 appears, containing the X Position parameter. All the values display 0.0, as with Offset mode on the status bar coordinate display. 15. Use the spinner to set Y Position to 0.65. Note: A parameter in Parameter Collector can contain only a single value (e.g.
Parameter Collector To conclude this exercise, you’ll use Parameter Collector to set and edit animation keyframes. 23. On the Collection menu, turn on Show Keys In Track Bar if necessary. 24. On the 3ds Max status bar, turn on Auto Key. time and value as well as interpolation with other keys. The dialog is also available from the track bar right-click menu, but it’s much easier to access the data for a specific key from Parameter Collector. Interface 25. Change the Sphere Y Loc.
136 Chapter 4: Object Properties Also, you can open the Spinner Right-Click menu (page 2–278) by right-clicking a numeric field in Parameter Collector. Toolbar Display (page 3–755). When Absolute is chosen, modifying a value changes it to the exact amount you specify. When Relative is chosen, the displayed value is 0, and modifying the parameter adds the specified change to the original value. The actual value appears only in Absolute mode.
Parameter Collector Menu Bar Collector creates a new rollout to hold the parameters. etc. You can edit the value the same way as on the command panel or a dialog. Note: You can add several parameters at once by If a key exists for the value at the current frame, the spinner or swatch appears with red brackets at the corners. highlighting them in the dialog before clicking OK. Delete Selected—Deletes all selected parameters. Delete All—Deletes all parameters and rollouts.
138 Chapter 4: Object Properties collection. Enter a name for the duplicate selection in the editable field. Delete Collection—Removes the current collection from memory. Show Keys in Track Bar—Displays in the track bar (page 3–750) animation keys for all objects with Link to Object—Stores the current collection using a live link as part of an object in the scene. Any change to the collection instantly updates the version of the collection stored in the object.
Parameter Collector Menu Bar changing any parameter simultaneously changes all selected parameters of the same or similar type. Key All—Sets keys (page 3–1054) for all parameters at the current frame. Available only when Auto Key (page 3–760) is on. Note: The changed parameter need not be selected. Key Selected—Sets keys (page 3–1054) for selected Absolute/Relative—This works the same as the parameters only at the current frame. Available only when Auto Key (page 3–760) is on.
140 Chapter 4: Object Properties Notes Dialog (Parameter Collector) Interface Parameter Collector > Select one or more parameters. > Parameter Collector menu bar > Edit menu > Notes Parameter Collector > Right-click a Parameter Select button. The Notes dialog lets you enter a name, URL, and comments for one or more selected parameters in Parameter Collector. Choosing Notes from the Edit menu with multiple parameters selected opens a single dialog common to all selected parameters.
Expression Techniques selected parameter. To access the link, click the Go button. Scene element Calculatable property Modifiers Go—If the URL text box contains a valid URL, clicking Go opens the URL in a separate browser window. Any numeric modifier parameter (including creation parameters) Materials Colors [R, G, B] Notes—Contains any comments on the parameters. Note: Expressions only work with the individual This field is strictly for informational purposes. XYZ components of Euler rotation.
142 Chapter 4: Object Properties Operators In the following tables, p and q are any scalar value or expression, V and W are any vector value or expression. (The character "x" is used as the vector cross-product operator.) Scalar Operators These are the arithmetic operators for scalar values: Tip: Logical operators are useful with the "if " function. Vector Operators For vectors that have a variable name, you can use a special component operator (.
Expression Techniques Parentheses are a special case. They are a grouping or subexpression operator that is provided so you can override the precedence order of the other operators. Variable Name Meaning NT Normalized time. By definition, normalized time (NT) ranges from 0 to 1 over the active time segment, regardless of how many frames are in the segment. If you base an expression on NT, its effect happens exactly once over the range.
144 Chapter 4: Object Properties To use a function in an expression, enter the name of the function and appropriate arguments to it. Rounding Functions Function Meaning Trigonometric Functions ceil(p) smallest integer greater than or equal to p The sine, cosine, and tangent functions take an angle in degrees and return a floating-point value. The arc functions take a floating-point value and return a value in degrees.
Trigonometric Functions Note: The comp function is an alternative to the notation V.x, V.y, V.z. Special Animation Function Function Meaning noise(p,q,r) 3D noise: returns a randomly generated position The arbitrary values p, q and r, are used as a random-generation seed. You can reuse these values to ensure that noise() returns the same value.
146 Chapter 4: Object Properties applies to values of x restricted by –∏/2 ≤ X ≤ ∏/2. The graphs for these functions appear like the basic trigonometric function graphs, but turned on their sides. Graphs of basic arc functions The hyperbolic functions are based on the exponential constant e instead of on circular measurement. However, they behave similarly to the trigonometric functions and are named for them.
Vectors original two. Vector addition is commutative: V+W=W+V. Vector Length and Direction The length of a vector is obtained from the Pythagorean theorem. In 3ds Max expressions, the length() function returns this value. Adding two vectors The direction of the vector is the vector divided by its length; this gives you a unit vector with the same direction. Subtracting two vectors gives the vector between the two points. The distance between two points is the length of the vector between them.
148 Chapter 4: Object Properties
Creating Geometry The solid 3D objects in the scene, and the objects used to create them, are known as geometry. Usually, geometry comprises the subject of your scene and the objects that you render. Basics of Creating and Modifying Objects This section describes the types of geometry you can create using the Create panel (page 3–800).
150 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Creating an Object (page 1–152) Using the Modify Panel (page 1–485) Using the Modifier Stack (page 1–487) • Adjust the object’s parameters and position, either immediately or later. See Creating an Object (page 1–152). Editing the Stack (page 1–489) Create Panel Interface Modifying at the Sub-Object Level (page 1–492) Controls in the Create panel vary depending on the kind of object you are creating.
Identifying the Basic Building Blocks create the object. The creation method has no effect on a finished object; the options are for your convenience during creation. Keyboard Entry—This rollout lets you enter creation parameters from the keyboard for geometric primitive and shape objects. Parameters—This rollout shows creation parameters: the defining values for an object. Some parameters can be preset, while others are only for adjustment after an object has been created.
152 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry NURBS Curves—A Point Curve and CV Curve provide the starting points for complex surfaces. See Introduction to NURBS Modeling (page 1–1079). Extended Splines—More complex 2D shapes including Walled Rectangle, Channel Spline, Angle Spline, Tee Spline, and Wide Flange Spline. Extended splines can be used in architectural and similar applications.
Creating an Object To preset the creation parameters (optional): You can adjust all creation parameters after you create an object. Skip this step if you prefer. • In the Parameters rollout, you can set parameters before you create an object. However, the values of parameters you set by dragging the mouse (for example, the Radius and Height of a cylinder) have no effect until after you create the object. To create the object: 3. Sides increased 4.
154 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Naming objects is a good practice for organizing your scenes. To name a set of selected objects, see Named Selection Sets (page 1–67). to adjust the object’s parameters. See Using the Modify Panel (page 1–485). To change the object’s display color (optional): • The color swatch next to the object name field displays the selected object’s color and lets you select a new one. The color is the one used to display the object in viewports.
Object Color Dialog Object Color Dialog Click the color swatch by the object’s name in any command panel. The Object Color dialog contains two preset palettes of colors that you use to set an object’s wireframe color. This is also the surface color you see in a shaded viewport. • AutoCAD-compatible version: Contains a fixed palette of 256 colors matching the colors in the AutoCAD Color Index (ACI). Use this version when you want to assign object colors that match the AutoCAD Color Index.
156 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry To copy a custom color from an object in your scene to one of your custom color swatches: • Drag the Current Color swatch up to one of the custom color swatches. The Current Color swatch is in the Object Color dialog, to the left of the OK button. Add Custom Colors—This option is available only with the Default palette. Clicking this option displays the Color Selector (page 1–157), which allows you to modify the currently selected custom color.
Color Selector Dialog Color Selector Dialog Any command panel > Name and Color fields > Click color swatch. > Object Color dialog > Add Custom Colors button or Current Color swatch. Material Editor > Click any color swatch. Create panel or Modify panel > Create or select light object. > General Parameters rollout > Click light color swatch.
158 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Procedures • Drag the Saturation (Sat.) slider to the right. To display the Color Selector: • Use the Saturation spinner to increase saturation. 1. Click the color swatch of a color parameter such as the color of a light or of a material component. • Drag the Value (Val.) slider to the left. • Use the Value spinner to decrease the value. Note: The object color displayed by an object’s name in command panels use a different, Object Color dialog (page 1–155).
Color Clipboard Utility of the color controlled by that slider is used. If the slider is all the way to the right, the field reads 255. The maximum amount of that color is being used. shader (page 2–1520), you see a variation of the Color Selector. The spinners to the right of each slider are another way of setting the red, blue, or green component.
160 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry However, you can drag the color from one material to the color clipboard, switch to the other material, and then drag the color from the clipboard to the swatch in the new material. Note: The Color Selector invoked by this utility You can save and load color clipboard files. The saved file, which is given a .ccb (color clip board) extension, is an ASCII file that contains a palette description.
Viewing and Changing Normals Smoothing groups define whether a surface is • Meshes imported from other applications. rendered with sharp edges or smooth surfaces. Smoothing groups are numbers assigned to the faces of an object. Each face can carry any number of smoothing groups up to the maximum of 32. If two faces share an edge and share the same smoothing group, they render as a smooth surface. If they don’t share the same smoothing group, the edge between them renders as a corner.
162 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Unifying Normals Use Unify Normals to make normals point in a consistent direction. If an object has normals that are inconsistent (some point outward and others inward) the object will appear to have holes in its surface. Unify Normals is found on the Surface Properties rollout and on the Normal modifier.
Geometric Primitives • Turn on the Smooth check box on the Parameters rollout of a parametric object to set default smoothing for the object. • Turn on the Auto Smooth check box on the Rendering rollout of a spline shape to turn on smoothing. • Apply a Smooth modifier (page 1–818). If a Face sub-object selection is active, Smooth applies to the selected faces. If no faces are selected, Smooth applies to the entire object.
164 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Extended Primitives (page 1–181) Note: The buttons on the Creation Method rollout have no effect on keyboard entry. See also Basics of Creating and Modifying Objects (page 1–149) Creating an Object (page 1–152) Creating Primitives from the Keyboard (page 1–164) To create a primitive from the keyboard: 1. On the Keyboard Entry rollout, select a numeric field with the mouse and then enter a number. 2. Press TAB to move to the next field.
Standard Primitives Each standard primitive has the following parameters on its Keyboard Entry rollout.
166 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Plane Primitive (page 1–180) Also available from the Object Type rollout is the AutoGrid option (page 2–7). You can convert standard primitive objects to editable mesh objects (page 1–984), editable poly objects (page 1–1012), and NURBS surfaces. (page 1–1117) You can also convert primitives to patch objects; see the path annotation at Editable Patch (page 1–950) (the information at the start of the topic that tells you how to create this type of object).
Cone Primitive Interface Creation Method rollout Cube—Forces length, width, and height to be equal. Creating a cube is a one-step operation. Starting at the center of the cube, drag in a viewport to set all three dimensions simultaneously. You can change a cube’s individual dimensions in the Parameters rollout. Box—Creates a standard box primitive from one corner to the diagonally opposite corner, with different settings for length, width, and height.
168 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry 2. In any viewport, drag to define a radius for the base of the cone, then release to set it. 3. Move to up or down to define a height, either positive or negative, then click to set it. 4. Move to define a radius for the other end of the cone. Decrease this radius to 0 for a pointed cone. 5. Click to set the second radius and create the cone. number of height segments for smoothly shaded cones, particularly those with pointed tips.
Sphere Primitive Smooth—Blends the faces of the cone, creating a smooth appearance in rendered views. Slice On—Enables the Slice function. Default=off. When you create a slice and then turn off Slice On, the complete cone reappears. You can use this check box to switch between the two topologies. Slice From, Slice To—Sets the number of degrees around the local Z axis from a zero point at the local X axis.
170 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Parameters rollout Squash—Maintains the number of vertices and faces in the original sphere, "squashing" the geometry into a smaller and smaller volume toward the top of the sphere. Effects of Chop and Squash during hemisphere creation Slice On—Uses the From and To angles to create a partial sphere. The effect is similar to lathing a semicircular shape fewer than 360 degrees. Slice From—Sets the start angle. Slice To—Sets the stop angle.
GeoSphere Primitive Examples of geospheres Effect of using Base To Pivot setting Generate Mapping Coords—Generates coordinates for applying mapped materials to the sphere. Default=on. Real-World Map Size—Controls the scaling method used for texture mapped materials that are applied to the object. The scaling values are controlled by the Use Real-World Scale settings found in the applied material’s Coordinates rollout (page 2–1434). Default=off.
172 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Interface Creation Method rollout Diameter—Draws a geosphere from edge to edge. You can change the center location by moving the mouse. Center—Draws a geosphere from the center out. Parameters rollout size. The sphere can be divided into eight equal segments. • Icosa—Based on a 20-sided icosahedron. The facets are all equally sized equilateral triangles. The sphere can be divided into any number of equal segments, based on multiples and divisions of 20 faces.
Cylinder Primitive Parameters rollout Examples of cylinders Procedure To create a cylinder: 1. On the Create panel, choose Standard Primitives > Cylinder. 2. In any viewport, drag to define the radius of the base, then release to set the radius. 3. Move up or down to define a height, either positive or negative. 4. Click to set the height and create the cylinder. Interface Creation Method rollout Edge—Draws a cylinder from edge to edge. You can change the center location by moving the mouse.
174 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Smooth—The faces of the cylinder are blended together, creating a smooth appearance in rendered views. Slice On—Enables the Slice function. Default=off. When you create a slice and then turn off Slice On, the complete cylinder reappears. You can use this check box to switch between the two topologies. Slice From, Slice To—Sets the number of degrees around the local Z axis from a zero point at the local X axis.
Torus Primitive Parameters rollout Sides—Sets the number of sides around the tube. Higher numbers shade and render as true circles with Smooth on. Lower numbers create regular polygonal objects with Smooth off. Smooth—When on (the default), faces of the tube are blended together, creating a smooth appearance in rendered views. Slice On—Enables the Slice feature, which removes part of the tube’s circumference. Default=off. When you create a slice and then turn off Slice On, the complete tube reappears.
176 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry rotation and twist settings to create complex variations. Parameters rollout Examples of tori Procedure To create a torus: 1. From the Create menu, choose Standard Primitives > Torus. 2. In any viewport, drag to define a torus. 3. As you drag, a torus emerges with its center at the pivot point. 4. Release to set the radius of the torus ring. 5. Move to define the radius of the cross-sectional circle, then click to create the torus.
Pyramid Primitive • Sides—Smoothes the edges between adjacent segments, producing smooth bands running around the torus. • None—Turns off smoothing entirely, producing prism-like facets on the torus. Radius 1 and Radius 2 Rotation—Sets the degree of rotation. Vertices are uniformly rotated about the circle running through the center of the torus ring. Positive and negative values for this setting "roll" the vertices in either direction over the surface of the torus.
178 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Parameters rollout Examples of pyramids Procedure To create a Pyramid: 1. On the Create menu choose Standard Primitives > Pyramid. 2. Choose a creation method, either Base/Apex or Center. Note: Hold the CTRL key while using either creation method to constrain the base to a square. 3. In any viewport, drag to define the base of the pyramid.
Teapot Primitive you can choose which parts of the teapot to display after creation. To create a teapot part: 1. In Parameters rollout > Teapot Parts group, turn off all parts except the one you want to create. 2. Create a teapot. The part you left on appears. The pivot point remains at the center of the teapot’s base. 3. In Parameters rollout > Teapot Parts group, turn off all parts except the one you want.
180 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Parameters rollout Plane Primitive Create panel > Geometry button > Standard Primitives > Object Type rollout > Plane button Create menu > Standard Primitives > Plane The Plane object is a special type of flat polygon mesh that can be enlarged by any amount at render time. You can specify factors to magnify the size or number of segments, or both. Use the Plane object for creating a large-scale ground plane that doesn’t get in the way when working in a viewport.
Extended Primitives interactively setting different values for length and width. Square—Creates a square plane where length and width are equal. You can change dimensions in the Parameters rollout subsequent to creation. Parameters rollout Render Segs—Specifies the factor by which the number of segments in both length and width are multiplied at render time. Generate Mapping Coords—Generates coordinates for applying mapped materials to the plane. Default=on.
182 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry The remaining rollouts are covered in the topic for each primitive. Hedra Extended Primitive Create panel > Geometry button > Extended Primitives > Object Type rollout > Hedra button Create menu > Extended Primitives > Hedra Use Hedra to produce objects from several families of polyhedra.
Hedra Extended Primitive Interface Dodec/Icos—Creates a dodecahedron or icosahedron (depending on parameter settings). Star1/Star2—Creates two different star-like polyhedra. Tip: You can animate between Hedra types. Turn on the Auto Key button, go to any frame, and change the Family check box. There is no interpolation between types; the model simply jumps from a star to a cube or tetrahedron, and so on.
184 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry have the effect of pushing their corresponding facets in and out. Defaults=100. Torus Knot Extended Primitive Reset—Returns axes to their default setting. Create panel > Geometry > Extended Primitives > Object Type rollout > Torus Knot button Vertices group Create menu > Extended Primitives > Torus Knot Parameters in the Vertices group determine the internal geometry of each facet of a polyhedron.
Torus Knot Extended Primitive Interface Parameters rollout > Cross Section group Creation Method rollout Diameter—Draws the object from edge to edge. You can change the center location by moving the mouse. Radius—Draws the object from the center out. Parameters rollout > Base Curve group Provides parameters that affect the cross section of the torus knot. Radius—Sets the radius of the cross section. Sides—Sets the number of sides around the cross section.
186 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Provides options to alter the smoothing displayed or rendered of the torus knot. This smoothing does not displace or tesselate the geometry, it only adds the smoothing group information. All—Smoothes the entire torus knot. Sides—Smoothes only the adjacent sides of the torus knot. None—The torus knot is faceted. Parameters rollout > Mapping Coordinates group Examples of chamfered boxes Procedures To create a standard chamfered box: 1.
ChamferCyl Extended Primitive Interface Creation Method rollout Cube—Forces length, width, and height to be equal. You can change a cube’s individual dimensions in the Parameters rollout. Box—Creates a standard chamfered box primitive from one corner to the diagonally opposite corner, with individual settings for length, width, and height. Parameters rollout Smooth—Blends the display of the faces of the chamfered box, creating a smooth appearance in rendered views.
188 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry 2. Drag the mouse to define the radius of the base of the chamfered cylinder. 3. Release the mouse button, and then move the mouse vertically to define the height of the cylinder. Click to set the height. 4. Move the mouse diagonally to define the width of the fillet, or chamfer (toward the upper left increases the width; toward the lower right decreases it). 5. Click to finish the cylinder. Interface Creation Method rollout Edge—Draws the object from edge to edge.
OilTank Extended Primitive Generate Mapping Coords—Generates coordinates for applying mapped materials to the chamfered cylinder. Default=on. Real-World Map Size—Controls the scaling method used for texture mapped materials that are applied to the object. The scaling values are controlled by the Use Real-World Scale settings found in the applied material’s Coordinates rollout (page 2–1434). Default=off.
190 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry The maximum value is the Radius setting, unless the absolute value of the Height setting is less than the double Radius setting, in which case cap height cannot exceed ½ of the absolute value of the Height setting. Overall/Centers—Determines what the Height value specifies. Overall is the overall height of the object. Centers is the height of the midsection of the cylinder, not including its convex caps. Blend—When greater than 0, creates a bevel at the edge of the caps.
Spindle Extended Primitive Interface Height Segs—Sets the number of divisions along Creation Method rollout the capsule’s major axis. Edge—Draws the object from edge to edge. You Smooth—Blends the faces of the capsule, creating a smooth appearance in rendered views. can change the center location by moving the mouse. Center—Draws the object from the center out. Parameters rollout Slice On—Turns on the Slice function. Default=off.
192 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Parameters rollout Examples of spindles Procedure To create a spindle: 1. From the Create menu, choose Extended Primitives > Spindle. 2. Drag the mouse to define the radius of the base of the spindle. 3. Release the mouse button, and then move the mouse vertically to define the height of the spindle. Click to set the height. 4.
L-Ext Extended Primitive circles with Smooth on. Lower numbers create regular polygonal objects with Smooth off. Cap Segs—Sets the number of concentric divisions along the center of the spindle’s top and bottom. Height Segs—Sets the number of divisions along the spindle’s major axis. Smooth—Blends the faces of the spindle, creating a smooth appearance in rendered views. Slice On—Turns on the Slice function. Default=off. When you create a slice and then turn off Slice On, the complete spindle reappears.
194 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Parameters rollout found in the applied material’s Coordinates rollout (page 2–1434). Default=off. Gengon Extended Primitive Create panel > Geometry button > Extended Primitives > Object Type rollout > Gengon button Create menu > Extended Primitives > Gengon Use Gengon to create an extruded, regular-sided polygon with optionally filleted side edges. Side/Front Length—Specify the lengths of each "leg" of the L.
C-Ext Extended Primitive 6. Click to finish the gengon. Tip: In the Parameters rollout, increase the Fillet Segs spinner to round the chamfered corners into fillets. Interface Creation Method rollout Edge—Draws the object from edge to edge. You can change the center location by moving the mouse. Center—Draws the object from the center out. Parameters rollout Side Segs—Sets the number of divisions around the gengon. Height Segs—Sets the number of divisions along the gengon’s major axis.
196 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Procedure Parameters rollout To create a C-Ext object: 1. From the Create menu, choose Extended Primitives > C-Extrusion. 2. Drag the mouse to define the base. (Press CTRL to constrain the base to a square.) 3. Release the mouse and move it vertically to define the height of the C-extrusion. 4. Click, and then move the mouse vertically to define the thickness or width of the walls of the C-extrusion. 5. Click to finish the C-extrusion.
RingWave Extended Primitive Generate Mapping Coords—Sets up the required coordinates for applying mapped materials to the object. Default=on. Real-World Map Size—Controls the scaling method used for texture mapped materials that are applied to the object. The scaling values are controlled by the Use Real-World Scale settings found in the applied material’s Coordinates rollout (page 2–1434). Default=off.
198 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Interface RingWave Size group Parameters rollout Use these settings to change the ringwave’s basic parameters. Radius—Sets the outside radius of the ringwave. Radial Segs—Sets the segment count between the inner and outer surfaces in the direction of the radius. Ring Width—Sets the mean ring width as measured inward from the outer radius. Sides—Sets the number of segments in the circumferential direction for both the inner, outer, and end (cap) surfaces.
RingWave Extended Primitive Start Time—The frame number where the ringwave appears, and begins to grow if you choose Grow and Stay or Cyclic Growth. Grow Time—The number of frames after Start Time the ringwave takes to reach full size. Grow Time is available only if Grow and Stay or Cyclic Growth is chosen. End Time—The frame number after which the ringwave disappears. Inner Edge Breakup group Use these settings to change the shape of the ringwave’s inner edge. On—Turns on the breakup of the inner edge.
200 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Smooth—Applies smoothing to the object by setting all polygons to smoothing group 1. Default=on. To create a prism with a scalene or obtuse triangle at its base: 1. Choose Base/Apex in the Creation Method rollout. Prism Extended Primitive Create panel > Geometry button > Extended Primitives > Object Type rollout > Prism button Create menu > Extended Primitives > Prism Use Prism to create a three-sided prism with independently segmented sides. 2.
Hose Extended Primitive Side (n) Length—Sets the length of triangle’s Procedures corresponding side (and thus the triangle’s corner angles). To create a hose: Height—Sets the dimension of the prism’s central axis. 1. From the menu bar, choose Create > Extended Primitives > Hose. 2. Drag the mouse to define the radius of the hose. Side (n) Segs—Specifies the number of segments for each side of the prism. 3.
202 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Bound to Object Pivots—Choose this when binding the hose to two objects, using the buttons in the Binding Objects group. Hose Parameters rollout > Binding Objects group the bend occur further away from the Top object. Default=100. Bottom (label)—Displays the name of the "bottom" binding object. Pick Bottom Object—Click this button and then select the "bottom" object.
Hose Extended Primitive Hose Parameters rollout > Common Hose Parameters group enough to support the number of cycles, then not all cycles will appear. Default=5. Tip: To set the appropriate number of segments, first set Cycles, and then increase Segments until the number of visible cycles stops changing. Diameter—The relative width of the "outside" parts of the cycles. At negative settings, these are smaller than the overall hose diameter.
204 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Hose Parameters rollout > Hose Shape group Fillet—The amount by which the cross-section corners are rounded. For this to be visible, Fillet Segs must be set to 1 or higher. Default=0. Fillet Segs—The number of segments across each filleted corner. A Fillet Segs setting of 1 cuts the corner straight across; use higher settings for rounded corners. Default=0. Rotation—The orientation of the hose along its long axis. Default=0.
AEC Extended Objects Creating Architectural Objects This section provides general information about these features. For detailed explanations and procedures, see the topics listed below: Doors (page 1–241) Windows (page 1–248) Stairs (page 1–226) AEC Extended Objects Create panel > Geometry > AEC Extended AEC Extended objects are designed for use in the architectural, engineering, and construction fields. Use Foliage to create plants, Railing to create railings and fences, and Wall to create walls.
206 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry 4. Make parameter adjustments to define details. Additional Parameters The width and orientation of the door/window is always defined by the first mouse click and subsequent mouse drag. Depending on the creation method you use, either the height or depth of the object is defined next.
Working with AEC Design Elements make. Rail paths can occupy three-dimensional space. When you create the lower rails, posts, and fencing components of a Railing object, you use a special version of the Spacing Tool to specify the spacing of those components. The program displays the Spacing Tool dialog for each railing component: Lower Rail, Post Spacing, or Picket Spacing. For more information on the Spacing Tool, see Spacing Tool (page 1–440).
208 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry This creates a wall segment. You can end the wall or you can continue to create another wall segment. 4. To complete the wall, right-click, or to add another wall segment, drag the next wall segment to the length you want and click again. If you create a room by ending a segment at the end of another segment of the same wall object, the program displays the Weld Point dialog.
Foliage Foliage Create panel > Geometry > AEC Extended > Foliage button Create menu > AEC Objects > Foliage Tips • Use the Spacing tool (page 1–440) to place plants along a path. • Use vertex or face snapping (see Snaps Settings (page 2–38)) to position plants on a surface. Foliage produces various types of plant objects such tree species. 3ds Max generates mesh representations to create fast, efficient, and good-looking plants.
210 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry information, see Object Name and Wireframe Color (page 3–800). When Favorite Plants rollout > Automatic Materials is on, each plant is assigned its own default material. For more information, see Favorite Plants rollout, following. Keyboard Entry rollout See Creating Primitives from the Keyboard (page 1–164). Favorite Plants rollout • Click the icon in the Favorite Plants list and then click a location in a viewport.
Foliage entry switches between "no" and "yes." Click OK to accept the changes and exit the window. Parameters rollout Two trees with varying foliage densities Pruning—Applies only to plants with branches. Removes branches that lie below an invisible plane parallel to the construction plane. A value of 0 prunes nothing, a value of .5 prunes the plant at a plane halfway up its height from the construction plane, and a value of 1 prunes everything possible from the plant.
212 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Show group Controls the display of leaves, fruit, flowers, trunk, branches, and roots of plants. Available options depend on the type of plant you select. For example, if a plant doesn’t have fruit, 3ds Max disables that option. Turning off options reduces the number of vertices and faces displayed. Viewport Canopy Mode group Level-of-Detail group Controls how 3ds Max renders the plant.
Railing Material ID Railing/Material Component 1 Lower rails 2 Posts of the railing 3 Solid fill of the railing 4 Top of the railing 5 Pickets of the railing Note: 3ds Max does not automatically assign a material to the railing object. To use the included material, open the library and then assign the material to your object. Railings used to create fences in a field.
214 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry 2. Specify the depth and width for the lower rails and then click the Lower Rail(s) > Spacing button. 3. Specify the number of lower rails you want using the Count option. Click Close to apply your changes. For more information on spacing options in this dialog, see Spacing Tool (page 1–440). To create posts: 1. If you want to modify the posts, or add more, choose an option from the Profile list under the Posts rollout. 2.
Railing Railing rollout Note: Railing objects that use Pick Path do not stay on the path when substituted using the Substitute modifier. Substituted externally referenced railings do not undo when railings are associated with a path. Segments—Sets the number of segments of the railing object. Available only when you’re using a railing path. For a close approximation to a railing path, increase the number of segments.
216 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Width—Sets the width of the top rail. Height—Sets the height of the top rail. During creation, you can drag the top rail to the height you want using the mouse in the viewport. Or you can enter the height amount from the keyboard or use the spinners. Lower Rail(s) group Controls the profile, depth, width, and spacing between the lower rails. You specify how many lower rails you want using the Lower Rail Spacing button.
Railing Tip: Setting Profile to (none) makes an "invisible" post. You might want to do this to create a railing with gaps between solid fill fencing. Or you could use it to make a railing with openings between groups of pickets. This is different from setting the post count to 0 in the Post Spacing dialog. Fencing rollout 1. A railing with pickets using a square profile 2. A railing with pickets using a round profile Profile—Sets the cross-section shape of the pickets.
218 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Wall Create panel > Geometry > AEC Extended > Object Type rollout > Wall button Create menu > AEC Objects > Wall The Wall object is made up of three sub-object types that you can edit in the Modify panel. Similarly to the way you edit splines, you can edit the wall object (page 1–223), its vertices (page 1–223), its segments (page 1–224), and its profile (page 1–225). When you create two wall segments that meet at a corner, 3ds Max removes any duplicate geometry.
Wall movement and editing, you might consider using multiple walls instead of a single wall. • You can speed up performance in a scene with many walls, windows and doors by collapsing them. First save an uncollapsed version for any future parametric changes you might want to make. Then double-click the wall to select it and its children. Next use Convert To from the right-click menu to convert them to an editable mesh, and so on.
220 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry 2. In the modifier stack (page 3–802), go to the Vertex sub-object level. 3. Click Insert. A highlighted line appears along the bottom of the wall, showing where you can insert vertices. 4. Click anywhere on the highlighted line to insert a vertex. The new vertex is attached to the mouse cursor. 5. Move the mouse to position the vertex, and then click to place it. Now the mouse is attached to one of the new segments. 6.
Wall designed for use with walls. You can copy or copy and modify this template, or create your own material as follows: Multi/Sub-Object material (page 2–1403) using five textures for the following 1.
222 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Interface Note: If you designate a curved spline as the Keyboard Entry rollout path, 3ds Max creates straight wall segments that approximate the spline as closely as possible, with one wall segment per spline segment. Parameters rollout X—Sets the coordinate position along the X axis for the start point of a wall segment in the active construction plane.
Editing Wall Objects Right—Justifies the wall at the right edge of its Justification group baseline. If you turn Grid Snap on, the right edge of the wall’s baseline snaps to the grid line. See Justification (page 1–222). Generate Mapping Coords—Assigns mapping coordinates (page 3–1061) to the wall. Default=on. Real-World Map Size—Controls the scaling method used for texture mapped materials that are applied to the object.
224 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry become disconnected, and each has its own end vertex at the position of the previously shared vertex. Refine—Adds a vertex to the position along a wall segment that you click. When you move the cursor over a valid Refine point, the mouse icon changes to a Refine icon. Insert—Inserts one or more vertices, creating additional segments. When you move the cursor over the a valid Insert point, the mouse icon changes to an Insert icon.
Editing Wall Objects Divide—Subdivides each segment by the number of vertices specified in the Divisions spinner. Select one or more segments, set the Divisions spinner, and then click Divide. can insert and delete vertices along the horizontal edges, move an inserted vertex along the grid to change the profile, create gables, and change the grid properties. Divisions—Sets the number by which to divide the segment. Insert—Provides the same function as the Insert button in Vertex sub-object selection.
226 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Grid Properties group Material ID Railing/Material Component The grid constricts profile point insertion and movement to the plane of the wall and allows you to snap to grid points on the plane of the wall. 5 Handrails of the stairs 6 Carriage of the stairs 7 Stringers of the stairs Width—Sets the width of the active grid. Length—Sets the length of the active grid. Spacing—Sets the size of the smallest square in the active grid.
L-Type Stair Interface Object Type rollout 3. Adjust the stairs by using the options in the Parameters rollout. Interface Parameters rollout > Type group Stair Selection Buttons—Click one of these to specify the type of stairs you want to create. Name and Color rollout Open—Creates an open riser stair, as shown on the left in the illustration above. This rollout lets you set the stairs object’s name and color. For detailed information, see Object Name and Wireframe Color (page 3–800).
228 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry handrails’ height, offset, number of segments, and radius. the spinner values of the parameter with the raised push pins to change. Rail Path—Creates left and right paths you can use Overall—Controls the height of the flight of stairs. to install railings on the stairs. See Stairs (page 1–226) for the instructions on how to do this. Riser Ht—Controls the height of the risers. Riser Ct—Controls the number of risers.
L-Type Stair Depth—Controls the depth of the steps. Width—Controls the width of the stringers. Offset—Controls the vertical distance of the stringers from the floor. Step depth variance between two stairs Generate Mapping Coords—Applies default Spring from Floor—Controls whether the stringer starts at the floor, flush with the start of the first riser, or if the stringer extends below the floor. You control the amount the stringer extends below the floor with the Offset option.
230 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry information on spacing options in this dialog, see Spacing Tool (page 1–440). Spring from Floor—Controls whether the carriage starts at the floor, flush with the start of the first riser, or if the carriage extends below the floor. You control the amount the carriage extends below the floor with the Offset option. Radius—Controls the thickness of the railings.
Spiral Stair Closed—Creates a closed riser stair, as shown in the center of the illustration above. Layout group Box—Creates a stair with closed risers and closed stringers on both sides, as shown on the right of the illustration above. Generate Geometry group CCW—Orients the spiral stairs to be a right-hand flight of stairs. CW—Orients the spiral stairs to be a left-hand flight of stairs. Stringers—Creates stringers along the ends of the treads of the stairs.
232 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry allows the spinner values of the parameter with the raised pushpins to change. Overall—Controls the height of the flight of stairs. Riser Ht—Controls the height of the risers. Riser Ct—Controls the number of risers. There will Step thickness variance between two stairs always be one more riser than steps. This implied riser is between the top step of the stair and the upper floor. Depth—Controls the depth of the steps.
Spiral Stair Depth—Controls how far down the stringers reach toward the floor. Width—Controls the width of the stringers. Offset—Controls the vertical distance of the stringers from the floor. Spring from Floor—Controls whether the stringer starts at the floor, flush with the start of the first riser, or if the stringer extends below the floor. You control the amount the stringer extends below the floor with the Offset option. Depth—Controls how far down the carriage reaches toward the floor.
234 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Radius—Controls the radius size of the center pole. Segments—Controls the number of segments in the center pole. Higher values display a smoother pole. Height—Controls the height of the railings from Height—The spinner controls the height of the ends of the steps. center pole. Turning on Height lets you adjust the height of the pole independently of the stairs.
Straight Stair Procedures To create straight stairs: 1. In any viewport, drag to set the length. Release the mouse button, then move the cursor and click to set the width you want. 2. Move the cursor up or down to define the rise of the stairs, and click to end. 3. Adjust the stairs with the options in the Parameters rollout.
236 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Riser Ct—Controls the number of risers. There will always be one more riser than steps. This implied riser is between the top step of the stair and the upper floor. Step depth variance between two stairs Generate Mapping Coords—Applies default mapping coordinates (page 3–1061) to the stairs. Note: If a visible viewport is set to a non-wireframe Linear stair with five risers 1 through 4. Risers 5. The implied riser 6. The upper floor you snap to 7.
Straight Stair Offset—Controls the vertical distance of the information on spacing options in this dialog, see stringers from the floor. Spacing Tool (page 1–440). Spring from Floor—Controls whether the stringer starts at the floor, flush with the start of the first riser, or if the stringer extends below the floor. You control the amount the stringer extends below the floor with the Offset option.
238 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Radius—Controls the thickness of the railings. U-Type Stair Open—Creates an open riser stair as shown on the left in the illustration above. Closed—Creates a closed riser stair as shown in the center in the illustration above. Create panel > Geometry > Stairs > U-Type Stair button Box—Creates a stair with closed risers and closed Create menu > AEC Objects > U-Type Stair stringers on both sides as shown on the right in the illustration above.
U-Type Stair Layout group Riser Ct—Controls the number of risers. There will always be one more riser than steps. This implied riser is between the top step of the stair and the upper floor. Left/Right—Controls the position of the two flights (Length 1 and Length 2) relative to each other. If you select left, then the second flight is on the left from the landing. If you select right, then the second flight is the right from the landing. Length 1—Controls the length of the first flight of stairs.
240 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Offset—Controls the vertical distance of the stringers from the floor. Step depth variance between two stairs Generate Mapping Coords—Applies default Spring from Floor—Controls whether the stringer starts at the floor, flush with the start of the first riser, or if the stringer extends below the floor. You control the amount the stringer extends below the floor with the Offset option. mapping coordinates (page 3–1061) to the stairs.
Doors information on spacing options in this dialog, see Spacing Tool (page 1–440). Spring from Floor—Controls whether the carriage starts at the floor, flush with the start of the first riser, or if the carriage extends below the floor. You control the amount the carriage extends below the floor with the Offset option. Radius—Controls the thickness of the railings. Doors Create panel > Geometry > Doors Create menu > AEC Objects Left: The carriage springing from the floor. (Spring From Floor on.
242 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Doors and Materials By default, 3ds Max assigns five different material IDs to doors. The aectemplates.mat material library includes Door-Template, a multi/sub-object material designed to be used with doors. Each component of the door/material is listed below along with its corresponding Material ID. Material ID Door/Material Component 1 Front 2 Back 3 Inner Bevel (used for glazing when Panels set to Glass or Beveled).
Doors 6. Optionally, change the sub-material names to those specified in the above table. 7. Edit the material as you would any Multi/Sub-Object material. BiFold—Hinged in the middle as well as the side, like many closet doors. You can also use this type of door to make a set of double doors. See BiFold Door (page 1–247). To animate a door: Name and Color rollout You can animate a door opening and closing by keyframing the Open setting. See Object Name and Wireframe Color (page 3–800). 1.
244 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Note: With this method, the depth is perpendicular to the plane set by the first three points. Thus, if you draw the door in the Top or Perspective viewport, the door lies flat on the active grid. Allow Non-vertical Jambs—Lets you create tilted doors. Set snaps (page 2–35) to define points off the construction plane. Default=off. Parameters rollout Frame group This rollout has controls for the door-jamb frame.
Doors Leaf Parameters rollout Bottom Rail—Sets the width of the panel framing at the base of the door. This setting is apparent only if the door is paneled. # Panels Horiz.—Sets the number of panel divisions along the horizontal axis. # Panels Vert.—Sets the number of panel divisions along the vertical axis. Muntin—Sets the width of the separations between the panels. Panels group Determines how panels are created in the door. None—The door has no paneling. Glass—Creates glass panels with no beveling.
246 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Pivot Door Interface Parameters rollout Create panel > Geometry > Doors > Pivot button Create menu > AEC Objects > Pivot Door The Pivot door is hinged on one side only. You can also make the door a double door, with two door elements, each hinged on its outer edge. Single and double pivot doors This topic describes only controls and behavior unique to the Pivot door. Most door parameters are common to all kinds of doors; see Doors (page 1–241).
BiFold Door Flip Side— Changes the current sliding element to the stationary element, and vice versa. BiFold Door Create panel > Geometry > Doors > BiFold button Create menu > AEC Objects > BiFold Door Sliding doors with different numbers of panels The BiFold door is hinged in the middle as well as on the side. It has two door elements. You can also make the door a double door, with four door elements. This topic describes only controls and behavior unique to the Sliding door.
248 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Interface Parameters rollout Windows Create panel > Geometry > Windows Create menu > AEC Objects The window object lets you control details of a window’s appearance. You can also set the window to be open, partially open, or closed, and you can animate the opening over time. The Parameters rollout contains three check boxes specific to BiFold doors.
Windows Windows and Materials By default, 3ds Max assigns five different material IDs to windows. The aectemplates.mat material library includes Window-Template, a multi/sub-object material designed to be used with windows. Each component of the window/material is listed below along with its corresponding Material ID.
250 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry 7. Edit the material as you would any Multi/Sub-Object material. To animate a window: You can animate a window opening and closing by keyframing the Open setting. 1. Create a window or select an existing window. 2. If using an existing window, also access the Modify panel. 3. Set the Parameters rollout > Open parameter to the amount you want the window to be open at the start of the animation. If you want it to be closed, set it to 0. 4.
Awning Window Note: With this method, the depth is perpendicular to the plane set by the first three points. Thus, if you draw the window in the Top or Perspective viewport, the door lies flat on the active grid. Vert. Width—Sets the width of the vertical part of the window frame (at the sides). This setting also affects the glazed portion of the window’s height. Allow Non-vertical Jambs—Select to create tilted also controls the thickness of casements or railings on the window’s sashes. windows.
252 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Interface Parameters rollout Casement Window Create panel > Geometry > Windows > Casement button Create menu > AEC Objects > Casement Window The Casement window has one or two sashes that are hinged on the side, like a door. Casement window The topic for each kind of window describes its unique controls and behavior. Some window parameters are common to all kinds of windows; see Windows (page 1–248).
Fixed Window Interface Open Window group Parameters rollout Open—Specifies the percent that the window is open. This control is animatable. Flip Swing—Turn this on to have the sashes open in the opposite direction. Fixed Window Create panel > Geometry > Windows > Fixed button Create menu > AEC Objects > Fixed Window Fixed windows do not open, thus have no Open Window control.
254 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Interface window. When Chamfered Profile is off, the rails have a rectangular profile. Pivoted Window Create panel > Geometry > Windows > Pivoted button Create menu > AEC Objects > Pivoted Window A pivoted window has one sash only, hinged midway through the side of the sash. It can swing open either vertically or horizontally. Parameters rollout The topic for each kind of window describes its unique controls and behavior.
Projected Window Interface Open Window group Parameters rollout Open—Specifies the percent that the window is open. This control is animatable. Projected Window Create panel > Geometry > Windows > Projected button Create menu > AEC Objects > Projected Window Projected windows have three sashes: The top sash doesn’t move, while the bottom two sashes swing open like awning windows, but in opposite directions.
256 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Interface Open Window group Parameters rollout Open—Specifies the percent that the two movable sashes are open. This control is animatable. Sliding Window Create panel > Geometry > Windows > Sliding button Create menu > AEC Objects > Sliding Window Sliding windows have two sashes: one fixed, one movable. The sliding part can move either vertically or horizontally. Sliding windows The topic for each kind of window describes its unique controls and behavior.
Shapes Interface Chamfered Profile—Chamfers the rails between Parameters rollout the glazed panels, as in a conventional wooden window. When Chamfered Profile is off, the rails have a rectangular profile. Open Window group Hung—When on, the window slides vertically. When off, the window slides horizontally. Open— Specifies the percent that the window is open. This control is animatable.
258 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry • Define motion paths The program supplies 11 basic spline shape objects, plus two types of NURBS curves. You can quickly create these shapes using mouse or keyboard entry and combine them to form compound shapes. See Splines (page 1–261) for information about the methods and parameters used to create these shapes. Creating Shapes To access the shape creation tools, go to the Create panel and click the Shapes button.
Shapes 3. If you plan to assign a mapped material to the spline, turn on Generate Mapping Coords. When Enable in Renderer is on, the shape is rendered using a circle as a cross section. Mapping coordinates are generated with U mapped once around the perimeter, and V mapped once along the length. The software provides more control over renderable shapes; viewports, including wireframe viewports, can display the geometry of renderable shapes. The rendering parameters for shapes appear in their own rollout.
260 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry • You can use a Path constraint (page 2–380) to use a shape to control object motion. • You can convert a shape into position keys using the Motion panel > Trajectories > Convert From function (see Trajectories (page 2–296)).
Splines and Extended Splines Donut Spline (page 1–271) NGon Spline (page 1–272) Star Spline (page 1–272) Text Spline (page 1–273) Helix Spline (page 1–276) Section Spline (page 1–277) Extended Splines include the following object types: Intersection points highlighted by Shape Check WRectangle Spline (page 1–279) Channel Spline (page 1–280) Interface Angle Spline (page 1–281) Pick Object—Click this button, and then click the Tee Spline (page 1–282) shape for the utility to check.
262 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry • You can go back and change the parameters of a shape containing a single spline after the shape is created. • You can create a compound shape by adding splines to a shape: Select the shape, turn off Start New Shape, and then create more splines. • You cannot change the parameters of a compound shape. For example, create a compound shape by creating a circle and then adding an arc. Once you create the arc, you cannot change the circle parameters.
Splines and Extended Splines You can animate render parameters, such as the number of sides, but you cannot animate the Viewport settings. You can convert the displayed mesh into a mesh object by applying an Edit Mesh or Edit Poly modifier or converting to an editable mesh or editable poly object. If Enable In Viewport is off when converting, closed shapes will be “filled in” and open shapes will contain only vertices; no edges or faces.
264 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Length—Specifies the size of the cross–section along the local Y axis. Width—Specifies the size of the cross–section along the local X axis. Angle—Adjusts the rotational position of the cross-section in the viewport or renderer. For example, if you have a square cross-section you can use Angle to position a "flat" side down. Aspect—Sets the aspect ratio for rectangular cross-sections. The Lock check box lets you lock the aspect ratio.
Line Spline Many spline tools use the Creation Methods rollout. On this rollout you choose to define splines by either their center point or their diagonal. Edge—Your first mouse press defines a point on the side or at a corner of the shape and you drag a diameter or the diagonal corner. Center—Your first mouse press defines the center of the shape and you drag a radius or corner point.
266 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry • Click the first vertex and click Yes in the "Close spline?" dialog to create a closed spline. To create a line using rectilinear and angle-snap options: These two options aid in creating regular shapes: • While creating a spline with the mouse, press and hold SHIFT to constrain new points to 90-degree-angle increments from previous points. Use the default Initial type setting of Corner and click all subsequent points to create fully rectilinear shapes.
Rectangle Spline Corner—Produces a sharp point. The spline is linear to either side of the vertex. Smooth—Produces a smooth, nonadjustable curve Close—Closes the shape, adding a final spline segment between the most recent vertex and the first. through the vertex. The amount of curvature is set by the spacing of the vertices. Finish—Finishes the spline without closing it. Drag Type group Rectangle Spline Sets the type of vertex you create when you drag a vertex location.
268 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Creation Method rollout The Rectangle shape uses the standard creation methods of Center or Edge. Most spline-based shapes share the same Creation Method parameters. See Splines (page 1–261) for an explanation of these parameters. Parameters rollout Example of circle Procedure Once you have created a rectangle, you can make changes using the following parameters: To create a circle: Length—Specifies the size of the rectangle along 1. the local Y axis.
Ellipse Spline Once you have created a circle, you can make changes using the following parameter: Radius—Specifies the radius of the circle. Ellipse Spline Create panel > Shapes > Splines > Object Type rollout > Ellipse Creation Method rollout The Ellipse shape uses the standard creation methods of Center or Edge. Most spline-based shapes share the same Creation Method parameters. See Splines (page 1–261) for an explanation of these parameters.
270 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Creation Method rollout These options determine the sequence of mouse clicks involved in the creation of the arc. End-End-Middle—Drag and release to set the two Creating an arc using the End-End-Middle creation method endpoints of the arc, and then click to specify the third point between the two endpoints. To create an arc using the center-end-end method: Center-End-End—Press the mouse button to specify Go to the Create panel and choose 1. Shapes. 2. Click Arc.
Donut Spline 3. Choose a creation method. 4. Drag and release the mouse button to define the first donut circle. Closed pie slice arcs Reverse—When on, the direction of the arc spline is reversed, and the first vertex is placed at the opposite end of an open arc. As long as the shape remains an original shape (and not an editable spline), you can switch its direction by toggling Reverse.
272 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry NGon Spline Parameters rollout Create panel > Shapes > Splines > Object Type rollout > NGon Create menu > Shapes > NGon Use NGon to create closed flat-sided or circular splines with any number (N) of sides or vertices. Once you have created an NGon, you can make changes using the following parameters: Radius—Specifies the NGon radius.
Text Spline Radius 1—Specifies the radius of the inner vertices (the valley) of the star. Radius 2—Specifies the radius of the outer vertices (the points) of the star. Points—Specifies the number of points on the star. Range=3 to 100. Examples of stars A star has twice as many vertices as the specified number of points. Half the vertices lie on one radius, forming points, and the remaining vertices lie on the other radius, forming valleys.
274 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry • Click in a viewport to place the text in the scene. • Drag the text into position and release the mouse button. To enter a special Windows character: 1. Hold down the ALT key. 2. Enter the character’s numeric value on the numeric keypad. You must use the numeric keypad, not the row of numbers above the alphabetic keys. Examples of text You can edit the text in the Create panel, or later in the Modify panel.
Text Spline Parameters rollout Align Right—Aligns text to the right side of its bounding box. Justify—Spaces all lines of text to fill the extents of the bounding box. Note: The four text-alignment buttons require multiple lines of text for effect because they act on the text in relation to its bounding box. If there’s only one line of text, it’s the same size as its bounding box. Size—Sets the text height where the height measuring method is defined by the active font.
276 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Helix Spline Create panel > Shapes > Splines > Object Type rollout > Helix Create menu > Shapes > Helix Use Helix to create open flat or 3D spirals. Interpolation The helix differs from other spline-based shapes in that it always uses adaptive interpolation: the number of vertices in a helix is determined by the number of turns. Creation Method rollout The Helix shape uses the standard creation methods of Center or Edge.
Section Spline Helical spline varied only by bias settings • A bias of –1.0 forces the turns toward the start of the helix. • A bias of 0.0 evenly distributes the turns between the ends. Red line shows the section shape based on the structure. • A bias of 1.0 forces the turns toward the end of the helix. Procedure To create and use a section shape: CW/CCW—The direction buttons set whether the Helix turns clockwise (CW) or counterclockwise (CCW). Go to the Create panel and choose 1. Shapes. 2.
278 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Interface Rendering and Interpolation rollouts All spline-based shapes share these parameters. See Splines (page 1–261) for an explanation of these parameters. Section Parameters rollout while you move it. Click the Update Section button to update the intersection. Manually—Updates the intersection line only when you click the Update Section button.
WRectangle Spline Provides spinners that let you adjust the length and width of the displayed section rectangle. Length/Width—Adjust the length and width of the displayed section rectangle. Note: If you convert the section grid to an editable spline, it’s converted to a shape based on the current cross section. 3. Click WRectangle. 4. Drag and release the mouse button to define the outer rectangle. 5. Move the mouse and then click to define the inner rectangle.
280 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry and exterior corners of the wrectangle. It also maintains the thickness of the section. Default=on. Procedure To create a channel: Corner Radius 1—Controls the radius of all four interior and exterior corners of the section. If Sync Corner Fillets is turned off, Corner Radius 1 controls the radius of the four exterior corners of the wrectangle. Corner Radius 2—Controls the radius of the four interior corners of the wrectangle.
Angle Spline Length—Controls the height of the vertical web of the channel. Width—Controls the width of the top and bottom horizontal legs of the channel. Thickness—Controls the thickness of both legs of the angle. Example of Angle Sync Corner Fillets—When turned on, Corner Radius 1 controls the radius of both the interior and exterior corners between the vertical web and horizontal legs. It also maintains the thickness of the channel. Default=on.
282 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Parameters rollout Tee Spline Create panel > Shapes > Extended Splines > Object Type rollout > Tee Create menu > Shapes > Tee Use Tee to create a closed T-shaped spline. You can specify the radius of the two interior corners between the vertical web and horizontal flange of the section. Length—Controls the height of the vertical leg of the angle. Width—Controls the width of the horizontal leg of the angle. Thickness—Controls the thickness of both legs of the angle.
Wide Flange Spline Creation Method rollout The Tee shape uses the standard creation methods of Center or Edge. Most spline-based shapes share the same Creation Method parameters. For explanations, see Splines and Extended Splines (page 1–261). corners between the vertical web and horizontal flanges of the section. Parameters rollout Example of Wide Flange Procedure To create a Wide Flange spline: Go to the Create panel and choose 1. Shapes. Length—Controls the height of the vertical web of the tee.
284 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Parameters rollout Editable Splines Editable Spline Create or select a spline > Modify panel > Right-click spline entry in the stack display > Convert To: Editable Spline Length—Controls the height of the vertical web Create a line > Modify panel of the wide flange.
Editable Spline the Editable Spline object. This is useful for Surface Tools work where you add a Surface modifier above an Editable Spline object in the modifier stack. 2. Click a selection or transform tool, and then select sub-objects using standard click or region-selection techniques.
286 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Rendering and Interpolation rollouts will use the Viewport settings for this mesh conversion if Use Viewport Settings is turned on; otherwise it will use the Renderer settings. This gives maximum flexibility, and will always give the conversion of the mesh displayed in the viewports. The U coordinate wraps once around the thickness of the spline; the V coordinate is mapped once along the length of the spline.
Editable Spline Renderer—Turn this on to specify Radial or Rectangular parameters for the shape as it will display when rendered or viewed in the viewport when Enable in Viewport is turned on. Radial—Displays the 3D mesh as a cylindrical object. Thickness—Specifies the diameter of the viewport or rendered spline mesh. Default=1.0. Range=0.0 to 100,000,000.0. Width—Specifies the size of the cross–section along the local X axis.
288 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Spline steps can be either adaptive or manually specified. The method used is set by the state of the Adaptive check box. The main use for manual interpolation is to create splines for morphing or other operations where you must have exact control over the number of vertices created. Selection rollout Optimize—When on, removes unneeded steps from straight segments in the spline. Default=on. Note: Optimize is not available when Adaptive is on.
Editable Spline Splines—Are a combination of one or more connected segments. Named Selections group Copy—Places a named selection into the copy buffer. Paste—Pastes a named selection from the copy buffer. Lock Handles—Normally you can transform the tangent handles of only one vertex at a time, even when multiple vertices are selected. Use the Lock Handles controls to transform multiple Bezier and Bezier Corner handles simultaneously.
290 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry displays the number of vertices it contains. When more than one spline is selected, the number of splines selected is displayed on the first line, and the total number of vertices they contain is displayed on the second line. (page 1–286), and Selection rollout (page 1–288) settings. Geometry rollout Geometry rollout The Geometry rollout provides functions for editing a spline object and sub-objects.
Editable Spline (Object) • Bezier Corner—New vertices will have bezier corner tangency. Create Line—Adds more splines to the selected spline. These lines are separate spline sub-objects; create them in the same way as the line spline (page 1–265). To exit line creation, right-click or click to turn off Create Line. Break—Splits a spline at the selected vertex or vertices. Select one or more vertices and then click Break to create the split.
292 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry of another end point of the same spline is automatically welded. This feature is available at the object and all sub-object levels. • Threshold—A proximity setting that controls how close vertices can be to one another before they are automatically welded. Default=6.0. Insert—Inserts one or more vertices, creating additional segments. Click anywhere in a segment to insert a vertex and attach the vertex to the mouse.
Editable Spline (Vertex) To copy and paste vertex tangent handles: 1. Turn on Vertex Selection, then Select the vertex you want to copy from. 2. On the Geometry rollout scroll down to the Tangent group and click Copy. 3. Move your cursor over the vertices in the viewport. The cursor changes to a copy cursor. Click the handle you wish to copy. 4. On the Geometry rollout scroll down to the Tangent group and click Paste. 5. Move your cursor over the vertices in the shift-copy segments or splines.
294 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Attach Mult.—Click this button to display the Attach Multiple dialog, which contains a list of all other shapes in the scene. Select the shapes you want to attach to the current editable spline, then click OK. • Reorient—When on, reorients attached splines so that each spline’s creation local coordinate system is aligned with the creation local coordinate system of the selected spline. Cross Section—Creates a spline cage out of cross-sectional shapes.
Editable Spline (Vertex) • Closed—When on, connects the first and last vertices in the new spline to create a closed spline. When Closed is off, Connect always creates an open spline. distance set by the Weld Threshold spinner (to the right of the button), they’re converted into a single vertex. You can weld a selection set of vertices, as long as each pair of vertices is within the threshold.
296 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Shape Use First Vertex Meaning Loft Path Start of the path. Level 0. Loft Shape Initial skin alignment. Path Constraint Start of the motion path. 0% location on the path. Trajectory First position key. Fuse—Moves all selected vertices to their averaged center. distance between the splines is within the unit distance set by the CrossInsert Threshold spinner (to the right of the button), the vertices are added to both splines.
Editable Spline (Vertex) an unselected vertex, any selected vertices are first deselected. You can continue using Fillet by dragging on different vertices. To finish, right-click in an active viewport or click the Fillet button again. A fillet creates a new segment connecting new points on both segments leading to the original vertex. These new points are exactly distance from the original vertex along both segments.
298 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry sub-object level. When off (the default), selected segments are highlighted only at the Segment sub-object level. Hide and Bind group This feature is useful for comparing complex curves against each other. Hide—Hides selected vertices and any connected segments. Select one or more vertices, and then click Hide. Unhide All—Displays any hidden sub-objects. Bind—Lets you create bound vertices (page 3–1013).
Editable Spline (Segment) • A tangent handle associated with a line segment displays an X at the end of the handle. You can still transform the handle, but it has no effect until the segment is converted to a curve segment. • Bezier—New vertices will have bezier tangency. • Bezier Corner—New vertices will have bezier corner tangency. Tip: If you have problems transforming the handles, display the axis constraints toolbar and change the transform axis there.
300 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry splines are created joining the first shape with the second. Continue clicking segments to add them to the cage. All segments must be part of the same object to build cross sections. This functionality is similar to the Cross Section modifier, but here you can determine the order of the cross sections. Spline cage tangency can be defined by choosing Linear, Bezier, Bezier Corner or Smooth in New Vertex Type group.
Editable Spline (Segment) Connect Copy group Connect Copy—When on, shift-cloning a segment creates a new spline sub-object with additional splines that connect the new segment’s vertices to the vertices of the original segment. It is analogous to shift-cloning edges in Editable Mesh and Editable Poly objects. spline. Then optionally move the mouse and click to place the new vertex. Continue moving the mouse and clicking to add vertices.
302 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry right), and then click Divide. Each selected segment is divided by the number of vertices specified in the Divisions spinner. The distance between the vertices depends on the segment’s relative curvature, with areas of greater curvature receiving more vertices. Original and detached splines Display group Selected and divided segment Detach—Lets you select several segments in various splines and then detach them (or copy them) to form a new shape.
Editable Spline (Spline) IDs and Use Shape IDs when lofting, lathing or extruding. Set ID—Lets you assign a particular material ID number to selected segments for use with multi/sub-object materials and other applications. Use the spinner or enter the number from the keyboard. The total number of available IDs is 65,535. Select ID—Selects the segments or splines corresponding to the Material ID specified in the adjacent ID field. Type or use the spinner to specify an ID, then click the Select ID button.
304 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Geometry rollout the original segment or spline to the new one will have the type specified in this group. This setting has no effect on the tangency of vertices created using tools such as the Create Line button, Refine, and so on. • Linear—New vertices will have linear tangency. • Smooth—New vertices will have smooth tangency. When this option is chosen, new vertices that overlap are automatically welded. • Bezier—New vertices will have bezier tangency.
Editable Spline (Spline) Continue clicking shapes to add them to the cage. This functionality is similar to the Cross Section modifier, but here you can determine the order of the cross sections. Spline cage tangency can be defined in the New Vertex Type group. spline. Then optionally move the mouse and click to place the new vertex. Continue moving the mouse and clicking to add vertices. A single click inserts a corner vertex, while a drag creates a Bezier (smooth) vertex.
306 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Original and outlined splines Note: Normally, if using the spinner, you must first select a spline before using Outline. If, however, the spline object contains only one spline, it is automatically selected for the outlining process. Center—When off (default), the original spline remains stationary and the outline is offset on one side only to the distance specified by Outline Width.
Editable Spline (Spline) • Subtraction—Subtracts the overlapping portion of the second spline from the first spline, and deletes the remainder of the second spline. • Intersection—Leaves only the overlapping portions of the two splines, deleting the non-overlapping portion of both. Trim—Use Trim to clean up overlapping segments in a shape so that ends meet at a single point. To trim, you need intersecting splines. Click the portion of the spline you want to remove.
308 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Detach—Copies selected splines to a new spline object, and deletes them from the currently selected spline if Copy is clear. Use the spinner or enter the number from the keyboard. The total number of available IDs is 65,535. • Reorient—The spline being detached is moved and rotated so that its creation local coordinate system is aligned with the creation local coordinate system of the selected spline.
Morph Compound Object Morph Compound Object Select an object. > Create panel > Geometry > Compound Objects > Object Type rollout > Morph Select an object.
310 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry The original object is known as the seed or base object. The object into which the seed object morphs is known as the target object. You can morph one seed into multiple targets; the seed object’s form changes successively to match the forms of the target objects as the animation plays. Before you can create a morph, the seed and target objects must meet these conditions: • Both objects must be mesh, patch, or poly objects.
Morph Compound Object 3. Right-click the modifier stack display in the Modify panel and select Convert To Editable Patch from the pop-up menu. 4. Right-click the patch, and then click Move in the Transform quadrant of the quad menu. 5. In the Top viewport, hold SHIFT and drag with the patch to create a copy on the right side of the viewport. 6. On the Modify panel > Selection rollout, go to the Vertex sub-object level. 7.
312 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry The Create Morph Key button is available only when a target object name is selected. 3. Click Create Morph Key. 3ds Max places a morph key at the active frame. You can use an animated object or another morph as the target of a morph. Current Targets rollout 4. To preview the effect of the morph, drag the time slider back and forth. You can view and edit the morph keys in Track View, which also lets you view the morph’s target object parameters.
Scatter Compound Object Scatter Compound Object Select an object. > Create panel > Geometry > Compound Objects > Object Type rollout > Scatter Select an object. > Create menu > Compound > Scatter Scatter is a form of compound object that randomly scatters the selected source object either as an array, or over the surface of a distribution object. Results of scattering source object with distribution object visible (above) and hidden (below) You now have two choices.
314 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry 5. Use the Duplicates spinner to specify the number of duplicates. (This is not necessary if you’re using the All Vertices, All Edge Midpoints or All Face Centers distribution methods.) Interface Pick Distribution Object rollout 6. Choose a distribution method in the Scatter Object rollout > Distribute Object Parameters group under Distribute Using. 7. Optionally, adjust the Transform spinners to randomly transform the duplicates. 8.
Scatter Compound Object Scatter Objects rollout example, if your distribution object is a sphere, you can click Distribution: D_Sphere01, open the Stack list, and select Sphere to access the sphere’s parameters. Source Name—Lets you rename the source object within the compound Scatter object. Distribution Name—Lets you rename the distribution object. Extract Operand—Extract a copy or an instance of the selected operand. Choose an operand in the list window to enable this button.
316 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Base Scale—Alters the scale of the source object, affecting each duplicate identically. This scale occurs before any other transforms. Vertex Chaos—Applies a random perturbation to the vertices of the source object. Stack. Perhaps the easiest way to do this is to use the Instance option when picking the distribution object. You can then apply a Mesh Select modifier to the original object and select only those faces you want to use for the distribution of the duplicates.
Scatter Compound Object All Vertices—Places a duplicate object at each Transforms rollout vertex in the distribution object. The Duplicates value is ignored. All Edge Midpoints—Places a duplicate at the midpoint of each segment edge. All Face Centers—Places a duplicate object at the center of each triangular face on the distribution object. The Duplicates value is ignored. Volume—Scatters objects throughout the distribution object’s volume. All other options restrict distribution to the surface.
318 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry distribution object, you must adjust the Transform settings in order to see the duplicates. Rotation group Specifies random rotation offsets. X, Y, Z deg—Enter the maximum random rotational offset you want about the local X, Y, or Z axis of each duplicate. Use Maximum Range—When on, forces all three settings to match the maximum value. The other two settings become disabled, and the setting containing the maximum value remains enabled.
Conform Compound Object no effect on the rendered image, which always displays the mesh duplicates. select another Scatter object and load the preset values into the new object. Mesh—Displays the full geometry of the duplicates. Preset Name—Lets you define a name for your Display %—Specifies the percentage of the total settings. Click the Save button to save the current settings under the preset name. duplicate objects that appear in the viewports. This has no effect on the rendered scene.
320 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry the Wrap-To. There is also a space-warp version of this function; see Conform space warp (page 2–99). Because the space-warp version is somewhat easier to use, it’s a good idea to read that topic first, try the example, and then return here. This topic provides additional methods of projecting the wrapper vertices. Note: This tool gives you the ability to morph between any two objects, regardless of the number of vertices in each object.
Conform Compound Object An instance of the terrain object is created, with the same object color as the road. Parameters rollout Contains all parameters for the Conform object. 7. Activate the Top viewport. In the Parameters rollout > Vertex Projection Direction group, choose Use Active Viewport, and click Recalculate Projection. Objects group 8. In the Update group, turn on Hide Wrap-To Object. This hides the instance of the terrain so you can clearly see the road projected onto it.
322 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Choose one of these seven options to determine the projection of the vertices. Use Active Viewport—The vertices are projected away (inward) from the active viewport. Recalculate Projection—Recalculates the projection direction for the currently active viewport. Because the direction is initially assigned when you pick the Wrap-To object, if you want to change viewports after assignment, click this button to recalculate the direction based on the new active viewport.
Connect Compound Object selection. To access the Modifier stack of the Wrapper object, select the Wrapper object in the list window, open the Modifier stack, and select the base object name. At this point you can apply a Mesh Select modifier, for example, and select the vertices you want to affect. Update group Connect Compound Object Select an object. > Create panel > Geometry > Compound Objects > Object Type rollout > Connect Select an object.
324 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Vertex colors, on the other hand, interpolate smoothly. Notes: • You can use Connect on objects that have multiple sets of holes. Connect will do its best to match up the holes between the two objects. • The mapping coordinates assigned to the original two objects are maintained to the extent possible. You might find irregularities in the bridged area, depending on the complexity and difference between the two original sets of mapping coordinates and the types of geometry.
Connect Compound Object Interface Parameters rollout Pick Operand rollout Pick Operand—Click this button to connect an additional operand to the original object. For example, you might begin with a single object with two holes, and arrange two additional objects, each with one hole, outside of those holes. Click the Pick Operand button and select one of the objects, which is connected, and then click Pick Operand again and select the other object, which is connected.
326 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Interpolation group Display group Segments—Sets the number of segments in the connecting bridge. Determines whether the shape operands are displayed. Tension—Controls the curvature in the connecting bridge. A value of 0 provides no curvature, while higher values create curves that attempt to more smoothly match the surface normals on either end of the connecting bridge. This spinner has no apparent effect when Segments is set to 0.
BlobMesh Compound Object determined by the size of the particle on which it’s based. • For helpers, a metaball is placed at the pivot point, and the size of the metaball is determined by the original BlobMesh object. Note: You can apply motion blur (page 3–1069) to a BlobMesh object to enhance the effects of motion in renderings. For particle systems other than Particle Flow, use Image motion blur.
328 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry This will retain the soft selection and pass it up the stack regardless of whether you exit the sub-object mode. 5. Click Create panel > Compound Objects > BlobMesh, and click anywhere on the screen to create the initial metaball. 6. Go to the Modify panel. 7. In the Blob Objects group, click Add. Select the A metaball appears at each vertex of the selected object. 9. In the Parameters rollout, turn on Use Soft Selection.
BlobMesh Compound Object Interface Parameters rollout values will tighten the surface, and make the metaballs smaller. Tension—Determines how relaxed or tight the surface will be. A smaller value makes a looser surface. This value can range from 0.01 to 1.0. Default=1.0. Evaluation Coarseness—Sets the coarseness, or density, of the resulting blobmesh. When Relative Coarseness is turned off, the Render and Viewport values set the height and width of blobmesh faces, and lower values create a denser mesh.
330 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Use Soft Selection—If soft selection has been used on geometry you add to the blobmesh, turning on this option causes the soft selection to be used for the size and placement of metaballs. Metaballs are placed at selected vertices with the size set by the Size parameter. For vertices that lie within the falloff set on the geometry’s Soft Selection rollout, smaller metaballs are placed. For vertices outside the falloff, no metaballs are placed.
ShapeMerge Compound Object ShapeMerge Compound Object Interface Pick Operand rollout Select an object. > Create panel > Geometry > Compound Objects > Object Type rollout > ShapeMerge Select an object. > Create menu > Compound > ShapeMerge ShapeMerge combines the lettering, a text shape, with the mesh that models the cake. ShapeMerge creates a compound object consisting of a mesh object and one or more shapes.
332 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Parameters rollout Cookie Cutter—Cuts the shape out of the mesh object’s surface. Merge—Merges the shape with the surface of the mesh object. Invert—Reverses the effect of Cookie Cutter or Merge. With the Cookie Cutter option, the effect is obvious. When Invert is off, the shape is a hole in the mesh object. When Invert is on, the shape is solid and the mesh is missing. When you’re using Merge, Invert reverses the sub-object mesh selection.
Boolean Compound Object • Vertex—Outputs the vertices defined by the spline of the shape. Display/Update rollout Boolean Compound Object Select an object. > Create panel > Geometry > Compound Objects > Object Type rollout > Boolean Select an object. > Create menu > Compound > Boolean A Boolean object combines two other objects by performing a Boolean operation on them. Display group Determines whether the shape operands are displayed. • Result—Displays the result of the operation.
334 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry from an earlier version of 3ds Max, the Modify panel displays the interface for the earlier Boolean operation. You can layer Booleans in the stack display, so that a single object can incorporate many Booleans. By navigating through the stack display, it’s possible to revisit the components of each Boolean and make changes to them.
Boolean Compound Object • If operand A doesn’t have a material, it inherits operand B’s material. Again, it might make more sense to correct these manually. • If operand B doesn’t have a material, it inherits operand A’s material. Use shaded viewports to look for normal problems, watching for objects that appear inside-out or look otherwise incorrect. You can also turn on Show in the Editable Mesh (Face) (page 1–1001) > Surface Properties rollout > Normals group.
336 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Alignment If two Boolean operands are perfectly aligned without actually intersecting, the Boolean operation might produce the wrong result. Although this is rare, if it does occur, you can eliminate it by making the operands overlap slightly. Relative Complexity Between Operands Boolean works best when the two operands are of similar complexity.
Boolean Compound Object 5. On the Modify panel, choose Operand B from the Parameters rollout > Operands list. If you want to see operand B, choose Display/Update rollout > Display group > Operands or Result + Hidden Ops. If you want to animate the Cylinder or the Cylinder’s parameters you can now access them in the modifier stack display. 6. If you want to modify the sphere’s parameters, choose the box in the Operands list. 7. Now there are two entries labeled Boolean in the stack display.
338 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Parameters rollout Operation group Union—The Boolean object contains the volume of both original objects. The intersecting or overlapping portion of the geometry is removed. Intersection—The Boolean object contains only the volume that was common to both original objects (in other words, where they overlapped). Subtraction (A-B)—Subtracts the intersection volume of operand B from operand A.
Boolean Compound Object same mesh. Use Split to break an object into two parts along the bounds of another object. • Remove Inside—Deletes all operand A faces inside operand B. This option modifies and deletes faces of operand A inside the area intersected by operand B. It works like the subtraction options, except that 3ds Max adds no faces from operand B. Use Remove Inside to delete specific areas from your geometry. • Remove Outside—Deletes all operand A faces outside operand B.
340 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry geometry, but you can force an update when necessary. • Manually—Updates Booleans only when you click Update. With this option, the viewports and the render output don’t always show current geometry, but you can force an update when necessary. Update—Updates the Boolean. The Update button is not available when Always is selected. Displaying the hidden operand after A-B Material Attach Options Dialog Use objects with different materials assigned to them.
Material Attach Options Dialog Procedure To create a Boolean from objects that match material IDs to material: 1. Create a Boolean (page 1–336) using at least one object that has a multi/sub-object material (page 2–1403) assigned to it. 2. On the Pick Boolean rollout, click Pick Operand B. 3. Click in a viewport and select the B operand. 3ds Max displays the Match Attach Options dialog. 4. Choose Match Material IDs to Material to complete the Boolean operation.
342 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Terrain Compound Object Select spline contours. > Create panel > Geometry > Compound Objects > Object Type rollout > Terrain Select spline contours. > Create menu > Compound > Terrain The Terrain button lets you produce terrain objects. 3ds Max generates these objects from contour line data. You select editable splines representing elevation contours and create a mesh surface over the contours.
Terrain Compound Object and minimum elevations in the Base Elev box. Click Add Zone after entering the value. 3ds Max displays the zones in the list under the Create Defaults button. 4. Click the Base Color swatch to change the color of each elevation zone. For example, you could use a deep blue for low elevations, a light blue for intermediate elevations, and perhaps greens for higher elevations. 5. Click Solid To Top of Zone to see the elevation changes in a striped effect. 6.
344 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Parameters rollout Terrain created as a graded surface • Graded Solid—Creates a graded surface with skirts around the sides and a bottom surface. This represents a solid that is visible from every direction. • Layered Solid—Creates a "wedding cake" or laminated solid similar to cardboard architectural models. Operands group Operand list—Displays the current operands.
Terrain Compound Object bed is described with contours; the resulting form may look more like a series of cascades at each elevational contour, rather than a smoothly descending ravine. When Retriangulate is checked, a somewhat slower algorithm is used that follows contour lines more closely. This may be particularly evident in the Layered Solid display mode. For additional precision, try using Retriangulate in conjunction with horizontal interpolation. Update—Updates the terrain object.
346 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry refined but more complex mesh. This is most effective in terrain forms that use constructive curves such as circles and ellipses. This results in more detail and a larger file size than using No Simplification. Color by Elevation rollout Vertical group • No Simplification—Uses all the spline operandsvertices of the terrain object to create a complex mesh. This results in greater detail and a larger file size than the other two options.
Loft Compound Object If you enter a value no greater than the minimum elevation in the object, 3ds Max divides the range between the reference and minimum elevations into five color zones: dark green, light green, yellow, purple, and light gray. If you enter a value between the minimum and maximum elevations, 3ds Max creates six color zones. Two zones (dark blue and light blue) are used for elevations below the reference elevation. These are considered to be under water.
348 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry As you arrange shapes along the path, 3ds Max generates a surface between the shapes. You create shape objects to serve as a path for any number of cross-section shapes. The path becomes the framework that holds the cross sections forming your object. If you designate only one shape on the path, 3ds Max assumes an identical shape is located at each end of the path. The surface is then generated between the shapes.
Creation Method Rollout 6. Click a shape. The cursor changes to the Get Shape cursor as you move it over potential shapes. The selected shape is placed at the first vertex of the path. On the Creation Method rollout, you determine whether to use a shape or path for creating the loft object, and the type of action you want for the resulting loft object. Tip: You can flip the shape along the path by Get Path—Assigns a path to the selected shape or holding down CTRL when using Get Shape.
350 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Interface Smooth Width—Provides a smooth surface around the perimeter of the cross-section shapes. This type of smoothing is useful when your shapes change the number of vertices or change form. Default=on. Mapping group Bitmap used to create the lines on the road Smoothing group Mapped roadway showing U and V dimensions for the loft Apply Mapping—Turns lofted mapping coordinates on and off. Apply Mapping must be on in order to access the remaining items.
Path Parameters Rollout Width Repeat—Sets the number of times a map repeats around the perimeter of cross-section shapes. The left edge of a map is aligned with the first vertex of each shape. Normalize—Determines how path vertex spacing affects a map along both the path length and shape width. When on, vertices are ignored. Map coordinates and Repeat values are applied evenly along the length of the path and around the shapes.
352 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Interface Distance—Expresses the path level as an absolute distance from the first vertex of the path. Path Steps—Places shapes on path steps and vertices, rather than as a percentage or a distance along the path. When Path Steps is on, the following take place: • The Path spinner specifies the step along the path. The first step, at 0, is the first vertex.
Skin Parameters Rollout • If you alter the Path Steps spinner while in Path Steps mode, the location of your shapes might change. An alert message warns you of this. • If you animate the topology of the path while in Path Steps mode (such as animating the number of sides of an NGon), your shapes might jump around trying to find a legitimate position, and you could end up with more than one shape on the same path level. Pick Shape—Sets the current level at any shape on the path.
354 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry At this angle, the path cross sections intersect, causing problems in the mesh. 12. Select the loft object, and set the Path Steps to 1. The cross sections no longer intersect, and the corner is clean. When creating straight-edge molding for architectural modeling, you can avoid mangled corners by simply reducing the path steps to 0. faces that do not render or deform as well as those created with grid capping.
Skin Parameters Rollout Left: Shape Steps=0. Right: Shape Steps=4. Path Steps—Sets the number of steps between each main division of the path. This value affects the number of segments along the length of the loft. Frame lofted with Path Steps=5 Optimize Shapes—When on, the Shape Steps setting is ignored for straight segments of cross-section shapes. If multiple shapes are on the path, only straight segments that have a match on all shapes are optimized. Default=off.
356 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry When Optimize Path is off, the lofted roadway uses more steps. Lofting the roadway with Contour off causes it to twist. Roadway lofted with Contour turned on When Optimize Path is on, straight sections of the lofted roadway don’t require additional steps. Adaptive Path Steps—When on, analyzes the loft and adapts the number of path divisions to generate the best skin. Main divisions along the path occur at path vertices, shape locations, and deformation curve vertices.
Skin Parameters Rollout Roadway lofted with Banking turned on Frame lofted with Constant Cross Section turned on Constant Cross Section—When on, the cross sections are scaled at angles in the path to maintain uniform path width. When off, the cross sections maintain their original local dimensions, causing pinching at path angles. Linear Interpolation—When on, generates a loft skin with straight edges between each shape. When off, generates a loft skin with smooth curves between each shape. Default=off.
358 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Transform Degrade—Causes the loft skin to disappear during sub-object shape/path transformations. For example, moving a vertex on the path causes the loft to disappear. When off, you can see the skin during these Sub-Object transformations. Default=off. Display group Skin—When on, displays a loft’s skin in all views using any shading level and ignores the Skin In Shaded setting. When off, displays only the loft sub-objects. Default=on.
Deform Scale Deform Twist (page 1–359) Deform Teeter (page 1–360) Deform Bevel (page 1–361) Deform Fit (page 1–362) Deformation Dialog (page 1–363) Deform Scale Select a Loft object. > Modify panel > Deformations rollout > Scale Scale deformation curve dialog Procedure You can loft objects such as columns and bugles from a single shape that changes only its scale as it travels along a path. Use Scale deformation when you want to make these types of objects.
360 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Deform Teeter Select a Loft object. > Modify panel > Deformations rollout > Teeter Using twist to deform the lofted roadway These are the properties of Twist deformation curves: Teeter deformation rotates shapes about their local X axis and Y axis. Teetering is what 3ds Max does automatically when you select Contour on the Skin Parameters rollout. Use Teeter deformation when you want to manually control contour effects.
Deform Bevel Deform Bevel Select a Loft object. > Modify panel > Deformations rollout > Bevel Roadway lofted with teeter turned on. Teeter affects the X and Y axis orientation of the shape in relation to the path. These are the properties of Teeter deformation curves: • The two curves are red for X-axis rotation and green for Y-axis rotation. • Default curve values are at 0 degrees rotation. • Positive values rotate the shape counterclockwise about the shape’s positive axis.
362 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Normal and Adaptive Beveling The Bevel Deformation dialog provides three types of beveling: Normal, Adaptive Linear, and Adaptive Cubic. These are available from a flyout at the right end of the dialog toolbar. Deform Fit Select a Loft object. > Modify panel > Deformations rollout > Fit With normal beveling, the beveled shape remains parallel to the original, regardless of the crotch angle of the shape.
Deformation Dialog Interface Fit Deformation dialog Get Shape—Lets you select the shape to use for Fit deformation. Click Get Shape, and then click the shape to use in a viewport. Generate Path—Replaces the original path with a new straight-line path. Deformation Dialog Select a Loft object. > Modify panel > Deformations rollout > Scale, Twist, Teeter, Bevel, or Fit The Fit Deformation dialog contains different buttons than the other deformations.
364 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry produce a sharp corner. This type produces a curve that looks like the corner type but has control handles like the Bezier Smooth type. • Bezier Smooth—Adjustable Bezier control point with locked continuous tangent handles set to produce a smooth curve. Selecting Control Points Use the Move Control Point and Scale Control Point buttons with standard selection techniques to select control points. Procedures To drag Bezier tangent handles: 1.
Deformation Dialog are Make Symmetrical, Display X Axis, Display Y Axis, Display XY Axes, and Swap Deform Curves. Make Symmetrical—You can apply the same deformation to both axes of a shape using Make Symmetrical, which is both an action button and a curve editing mode. Turning on Make Symmetrical has the following effect: • When a single curve is displayed, it copies the displayed deformation curve to the curve for the hidden axis.
366 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Scale Control Point—Scales the value of one or more selected control points with respect to 0. Use this function when you want to change only the deformation amounts of selected control points while maintaining their relative ratio of values. • Drag downward to reduce values. • Drag upward to increase values. Insert Control Point—This flyout contains buttons for inserting two control point types.
Path Commands deformation type and the curve display setting. The curves are color-coded by axis. Zoom Vertical Extents—Changes the view magnification along the deformation values so the entire deformation curve is displayed in the dialog. A red curve displays deformation along the shape’s local X axis. A green curve displays deformation along the shape’s local Y axis.
368 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Interface Delete—Deletes the shape from the loft object. Align group Put group Put—Places the path into the scene as a separate object (as a Copy or Instance). Shape Commands Select a Loft object. > Modify panel > Modifier stack display > Sub-object level > Shape > Shape Commands rollout These controls let you align and compare shapes along the loft path. Interface The six buttons in this group let you align the selected shape in relation to the path.
Compare Dialog Compare Dialog Select a Loft object. > Modify panel > Modifier stack display > Sub-object level > Shape > Shape Commands rollout > Compare button The Compare dialog lets you compare any number of cross-section shapes in a loft object for purposes of making sure their first vertices are properly aligned. If shapes’ first vertices aren’t aligned, unexpected lofting results can occur. Interface added to the dialog window), and a - sign appears if the shape is already selected.
370 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Procedure To use a Mesher object: 1. Add and set up a particle system. 2. Click the Create panel> Geometry > Compound Objects > Object Type rollout > Mesher button. 3. Drag in a viewport to add the Mesher object. The size doesn’t matter, but the orientation should be the same as that of the particle system. 4. Go to the Modify panel, click the Pick Object button, and then select the particle system.
Mesher Compound Object At this point, both particle systems will render. The original particle system must exist in order to be able to be used by the Mesher object, so if you want only the Mesher replica to render, hide the original system before rendering. doing so, the name of the instanced object appears on the button. Time Offset—The number of frames ahead of or behind the original particle system that the Mesher’s particle system will run. Default=0.
372 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry PFlow Events group When the Mesher object is applied to a Particle Flow system, use these controls to create meshes for specific events in the system. Mesher does not create meshes for the remaining events. [list box]—Displays all Particle Flow events currently affected by Mesher. Add—Lets you specify Particle Flow events to be affected by Mesher.
Damper Dynamics Object one of the dummies can be the child of an object that’s included in the simulation. In this case, the dummy itself does not need to be in the simulation. Note: Damper is an "ideal" object with no mass. While it can be used in dynamics simulations, it cannot participate directly in collisions or effects. As a result, when you assign a damper object to a dynamics simulation, and then view it in the Edit Object dialog, all of the parameter settings are disabled.
374 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Generate Mapping Coords—Sets up the required coordinates for applying mapped materials to the object. Default=on. Cylinder Parameters group Fillet 2—The size of the fillet on the upper edge of the main housing. Fillet Segs—The number of segments for Fillet 2. The higher this setting, the rounder the fillet profile appears. Inside Dia—Specifies the inside diameter of the main housing, which is actually a tube rather than a cylinder.
Damper Dynamics Object Boot Parameters group Stop Thick—The thickness (height) of the stop ring. Setback—The distance of the stop ring from the top of the piston. Stop Fillet—The size of the fillet on the upper edge of the stop ring. Fillet Segs—The number of segments the stop fillet. The higher this setting, the round the fillet profile appears. Smooth Boot—When on, smoothing is applied to the boot.
376 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry The parameters in this group box, available only when End Point Method is set to Bound to Object Pivots, specify how forces are applied by the damper object in a dynamics simulation. Force—Specifies the amount of force exerted between the two bound objects. Positive values push the objects apart, while negative values pull them together.
Spring Dynamics Object so all of the dynamics parameters will be disabled for the spring object.) 3. Include at least one of the bound objects or a parent of one of the bound objects in the simulation. For example, you can bind the ends of a spring to two dummy objects, and one of the dummies can be the child of an object that’s included in the simulation. The dummy without a parent will be stationary and the spring will pass its force through the other dummy to its parent.
378 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Common Spring Parameters group Segments—This spinner lets you specify the total number of manual segments in the spring. Smoothing—Provides various methods of smoothing the object. The options here work the same as those in the Torus primitive (page 1–175). • All—All surfaces are smoothed. • Sides—Smoothing runs along the length of the wire, but not around its perimeter. • Segments—Smoothing runs around the perimeter of the wire, but not along its length.
Spring Dynamics Object Wire Shape group • Fillet Segs—Specifies the number of segments in the fillet. • Rotation—Rotates the angle of the cross section along the entire length of the spring. D-Section Wire—Specifies a D-shaped wire. • Width—Determines the width of the cross section. • Depth—Determines the depth of the cross section. • Round Sides—Specifies the number of segments that make up the rounded side of the D-shape.
380 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry contributes no force--either compression or extension. For example, if the placement of the binding objects stretches the spring to a length of 50 units but the Relaxed Len is set to 30, then an extension force is in effect because the spring is stretched further than its relaxed length. non-linear compression is calculated using the relationship between the coil dimensions, wire diameter, and length.
Bones System • Daylight (page 1–394) creates an assembly with a sky and a sun. Using the Get location function you can create and animate a light that follows the geographically correct angle and movement of the sun over the earth at a given location. Systems are primarily intended for plug-in (page 3–1089) component software. Additional systems might be available if your configuration includes plug-in systems. Procedure To create a system: 1. On the Create panel, click Systems.
382 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry chain to the hierarchy, you can delete the small nub bone. Creating a simple chain of three bones Bones system seen alone and inside a wireframe model Any hierarchy can display itself as a bone structure (see Using Objects as Bones (page 1–387)), by simply turning on Bone On in the Bone Editing Tools rollout (page 1–388).
Bones System When you exit bone creation, the chosen IK solver is automatically applied to the hierarchy. The solver extends from the first bone in the hierarchy to the last. For more information about IK, see Introduction to Inverse Kinematics (page 2–417). Setting the Initial Position of Bones When you first create a bones system, the position of the bones is the initial state.
384 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Bones can be renderable. Object Properties for Bones In addition to visual properties, bones have behavioral properties. The controls for these are located on the Bone Tools floater (page 1–388). You can use these controls to turn other kinds of objects into bones. The “nub” bone at the end of the chain has a Spring controller applied to it. The Spring controller is connected to an animated sphere. Right: The sphere’s movement breaks the bone chain.
Bones System Procedures To create a bones system: 1. On the Create panel, click Systems, and then click Bones. You can also access Create Bones through the Bone Tools rollout. 2. Click in a viewport. This creates a joint that is the base of the bone’s hierarchy. 3. Drag to define the length of the second bone. 4. Click to set the length of the second bone, and then drag to create the third bone. Drag and click to continue creating new bones. 5. Right-click to end creation.
386 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Interface IK Chain Assignment rollout (creation time only) Bone Parameters rollout (creation and modification time) Provides the tools to quickly create a bone chain with an IK solver automatically applied. Also allows for bone creation with no IK solver. IK Solver drop-down list—Specifies the type of IK solver to be automatically applied if Assign To Children is turned on.
Using Objects as Bones Bone Fins group Side Fins—Lets you add a set of fins to the sides of the bones you create. • Size—Controls the size of the fin. • Start Taper—Controls the start taper of the fin. • End Taper—Controls the end taper of the fin. • Warning: When you turn on Freeze Length, this has no visible effect unless you transform the child of the object to which Freeze Length is applied. Once the objects have been boned, applying an IK solution behaves as it does for standard bone objects.
388 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Bone Tools Interface Character menu > Bone Tools This command displays the Bone Tools floater, which provides functions for working with bones.
Bone Editing Tools Rollout Bone Tools group Create Bones—Begins the bone-creation process. Clicking this button is the same as clicking Create panel > Systems > Bones (page 1–381). Instead, Mirror flips one of the bone axes: Y or Z. You can specify the mirroring axis and the flip axis in the dialog that appears when you click Mirror. Bone Mirror Dialog Create End—Creates a nub bone at the end of the currently selected bone.
390 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Bones System (page 1–381) Absolute—Sets the fin parameters as absolute values. Use this option to set the same fin values for all selected bones. Fin Adjustment Tools Rollout Character menu > Bone Tools > Bone Tools floater > Fin Adjustment Tools rollout Controls on the Fin Adjustment Tools rollout are for adjusting some aspects of bone geometry, including fins. Interface Relative—Sets the fin parameters relative to their current values.
Object Properties Rollout (Bone Tools) Object Properties Rollout (Bone Tools) Character menu > Bone Tools > Bone Tools floater > Object Properties rollout Controls on the Object Properties rollout for bones let you turn other objects into bones. They also control bone rigidity and alignment. Note: You can reset the scale of bones with the Reset Scale option. Interface length is based on the translation of its child bone. This option is available only if Bone On is on. Default=on.
392 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Stretch Factor Information Under the Correct Negative Stretch options is a text display giving information about the number of bones selected and the respective stretch factor for all three axes. If more than one bone is selected, the Stretch Factor text displays undefined. Note: The Stretch Factor text only updates when you are in Bone Edit Mode (page 1–388).
Ring Array System 1. In the Track View Controller window, click the name of object container of the object to put in the ring. The name highlights. 4. Right-click and choose Paste. 5. In the Paste dialog, choose Copy or Instance. Optionally, to replace all the boxes with the copied object, turn on Replace All Instances. Click OK. The box or boxes are replaced with the copied object. 2. Still in the Controller window, right-click and choose Copy from the menu. 3.
394 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry Radius—Sets the radius of the ring. You set the initial Radius value when you drag to create the ring array. Amplitude—Sets the amplitude of the ring’s sine curve, in active units. Amplitude is a height offset from the local origin of the center dummy object. Cycles—Sets the number of cycles in the ring’s sine curve. When Cycles is 0.0, the ring is flat. When Cycles is 1.0, the ring is tilted. Greater values increase the number of peaks in the curve.
Sunlight and Daylight Systems • Daylight combines sunlight (page 3–1112) and skylight (page 3–1106). The sunlight component can be either an IES Sun light (page 2–1163), or a standard light (a target direct light (page 2–1145)). The sky component can be either an IES Sky light (page 2–1165) or a Skylight (page 2–1149). The IES Sun and IES Sky lights are photometric lights. It is appropriate to use them if you are creating a rendering that uses radiosity (page 3–50) with exposure control (page 3–289).
396 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry you can access its creation parameters (time and date, location, orbital scale, and location) in the Motion panel for the directional light. The parameters are interrelated, so you can adjust them in any order. Generally, it’s easiest to choose a location first, and then adjust the date and time. You can access the parameters for selected sunlight or skylight objects in the Modify panel.
Sunlight and Daylight Systems Note: When Date, Time And Location is chosen, adjusting the light’s intensity has no effect. Setup—Opens the Motion panel (page 3–817), allowing you to adjust the time, location, and site of your daylight system. Skylight—Select one of three options for skylight in your scene: • IES Sky—Uses an IES Sky (page 2–1165) object to simulate skylight. • Skylight—Uses a Skylight (page 2–1149) object to simulate skylight. • No Skylight—No skylight is simulated.
398 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry The Sunlight system adjusts the sun’s azimuth and altitude accordingly during the summer months. hotspot so it illuminates the whole model, with no falloff. Hours/Mins/Secs—Specify the time of day. North Direction—Sets the rotational direction of the compass rose in the scene. This is the geographical orientation of the compass rose. By default, north is 0 and points along the positive Y axis of the ground plane. Positive X (East) is 90 degrees.
Geographic Location Dialog The City list updates to show cities in the region of the map. 2. Choose the name of a city from the list. 3. Click OK to set the Latitude and Longitude to the location of the city. Interface City—Displays a list of cities within the selected Map region. As an alternative to selecting a location by clicking the map, you can select a city directly from this list. The cross on the map moves to the location of the selected city.
400 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry
Transforms: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects To change an object’s position, orientation, or scale, click one of the three transform buttons on the Main toolbar or choose a transform from a shortcut menu. Apply the transform to a selected object using the mouse, the status bar Coordinate Display fields, a type-in dialog, or any combination of the above.
402 Chapter 6: Transforms: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects These buttons are usually referred to as Move, Rotate, and Scale. 2. Position the mouse over the object you want to transform. • If the object is already selected, the cursor changes to indicate the transform. • If the object is not selected, the cursor changes to a crosshairs icon to show that the object can be selected. 3. Drag the mouse to apply the transform.
Axis Tripod and World Axis Axis Tripod and World Axis Two visual aids in 3ds Max give you information about your current orientation in the workspace. Axis Tripod If no transform tool is active, an axis tripod appears in the viewports whenever you select one or more objects, to assist you visually in your transforms. When a transform tool is active, the transform gizmo (page 1–408) appears instead, unless you’ve turned it off.
404 Chapter 6: Transforms: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects Using Type-In with Sub-Object Selection • Position • Rotation • Scale This section presents these brief topics designed to help you quickly start learning how to transform objects, and how to animate your transforms: Applying Transforms (page 1–404) Moving and Rotating Objects (page 1–405) Scaling Objects (page 1–406) Using Transform Gizmos (page 1–408) Animating Transforms (page 1–414) You can use Transform Type-In with any sub-obje
Moving and Rotating Objects To cancel a transform: • Right-click while you’re dragging the mouse. To transform an object from the quad menu: 1. Right-click a selected object. The quad menu (page 3–741) lists the three transforms. 2. Choose one of the transforms. The equivalent transform button is selected on the main toolbar. 3. Drag the object to apply the transform. To use transform type-in: 1. Choose Tools menu > Transform Type-In to display the dialog. 2. Apply a transform to a selected object. 3.
406 Chapter 6: Transforms: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects To move an object: • Click Select And Rotate (page 1–420) on the toolbar. The button highlights. You can now select objects, rotate previously selected objects, or both select and rotate objects in a single mouse action. The axis about which the rotation takes place is determined by the Axis Constraint setting, which you can specify with the transform gizmo, or can be locked on the Axis Constraints toolbar.
Scaling Objects With the new transform gizmo, you don’t need to select a scale type for Uniform or Non-Uniform scaling. You can perform both types by selecting different axes on the transform. For more information, see Using Transform Gizmos (page 1–408). Non-Uniform Scale To scale an object: • Set the Select And Scale flyout to the scale type you want to use, then click it. The button highlights.
408 Chapter 6: Transforms: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects direction along the other axes. Squash gives the appearance of maintaining the volume of the selection. The Axis Constraint setting specifies the axis of scale, while the remaining axes scale in the opposite direction. If you use a double-axis constraint, the single remaining axis scales in the opposite direction.
Using Transform Gizmos on the Axis Constraints toolbar (page 3–735), and also lets you switch quickly and easily between different transform axes and planes. A Transform gizmo appears when one or more objects are selected and one of the transform buttons (Select And Move (page 1–419), Select And Rotate (page 1–420), or Select And Scale (page 1–421)) is active on the toolbar. Each transform type uses a different gizmo.
410 Chapter 6: Transforms: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects should behave as if you were actually spinning the trackball. The outermost circle around the Rotate gizmo is the Screen handle, which lets you rotate the object on a plane parallel to the viewport. You can adjust settings for the Rotate gizmo on the Gizmos panel (page 3–877) of the Preferences dialog (page 3–859) Scale Gizmo The axis handles are circles around the trackball.
Using Transform Gizmos You can adjust settings for the Scale gizmo on the Gizmos panel (page 3–877) of the Preferences dialog (page 3–859) Notes Using a Transform gizmo sets the default axis constraint to the last axis or plane you used. Dragging a Transform gizmo temporarily disables snaps. To retain snapping capabilities with the Transform gizmo enabled, set the constraints, and then transform the selection without dragging on any gizmo handles.
412 Chapter 6: Transforms: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects 5. Point to the Y shaft, and drag. The Y shaft turns yellow, and the sphere moves along only the Y axis. 6. Point to the red-and-green corner mark opposite the ends of the X and Y axes, and drag. The sphere moves along the XY plane. 7. Press the SPACEBAR to turn on Selection Lock (page 3–754). 8. Drag the mouse anywhere in a viewport away from the selection. The sphere moves along the XY plane. 9. Point to the X shaft, and drag.
Transform Type-In When you use the Transform Type-In at a sub-object level, you transform the transform gizmo of the sub-object selection. So, for example, the absolute position values represent the absolute world position of the transform gizmo. If you’ve selected a single vertex, it’s the absolute world position of the vertex.
414 Chapter 6: Transforms: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects the software rotates the object 45 degrees from its previous position, increases the Absolute field value by 45 degrees, and resets the Offset field to 0.0. Offset labels reflect the active reference coordinate system. The Offset can be Offset: Local, Offset: Parent, and so on. If you use Pick to select the reference coordinate system of a particular object, the Offset will be named with that object.
Transform Managers • The Transform Center flyout (page 1–416), which controls the center about which the software applies the transform, is found to the right of the Reference Coordinate System drop-down list. • The axis constraint (page 1–418) restricts the transform along one or two axes. The axis constraint tools appear on the Axis Constraints toolbar, which is off by default. You can turn it on by right-clicking an empty spot on the Main toolbar and choosing Axis Constraints from the menu.
416 Chapter 6: Transforms: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects toolbar. Alternatively, you can turn on Customize menu > Preferences > General tab > Reference Coordinate System group > Constant, which keeps the transform manager settings the same for all transforms. To use the adjustable axis: 1. Place the point object where you want the rotate or scale transform to be centered. 2. Select the object you want to transform. 3.
Choosing a Transform Center when transforming sub-object selections. You can override the active transform center and perform the current transform about a temporary point by using snaps. When Snaps is active, and your selection is locked, the point you snap to will set the point about which the transform is performed. Using this technique, you can: • Move relative to two snap points. • Rotate about a snapped point. • Scale about a snapped point. For more details, see Snap Settings (page 2–38).
418 Chapter 6: Transforms: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects of a dummy helper object, and then rotating or scaling the dummy. Another technique is to offset the pivot point of your object using the Hierarchy panel. For information about linking, dummy objects, and the Hierarchy panel, see Hierarchies (page 2–398). Using the Axis Constraints The Restrict to ... buttons, also called the Axis Constraint buttons, are located on the Axis Constraints toolbar (page 3–735), which is off by default.
Transform Commands 2. On the Utilities panel, click Reset XForm. 3. On the Reset Transform rollout, click Reset Selected. Object rotation and scaling are now carried by an XForm modifier placed at the top of the modifier stack. When you apply the Reset Transform utility, an XForm modifier (page 1–942) that carries the rotation and scale values is placed at the top of the Modifier Stack display. You can apply other modifiers above and below the XForm modifier.
420 Chapter 6: Transforms: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects the Transform gizmo (page 1–408), or right-click the object, and select the constraint from the Transform submenu. the object, and select the constraint from the Transform submenu. Rotating an object Moving an object Rotate Gizmo (page 1–409) Move Gizmo (page 1–409) Procedure Select and Rotate This procedure illustrates the intuitive usage of the default Euler XYZ rotation controller (page 2–312).
Select and Scale Flyout Select and Scale Flyout Main toolbar > Select and Scale flyout The Select and Scale flyout provides access to three tools you can use to change object size. These are, from top to bottom: Uniform scale does not change an object’s proportions. Select and Non-Uniform Scale (page 1–421) To scale a single object, you don’t need to select it first. When this tool is active, clicking an object selects it and dragging the mouse scales it.
422 Chapter 6: Transforms: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects Select and Squash Main toolbar > Select And Squash (on Select And Scale flyout) Right-click an object. > Scale (selects current toolbar Scale mode) Non-uniform scale can change proportions with different values for different axes.
Transform Coordinates and Coordinate Center so it affects other object properties. It also alters the properties passed hierarchically from parent to child. When you perform other operations on the object, such as rotation, inverse kinematics calculations, and other positioning operations, you may not get the results you expect. To recover from these problems, use the Hierarchy panel’s Reset Scale button or the Utilities panel’s Reset XForm utility.
424 Chapter 6: Transforms: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects Interface • X is horizontal, running in a positive direction toward the right. • Y is vertical, running in a positive direction upward. • Z is depth, running in a positive direction toward you. View—In the default View coordinate system, X, Y, and Z axes are the same in all orthogonal viewports. When you move an object using this coordinate system, you are moving it relative to the space of the viewport.
Reference Coordinate System set of several objects, each uses its own center for the transform. The World coordinate system is always fixed. Parent—Uses the coordinate system of the parent of the selected object. If the object is not linked to a specific object, it’s a child of the world, and the parent coordinate system is the same as the world coordinate system. Example of a Parent object coordinate system Local—Uses the coordinate system of the selected object.
426 Chapter 6: Transforms: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects Using an active grid coordinate system. Using another object as the coordinate system Pick—Uses the coordinate system of another object in the scene. After you choose Pick, click to select the single object whose coordinate system the transforms will use. The object’s name appears in the Transform Coordinate System list.
Use Selection Center rotation or scaling of one or more objects around their respective pivot points (page 3–1089). The axis tripods (page 1–403) show the centers that are currently being used. transform before you select the center mode. If you do not want the center setting to change, turn on Customize menu > Preferences > General tab > Reference Coordinate System group > Constant.
428 Chapter 6: Transforms: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects Restrict To X (page 1–428) Restrict To Y (page 1–429) Restrict To Z (page 1–429) Restrict To XY Plane (page 1–430) Restrict To YZ Plane (page 1–431) An example of the World coordinate center Restrict To ZX Plane (page 1–431) Transform Constraints Controls for constraining transforms to operate along a single axis, or in a single plane, are on the Axis Constraints toolbar (page 3–735), which by default is not displayed.
Restrict To Y constraints to change, turn on Customize menu > Preferences > General tab > Reference Coordinate System group > Constant. The axis constraints are stored separately at object and sub-object levels. If you set these three controls one way while in sub-object mode and another way while in object selection level, when you return to sub-object mode, they’re restored to the way they were previously set.
430 Chapter 6: Transforms: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects Preferences > General tab > Reference Coordinate System group > Constant. The axis constraints are stored separately at object and sub-object levels. If you set these three controls one way while in sub-object mode and another way while in object selection level, when you return to sub-object mode, they’re restored to the way they were previously set.
Restrict To YZ Plane Note: Constraints are set on a transform-bytransform basis, so select the transform before you select the axis constraint. If you do not want the constraints to change, turn on Customize menu > Preferences > General tab > Reference Coordinate System group > Constant. Note: Constraints are set on a transform-bytransform basis, so select the transform before you select the axis constraint.
432 Chapter 6: Transforms: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects Note: Constraints are set on a transform-bytransform basis, so select the transform before you select the axis constraint. If you do not want the constraints to change, turn on Customize menu > Preferences > General tab > Reference Coordinate System group > Constant. The axis constraints are stored separately at object and sub-object levels.
Mirror Selected Objects The Array flyout, available from the Extras toolbar (page 3–736), provides access to various tools for creating arrays of objects.
434 Chapter 6: Transforms: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects To make a clone using mirror: Offset—Specifies the distance of the mirrored 1. Make any object selection object’s pivot point (page 3–1089) from the original object’s pivot point. 2. Click Mirror on the Main toolbar, or choose Tools menu > Mirror. The Mirror dialog opens. 3. In the Clone Selection group, choose Copy, Instance, or Reference. 4. Make any additional settings as desired and then click OK.
Array Array Tip: You can preview the array by turning on the Preview button. With Preview on, changing the array settings updates the viewports in real time. Extras toolbar > Array Procedures Tools menu > Array To create an array: 1. Select the object(s) to array. 2. Choose Tools > Array. 3. On the Array dialog, select the type of object to output: Copy, Instance, (page 3–1051) or Reference (page 3–1096)). 4. In the Preview group, click the Preview button to turn it on.
436 Chapter 6: Transforms: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects 3. Choose Tools > Array, and adjust any parameters on the Array dialog that is displayed. 4. Click OK to create a new array, which replaces Example: To create a 360-degree array: 1. Reset 3ds Max. 2. Near the top of the Front viewport (away from its center), create a long, thin box at the twelve-o’clock position (as if the viewport were a clock face). the previous version. Repeat these steps to fine-tune the array.
Array Dialog transform settings, so the group title changes depending on the transform settings. Click the left or right arrow button for Move, Rotate, or Scale to indicate whether you want to set Incremental or Total array parameters. Incremental Move—Specifies the distance between each arrayed object along the X, Y, and Z axes, in units. Rotate—Specifies the degree of rotation about any of the three axes for each object in the array, in degrees.
438 Chapter 6: Transforms: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects multiplying this value times the number of objects in the selection set. Preview—Toggles a viewport preview of the current array settings. Changing a setting updates the viewports immediately. If the update slows down feedback with large arrays of complex objects, turn on Display As Box. Display as Box—Displays the array-preview objects as bounding boxes instead of geometry.
Snapshot Dialog Interface 2. Click the Snapshot button on the Extras toolbar > Array flyout, or choose Tools menu > Snapshot. 3. Set parameters in the dialog, and click OK. To space clones evenly by distance: 1. Select an object with an animated position. 2. Open Track View and find the Position track for the original object. 3. Click Assign Controller and check that the track is using a Bezier Position controller.
440 Chapter 6: Transforms: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects Reference—Clones references (page 3–1096) of the selected object. Not available with particle systems. Mesh—Use this to create mesh geometry out of particle system. Works with all kinds of particles. Spacing Tool Extras toolbar > Spacing Tool (on Array flyout) Tools menu > Spacing Tool objects. Before creating shapes, turn off Start New Shape on the Create panel. Then create your shapes.
Spacing Tool 7. Under Context, choose Edge to specify that spacing be determined from the facing edges of each object’s bounding box, or choose Centers to specify that spacing be determined from the center of each object’s bounding box. 8. Turn on Follow if you want to align the pivot points of the distributed objects to the tangent of the spline. 9. Under Type of Object, select the type of object to output (copy, instance (page 3–1051), or reference (page 3–1096)). 10. Click Apply.
442 Chapter 6: Transforms: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects • Centered, Specify Spacing—Distributes objects along a path. The group of objects is centered at the middle of the path. The Spacing tool attempts to evenly fill the path with as many objects as it can fit along the length of the path using the amount of space you specify. Whether there are objects at the ends of the path depends on the length of the path and the spacing you provide.
Spacing Tool between objects. The software locks the end offset so that it’s the same as the spacing. • Space from End, Specify Number—Distributes the number of objects you specify toward the start of a spline or a pair of points, starting at the end. The Spacing tool determines the amount of space between objects based on the number of objects and the length of the spline or the distance between the pair of points. The software locks the end offset so that it’s the same as the spacing.
444 Chapter 6: Transforms: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects Type of Object group Determines the type of copies made by the Spacing tool. The default is Copy. You can copy, instance (page 3–1051), or reference (page 3–1096) objects. Copy—Distributes copies of the selected object to the specified position. Instance—Distributes instances of the selected object to the specified position. Reference—Distributes references of the selected object to the specified position.
Clone and Align Tool 8. To make the clones permanent, click Apply, and then click Cancel or the close button (X, in upper-right corner) to close the dialog. Interface non-modal nature, you can change the selection of source and destination objects on the fly and see the results immediately in the viewports. When the dialog focus is lost by activating another dialog or clicking in a viewport (that is, its title bar is gray rather than blue), the preview no longer appears in the viewports.
446 Chapter 6: Transforms: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects then select source objects in the viewports. When you click the dialog, the field updates. object’s orientation about each axis. For an Offset value to take effect, the respective Orientation check box must be on. Link to Destination—Links each clone as a child of its destination object. Match Scale —Use the X Axis, Y Axis, and Z Axis Clone Parameters rollout options to match the scale axis values between the source and destination.
Align The Align flyout, available from the Main toolbar (page 3–733), provides access to six different tools for aligning objects. These are, from top to bottom: Align (page 1–447) Quick Align (page 1–450) on the Main toolbar so that the axis tripod is properly aligned with your sub-object selection. Other alignment tools on the Align flyout are Quick Align (page 1–450), Normal Align (page 1–450), Place Highlight (page 1–452), Align to Camera (page 1–453), and Align to View (page 1–453).
448 Chapter 6: Transforms: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects You can align the position and orientation of the bounding box (page 3–1013) of the source object to the bounding box of a target object. To align objects by position and orientation: 1. Select a source object (the object to move into alignment with the target object). You can use the Align tool with any selection that can be transformed.
Align Dialog 3. Click to select a target object in the viewport. (You can select the same object containing the gizmo to align the gizmo to a part of its own object.) 4. Use the available settings in the Align dialog to Align Position group X/Y/Z Position—Specifies on which axis or axes to perform the alignment. Turning on all three options moves the current object to the target object’s location. adjust the transformation of the gizmo.
450 Chapter 6: Transforms: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects Match Scale group Interface Use the X Axis, Y Axis, and Z Axis options to match the scale axis values between the two selected objects. This matches only the scale values you’d see in the Transform Type-In (page 1–412). It does not necessarily cause two objects to be the same size. There will be no change in size if neither of the objects has previously been scaled. Quick Align has no user interface or options.
Normal Align Dialog Normal Align Dialog Main toolbar > Normal Align > Normal Align dialog • Click Cancel Align to cancel the alignment procedure. Interface Tools menu > Normal Align > Normal Align dialog The Normal Align dialog, displayed by the Normal Align tool (page 1–450), enables you to align the normals (page 3–1074) of two objects. Procedure To align normals: 1. Select a source object. This is the object that moves during alignment. 2.
452 Chapter 6: Transforms: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects OK/Cancel Align—The Cancel button is labeled Cancel Align to make it clear that you’re not only canceling the settings in the dialog, but canceling the original transform (page 3–1120) of the source object. Highlight with a selection set that contains more than one object. All objects maintain their initial distance from the face. In this case it has nothing to do with highlights, but is simply being used to position objects.
Align Camera If the button is not visible on the toolbar, choose it from the Align flyout. 4. Drag over the object to place the highlight. When you place an omni, free spot, or directional light, the software displays a face normal for the face the mouse indicates. When you place a target spotlight, the software displays the light’s target and the base of its cone. 5. Release the mouse when the normal or target display indicates the face you want to highlight.
454 Chapter 6: Transforms: Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects Align to View Dialog Main toolbar > Align to View (on Align flyout) > Align to View dialog Tools menu > Align to View > Align to View dialog. The Align to View dialog lets you match the local axis of an object or sub-object selection with the Z axis of the current viewport. There is also a Flip option to reverse the selection on the Z axis.
Creating Copies and Arrays Creating Copies and Arrays With 3ds Max, you can quickly create multiple versions of one or more selected objects during a transform operation. You do this by holding down the SHIFT key as you move, rotate, or scale the selection. • Mirror produces a "reflected" clone about one or more axes. If you mirror an object without cloning, the result is a "flip" of the geometry, optionally to a new location.
456 Chapter 7: Creating Copies and Arrays • Using the Array Dialog (page 1–470) • Creating Linear Arrays (page 1–472) • Creating Circular and Spiral Arrays (page 1–474) Mirroring Objects (page 1–475) Using the Spacing Tool (page 1–476) Overview of Copies, Instances, and References To duplicate an object, you use one of three methods. For all three methods, the original and clone (or clones) are identical at the geometry level.
Overview of Copies, Instances, and References own set of transforms, space warp bindings, and object properties, but it shares the object modifiers and master object with the other instances. The data flow for an instance branches just after evaluating object modifiers. When you change one instance by applying or adjusting a modifier, for example, all the other instances change with it. Within 3ds Max, instances derive from the same master object.
458 Chapter 7: Creating Copies and Arrays At some point, if you wanted to see what your characters would look like as "cone-heads," you could apply a Taper modifier to the original head, and have all the other characters take on the same feature. You could give the original character a very pointed head, then apply a separate Taper to some referenced characters to reduce the point toward normal.
Techniques for Cloning Objects How you set the center and axes for the transforms determines the arrangement of the cloned objects. Depending on the settings, you can create both linear and radial arrays. Array You need a working knowledge of transform features to take full advantage of SHIFT+Clone. See Using Transforms (page 1–403).
460 Chapter 7: Creating Copies and Arrays Mirror Spacing Tool Mirroring an object The Spacing Tool distributes the vases along the sides of the curved street. Mirror produces a symmetrical copy around any combination of axes. There is also a "No Clone" option that performs the mirror operation without copying. The effect is a flip or move of the object to a new orientation. Mirror has an interactive dialog.
Clone Clone Make a selection. > Edit menu > Clone Make a selection. > Hold down SHIFT key. > Move, rotate, or scale the selection with the mouse. by holding down the SHIFT key as you transform the selection. Procedures To clone an object without transforming it: 1. Select an object, or set of objects. 2. From the Edit menu, choose the Clone command. 3. The Clone Options dialog opens. Note: All options are present except Number Of Copies. 4. Change the settings or accept the defaults, and then click OK.
462 Chapter 7: Creating Copies and Arrays Interface hierarchy. With instanced transform controllers, you can change the transform animation of one set of linked children, and automatically have the change affect any cloned sets. Copy—Places a copy of the selected object at the This allows you to animate all clones identically with a single animation setup. For example, consider a scene containing three objects named Torso, Thigh, and Calf.
Using SHIFT+Clone named building and the second will be named building01. Cloning with SHIFT+Scale (page 1–465) Animating SHIFT+Clone Using SHIFT+Clone SHIFT+Clone is the primary way to duplicate objects in 3ds Max. You hold down the SHIFT key and drag during any of the standard transform operations: Move, Rotate, or Scale. To use SHIFT+Clone with an object: 1. On the main toolbar, click the Move, Rotate, or Scale button. 2. Select a transform coordinate system and constraints.
464 Chapter 7: Creating Copies and Arrays a major axis of the home grid, then group the pickets, rotate them to a particular angle, and move them into position. You can also make three-dimensional arrays with SHIFT+Move. The main choice is the combination of axes to allow movement off the construction plane. For example, to build a stairway, you can create a box that forms the top step, then use SHIFT+Move to copy it diagonally downward, using an array to create a downward flight.
Cloning with SHIFT+Scale 5. Choose the number of copies you want to make on the Clone Options dialog, and whether you want them to be copies, instances, or references. Effects of Transform Settings Where you locate the transform center determines how 3ds Max positions clones when using SHIFT+Rotate. • For all settings, the direction of rotation is constrained by the active axis or axes of the viewport’s coordinate system.
466 Chapter 7: Creating Copies and Arrays spacing increases or decreases proportionately with respect to the transform center. Nested Copies When the selection center is used as the transform center for a single object, scaling occurs symmetrically around that center, producing nested copies. • As you scale in toward the center, smaller and smaller copies are created. SHIFT+Scale creates a clone of a different size. To clone with SHIFT+Scale: 1. Click a Scale button on the main toolbar. 2.
Animating SHIFT+Rotate and SHIFT+Scale choosing Axis Constraints from the Customize Display right-click menu (page 3–831). Animating SHIFT+Rotate and SHIFT+Scale When the Auto Key button (page 3–760) is on, the transform center defaults to local pivot, and the Use Center flyout (page 1–426) on the toolbar is unavailable. If you choose one of the other centers and activate Auto Key, the center returns to the local pivot.
468 Chapter 7: Creating Copies and Arrays 2. In the Animate group, turn off Local Center During Animate. This changes the default and makes all the transform center options available when animating. You can now animate around either the selection or transform coordinate center, as well as local pivot. Note: Changing the default setting animates the rotation you see in viewports as a rotation plus translation, which might not be the effect you wanted.
Arraying Objects you can get with Array would be laborious or impossible using SHIFT+Clone techniques. Reuse of Array Settings Generally you should approach Array creation as an iterative process. The dialog settings are not interactive, so you get feedback only after creating the array. By revising the current settings and repeating the array, you develop a solution that meets your needs.
470 Chapter 7: Creating Copies and Arrays • To make an array of a hierarchically linked object, select all the objects in the hierarchy before you click Array. Move, Rotate, and Scale Transforms Using the Array Dialog • Move is set in current units. Use a negative value to create the array in the negative direction of the axis. The Array dialog provides two main control areas where you set the important parameters: Array Transformation and Array Dimensions.
Using the Array Dialog array, each object is rotated 30 degrees farther than the one before it. Totals: Parameters set on this side apply to the overall distance, number or degrees, or percentage scale in the array. Here are examples: • A Totals Move X setting of 25 specifies a total distance of 25 units on the X axis between the centers of the first and last arrayed objects.
472 Chapter 7: Creating Copies and Arrays A three-dimensional array, with 1D Count=10, 2D Count=6, 3D Count=3 Incremental Row Offsets These parameters become available when you choose a 2D or 3D array. These are distances along any of the three axes of the current coordinate system. • If you set a Count value for 2D or 3D, but no row offsets, the array is created with overlapping objects. You need to specify at least one offset distance to prevent this.
Creating Linear Arrays • Click OK to create a linear array along the chosen axis, with the number of objects specified by Count. you add rotation to a linear array, the choice of transform center becomes important. Using Scale in Linear Arrays 2D and 3D Linear Arrays Arrays in 2D and 3D have the same Array Transformation group setup as 1D, with the addition of Incremental Row Offsets settings for moving the additional dimensions apart. • Set 2D or 3D and enter a Count value.
474 Chapter 7: Creating Copies and Arrays If you turn on Uniform, only the Scale X field is active; the Y and Z fields are unavailable. The X value is applied as uniform scaling on all axes of the arrayed objects. Circular Arrays Creating Circular and Spiral Arrays Creating circular and spiral arrays typically involves some combination of moving, scaling, and rotating copies along one or two axes and around a common center.
Mirroring Objects This is the total rotation for the array, a complete circle. To create a partial circle, enter a smaller value. 5. Choose 1D and enter a Count value (this can be any number) and click OK. 3ds Max arrays that number of clones within the total rotational angle you specify. Spiral Arrays Reorienting an Array By default, each object, when copied into the array, rotates around its own center to follow the main rotation around the common center. This is controlled by the Re-Orient option.
476 Chapter 7: Creating Copies and Arrays Mirrored Arrays You can combine the Mirror and Array tools by using them in succession. An entire array can be mirrored, or you can set up mirrored objects before creating an array. Animating Mirror When you use Mirror with Auto Key turned on, you see the transition occur as the mirrored object moves into place. For example, a cylinder mirrored to the other side of an axis appears to flatten and reshape itself.
Using the Spacing Tool The parameters available for Count, Spacing, Start Offset, and End Offset depend on the spacing option you choose. 5. Specify the number of objects to distribute by entering a Count value, or by using the spinner. 6. Depending on the spacing option you choose, adjust the spacing and offsets. 7. In the Context group, choose one of the following: • Edges specifies that spacing be determined from the facing edges of each object’s bounding box.
478 Chapter 7: Creating Copies and Arrays
Modifiers Using Modifiers • When you delete a modifier, all its changes to the object disappear. Modifiers provide a way for you to sculpt and edit objects. They can change the geometry of an object, and its properties. • You can move and copy modifiers to other objects using controls in the modifier stack display (page 3–802). • The order or sequence in which you add modifiers is important. Each modifier affects those that come after it.
480 Chapter 8: Modifiers An object can carry any number of modifiers, but it always has only a single set of transforms. The transforms of an object are expressed as a matrix of values that contain the following information: • Position of the object center in world space • Rotation of the object in world space • Scale of the object along its local axes The matrix is called the transformation matrix, and its information relates directly to the transforms Move, Rotate, and Scale.
Transforms, Modifiers, and Object Data Flow Diagram of data flow Object creation parameters in the Modify panel and Track View Master Object Master object refers to an object defined by a set of creation parameters and the original position and orientation of its pivot point. You never see the master object.
482 Chapter 8: Modifiers The effect of transforms is independent of the order in which they are applied. The order in which you apply modifiers, on the other hand, does affect the resulting geometry. If you want to apply a transform that is evaluated in a specific order in the modifier stack, use the XForm modifier (page 1–942). Object modifiers in the Modify panel and Track View Transforming a modified object Space Warps Space warps (page 2–51) are evaluated after transforms.
List of Available Modifiers 1–111), such as shadow-casting properties; and materials you have applied to the object. Camera Map Modifier (Object Space) (page 1–547) This is the end of the data flow, and the result is the named object you see in your scene. Camera Map Modifier (World Space) (page 1–498) Right-click an object and choose Properties to display its Object Properties dialog.
484 Chapter 8: Modifiers Garment Maker Modifier (page 1–587) Physique Modifier (page 2–957) Hair and Fur Modifier (page 1–506) Point Cache Modifier (page 1–750) HSDS Modifier (page 1–693) Point Cache Modifier (World Space) (page 1–536) Lathe Modifier (page 1–699) Poly Select Modifier (page 1–752) Lattice Modifier (page 1–701) Preserve Modifier (page 1–757) Linked XForm Modifier (page 1–703) Projection Modifier (page 1–760) LS Colors Modifier (World Space) (page 1–531) Projection Holder Modifi
Using the Modify Panel Surface Mapper Modifier (World Space) (page 1–536) Basics of Using Modifiers Surface Modifier (page 1–833) SurfDeform Modifier (page 1–838) SurfDeform Modifier (World Space) (page 1–537) Sweep Modifier (page 1–839) Symmetry Modifier (page 1–851) Taper Modifier (page 1–853) Tessellate Modifier (page 1–854) Trim/Extend Modifier (page 1–856) TurboSmooth Modifier (page 1–857) Turn To Mesh Modifier (page 1–860) Turn To Patch Modifier (page 1–862) Turn To Poly Modifier (page 1–863) Twist
486 Chapter 8: Modifiers 3. Apply a modifier to an object. After you apply a modifier, it becomes active, and rollouts below the modifier stack display settings specific to the active modifier. To apply a modifier to an object: 1. Select the object. 2. Do one of the following: • Choose a modifier from the Modifier List. This is a drop-down list at the top of the Modify panel. • Choose a modifier from the Modifiers menu. Like the Modifier List, this menu is organized into sets.
Using the Modifier Stack Note: Some modifiers can be applied only to certain types of objects. Modifier Sub-Object Levels In addition to its own set of parameters, a modifier typically has one or more sub-object levels that you access through the modifier stack (page 1–487). The most common of these are a gizmo and a center. Gizmo—Displays in viewports as a wireframe that initially surrounds the selected object.
488 Chapter 8: Modifiers Internally, the software "evaluates" an object beginning at the bottom of the stack and applies changes to the object by moving sequentially to the top of the stack. You should therefore "read" the stack from bottom up to follow the sequence used by the software in displaying or rendering the final object. Here is an example of stack entries for a capsule object (an extended primitive): modifier.) These always appear at the top, and are described as "bindings.
Editing the Stack and on the right-hand tube, the Bend is applied first. Editing the Stack You can copy, cut, and paste modifiers within an object’s stack, or into the stacks of other objects. Among other features, you can give modifiers explicit names to help you remember the intended effect. To edit the stack: 1. Choose an item in the stack. 2. Right-click.
490 Chapter 8: Modifiers for object-space types, the paste occurs at the top of the world-space section. The reverse is also true. Unique and Instanced Modifiers By default, pasted modifiers are unique: they lose all connection with the modifier from which they were copied. Compare with an instanced modifier, which is shared between two or more objects. Changing a parameter on an instanced modifier automatically changes the same parameter on the other instanced objects.
Edit Modifiers and Editable Objects To collapse the stack: 1. Right-click the modifier stack display. 2. If modifiers have been applied to the object, choose Collapse To or Collapse All. Collapse To—Collapses the stack, up to and including the chosen modifier, into an editable object. Modifiers on the stack above the chosen modifier are not affected, and you can still adjust them individually. The resultant object type depends on the uppermost modifier that outputs a specific geometry type, if any.
492 Chapter 8: Modifiers Editable Spline (page 1–284) Editable Patch Surface (page 1–950) To apply an Edit modifier, see any of the following topics: Edit Mesh Modifier (page 1–613) Edit Spline Modifier (page 1–671) Edit Patch Modifier (page 1–617) To apply a Select modifier, see the following topics: Mesh Select Modifier (page 1–710) Poly Select Modifier (page 1–752) Spline Select Modifier (page 1–822) Volume Select Modifier (page 1–935) Patch Select Modifier (page 1–743) Modifying at the Sub-Object L
Using the Stack at the Sub-Object Level hierarchy, showing the names of the sub-object levels at which you can work. 3. On the stack display, choose the kind of sub-object geometry you want to work with: for example, Vertex, Face, or Edge. Each sub-object selection level has rollouts with their own sets of options. The sub-object level highlight is yellow by default. 4. Use standard selection techniques to select sub-object geometry, from a single sub-object to the entire object.
494 Chapter 8: Modifiers Working at Two Levels To return the stack to object level: When you select an object and apply modifiers (for example, Bend and Taper), you’re working with the object as a single unit, or "whole object", at the object level. 1. At any point in the stack, apply another Mesh When you make a sub-object selection, the stack display changes to show you are no longer working with the whole object.
Modifying Multiple Objects 2. In the Selection rollout, click Copy. From the dialog, choose any available named selection set for that level of geometry. 3. Go to another Select modifier or to an editable mesh or poly, at the same level of geometry. Click Paste to complete the copy. Modifying Multiple Objects You can apply modifiers to multiple objects. In general, the process is parallel to modifying a single object. You make a selection set and apply an available modifier.
496 Chapter 8: Modifiers The Principle of Commonality When you select multiple objects, 3ds Max determines what the particular selected set of geometry has in common, if anything. Given any "commonality" among objects, 3ds Max presents the options as available modifiers. Unavailable modifiers represent areas where commonality does not hold. You can apply modifiers to different categories of objects, depending on the modifier. For example, you might apply a Bend to both a 3D object and a 2D shape.
How Instanced Modifiers Work Changing the parameter of an instanced modifier for one object affects all the objects sharing the modifier. Objects sharing a single instanced modifier Identifying Instanced Modifiers Making Instanced Modifiers Unique You can quickly lose track of which objects share the same modifier. An option on the Views menu highlights those objects. At some point in your work, you might want to turn a modifier instance into a local copy that affects only a single object.
498 Chapter 8: Modifiers To make multiple modifier instances unique: 1. Select two or more objects with the same instanced modifier. The stack now shows what the objects have in common. 2. Choose the instanced modifier in the stack. There can be more than one instanced modifier in this stack. Click the one you want to make unique for each of the selected objects. 3. Click Make Unique. 4. Click Yes to make the two objects become independent of one another.
Displace Mesh Modifier (World Space) the background as you apply to the object, the object is invisible in the rendered scene. The main difference between the world-space version of Camera Map and the object-space version is that, when you move the camera or the object using the object-space version, the object becomes visible, because the UVW coordinates are fixed to the object’s local coordinates.
500 Chapter 8: Modifiers you can delete the original object, or you can keep it in your scene to use for other purposes. updated automatically because that can become extremely time consuming. Tip: Use Disp Approx to displace editable Custom Settings—When turned off, Displace Mesh meshes. Use Displace Mesh for previewing, as in the first item, but avoid using Snapshot. The mesh created by using Displace Mesh and Snapshot can have a high polygon count.
Displace NURBS Modifier (World Space) Custom Settings and Subdivision Displacement are both turned on. They are identical to the surface approximation controls (page 1–1241) for NURBS surfaces. Displace NURBS Modifier (World Space) Select a NURBS object. > Modify panel > Modifier List > World-Space Modifiers > * Displace NURBS The Displace NURBS world-space modifier (World Space) converts a NURBS (page 1–1079) object into a mesh.
502 Chapter 8: Modifiers updated automatically because that could become extremely time consuming. Viewport—Uses the tessellation that the NURBS object currently uses in viewports. Renderer—Uses the tessellation that the NURBS object currently uses for the renderer. Basic Concepts Storing and manipulating millions of dynamic, simulated hairs is very demanding on today’s technology.
Hair Overview and Fur modifier. You will see some preview interpolated hairs appear. With Interpolation on, the order of the splines is important because Hair uses the order to create hair in between the splines. If the interpolation seems incoherent, you might need to physically rearrange the splines. Frizz settings affect the hairs but not the guides. Note: By default, a percentage of hairs appear in the viewports, but guides do not.
504 Chapter 8: Modifiers The next example shows how increasing the Frizz Root value creates greater amounts of distortion in the resulting instanced hairs. This image also shows how a raised pivot in the source object causes the root of the hair to go below the surface of the growth object (red square). Compare this with the previous example, in which the pivot rests at the base of the source object.
Hair Overview order to manipulate the guides directly (that is, to style the hair), you will need to launch the Style dialog (page 1–524). First, select the Hair and Fur modifier you want to edit, and then click the Style Hair button on the Tools rollout. You can style spline-based hair in the viewports by manipulating the splines. Designating Collision Surfaces After styling guides, hair is interpolated between neighboring guide pairs. To exit and accept changes, click the Done button.
506 Chapter 8: Modifiers shadows will cast shadows from rendered hair. For Hair’s buffer render to consider only certain spot lights for lighting the hair, select the lights you’d like Hair to use, and then go to the Hair and Fur render effect, turn off “Use all lights at render time” and then click “Add Hair Properties.” This causes only the designated spot lights to illuminate the hair.
Hair and Fur Modifier Copying and Pasting Hair You can copy/paste a Hair and Fur modifier from one stack to another, but it depends on a few things to do this properly. You need to line up the objects as closely as possible, since Hair uses proximity to determine how to position copied guides. If the objects are significantly different, the transfer of guides could be inaccurate. Copying and pasting the Hair and Fur modifier automatically adjusts the hair scaling.
508 Chapter 8: Modifiers 2. On the Dynamics rollout (scroll the command panel down to view it), set Mode to Live. 3. Move the object around. The hair moves realistically. 4. On the Tools rollout, click Regrow Hair. The hair resumes its default position, growing straight out of the object. 5. Click the Play Animation button. 6. The hair settles and droops, as if affected by gravity.
Hair and Fur Modifier 7. In the Mode group, choose None, and then play the animation again. The dynamics animation no longer appears. However, it’s still stored in the stat files, and will reappear if you choose Precomputed. 8. Make sure Precomputed is on, and then render the animation. Interface Selection rollout Polygon—Accesses Polygon sub-object level, which lets you select polygons beneath the cursor. Region selection selects multiple polygons within the region.
510 Chapter 8: Modifiers your base object is an editable poly, you can use tools such as Ring, Loop, and Grow to make a procedural edge selection, and then CTRL+click the Polygon button on the Selection rollout to convert the selection to polygons. Next, apply a Mesh Select modifier (not Poly Select), and go to the Polygon sub-object level; the Mesh Select modifier inherits the Editable Poly selection.
Hair and Fur Modifier groom the hair in the Style dialog. For optimal control, position the splines fairly closely together and use as many as possible. Presets—Lets you load and save hair presets. Each preset contains all current Modify panel settings (except Display settings), but not any styling information. • Load: Opens the Hair Presets dialog, which contains a list of presets in the form of named swatches. To load a preset, double-click its swatch.
512 Chapter 8: Modifiers To stop using the instance node permanently, click the Clear Instance button (label=X). Guides -> Splines—Copies all guides to a new, single spline object. The original guides are left intact. Note: Hair does not use animation from instance Hair -> Splines—Copies all hairs to a new, single objects. If an object is animated, Hair uses its state at the first animation frame. spline object. The original hairs are left intact.
Hair and Fur Modifier actual number of rendered hairs as well, although the apparent density, or fill, seems about the same because of the additional transparency. Render time also increases linearly. Top: Hair Count=1000 Bottom: Hair Count=9000 By default, Hair normalizes density to surface area; that is, larger polygons receive more hairs than smaller ones. If you edit the growth object in a way that changes the polygon-size ratios, use Reset Rest to adjust the hair distribution automatically.
514 Chapter 8: Modifiers the map whose gray value is 50% will reduce the amount of hair grown in that area by 50%. To change the overall hair count, use the Hair Count value (see above). is re-parameterized on the fly, and should not be confused with a density map. It’s really more useful as an animated effect for growing hair (for example, creating a wolfman character).
Hair and Fur Modifier Material Parameters rollout Top: Root Thick=10.0, Tip Thick=0.0 Bottom: Tip Thick=10.0, Root Thick=0.0 Displacement—Distance of hair roots from surface of growth object. Default=0.0. Range=-999999.0 to 999999.0. Possible uses for this setting include animating the hair falling onto or moving away from the growth object. Interpolate—When on, hair growth is interpolated among the guide hairs, and the surface is fully populated with hair according to the General Parameters settings.
516 Chapter 8: Modifiers model. A setting of 100.0 renders the hair with flat lighting. A value of 0.0 is lit only by scene light sources, typically resulting in a higher-contrast solution. Default=40.0. Range=0.0 to 100.0. base. The UVW mapping used for the texture is the same as that of the growth object. For results closest to the map colors, set Tip Color and Root Color to white. Alternatively, set a different color to tint the map coloring.
Hair and Fur Modifier Mutant Color—The color for mutant hairs. Mutant hairs are randomly selected, based on the Mutant % value (see following), and receive this color. One example of mutant hairs are the gray hairs that appear as we age. Mutant %—The percentage of hairs that receive the mutant color (see above). You can animate the Mutant % value to produce, for example, a rapidly aging character. Default=0.0. Range=0.0 to 100.0. Left: Specular=0.0, Glossiness=0.0 Center: Specular=100.0, Glossiness=75.
518 Chapter 8: Modifiers to a spot light, and then changing the Hair Light Attr rollout (page 2–1196) settings for the light. Geom Shadow—The amount of shadow contribution hair receives from geometry in the scene. Default=100.0. Range=0.0 to 100.0. Geom Mat ID—The material ID assigned to geometry-rendered hair. Default=1. Frizz Parameters rollout 1. Frizz Root/Tip=0.0 2. Frizz Root=50.0, Frizz X/Y/Z Freq=14.0 3. Frizz Root=150.0, Frizz X/Y/Z Freq=60.0 4. Frizz Tip=30.0, Frizz X/Y/Z Freq=14.0 5.
Hair and Fur Modifier Left: Differing values for Frizz Root and Frizz Tip result in curved hairs. Right: When Frizz Root=Frizz Tip, the hairs are straight. All Frizz/Kink settings=0.0; this reference image provided for comparison with the Frizz and Kink illustrations (below). Frizz Root—Controls the displacement of the hair at its root. Default=15.5. Range=0.0 to 360.0. Frizz Tip—Controls the displacement of the hair at its tip. Default=130.0. Range=0.0 to 360.0.
520 Chapter 8: Modifiers Kink Parameters rollout Kink displacement works similarly to Frizz, but evaluates noise lookups along the whole length of the guide. The result is a noise pattern that works on a larger scale than the Frizz noise. The effect is similar to crimped hair. Kink Root=0.5, Kink Tip=0.0, Kink X/Y/Z Freq=4.0 Top: Styled Bottom: Unstyled Kink Tip—Controls the amount of kink displacement of the hair at its tip. Default=0.0. Range=0.0 to 100.0 1. All settings=0.0 (no kink) 2.
Hair and Fur Modifier Multi Strand Parameters rollout Some degree of clumping gets naturally created when you use Frizz at low frequencies, but you can go a bit further here with the Multi Strand parameters. For each hair that is normally rendered, Multi Strand renders a clump of additional hairs scattered around the original hair. The Splay settings control the degree of scattering at the roots and tips, and Multi Strand Count controls the number of hairs to create for the clump.
522 Chapter 8: Modifiers Dynamics rollout For hair to seem natural in an animation, it must respond to the motion of the body it’s attached to as well as external influences such as wind and gravity. Hair’s Dynamics functions let the hair behave as real-world hair, in interactive (Live) or Precomputed mode. Mode—The method Hair uses to generate dynamics. Live mode is suitable for experimentation, but Precomputed should be used for rendering animation with Hair. • None: Hair doesn’t simulate dynamics.
Hair and Fur Modifier Hair adds a four-digit frame number (with leading zeroes) and the filename extension “.stat” to the name you provide (e.g., hair_test0001.stat). Delete all files—Deletes any stat files with the prefix you defined from the target directory. Tip: You can still use stat files even if you move them to another location. Follow this procedure: 1. Open the MAX file used to generate the stat files. 2. On the Modify panel > Dynamics rollout, click the ... [ellipsis] button. 3.
524 Chapter 8: Modifiers • Polygon: Hair considers each polygon in the collision object(s). This is the slowest method, but the most accurate. Display Guides—When on, Hair displays guides in Use Growth Object—When on, hair collides with the growth (mesh) object. To change the color used to display guides, click the color swatch. [collision objects list]—Use the Add, Replace, and Note: Guides do not reflect settings made to the hair, such as Frizz.
Style Dialog (Hair) object with the guides only, but you can preview the hair non-interactively, showing the results of styling, whenever you like. Note: The Style dialog functions as a discrete but linked OpenGL application. While it’s open, a separate button appears for it on the Windows taskbar, but you can’t access the 3ds Max application until you close the Style dialog. Tip: To improve performance in the Style dialogue, try any or all of these: • Turn off collisions.
526 Chapter 8: Modifiers • CTRL+D: Select None. • CTRL+A: Select All. • B: Resizes brush. Press and hold the B key and move the mouse to resize the brush; activates Brush mode. • ALT+MMB drag: Rotate view. • CTRL+R, move mouse: Rotate view. • ALT+CTRL+MMB drag: Zoom view. • [arrow keys]: Pan view. • MMB drag: Pan view. • P, move mouse: Pan view. • , [comma key]: Zoom out. • . [period key]: Zoom in. • Z: Zoom Extents Selected. • SPACEBAR: Zoom Extents. • CTRL+Z: Undo. • U: Undo.
Style Dialog (Hair) Select by Hair Ends [H]—You can select only the vertex at the end of each guide hair. Select Whole Strand [J]—Selecting any vertex on a guide hair selects all vertices on the guide hair. When you first open the Style dialog, Hair activates this mode and selects all vertices of all guide hairs. Select by Vertex [K]—You can select any vertices on a guide hair.
528 Chapter 8: Modifiers Left: Guide hairs before styling with Stand Center: Guide hairs during styling with Stand Right: Guide hairs after styling with Stand Puff Roots [T ]—Pushes selected guide hairs toward a perpendicular orientation to the surface. The bias for this tool is closer to the root of the hair than to the endpoint.
Style Dialog (Hair) Preview—Performs a quick, low-quality rendering of the hair as currently styled. Press ESC to exit the preview and return to the standard view. Left: Hair guides on top of head were scaled to zero length. Right: Using Pop Zero affects only the zero-length hair guides. Preview shows the hair as it will render. Editing functions Toggle Collisions—To enable collisions in the Style dialog, you need to have already added a collision object via the Hair modifier > Dynamics rollout.
530 Chapter 8: Modifiers smaller polygons in areas with shorter hair. For example, the polygons on an animals paws are usually smaller than the ones on the chest, and the chest fur tends to be longer. This is a good starting point for fur. Generally, before you begin fine tweaking, you want to get the comb right. This defines the flow of hair over a surface. Cut Hair [C]—Lets you trim the guide hairs. To cut hair, press the C key while the brush circle is over selected vertices to cut.
LS Colors Modifier (World Space) LS Colors Modifier (World Space) Select a Lightscape mesh object. > Modify panel > Modifier List > World-Space Modifiers > * LS Colors The LS Colors modifier converts Lightscape radiosity values to 3ds Max vertex colors. When a Lightscape model is imported into 3ds Max, the radiosity values are kept as irradiances; that is, they describe the intensity of light falling on a mesh in physical units. This modifier converts the physical units to RGB colors.
532 Chapter 8: Modifiers faces, unless the material is textured. If textures are displayed by multiplying them by the vertex colors, they will be correctly displayed. Add to colors—When on, the result of the color conversion is added to existing vertex color values, if there are any. Default=off. Use self-illumination—When on, the material’s self illumination is included in the final vertex colors. Default=on.
PatchDeform Modifier (World Space) Wrap Texture—When on, Map Scaler attempts to wrap the texture evenly around the object. This option requires more computing, but usually produces the most satisfactory results. Default=on. Wrap Using Smoothing Groups—When turned on, textures are wrapped around corners when they share the same smoothing groups. Curved walls will map smoothly while sharp corners get a new texture origin. This switch is only available when the Wrap Textures switch is turned on. Default=off.
534 Chapter 8: Modifiers Looking at the axis tripod for the extruded text object, you can see that its Z axis runs from back to front relative to world space. 2. Apply a Path Deform (WSM) modifier. 3. Click Pick Path, and select the circle. The text object flips around and moves in world space. Note that its orientation and deformation are difficult to analyze because there’s an offset distance between the path and the object. 5.
PathDeform Modifier (World Space) Example: To create a growing vine: 7. In the stack, click Cone, and then in the Parameters rollout increase the Height Segments setting until the stretched cone is smooth on the path. 8. Play the animation. The cone grows along the path, like a vine. Interface Since this is a world-space rather than an object-space modifier, the object is affected in world space coordinates, and also affected by the relative position of the path to the object.
536 Chapter 8: Modifiers When you first pick a path, the object is deformed by the path based on the offset distance between the first vertex in the path and the object’s location. Thus, as you adjust the Percent spinner, for example, the result will be distorted depending on the offset distance. Important: Using the Move To Path button applies a transform to the object that’s not removed if you later remove the Path Deform binding from the object.
SurfDeform Modifier (World Space) The software now uses the NURBS surface’s normals to project the texture onto the modified objects. Tip: To fine-tune the map placement on the mesh, you can use the NURBS surface’s Edit Texture Surface dialog (page 1–1232). Interface Map Channels group These controls let you choose which map channels (page 3–1060) to use. Input Channel—Selects the NURBS surface map channel to use before projection.
538 Chapter 8: Modifiers When you apply an object-space modifier, it appears directly above the object with other object-space modifiers in the modifier stack (page 3–802). The order in which the modifiers appear in the stack can affect the resulting geometry. For a list of object-space modifiers, see List of Available Modifiers (page 1–483). Affect Region Modifier Note: The Affect Region modifier is ideal for simple animated effects, especially when you need to use interactive parameters.
Attribute Holder Modifier Modifier Stack Curve group Pinch—Affects the tangency of the curve where it meets the arrow tip. Positive values produce a pointed tip while negative values produce a dimple. (Spinner value range: float, -999,999.0 to 999,999.0) Bubble—Changes the curvature of the affected Point sub-object level—At this sub-object level, the base and tip of the gizmo arrow are points that can be selected. You can select, translate, and animate these two points together or individually.
540 Chapter 8: Modifiers In the modifier stack, the Attribute Holder modifier should be highlighted. 3. From the Animation menu, choose Parameter Editor. 4. In Parameter Editor, on the Attribute Rollout, make or ensure the following settings: • Add to Type=Selected Object’s Current Modifier • Parameter Type=Float • UI Type=Slider • Name=Box Height 5. On the Float UI Options rollout, keep all the default settings. 6. On the Attribute Rollout, click Add.
Bend Modifier as many different parameters from different levels in an object’s modifier stack, or even from different objects, as you like. You might notice that you can’t set the taper to curve inward. You can resolve this by reopening Parameter Editor, clicking Edit/Delete, and then modifying the Taper Curve attribute to allow negative values. The change takes effect immediately, with no rewiring required. 2. On the Parameters rollout, set the axis of the bend to X, Y, or Z.
542 Chapter 8: Modifiers Gizmo sub-object—You can transform and animate the gizmo like any other object at this sub-object level, altering the effect of the Bend modifier. Translating the gizmo translates its center an equal distance. Rotating and scaling the gizmo takes place with respect to its center. Center sub-object—You can translate and animate the center at this sub-object level, altering the Bend gizmo’s shape, and thus the shape of the bent object.
Bevel Modifier Interface Parameters rollout Beveled text Procedure Example: To create beveled text: This example produces typical 3D beveled text, with equal bevels in front and back. 1. Create text (page 1–273) using default settings. Font=Arial, Size=100.0. 2. Apply the Bevel modifier. 3. Type -1.0 in the Start Outline field. 4. For Level 1, do the following: • Type 5.0 for Height. • Type 2.0 for Outline. 5. Turn on Level 2, and do the following: • Type 5.0 for Height. • Type 0.0 for Outline. 6.
544 Chapter 8: Modifiers Start—Caps the end with the lowest local Z value (bottom) of the object. When turned off, the bottom is open. End—Caps the end with the highest local Z value (top) of the object. When turned off, the end is left open. Cap Type group Two radio buttons set the type of cap used. Morph—Creates cap faces suitable for morphing. Grid—Creates cap faces in a grid pattern. This Rounding and smoothing the bevel object sides cap type deforms and renders better than morph capping.
Bevel Modifier Keep Lines From Crossing—Prevents outlines from crossing over themselves. This is accomplished by inserting extra vertices in the outline and replacing sharp corners with a flat line segment. A beveled object requires a minimum of two levels: a start and an end. You add more levels to vary the amount and direction of bevel from start to end. You can think of bevel levels as layers on a cake.
546 Chapter 8: Modifiers Traditional beveled text uses all levels with these typical conditions: • Start Outline can be any value, usually 0.0. • Level 1 Outline is a positive value. • Level 2 Outline is 0.0. No change from Level 1. • Level 3 Outline is the negative of Level 1. Returns Level 3 to the same size as the Start Outline. Bevel Profile Modifier Bevel Profile creates an object using an open spline. Select a shape.
Camera Map Modifier (Object Space) Interface Capping group Modifier Stack Start—Caps the bottom of the extruded shape. End—Caps the top of the extruded shape. Cap Type group For more information on the stack display, see Modifier Stack (page 3–802). Parameters rollout Morph—Selects a deterministic method of capping that provides the same number of vertices for morphing between objects. Grid—Creates gridded caps that are better for cap deformations.
548 Chapter 8: Modifiers complexity of the geometry. (In general, for a box object that’s filling a quarter of the screen, a tessellation of 4x4x4 works well.) Note: When using the Camera Map modifier, apply the modifier to a single object at a time. If it’s applied to a selection set, only the first item in the selection will be mapped properly. Use Camera Map (WSM) (page 1–498) if you want to move the camera and maintain the match to the background.
Camera Map Modifier (Object Space) The Plate Match/MAX R2.5 antialiasing should be used whenever trying to match foreground objects with an unfiltered background or when trying to match the antialiasing qualities of the 3ds Max 2.5 renderer. Procedures The following steps show how to apply the Camera Map modifier, and how to set up your scene. To apply the Camera Map modifier: 1. Create a scene with a camera and one or more objects. Make sure the object you want to map is visible in the Camera viewport.
550 Chapter 8: Modifiers The mapped object is camouflaged against the background in the rendered scene. Interface The Cap Holes modifier builds faces in the holes in a mesh object. A hole is defined as a loop of edges, each of which has only one face. For example, one or more missing faces from a sphere would produce one or more holes. The modifier works best on reconstructing planar holes, but can do a reasonable job on non-planar holes as well.
Cloth Introduction Interface Cloth and Garment Maker Modifiers Cloth Introduction Smooth New Faces—Assigns the same smoothing group number to all new faces. If possible, this will be a smoothing group number not used elsewhere in the object. Smooth With Old Faces—Smoothes new triangular faces using the smoothing groups from bordering old faces.
552 Chapter 8: Modifiers external applications and use these as your pattern panels. What’s New in Cloth If you participate in the 3ds Max subscription program, you’re already familiar with most of the Cloth functionality. Following is a brief list of changes in Cloth since the subscription release: • The Cloth modifier > Material Params rollout has been renamed Selected Object. constraints, Sticky Surf and Sticky Cloth, enable sticking to a solid or cloth surface after a collision has occurred.
Cloth Overview need a cloth object, such as a tablecloth or a pair of pants. Next, you need something for the fabric to interact with. This can be a collision object such as a table top or character’s leg, or a force such as wind or gravity. Limitations While Cloth is designed to help you create clothing for your models, you should be aware that, by its very nature, cloth simulation is only an approximation of how real fabric would react under certain circumstances; this system does have some limitations.
554 Chapter 8: Modifiers Clothing and Pattern Design Overview Traditionally, sewing patterns are cut from flat pieces of cloth and stitched together. The place where one piece of cloth is sewn to another is called a seam. Patterns are generally symmetrical, where the left side of the garment matches the right. Skirt The simplest is a skirt pattern with two pieces, with a similar shape for the front and back. The back shape is a little larger than the front to account for the hips and buttocks.
Cloth Overview It might not be immediately obvious how this pattern turns into a sleeve. The large hump of the bell fits over the shoulder, to give room for it to move. Pants A pants pattern has a curved shape at the top to accommodate the hips. The longer straight edge is the outside seam, while the shorter edge is the inseam. The curve near the top fits around the belly or buttocks, and under the crotch area. Each piece is cut twice.
556 Chapter 8: Modifiers Darts Darts are diamond-shaped holes inside a panel or V-shaped cutouts at an edge of a garment panel (see figure below), which when closed up cause the garment to assume a curved shape.
Cloth Overview Darts used to be a common part of women’s everyday clothing, especially in blouses and dresses. However, darts are not needed with loose garments or stretchy clothing. Today, they are used mostly in formal wear and tailored garments. Clothing Design and Techniques One way to create clothing is to lay out a pattern and put it together with Garment Maker. Garment Maker is a modifier that is used to make seams, lay out cloth panels and define fabric densities.
558 Chapter 8: Modifiers apply the HSDS modifier after Cloth on garments created with Garment Maker and subdivide all the triangles once. Note: MeshSmooth does not give good results with Garment Maker meshes. at edges between triangles, so the regularity or irregularity of the mesh also dictates the resulting deformation. For example, a plane all of whose triangle hypotenuse edges are aligned will result in a cloth with folds aligned along those edges.
Cloth Overview seams. This prevents the mesh from coming apart at the seams as it is subdivided. Left: A quad mesh Right: A Delaunay mesh Cloth Mesh Density It is important to think about how dense your mesh has to be to achieve the result you want. Making the mesh too dense will slow down the system, while having your mesh at too low resolution might not give you the folds or detail you want to see.
560 Chapter 8: Modifiers See also Cloth Modifier (page 1–560) Garment Maker Modifier (page 1–587) Cloth Modifier Select an object. > Modify panel > Modifier List > Object-Space Modifiers > Cloth The Cloth modifier is the heart of the Cloth system, and is applied to all objects in your scene that need to be part of the Cloth simulation. This is where you define cloth and collision objects, assign properties, and execute the simulation.
Cloth Modifier Here is the procedure to follow to determine what setting to use here. 1. Use the measure utility or tape helper to measure some dimension of your cloth (or character) in 3ds Max units (call this number x). 2. Decide how big you want this object to be in the real world Convert this number to cm. If you have the dimension in inches, simply multiply by 2.54. (call this number y). 3. cm/unit=y/x Here is a quick example: You import a file, man.obj, into 3ds Max, and want to put a shirt on him.
562 Chapter 8: Modifiers rollout click Set and specify a path and file name for the cache. modifier. It comprises mostly controls to create a Cloth simulation and adjust fabric properties. For best results, specify a mapped drive and turn on Force UNC Path. This specifies the path using the Universal Naming Convention so that it can be found by all computers in the network. Also, it’s probably a good idea to keep all the cache files in the same directory. 3.
Cloth Modifier Cloth Forces— Add forces (that is, space warps in the scene) such as wind to the simulation. Click Cloth Forces to open the Forces dialog. To add forces to the simulation, in the Forces In Scene list on the left side, highlight the forces to add, and then click the > button to move them to the Forces In Simulation list, thus adding them to the simulation. Thereafter, the forces affect all cloth objects in the simulation.
564 Chapter 8: Modifiers Selected Object Manip group 2. Add an Edit Mesh modifier after Cloth and pull the cloth vertices so the object doesn’t poke through. 3. Go down the stack to Cloth and click Grab State. The vertices are now moved twice as far as you intended because the vertex displacement was applied once by Cloth, and again with Edit Mesh. 4. Remove the Edit Mesh modifier. The vertices should now be where you want them.
Cloth Modifier Create Keys—Creates keys for a selected cloth object. The object is collapsed to an editable mesh, and any deformation is stored as vertex animation. Add Objects—Lets you add objects to the simulation without opening the Object Properties dialog. Click Add Objects, and then click an object to add. To add multiple objects at once, press H and use the Pick Objects dialog. Show Current State—Shows the current state of the cloth at the end of the last simulation time step.
566 Chapter 8: Modifiers procedure, see To run a cloth simulation with a networked render farm: (page 1–561). [text field]—Shows the current path and file name for the cache file. You can edit this field, but the path must exist; the file will be created if necessary. For any cloth object for which you have not specified a file name, Cloth creates one based on the object name. Force UNC Path—If the text field path is to a mapped drive, converts the path to UNC format (page 3–1122).
Cloth Modifier Bend Map group The Bend Map option lets you use a texture map, map channel, or vertex colors to modulate the target bend angles. The value of this is that you can paint deformations onto your cloth, or use some kind of noise map to add irregularity to the cloth. Bend Map—Toggles the use of the Bend Map option. Set the strength of the modulation with the numeric value. In most cases, the value should be less than 1.0. Range=0.0 to 100.0. Default=0.5.
568 Chapter 8: Modifiers The default value is set to be the same as Earth’s gravity: -980.0 cm/sec2. Step—The maximum size of the time step the simulator takes. This value is measured in seconds. The value must be less than the length of one frame (less than 0.033333 for 30 fps animation). A value of 0.02 is generally the largest value you want to use. Reducing this value causes the simulator to take longer to calculate, but will in general give better results.
Cloth Modifier On saving the file, the cache is incorporated into the MAX file. When Sim On Render is on, the cache file specified is created and written to, but is not read from as you change the time slider. The cache file must be loaded into the internal cache file before you can see it. Advanced Pinching—When on, Cloth tests for cloth pinched between two parts of the same collision object. This option helps with cloth colliding with small features of the collision objects, such as fingers.
570 Chapter 8: Modifiers Surface and Cloth constraints) contain information regarding the relative positions of the group vertices to the other object. This information is created upon the creation of the constraint. To regenerate this information, click this button. you’ve skinned to a skeleton. You want the upper portion of the dress to be unaffected by the Cloth simulation (that is, to retain its deformation defined by the skinning), and the lower part to be simulated.
Cloth Modifier Sticky Cloth—The group sticks to a surface only after it has collided with that surface. Self Coll must be enabled for this constraint to work. [group list]—Shows all current groups. The number of vertices associated with the highlighted group is shown below the list. To assign, copy, paste, delete or alter a created group, first highlight the group name in the list. Copy—Copies a named selection set to the copy buffer. Paste—Pastes the named selection set from copy buffer.
572 Chapter 8: Modifiers to the center of the nearest triangle that has the requisite Material ID. This could mean that several vertices might be constrained to the center of the same triangle. In this case, you should only use soft constraints. A hard constraint would pull all those cloth vertices to the same exact point on the triangle, which would look strange. Offset—The variance in the distance between a constrained group and its constraining, or target, object. The default value is 1.0 with Rel.
Cloth Modifier Which side? If layerB > 0, then to the side indicated by the face normals. If layerB<0 then to the opposite side. The sign of the Layer value indicates what the "outside" of that piece of cloth is. A positive sign means "The side that the normals face is the outside". Keep Shape—When on, preserves the shape of the mesh. In normal operation, when Cloth creates a simulation, it tries to "flatten out" the cloth.
574 Chapter 8: Modifiers will only be the sum of the length of all of the sides at rest. A low value will allow this length to be greater then that off all of its sides at rest. This length of stretched sides is not on a one to one basis. One side of the polygon may stretch more then another as long as the total shear value is not exceeded. Density—The weight of the cloth per unit area (in Right: U and V Bend=2.5, simulating silk or other light fabric gm/cm2). Higher values mean heavier cloth like denim.
Cloth Modifier with other cloth objects. Increase this value if there are a lot of collisions between different parts of cloth, or if the cloth is tending to interpenetrate. Damping—The larger this value, is the more V Scale—Controls how much to shrink or expand the cloth along the V direction (as defined by Garment Maker). A value of less than 1 will shrink the fabric at simulation time, while a value of more than 1 will stretch it. sluggishly the fabric will react.
576 Chapter 8: Modifiers to non-Garment Maker meshes, for which setting different U/V values might result in unexpected behavior. Use Edge Springs—This is an alternative method for calculating stretch. When this option is on, stretch force is based on springs along triangle edges. (Whereas normally the stretch and shear forces are calculated in a more sophisticated manner to more accurately reflect the underlying physics). Use Cloth Depth/Offset—Uses the Depth and Offset values set for the group.
Cloth Modifier Presets group Presets—Sets the selected panel’s properties parameters to the preset selected in the drop-down list. Any presets that are built into the system or that have been previously saved and loaded will show up here. Presets have the filename extension .sti. Load—Load presets from a specified location on your hard drive. Press this button and navigate to the directory with your presets to load them into your Cloth Properties.
578 Chapter 8: Modifiers U B-Curve/V B-Curve—Resistance to bending as the fabric folds. The default value of 0 sets the bend resistance to be constant. A setting of 1 makes the fabric very resistant to bending as the angle between triangles approaches 180 degrees. You never want two adjacent triangles to pass through each other, so you can increase this value to prevent this from happening.
Cloth Modifier instabilities. A good value is 0.01 (note: the default is 0.1, but in practice, it seems that this value is too high). Air Res.— Resistance to Air. This value will determine how much the air will effect the cloth. A higher amount of air resistance would be useful for a tightly woven fabric, while a lower amount would be suitable for a loose-knit garment. Dyn. Fric.— Dynamic friction between the cloth and solid objects.
580 Chapter 8: Modifiers Use Edge Springs—This is an alternative method for calculating stretch. When this option is on, stretch force is based on springs along triangle edges. (Whereas normally the stretch and shear forces are calculated in a more sophisticated manner to more accurately reflect the underlying physics). that will be between the two panels.
Object Properties Dialog (Cloth) objects, and define parameters associated with them. Procedure Example: To use the Keep Shape option: If your cloth object starts out with 3D shape that you’d like to retain during the simulation, you can use the Keep Shape option and setting to preserve this shape, or even reverse it. This simple procedure provides an example of how to use Keep Shape. Simulate Local—Starts local simulation of the cloth.
582 Chapter 8: Modifiers stay in view, and lowering the cm/unit setting compensates for the planes’ relatively large size. 6. On the Object rollout, click Object Properties. This opens the Object Properties dialog. fact, reversed its shape, effectively creating a negative bend angle. Interface 7. In the Objects In Simulation list, highlight all three planes (by dragging), and then, above the Cloth Properties group, choose Cloth. Also set U Bend to 500.0 (V Bend is also set to 500.0 automatically).
Object Properties Dialog (Cloth) Inactive—Makes an object inactive in the simulation. The object can still be in the simulation, but it will not react to anything. This is good for testing how different objects react and isolating dynamic effects. Property 1/Property 2—These two radio buttons let you assign two different sets of cloth properties to objects highlighted in the Objects In Simulation list.
584 Chapter 8: Modifiers Dyn. Fric.—Dynamic friction between the cloth and solid objects. A larger value will add more friction and cause the fabric to slide less across an object. A lower value will allow the fabric to slip off an object easily, similarly to how silk would react. U Stretch/V Stretch—Resistance to stretching. The default value of 50.0 is a reasonable value for most types of cloth. A Larger value will be stiffer, while a smaller one will be stretchy like rubber.
Object Properties Dialog (Cloth) now defined on a seam-by-seam basis at the Seams sub-object level.total shear value is not exceeded. Density— The weight of the cloth per unit area (in gm/cm2). Higher values mean heavier cloth like denim. Use smaller values for lighter cloth like silk. Damping— The larger this value, is the more sluggishly the fabric will react. With a lower value, the fabric will behave with more spring. Cloth with more damping will come to rest sooner then cloth with less damping.
586 Chapter 8: Modifiers objects. This enables you to set different friction values for each collision object. Keep Shape—When on, preserves the shape of the mesh. In normal operation, when Cloth creates a simulation, it tries to "flatten out" the cloth. The sign of the Layer value indicates what the "outside" of that piece of cloth is. A positive sign means "The side that the normals face is the outside".
Garment Maker Modifier interaction with cloth objects that have Use Solid Friction enabled otherwise the friction value is taken from the cloths own properties. have multiple spline shapes inside of one another, the inner splines will be treated as "holes" within the fabric as shown below. Enable Collisions—Enables or disables collisions for this object while still allowing it to be in the simulation. This means the object can still be used for making surface constraints.
588 Chapter 8: Modifiers When Garment Maker is assigned, look what happens: All vertices in both panels selected and then "broken" Garment Maker applied to "broken" splines Garment Maker seems to have "chopped" corners of the rectangular splines off, altering the pattern. Beyond that, if the user tried to select the edges of the panels that make up the seam, they will not be able to. This is because Garment Maker currently has only a single spline to work with for each panel.
Garment Maker Modifier Garment Panels Garment Maker’s Panels sub-object level lets you arrange the panels of the pattern around the character. You can then create seams where the panels should connect and be "sewn" together. This lets you create the seams you need while seeing how the clothing will look around your character. Creating seams like this is in many cases far superior to making them in a flat layout because it allows you to visualize what is being done. multi-segment seams.
590 Chapter 8: Modifiers 2. When dealing with MultiSegment seams, the order of creation is important. If you attempt to create seams in the wrong order, you might get a “Seamline topology is wrong” error, and the seams will not be created. When dealing with MultiSegment seams, create the minimum number of seams necessary to make the MultiSegment seam match the topology of the other piece to that you are going to connect.
Garment Maker Modifier Shirt panels, as seen in the Top viewport 3. Apply the Garment Maker modifier. Set parameters as necessary. The character outline lets you mark points for positioning panels. 6. Click the corresponding point on the front of your model. 4. On the Main Parameters rollout, click the None button, and then click the character model. The object’s name appears on the button.
592 Chapter 8: Modifiers 7. Continue to click at each location on your model that corresponds to the highlighted marker on the character outline until you’ve designated all seven points. All seven points are marked on the character model. Panel Position=Front Center; Level=Top at shoulder To finish, right-click in the viewport. 8. Go to the Panels sub-object level and select a panel. 10. Adjust as necessary. For example, in the above illustration, Level should probably be set to Top At Neck.
Garment Maker Modifier be necessary to do so. Panel Position serves primarily as a starting point for placing panels. 11. Continue selecting panels and placing them, adjusting as necessary. All panels placed with Panel Position. Note that sleeve panels need to be rotated 90 degrees, and cuff panels need to be rotated and moved to the wrists.
594 Chapter 8: Modifiers Auto mesh—When on, Garment Maker updates the mesh automatically if you change the density or add/remove seams. This setting is active at all sub-object levels, so it’s recommended you leave it on to see changes as you make them. The only time you might want to turn off Auto Mesh is while creating the seams at the Curves sub-object level. Re-meshing can take some time, so you might want to define a number of seams before re-meshing.
Garment Maker Modifier which the clothing is to be applied. Typically this is a character model. Thereafter, the name of the object appears on the button. Note: If you return to marking points later, the Mark Points on Figure—After specifying a figure 1. Upper Chest using the “None” button (see preceding), use this control to specify locations on the figure for automatically positioning panels in the garment.
596 Chapter 8: Modifiers Top: Segments selected Bottom: Seam made between two panels Delete Seam—Deletes selected seam. (Selected seam is colored red). Reverse Seam—Reverses or flips a twisted seam. Create Seam—Creates a seam between two segments. Select two segments of the panels you would like to sew together, and click Create Seam. This will make a seam between these two panels that will be sewn together at simulation time. Seams get a randomly-generated color to distinguish them from the panels.
Garment Maker Modifier Break MultiSegment—Break apart selected MultiSegments. On—Turns the selected seam on or off, making it active or inactive. Crease angle—Creates a crease at the selected seam. The angle value determines the target angle of the crease between the two panels or along an internal seam line (page 1–590) the creation of such a seam, the Seam Tolerance will need to be increased. The default value is 0.
598 Chapter 8: Modifiers may increase the density of a particular panel by raising this value. If Main Parameters rollout > Auto Mesh is off when you change this value, go back to the Main Parameters rollout and click Mesh It! to update the mesh. For this reason, it is recommended that you leave Auto Mesh on. The only time you might want to turn off Auto Mesh is while creating the seams at the Curves sub-object level.
Garment Maker Modifier Reset—Removes the deformation of the selected Level—Sets where the top of the panel should go. panels (restoring the flat state). Garment Maker derives these locations from the locations you specify with the Mark Points On Figure controls. The choices are: Reset All—Removes the deformation from all panels. Use Preserved—Turn this on to override the None • Top at neck or Curved deformation options.
600 Chapter 8: Modifiers the first vertex on each segment is used to line up the resulting seam panel. Sometimes you can end up with a twisted seam and will need to use Reverse Seam to untwist it. A twisted seam that needs to be reversed Make MultiSegment—A MultiSegment is a combination of two or more segments that will be treated as one segment for the purpose of creating seams. Select the segments you want to combine then click this button.
Troubleshooting and Error Codes in Garment Maker the cloth will have twice the resistance to bending that it would otherwise have (as defined by the object/panel/vertex group properties). closed splines to it. The only way to correct this is to delete the original Garment Maker modifier and reapply a new one. Sewing Stiffness—The amount of force with which the panels are pulled together at simulation time. A larger value will pull the panels together harder and faster.
602 Chapter 8: Modifiers • A MultiSegment in the attempted seam contains segments that are not contiguous and that are not linked by any seam. Copy and Cross Section. Using this method, you need to region-select the created vertices to transform them. Also, this method lets you define the ordering of the spline more easily than does the CrossSection modifier. CrossSection Modifier Select a spline object with spline cross sections. > Modify panel > Modifier List > CrossSection Make a selection.
CrossSection Modifier 8. On the Modify panel, on the Modifiers List, choose Surface to add the Surface modifier. The spline cylinder is transformed into a patch surface by the Surface modifier. 9. To edit the model’s surface, change the splines using controls in the Edit Spline modifier. Or, since the output of the Surface modifier is a patch surface, add an Edit Patch modifier and use patch edit controls to change the surface.
604 Chapter 8: Modifiers Example continued: Lining up the vertices: 1. On the Modify panel, choose the Vertex sub-object level in the stack display. Lining up the first vertex of each spline is important to prevent the surface from twisting. 2. Use CTRL+click to select the rightmost vertex of each line and the bottommost vertex of each NGon. 3. On the Geometry rollout, click Make First. 5.
Delete Mesh Modifier 4. On the CrossSection Parameters rollout, toggle between Linear and Smooth. Notice how the splines change. 5. On the Modify panel, toggle the Show End Result On/Off Toggle button to display the final patch surface. The toggle won’t remain on if the CrossSection modifier is current. Drop down to the Editable Patch in the stack and turn on the Show End Result toggle if you like. Delete Mesh Modifier Modify panel > Make a sub-object selection.
606 Chapter 8: Modifiers Interface This modifier has no parameters. Delete Patch Modifier 3. On the Modify panel, in Editable Patch, choose the Patch sub-object level, and select a patch. 4. In the Modifier List, choose the Delete Patch modifier. Modify panel > Make a patch selection. > Modifier List > Delete Patch Make a selection. > Modifiers menu > Patch/Spline Editing > Delete Delete Patch provides parametric deletion based on the current sub-object level in the stack.
Disp Approx Modifier Procedure To use the delete spline modifier: 1. Create a shape that contains multiple splines. 2. Apply a Spline Select modifier (page 1–822) and select a section of the spline for deletion. 3. Apply a Delete Spline modifier to delete the section. To undo the deletion, remove the Delete Spline modifier. Interface This modifier has no parameters. Disp Approx Modifier Modify panel > Make a selection. > Modifier List > Object-Space Modifiers > Disp Approx Make a selection.
608 Chapter 8: Modifiers 4. In the material’s Maps rollout, click the Displacement button, then use the Material/Map Browser to apply a displacement map. Interface Tip: This parameter is required because of an architectural limitation in the way displacement mapping works. Turning Split Mesh on is usually the better technique, but it can cause problems for objects with clearly distinct faces, such as boxes, or even spheres. A box’s sides might separate as they displace outward, leaving gaps.
Displace Modifier Displace used to change the surface in the container There are two basic ways to use the Displace modifier: • Apply displacement effects directly by setting Strength and Decay values. • Apply the grayscale component of a bitmapped image to generate the displacement. Lighter colors in the 2D image push outward more strongly than darker colors, resulting in a 3D displacement of the geometry. The Displace space warp (page 2–72) has similar features.
610 Chapter 8: Modifiers By default, gizmos are centered on the object. However, you can transform any of these shapes and use it directly as a tool to deform the geometry of an object. Modeling Options Displace is a versatile modifier with many possible applications. Here are some options: • Produce interior modeling effects by scaling down the gizmo and moving it inside the object. The outward force shapes the geometry from within. • Animate the modeling process.
Displace Modifier By default, Displace has the same strength throughout world space. Increasing Decay causes the displacement strength to diminish as distance increases from the position of the Displace gizmo. This has the effect of concentrating the force field near the gizmo, similar to the field around a magnet repelling its opposite charge. Default=0.0. Luminance Center—Determines which level of gray Displace uses as the zero displacement value. This button is labeled "None" until you choose a map.
612 Chapter 8: Modifiers Use Existing Mapping—Has Displace use mapping set earlier in the stack. This has no effect if the object is not mapped. Apply Mapping—Applies the Displace UV mapping to the bound object. This lets you apply material maps to the object using the same mapping coordinates as the modifier. Channel group Displace gizmos: Planar, Cylindrical, Spherical, and Shrink Wrap Planar—Projects the map from a single plane.
Edit Mesh Modifier Bitmap Fit—Displays a Select Bitmap dialog. The gizmo is scaled to fit the aspect ratio of the bitmap you select. Normal Align—Turns on Pick mode to let you select a surface. The gizmo is aligned to the normal of that surface. View Align—Orients the gizmo in the same direction as the view. Region Fit—Turns on Pick mode to let you drag two points. The gizmo is scaled to fit the specified area. Reset—Returns the gizmo to its defaults.
614 Chapter 8: Modifiers Warning: Don’t apply an Edit Normals modifier to the low-res object used in normal bump projection (page 3–146). Normal bump projection relies on the low-res object having standard normals, and altering them causes normal bump maps to have unpredictable results.
Edit Normals Modifier this makes it easy to see the seams between the broken pieces. To fix this, the artist selects all the pieces of the breaking object and applies the Edit Normal modifier to all of them at once. She then selects the normals across the seam and unifies them so they are pointing in the same direction. The artist then exports to the game engine.
616 Chapter 8: Modifiers Interface can use CTRL+0 (zero) to access the object level of the modifier. Select By group—Lets you specify how to select normals in the viewport: • Normal (CTRL+1): Click a normal to select it. • Vertex (CTRL+2): Click a mesh vertex to select all of its normals. • Edge (CTRL+3): Click a mesh edge to select the normals associated with the neighboring polygons. • Face (CTRL+4): Click a mesh face (or polygon) to select the associated normals.
Edit Patch Modifier Break (B)—Separates all selected, unified normals into their original components. With Unify/Break To Average off, Break orients each separated normal perpendicular to its respective face, thus splaying out the normals at each vertex if the connected faces are at different angles (as with a sphere). With Unify/Break To Average on, each separated normal uses the orientation of the original normal. Break converts any selected normals to specified normals.
618 Chapter 8: Modifiers base Editable Patch object, except that you cannot animate sub-objects in Edit Patch. See Editable Patch (page 1–950) for a parameter reference. Procedure Other than the inability to animate sub-objects with Edit Patch, the main difference between Edit Patch and Editable Patch is that the modifier incorporates the ability of the Surface modifier to generate a patch object from a spline cage. For details, see Spline Surface (page 1–618).
Edit Poly Modifier 5. Adjust the Spline Surface settings and edit the object as necessary. If you modify the spline object, for best results, edit at the Vertex sub-object level, and be sure to select all vertices at an intersection before moving them. Interface Spline Surface group The Geometry rollout > Spline Surface group is found only in the Edit Patch modifier; it’s not available in the Editable Patch object.
620 Chapter 8: Modifiers • Use the options on the Edit rollouts to modify the selection or object. Later topics discuss these options for each of the polymesh components. • Pass a sub-object selection to a modifier higher in the stack. You can apply one or more standard modifiers to the selection. Tip: You can exit most Edit Poly command modes, such as Extrude, by right-clicking in the active viewport.
Edit Poly Modifier Function Animatable? Function Animatable? Transform sub-objects Yes Hide Unselected No SHIFT+Transform sub-objects Unhide All No Yes Remove Proc Constraints No Break Proc Preserve UVs No Extrude Yes By Vertex No Chamfer Yes Ignore Backfacing No Bridge Yes Ring No Loop No Weld (selected) Proc (can animate Weld Threshold) Shrink No Target Weld No Grow No Connect Yes Selection conversion No Remove Isolated Vertices Proc Named Selection copy/pa
622 Chapter 8: Modifiers Function Animatable? Select by Material ID No Set Smoothing Group Yes • Select by Smoothing Group No Auto Smooth Proc Edit Poly Workflow Edit Poly differs from other Edit modifiers in 3ds Max in that it provides two different modes, available on the Edit Poly Mode rollout: one for modeling, and the other for animating. By default, Edit Poly operates in Model mode, whose functionality is mostly the same as that of Editable Poly.
Edit Poly Modifier 7. Proceed to the next keyframe and continue to change settings for the current operation and sub-object selection. Note: With Use Stack Selection on, you can’t change the selection. Now, when you play the animation, the Edit Poly effect moves along with the animation of the sub-object selection. If you change the selection, the existing animation is applied to the new selection, and lost from the previous one.
624 Chapter 8: Modifiers on the object’s geometry. While at a sub-object level, if you turn on Show Cage on the Edit Poly Mode rollout, you can see the final object as a white mesh, the original sub-object selection as a yellow mesh, and the original Edit Poly object as an orange mesh. Edit Poly Mode rollout Extrude or Chamfer, to an animated sub-object selection passed up the stack. Tip: If you use Set Key to animate with Edit Poly, be sure to turn on Key Filters > Modifiers.
Edit Poly Modifier Commit—In Model mode, using a Settings dialog, accepts any changes and closes the dialog (same as the OK button on the dialog). In Animate mode, freezes the animated selection in its state at the current frame and closes the dialog. Any existing keyframes are lost. base object while simultaneously viewing the smoothed result, but it works with any modifier. Tip: Show Cage is also particularly helpful when used with the Symmetry modifier (page 1–851).
626 Chapter 8: Modifiers all sub-objects in the new level that touch the previous selection. For example, if you select a vertex, and then CTRL+click the Polygon button, all polygons using that vertex are selected. • To convert the selection to only sub-objects all of whose source components are originally selected, hold down both CTRL and SHIFT as you change the level.
Edit Poly Modifier body, on the spout, and two on the handle. If you create a cylinder and then delete one end, the row of edges around that end forms a circular border. When Border sub-object level is active, you can’t select edges that aren’t on borders. Clicking a single edge on a border selects the whole border. You can cap a border, either in Edit Poly or by applying the Cap Holes modifier (page 1–550). You can also connect borders between objects with the Connect compound object (page 1–323).
628 Chapter 8: Modifiers [Ring Shift]—The spinner next to the Ring button lets you move the selection in either direction to other edges in the same ring; that is, to neighboring, parallel edges. If you have a loop selected, you can use this function to select a neighboring loop. Applies only to Edge and Border sub-object levels. With Shrink and Grow, you can add or remove neighboring elements from the edges of your current selection. This works at any sub-object level.
Edit Poly Modifier Left: Original ring selection Upper right: Loop Shift up moves selection outward. Lower right: Loop Shift down moves selection inward. Loop selection extends your current edge selection by adding all edges aligned to the ones selected originally. [Loop Shift]—The spinner next to the Loop button lets you move the selection in either direction to other edges in the same loop; that is, to neighboring, aligned edges.
630 Chapter 8: Modifiers ones. When Use Soft Selection is on, unselected sub-objects near your selection are given partial selection values. These values are shown in the viewports by means of a color gradient on the vertices, and optionally on the faces. They affect most types of sub-object deformations, such as the Move, Rotate, and Scale functions and any deformation modifiers (such as Bend) applied to the object. This provides a magnet-like effect with a sphere of influence around the selection.
Edit Poly (Object) Note: Repeat Last does not repeat all operations. For instance, it does not repeat transforms. To determine which command is repeated when you click the button, check the button’s tooltip. If no tooltip appears, nothing will happen when it is clicked. Constraints—Lets you use existing geometry to constrain sub-object transformation.
632 Chapter 8: Modifiers Note: If you delete an Edit Poly modifier that includes any attached objects, the attached objects are deleted. Attach List—Lets you attach other objects in the scene to the selected Edit Poly object. Click to display the Attach List dialog, where you can choose, by name, multiple objects to attach. Note: At the Object level, QuickSlice affects the entire object. To slice specific polygons, use QuickSlice on a polygon selection at the Polygon sub-object level.
Edit Poly (Vertex) contiguous selection set. If the selection includes vertices on various parts of the object, the vertices are still made planar, but with distorting effects on the rest of the geometry. X/Y/Z—Makes all vertices in the object planar and aligns the plane with the corresponding plane in the object’s Local coordinate system. The plane used is perpendicular to the button axis, so clicking the X button aligns the object with the local YZ axis, for example.
634 Chapter 8: Modifiers Procedure To weld polygon vertices: You can use either of two methods to combine several vertices into one, also known as welding. If the vertices are very close together, use the Weld function. You can also use Weld to combine a number of vertices to the average position of all of them. Alternatively, to combine two vertices that are far apart, resulting in a single vertex that’s in the same position as one of them, use Target Weld. 1. To use Weld: 1.
Edit Poly (Vertex) Soft Selection rollout Soft Selection controls apply a smooth falloff between selected sub-objects and unselected ones. When Use Soft Selection is on, unselected sub-objects near your selection are given partial selection values. These values are shown in the viewports by means of a color gradient on the vertices, and optionally on the faces.
636 Chapter 8: Modifiers • Drag vertically to specify the extent of the extrusion, and horizontally to set the size of the base. • With multiple vertices selected, dragging on any one extrudes all selected vertices equally. • You can drag other vertices in turn to extrude them while the Extrude button is active. Click Extrude again or right-click in the active viewport to end the operation.
Edit Poly (Vertex) line. Position the cursor over a neighboring vertex and when the + cursor appears again, click the mouse. The first vertex moves to the position of the second, and the two are welded. Connect—Creates new edges between pairs of selected vertices. Connect will not let the new edges cross. For example, if you select all four vertices of a four-sided polygon and then click Connect, only two of the vertices will connect. In this case, to connect all four vertices with new edges, use Cut.
638 Chapter 8: Modifiers Edit Geometry rollout • None—No constraints. • Edge—Constrains vertex transformations to follow edges. • Face—Constrains vertex transformations to face surfaces. With Constraints set to Edge, moving a vertex slides it along an existing edge, depending on the direction of the transformation. If set to Face, the vertex moves only on the polygon’s surface. Note: The Constraints setting persists at all sub-object levels.
Edit Poly (Vertex) dialog, available from the Detach Settings button (see following). Original object (left); Scaled vertices with Preserve UVs off (center); Scaled vertices with Preserve UVs on (right) Detached vertices leave a hole in the original object when you move them to a new position, unless you use the Detach As Clone option.
640 Chapter 8: Modifiers Plane. You still need to click Slice Plane to move the plane around. smoothing instantly to the selected area of the control mesh. This tool slices the poly just like the “Operate On: Polygons” mode of the Slice modifier (page 1–815). MSmooth Settings—Opens the MeshSmooth Selection dialog (page 1–1076), which lets you Reset Plane—Returns the slice plane to its default Tessellate—Subdivides the selection based on the position and orientation.
Edit Poly (Vertex) have invisible camera planes.) In these cases, the selection is not translated but only rotated. Named Selections Settings. Lets you copy and paste named selection sets of sub-objects between objects. Start by creating one or more named selection sets, copy one, select a different object, go to the same sub-object level, and then paste the set. Grid Align—Aligns the selection with the current Note: This function uses sub-object IDs, so if the construction plane.
642 Chapter 8: Modifiers Edit Poly (Edge) Select an Edit Poly object. > Modify panel > Selection rollout > Edge Select an Edit Poly object. > Modify panel > Modifier Stack display > Expand Edit Poly. > Edge Select an Edit Poly object. > Quad menu > Tools 1 quadrant > Edge An edge is a line connecting two vertices that forms the side of a polygon. An edge can’t be shared by more than two polygons. Also, the normals of the two polygons should be adjacent.
Edit Poly (Edge) most types of sub-object deformations, such as the Move, Rotate, and Scale functions, as well as any deformation modifiers (such as Bend) applied to the object. This provides a magnet-like effect with a sphere of influence around the selection. For more information, see Soft Selection Rollout (page 1–945).
644 Chapter 8: Modifiers Split—Divides the mesh along the selected edges. Split does nothing when applied to a single edge in the middle of a mesh. The vertices at the end of affected edges must be separable for this option to work. For example, it would work on a single edge that intersects an existing border, since the border vertex can be split in two. Additionally, two adjacent edges could be split in the middle of a grid or sphere, since the shared vertex can be split.
Edit Poly (Edge) • Drag vertically to specify the extent of the extrusion, and horizontally to set the size of the base. • With multiple edges selected, dragging on any one extrudes all selected edges equally. • You can drag other edges in turn to extrude them while the Extrude button is active. Click Extrude again or right-click in the active viewport to end the operation. Weld Settings—Opens the Weld dialog (page 1–1078), which lets you specify the weld threshold.
646 Chapter 8: Modifiers edge, the cursor changes to a + cursor. Click and move the mouse and a dashed line appears from the vertex with an arrow cursor at the other end of the line. Position the cursor over another edge and when the + cursor appears again, click the mouse. The first edge is moved to the position of the second, and the two are welded. You can weld only edges that have one polygon attached; that is, edges on a border.
Edit Poly (Edge) Create Shape Settings—Lets you preview the Create Shape function, name the shape, and set it to Smooth or Linear.
648 Chapter 8: Modifiers Edit Tri[angulation]—Lets you modify how polygons are subdivided into triangles by drawing diagonals. For more information on how to use Turn with the enhanced Cut tool, see this procedure (page 1–1035). Edit Geometry rollout Repeat Last—Repeats the most recently used command. For example, if you extrude an edge, and want to apply the same extrusion to several others, select the others, and then click Repeat Last. Note: Repeat Last does not repeat all operations.
Edit Poly (Edge) have no trouble moving an edge within edge or face constraints. Also, it’s better to perform one big move than several smaller moves, as multiple small moves can begin to distort the mapping. However, if you need to perform extensive geometry editing while preserving mapping, use the Channel Info utility (page 2–1549) instead.
650 Chapter 8: Modifiers Split—When on, the Slice and Cut operations create double sets of vertices at the points where the edges are divided. This lets you move one side of the slice or cut away from the other side. Slice—Performs the slice operation at the location of the slice plane. In Model mode, Slice is available only when Slice Plane is on. In Animate mode, you begin a slice operation by clicking Slice, not Slice Plane. You still need to click Slice Plane to move the plane around.
Edit Poly (Border) Note: In Animate mode, after using View Align you can access the Align Geometry dialog (page 1–670) by clicking Edit Poly Mode rollout > Settings. Grid Align—Aligns the selected edges with the current construction plane. The current plane is specified by the active viewport in the case of the home grid. When using a grid object, the current plane is the active grid object.
652 Chapter 8: Modifiers usually a sequence of edges with polygons on only one side. For example, a box doesn’t have a border, but the teapot object has several: on the lid, on the body, on the spout, and two on the handle. If you create a cylinder, and then delete an end polygon, the adjacent row of edges forms a border. At the Edit Poly Border sub-object level, you can select single and multiple borders and transform them using standard methods.
Edit Poly (Border) • Drag vertically to specify the extent of the extrusion, and horizontally to set the size of the base. • With multiple borders selected, dragging on any one extrudes all selected borders equally. Amount> distance from the original edges. New chamfer faces are created with the material ID of a neighboring face (picked at random) and a smoothing group which is an intersection of all neighboring smoothing groups.
654 Chapter 8: Modifiers remains active for connecting more pairs of borders. To exit Bridge mode, right-click the active viewport or click the Bridge button. Note: Bridge always creates a straight-line connection between border pairs. To make the bridge connection follow a contour, apply modeling tools as appropriate after creating the bridge. For example, bridge two borders, and then use Bend (page 1–541).
Edit Poly (Border) Edit Geometry rollout • None—No constraints. • Edge—Constrains edge transformations to edge boundaries. • Face—Constrains vertex transformations to face surfaces. Note: The Constraints setting persists at all sub-object levels. Preserve UVs—When on, you can edit borders without affecting the object’s UV mapping. You can choose any of an object’s mapping channels to preserve or not; see Preserve UVs Settings, following. Default=off.
656 Chapter 8: Modifiers connect them with an edge. Repeat, or, to exit, right-click in the viewport or click Create again. Edges you create separate the polygons. For example, by creating an edge inside a quadrilateral polygon, you turn it into two triangles. Cut and Slice group These knife-like tools let you subdivide the poly mesh along a plane (Slice) or in a specific area (Cut). Collapse—Collapses selected borders by welding their vertices to a vertex at the selection center.
Edit Poly (Border) QuickSlice—Lets you quickly slice the object without having to manipulate a gizmo. Make a selection, click QuickSlice, and then click once at the slice start point and again at its endpoint. You can continue slicing the selection while the command is active. Unavailable in Animate mode. To stop slicing, right-click in the viewport, or click QuickSlice again to turn it off. Note: At the Border sub-object level, QuickSlice affects the entire object.
658 Chapter 8: Modifiers its neighbors. It works the same way as the Relax modifier (page 1–769). Note: At the object level, Relax applies to the entire object. At any sub-object level, Relax applies only to selected sub-objects. Relax Settings—Opens the Relax dialog (page 1–1077), which lets you specify how to apply the Relax function. Hide Selected—Hides any selected vertices. Hidden vertices are unavailable for selection or transformation.
Edit Poly (Polygon/Element) Interface Edit Polygons/Elements rollout Edit Poly Mode rollout See Edit Poly Mode rollout (page 1–624) for information on the Edit Poly Mode rollout settings. Selection rollout See Selection rollout (page 1–625) for information on the Selection rollout settings. Soft Selection rollout Soft Selection controls apply a smooth falloff between selected sub-objects and unselected ones.
660 Chapter 8: Modifiers Note: In previous versions of the software, this command was called Divide. Extrude—Lets you perform manual extrusion via direct manipulation in the viewport. Click this button, and then drag vertically on any polygon to extrude it. Extruding polygons moves them along a normal and creates new polygons that form the sides of the extrusion, connecting the selection to the object.
Edit Poly (Polygon/Element) • With multiple polygons selected, dragging on any one bevels all selected polygons equally. • You can drag other polygons in turn to bevel them while the Bevel button is active. Click Bevel again or right-click to end the operation. Polygon beveled outward (left) and inward (right) Bevel Settings—Opens the Bevel Polygons dialog (page 1–1068), which lets you perform beveling via interactive manipulation.
662 Chapter 8: Modifiers Note: Bridge always creates a straight-line connection between polygon pairs. To make the bridge connection follow a contour, apply modeling tools as appropriate after creating the bridge. For example, bridge two polygons, and then use Bend (page 1–541). Inset works on a selection of one or more polygons. As with Outline, only the outer edges are affected.
Edit Poly (Polygon/Element) Hinge Settings—Opens the Hinge From Edge dialog (page 1–1075), which lets you hinge polygons via interactive manipulation. If you click this button after performing a manual hinge, the dialog opens with Angle set to the extent of the last manual hinge. Extrude Along Spline—Extrudes the current selection along a spline. In Edit Triangulation mode, you can see the current triangulation in the viewport, and change it by clicking two vertices on the same polygon.
664 Chapter 8: Modifiers 3–1022) become visible as dashed lines in wireframe and edged-faces views. In Turn mode, click a diagonal to change its position. To exit Turn mode, right-click in the viewport or click the Turn button again. For example, if you extrude a polygon, and want to apply the same extrusion to several others, select the others, and then click Repeat Last.
Edit Poly (Polygon/Element) Tip: For best results with Preserve UVs, use it Collapse—Collapses groups of contiguous selected for limited polygon editing. For example, you’ll usually have no trouble moving a polygon within edge or face constraints. Also, it’s better to perform one big move than several smaller moves, as multiple small moves can begin to distort the mapping.
666 Chapter 8: Modifiers Note: In Animate mode, you begin a slice operation by clicking Slice, not Slice Plane. You still need to click Slice Plane to move the plane around. You can animate the slice plane. Slice Plane—Creates a gizmo for a slice plane that you can position and rotate to specify where to slice. In Model mode, clicking Slice Plane enables the Slice and Reset Plane buttons. In Animate mode, Slice Plane is available only after clicking Slice, and you can animate the slice plane.
Edit Poly (Polygon/Element) Make Planar—Forces all selected polygons to become coplanar. The plane’s normal is the average surface normal of the selected polygons. Tip: One application for Make Planar is making a flat side on an object. Normally, you would use a contiguous selection set. If the selection includes polygons on various parts of the object, the polygons are still made planar, but with distorting effects on the rest of the geometry.
668 Chapter 8: Modifiers Note: At the object level, Relax applies to the entire object. At any sub-object level, Relax applies only to selected sub-objects. Relax Settings—Opens the Relax dialog (page 1–1077), which lets you specify how to apply the Relax function. Hide Selected—Hides any selected polygons or elements. Use Unhide All to restore visibility. Unhide All—Restores any hidden polygons or elements to visibility. Hide Unselected—Hides any unselected polygons or elements.
Edit Poly (Polygon/Element) polygons, all clustered about a single central point, the point remains, suspended in space. Polygon Properties rollout If an object does not have a multi/sub-object material assigned, the name list is unavailable. Likewise, if multiple selected objects have an Edit Patch, Edit Spline, or Edit Mesh modifier applied, the name list is inactive. Note: Sub-material names are those specified in the Name column on the material’s multi/sub-object Basic Parameters rollout.
670 Chapter 8: Modifiers threshold angle, set by the spinner to the right of this button. [threshold]—This numeric setting (to the right of Auto Smooth) lets you specify the maximum angle between the normals of adjacent polygons that determines whether those polygons will be put in the same smoothing group. Paint Deformation rollout Paint Deformation lets you stroke elevated and indented areas directly onto object surfaces. For more information, see Paint Deformation Rollout (page 1–1065).
Edit Spline Modifier Detach To Element —The detached sub-object selection remains as part of the original object, but becomes a new element. It can then be manipulated independently at the Element sub-object level. Default=off. Detach As Clone—Detaches the selection as a copy of the original selection; the latter remains intact. Default=off.
672 Chapter 8: Modifiers Capping group Cap Start—Generates a flat surface over the start of the extruded object. Cap End—Generates a flat surface over the end of the extruded object. Morph—Arranges cap faces in a predictable, repeatable pattern, which is necessary for creating Morph targets (page 1–309). Morph capping Above: Spline before extrusion can generate long, thin faces that don’t render or deform as well as grid capping. Use morph capping primarily if you’re extruding multiple morph targets.
Face Extrude Modifier controlled by the Use Real-World Scale settings found in the applied material’s Coordinates rollout (page 2–1434). Default=on. Generate Material IDs—Assigns different material IDs to the sides and the caps of the extruded object. Specifically, the sides receive ID 3, and the caps receive IDs 1 and 2.
674 Chapter 8: Modifiers Amount—Determines the extent of the extrusion. You can adjust and readjust the Amount spinner as often as you choose. To extrude a second level, apply another Face Extrude modifier. Scale—Scales each cluster of selected faces independently about its center. Note: By using multiple extrude modifiers with Scale, you can achieve a bevel effect. Extrude From Center—Extrudes each vertex radially from the center point.
FFD (Free-Form Deformation) Modifiers 2. Apply the FFD 2X2, FFD 3X3, or FFD 4X4 modifier, depending on the resolution of the lattice you want. An orange lattice gizmo surrounds the geometry. 3. In the stack display, choose the Control Points sub-object level, and then move the control points of the lattice to deform the underlying geometry. (Turn on the Auto Key button if you want to animate the deformation.) The lattice volume defaults to the bounding box of the selected geometry.
676 Chapter 8: Modifiers FFD Parameters rollout deactivate the modifier by clicking to turn off the light bulb icon in the modifier stack display. Deform group Only in Volume—Deforms vertices that lie inside the source volume. Default=on. All Vertices—Deforms all vertices, regardless of whether they lie inside or outside the source volume. The deformation outside the volume is a continuous extrapolation of the deformation inside the volume.
FFD (Box/Cylinder) Modifiers Outside Points—Only control points outside the object are affected by Conform to Shape. Offset—The distance by which control points affected by Conform to Shape are offset from the object surface. About—Displays a dialog with copyright and licensing information. FFD (Box/Cylinder) Modifiers With the FFD(box) and FFD(cyl) modifiers you can create box-shaped and cylinder-shaped lattice free-form deformation objects. Both are available as object modifiers and as space warps.
678 Chapter 8: Modifiers fit the lattice more precisely to irregular-shaped objects, giving you finer control when deforming. FFD Parameters rollout Set Volume essentially lets you set the initial state of the lattice. If a control point is already animated or the Animate button is turned on, then Set Volume works the same as at the Control Points sub-object level, deforming the object as you manipulate points. For more information on the stack display, see Modifier Stack (page 3–802).
FFD (Box/Cylinder) Modifiers lattice. Note that the point dimensions also show up beside the modifier name in the stack list. Lattice dimensions—The text displays the current number of control points in the lattice (for example 3x4x4). Set Number of Points—Displays a dialog containing three spinners labeled Length, Width, and Height, plus OK/Cancel buttons. Specify the number of control points you want in the lattice, and then click OK to make the change.
680 Chapter 8: Modifiers Control Points group Reset—Returns all control points to their original positions. Animate All—By default, the control points of an FFD lattice don’t appear in Track View because they don’t have controllers assigned to them. But when you animate a control point, a controller is assigned and it becomes visible in Track View. You can also add and delete keys and perform other key operations.
Fillet/Chamfer Modifier 5. Apply a Linked XForm modifier, and then pick one of the dummies as a control object. 6. Apply another FFD Select modifier, and select a different collection of control points. 7. Apply another Linked XForm modifier and assign the other dummy as a control object. 8. You can now move either of the dummy objects to both translate the linked control points in the FFD space warp, and to deform the target object.
682 Chapter 8: Modifiers Interface Fillet applied to above star with radius of 20 (left) and 40 (right) Fillet group Radius—Specifies the radius of the filleted corner. Apply—Applies the value specified in the Radius spinner to selected vertices. For example, before selecting any vertices, set the Radius to the desired value, then select your vertices and click Apply to fillet the selection with the specified radius.
Flex Modifier 1–721). Use this to simulate soft body motion on a Flex Modifier Select a Mesh , Patch, or NURBS object. > Modify panel > Modifier List > Object-Space Modifiers > Flex Select a Mesh, Patch, or NURBS object. > Modifiers menu > Animation Modifiers > Flex Modifier morphed or otherwise deform-animated object. Tip: After applying the Flex modifier to an object or sub-object selection, choose the Flex modifier’s Center sub-object and use Move to change where the flex effect is centered.
684 Chapter 8: Modifiers • On a NURBS surface, the Flex modifier influences control vertices (CVs) or points. 7. Open the Flex modifier hierarchy in the stack • On a Spline (shape), the Flex modifier influences both control points and tangent handles. This enables modification of the Weights & Springs sub-object settings. • On an FFD Space Warp, the Flex modifier influences control points. display, and click Weights & Springs. 8. In the Paint Weights group, turn on Paint. 9.
Flex Modifier 8. On Forces and Deflectors rollout > Forces group, click the Add button, and then select the Wind gizmo in the viewports. 9. Click Play. The sphere undulates in the wind. The Advanced Parameters rollout > Reference Frame setting determines the frame where the force(s) in the list take effect. You can also use this example to see how the Chase Springs option works. 10. Turn off Chase Springs and click Play again.
686 Chapter 8: Modifiers 4. Apply a Mesh Select modifier to the plane. 5. In the Top viewport, select all the vertices except for the leftmost column. The flex effect increases as the distance between the center and a vertex increases. Edge Vertices—Select vertices in the viewports to 6. Apply the Flex modifier to the plane. control the falloff and direction of the flex effect. 7. Turn off Use Chase Springs and Use Weights. Selected vertices flex less than unselected vertices. 8. Set Samples to 3.
Flex Modifier Strength—Sets the overall spring strength of the chase springs. A value of 100 is rigid. Range=0 to 100; Default=3. Sway—Sets the time for the object to come to rest for chase springs. Lower values increase the time for the object to come to rest. Range=0 to 100; Default=7. Use Chase Springs—When on, enables chase stable the simulation. When using the Midpoint or Runge-Kutta4 solver, you might not need as many samples as with Euler. Default=5.
688 Chapter 8: Modifiers linked to the Advanced Springs rollout > Shape Str. and Shape Sway settings. The differences between Stretch and Stiffness are subtle, and understanding them is further complicated by the fact the two affect each other. In addition, how they work depends on object topology. For example, say you create a box, add a Flex modifier, apply Create Simple Soft Body, and then set a high Stretch value and a low Stiffness value.
Flex Modifier Painting changes vertex weights relative to their current values; it does not apply an absolute weight. Longer strokes over an area of the mesh will increase or decrease vertex weights more than short strokes, and repeated strokes over the same area will cause incremental changes in weight values unless they’re already at their extremes. The vertex coloring shown at any Flex sub-object level provides an approximate indication of weighting.
690 Chapter 8: Modifiers Forces and Deflectors rollout Add—Click this, and then select a particle space warp in the viewports to add the effect to Flex. The added space warp displays in the list window. Remove—Select a space warp in the list and click Remove to remove the effect from Flex. Deflectors group Using deflectors with Flex lets object movement be impeded by surfaces. This lets you simulate collisions with soft-body objects.
Flex Modifier Reference Frame—Sets the first frame at which Flex begins its simulation. End Frame—When on, sets the last frame at which Flex is to take effect. After this frame, the object snaps back to its shape as currently defined by the stack. For instance, if you animate a Bend modifier in the stack under Flex, then when Flex stops, the object’s shape is altered only by the Bend modifier settings as of that frame.
692 Chapter 8: Modifiers Stretch Str.—Determines the strength of the edge Interface springs; the higher the strength, the less the distance between them can vary. Stretch Sway—Determines the sway of the edge springs; the higher the strength, the less the angle between them can vary. Shape Str.—Determines the strength of the shape springs; the higher the strength, the less the distance between them can vary.
HSDS Modifier HSDS Modifier Select an object. > Modify panel > Modifier List > Object-Space Modifiers > HSDS Modifier Select an object. > Modifiers menu > Subdivision Surfaces > HSDS Modifier The HSDS modifier implements Hierarchical SubDivision Surfaces. It is intended primarily as a finishing tool rather than as a modeling tool. For best results, perform most of your modeling using low-polygon methods, and then use HSDS to add detail and adaptively refine the model.
694 Chapter 8: Modifiers which it’s applied. Thus, for best results, use it with relatively low-polygon objects. For example, if you usually work with the Sphere object at the default 32 segments, use a 16-segment sphere with HSDS. If the object is made up of quads only, Force Quads isn’t available because no conversion is necessary. 3. Choose a sub-object mode at which to subdivide.
HSDS Modifier Interface HSDS Parameters rollout The sub-objects available in the HSDS modifier belong to the control grid rather than the mesh object itself. Transforming the grid sub-objects also transforms the underlying mesh, but the mesh doesn’t always move to the full extent of the control grid. This is particularly true in cases where you transform a sub-object at a level lower than the highest level in which the sub-object resides.
696 Chapter 8: Modifiers beneath the cursor; region selection selects multiple edges within the region. Polygon—Turns on Polygon sub-object mode, which lets you select a single face or polygon. A polygon is the area you see within the visible wire edges. Region selection selects multiple polygons within the region. Element—Turns on Element sub-object mode, which lets you select all contiguous polygons beneath the cursor in the current level of detail.
HSDS Modifier the edge resides. Also, for creasing to be visible, the edge should be offset from the surrounding surface by a significant amount. Material ID—Displays the material ID assigned to the current selection. Available only in Polygon and Element sub-object modes. If multiple sub-objects are selected and they don’t share an ID, this field is blank. You can change the material ID assigned to selected sub-objects at the current and higher levels of detail by changing this setting.
698 Chapter 8: Modifiers Adaptive Subdivision Dialog Interface Select an object. > Modify panel > Modifier List > Object-Space Modifiers > HSDS Modifier > HSDS Parameters rollout > Adaptive Subdivision button Select an object. > Modifiers menu > Subdivision Surfaces > HSDS Modifier > HSDS Parameters rollout > Adaptive Subdivision button Use adaptive subdivision for smoothing subdivided and edited portions of the mesh when you’re finished using the HSDS modifier (page 1–693).
Lathe Modifier OK—Performs the subdivision or removal of detail Parameters rollout and closes the dialog. Cancel—Closes the dialog without changing the mesh. Lathe Modifier Select a shape. > Modify panel > Modifier List > Lathe Select a shape. > Modifiers menu > Patch/Spline Editing > Lathe Lathe creates a 3D object by rotating a shape or NURBS curve about an axis.
700 Chapter 8: Modifiers Morph—Arranges cap faces in a predictable, repeatable pattern necessary for creating morph targets. Morph capping can generate long, thin faces that don’t render or deform as well as grid capping. Use morph capping primarily if you are lathing multiple morph targets. Grid—Arranges cap faces in a square grid trimmed at the shape boundaries. This method produces a surface of evenly sized faces that can easily be deformed by other modifiers.
Lattice Modifier controlled by the Use Real-World Scale settings found in the applied material’s Coordinates rollout (page 2–1434). Default=on. Generate Material IDs—Assigns different material IDs to the sides and the caps of the lathed object. Specifically, the sides receive ID 3, and the caps (when Degrees is less than 360 and the lathed shape is closed) receive IDs 1 and 2. Default=on.
702 Chapter 8: Modifiers Interface Apply To Entire Object—Applies Lattice to all edges or segments in the object. When turned off, applies Lattice only to selected sub-objects passed up the stack. Default=on. Note: When Apply To Entire Object is turned off, unselected sub-objects render normally.
Linked XForm Modifier them different materials. The struts default to ID #1. Ignore Hidden Edges—Generates struts only for visible edges. When turned off, generates struts for all edges, including the invisible edges. Default=on. End Caps—Applies end caps to the struts. Smooth—Applies smoothing to the struts. New—Uses mapping designed for the Lattice modifier. Applies cylindrical mapping to each strut, and spherical mapping to each joint.
704 Chapter 8: Modifiers To apply a Linked XForm modifier at a Sub-Object level: 1. Choose an Editable Mesh or an object to which linked object once. This switch is similar to the ’Back Transform Vertices’ switch of the Skin (page 1–781) modifier. a Mesh Select modifier has been applied. 2. Turn on the Vertex sub-object level and select some vertices on the object. 3. Apply a Linked XForm modifier. LS Mesh Modifier Select a Lightscape mesh object. > Modify panel > Modifier List > LS Mesh 4.
MapScaler Modifier (Object Space) Interface For example, if you scale a brick wall with the MapScaler (WSM) modifier applied, the bricks will all remain the same size as you increase the size of the wall. However, if you scale the same wall with the MapScaler (OSM) modifier applied, the size of the bricks will grow in proportion with the scale of the wall.
706 Chapter 8: Modifiers Scale—Represents the size of one repetition of the texture pattern. Size is measured in current scene units. Repetitions occur across the object in the U and V directions. Default=1.0. Note: When the Use Real-World Texture Coordinates switch is active in the General Preferences dialog (page 3–859), the scale setting defaults to 1.0. If Use Real-World Texture Coordinates is turned off, scale defaults to 100.0. U/V Offset—Specify horizontal and vertical offsets respectively.
MaterialByElement Modifier Procedure Example: To change the material ID of a sub-object selection: 1. In the Top viewport, create a sphere. 2. In the Material Editor, create a multi/sub-object material. Make the colors of material ID 1 and 2 different. 3. Assign the multi/sub-object material to the sphere. 4. On the Modify panel, choose Mesh Select from the Modifier List. 5. On the Mesh Select Parameters rollout, click Polygon. 6.
708 Chapter 8: Modifiers 2. Combine the spheres into a single editable Interface mesh object. Right-click a selected sphere and from the Transform (lower-right) quadrant of the quad menu, choose Convert To: > Convert to Editable Mesh. Then click Modify panel > Edit Geometry rollout > Attach List. In the Attach List dialog, click All, and then Attach. multi/sub-object material (page 2–1403) with six materials, and specify a 3. Create a different color for each material.
Melt Modifier The modifier assigns material IDs until the weights total 100. For example, if you set Mat’l ID #1 to 40, #2 to 35, and #3 to 60, approximately 40 percent of the elements will be assigned material ID 1, 30 percent will be assigned material ID 2, and 25 percent (100 [40 + 35]) will be assigned material ID 3. Any remaining percentages (as set in Mat’l IDs 4-8) are ignored.
710 Chapter 8: Modifiers Parameters rollout Ice—The default Solidity setting. Glass—Uses a high Solidity setting to simulate glass. Jelly—Causes a significant drooping effect in the center. Plastic—Relatively solid, but droops slightly in the center as it melts. Custom—Sets any solidity between 0.2 and 30.0. Axis to Melt group X/Y/Z—Choose the axis (local to the object) on which the melt will occur. Note that this axis is local to the Melt gizmo and not related to the selected entity.
Mesh Select Modifier are unavailable, and the Select Object button is automatically activated. • The Mesh Select modifier automatically turns off the Show End Result button, which becomes "spring loaded" while you’re in the modifier. For more information on the stack display, see Modifier Stack (page 3–802). Using XForm Modifiers to Animate a Mesh Selection When you apply a Mesh Select modifier, there are no animation controllers assigned to the sub-object selection.
712 Chapter 8: Modifiers Mesh Select Parameters rollout Face—Selects a triangular face beneath the cursor; region selection selects multiple triangular faces within the region. Polygon—Selects all coplanar faces (defined by the value in the Planar Threshold spinner) beneath the cursor. Usually, a polygon is the area you see within the visible wire edges. Region selection selects multiple polygons within the region. Element—Selects all contiguous faces in an object. Region selection selects the same.
Mesh Select Modifier a curved surface, increase the value depending on the amount of curvature. Planar Thresh (Planar Threshold)—Specifies the threshold value that determines which faces are coplanar for Polygon face selection. Get from Other Levels group Applies selections from one sub-object level to another. Get Vertex Selection—Selects faces based on the last vertex selection. Selects all faces shared by any selected vertex. The selection is added to the current selection.
714 Chapter 8: Modifiers MeshSmooth Modifier Modify panel > Make a selection. > Modifier List > Object-Space Modifiers > MeshSmooth Make a selection. > Modifiers menu > Subdivision Surfaces > MeshSmooth The MeshSmooth modifier smoothes geometry in your scene by means of several different methods. It lets you subdivide the geometry while interpolating the angles of new faces at corners and edges, and apply a single smoothing group to all faces in the object.
MeshSmooth Modifier Interface Modifier Stack • Classic—Produces three- and four-sided facets. (This is the same as applying MeshSmooth in version 2.x without turning on Quad Output.) Vertex—At this sub-object level you can transform • Quad Output—Produces only four-sided facets (assuming you don’t look at the hidden edges, since the object is still made up of triangular faces).
716 Chapter 8: Modifiers Note: Be cautious when increasing the number of iterations. The number of vertices and faces in an object (and thus the calculation time) can increase as much as four times for each iteration. Applying four iterations to even a moderately complex object can take a long time to calculate. You can press ESC to stop calculation; this also automatically sets Update Options to Manually. Reduce the Iterations value before setting Update Options back to Always.
MeshSmooth Modifier Control Level—Allows you to see the control mesh after one or more iterations and to edit sub-object points and edges at that level. Transform controls and the Weight setting are available for all sub-objects at all levels. The Crease setting is available only at the Edge sub-object level. Crease—Creates a discontinuity on a surface so From right to left, effect of increasing the number of iterations Local Control rollout Sub-object Level—Turns Edge or Vertex level on or off.
718 Chapter 8: Modifiers Soft Selection rollout Soft Selection controls affect the action of sub-object Move, Rotate, and Scale functions. When these are on, 3ds Max applies a spline curve deformation to unselected vertices surrounding the transformed selected sub-object. This provides a magnet-like effect with a sphere of influence around the transformation. For more information, see Soft Selection Rollout (page 1–945). Parameters rollout Relax—Applies a positive relax effect to smooth all vertices.
MeshSmooth Modifier (like the quads making up a box or the cap on a cylinder) as a single face. When Rendering—Updates the viewport display of Keep Faces Convex—(Available only with Operate On Polygons mode.) Keeps all input polygons convex. Selecting this option causes non-convex polygons to be handled as a minimum number of separate faces, each of which is convex. (Turn on Display/Weighting group > Display Control Mesh to see what’s happening here.) Manually—Turns on manual updating.
720 Chapter 8: Modifiers Reset Geometric Edits—Returns to the default or initial settings for any transforms made to vertices or edges. Reset Edge Creases—Returns to the default or initial setting for edge creases. Reset Vertex Weights—Returns to the default or initial setting for vertex weights. Reset Edge Weights—Returns to the default or initial setting for edge weights. Reset Everything—Returns to the default or initial Procedure To apply the Mirror modifier: 1.
Morpher Modifier see the effect in the viewport as you select the option. Options group Offset—Specifies the offset, in units, from the mirror axis. This is an animatable parameter. Morpher Modifier Select a mesh, patch, or NURBS object. > Modify panel > Modifier List > Morpher Select a mesh, patch, or NURBS object. > Modifiers menu > Animation Modifiers > Morpher Copy—Copies the geometry rather than simply mirroring it. Note: The Copy option affects only geometry with triangular meshes.
722 Chapter 8: Modifiers channels available for morph targets and materials. Channel percentages can be mixed, and the result of the mix can be used to create a new target. On a mesh object, vertex count on the base object and targets must be the same. On a patch or NURBS object, the Morpher modifier works on control points only. This means that the resolution of patches or NURBS surfaces can be increased on the base object to increase detail at render time.
Morpher Modifier F,V W,Q C, D, G, J, K, N, S, T, Y, Z M,B,P (This target can be the same shape as the "at rest" base object) Morph Targets for Expression L,T O Create as many expression targets as necessary for the character. Joy, sadness, surprise, evil can all have their own targets. Depending on the personality of the character, certain targets, like a terror target, may not be necessary.
724 Chapter 8: Modifiers The base object is now an Editable Patch. 6. In the Top viewport, use SHIFT+Move to create a copy of the patch object. 7. On the Modify panel, on the Selection rollout, click Vertex. 8. In the Front viewport, move patch vertices to deform the patch surface. 9. In the stack display, choose Editable Patch to go to the object (top) level. (The highlight should change from yellow to gray, and the Vertex sub-object icon is no longer displayed at the right of the stack.
Morpher Modifier To use progressive morphing: 1. Create starting and ending morph targets, and one or more intermediate targets. 2. Apply the Morpher modifier to the starting morph target, and click Load Multiple Targets to load the starting and ending morph targets. 3. In the Channel List rollout, select the channel you want to be influenced by an intermediate target. 4. In the Channel Parameters rollout, click Pick Object from Scene, and select the intermediate target. 5.
726 Chapter 8: Modifiers Global Parameters rollout Channel Activation group Set All—Click to activate all channels. Set None—Click to deactivate all channels. Morph Material group Assign New Material—Click to assign the Morpher material to the base object (the object to which the Morpher modifier is applied). Open the Material Editor to view and edit the Morpher material.
Morpher Modifier Channel List rollout display these tracks, you can choose a marker from the list to display these channels in the list. Save Marker—Move the scroll bar to frame a particular set of 10 channels, enter a name in the text field, and then click Save Marker to store the channel selection. Delete Marker—Choose a marker name to delete from the drop-down list, and then click Delete Marker to delete it. Channel List—The Morpher modifier provides up to 100 morph channels.
728 Chapter 8: Modifiers Channel Parameters rollout The channel number button and channel name field at the top of this rollout reflect the current active channel in the channel list. List Range—Displays the range of visible channels in the channel list. Load Multiple Targets—Load multiple morph targets into empty channels by selecting object names in the selection dialog and clicking Load. If there are more targets than empty channels, a warning displays and the channels are not assigned.
Morpher Modifier Extract—Choose a blue channel and click this option to create an object from the morph data. Move To—Displays the Channel Operations dialog. To move the current channel to the selected channel, choose a channel from the list, and click Move To. Swap With—Displays the Channel Operations dialog. To swap the current channel with the selected channel, choose a channel from the list, and click Swap With. Used Channels—Displays a list of active channels.
730 Chapter 8: Modifiers Target %—Specifies how much the selected intermediate morph target contributes to the overall morph solution. Tension—Specifies the overall linearity of the vertex transformation between intermediary morph targets. A value of 1.0 creates a “loose” transition, causing the interpolation to overshoot each target slightly. A value of 0.0 creates a direct, linear transformation between each intermediary target.
MultiRes Modifier channels. The status window displays how many channels were moved. Approximate Memory Usage—Displays an approximation of the current memory usage. MultiRes Modifier Select an object. > Modify panel > Modifiers List > Object–Space Modifiers > MultiRes Make a selection. > Modifiers menu > Mesh Editing > MultiRes The MultiRes modifier reduces the memory overhead needed to render models by decreasing the number of vertices and polygons.
732 Chapter 8: Modifiers 2. In the Generation Parameters group in the MultiRes Parameters rollout, click the Generate button to initialize the mesh. 3. In the Resolution group, use the keyboard or spinner controls to decrease the Vert Percent or Vert Count value. As the vertex and polygon counts decrease, the mesh updates in real time in the viewports. To maintain part of a mesh at full resolution while reducing the rest: 1. Select a model and apply the MultiRes modifier. 2.
MultiRes Modifier Interface Adjusting this setting alters the Vert Percent value as well. Max Vertex—Displays the vertex count from the original mesh that you applied MultiRes to. You cannot enter values larger than this in the Vert Count field. Face Count—Displays the current face count. As you adjust the Vert Percent/Vert Count settings, the value for the face count will update on the fly. Max Face—Displays the maximum face count.
734 Chapter 8: Modifiers Teapot object (page 1–178). It comprises four different elements: the body, the handle, the spout, and the lid. Normally, MultiRes optimizes each discrete element in a mesh on its own. The default behavior of the Vertex Merging option is to merge vertices between elements. Turning on Within Mesh causes vertices within elements to be merged as well. Boundary Metric—When on, MultiRes preserves materials assigned to the selected model.
Noise Modifier Crease Angle—The value of the crease necessary in order to generate multiple normals. Available only when Multiple Normals Per Vertex is on. The optimal crease angle depends on the model; set it interactively and check the viewport and rendered images for shading effects. While use of Multiple Vertex Normals enables more accurate shading, it can require more internal data. noticeable on objects that have greater numbers of faces. Most of the Noise parameters have an animation controller.
736 Chapter 8: Modifiers If you’ve animated this procedure, you can change parameters as the animation runs to see the effects. For another source of noise effects, go to the sub-object level of the Noise modifier and transform the gizmo and center of the modifier. To create terrain effects: Plane with fractal noise applied When set for Fractal, the Noise modifier produces a random fractal noise that creates a variety of topological and terrain effects.
Noise Modifier For more information on the stack display, see Modifier Stack (page 3–802). Parameters rollout Fractal—Produces a fractal effect based on current settings. Default=off. If you turn on Fractal, the following options are available: Roughness—Determines the extent of fractal variation. Lower values are less rough than higher values. Range=0 to 1.0. Default=0. Iterations—Controls the number of iterations (or octaves) used by the fractal function.
738 Chapter 8: Modifiers frequencies produce a smoother and more gentle noise. Phase—Shifts the start and end points of the underlying wave. By default, animation keys are set at either end of the active frame range. You can see the effect of Phase more clearly by editing these positions in Track View. Select Animate Noise to enable animation playback. Normal Modifier Select an object. > Modify panel > Modifier List > Normal Select an object.
Normalize Spline Modifier Procedure To use the normal modifier: 1. Select an object, then on the Modify panel, choose Mesh Editing > Normal from the Modifier List. Normalize Spline Modifier Select a spline object. > Modify panel > Modifier List > Normalize Spl. Select a spline object. > Modifiers menu > Patch/Spline Editing > Normalize Spline The object appears to turn inside-out, since Flip Normals is on by default. 2.
740 Chapter 8: Modifiers NSurf Sel Modifier Select a NURBS curve or surface object. > Modify panel > Modifier List > NSurf Sel Select a NURBS curve or surface object. > Modifiers menu > Selection Modifiers > NURBS Surface Select Select a NURBS curve or surface object. > Modifiers menu > NURBS Editing > Surface Select The NSurf Sel (NURBS Surface Selection) modifier lets you place a NURBS (page 1–1079) sub-object selection on the modifier stack. This lets you modify only the selected sub-objects.
Optimize Modifier With NSurf Sel, the selection can be of surface CV or surface sub-objects. If you turn on Relational Stack for the NURBS object, you can also select point, curve, and curve CV sub-objects. 4. At the Surface CV sub-object level, adjust Soft Selection controls as you wish. These controls are the same as those in the Soft Selection rollout (page 1–1148) for NURBS curves and surfaces, except that the Same Type Only toggle is absent.
742 Chapter 8: Modifiers pressing the Update button every time you wish to view a result. Interface 4. In the Parameters rollout > Last Optimize Status group, notice the Before/After count for vertices and faces. 5. In the Optimize group, vary parameters to continue reducing geometry. Compare the result in the two viewports against the Before/After count. To set the level of detail: 1. In the Parameters rollout > Level of Detail group, choose Viewports L1. 2.
Patch Select Modifier Optimize group Adjusts the degree of optimization. Face Thresh—Sets the threshold angle used to determine which faces are collapsed. Low values produce less optimization but better approximations of the original shape. Higher values improve optimization, but are more likely to result in faces that render poorly (see Bias). Default=4.0. Edge Thresh—Sets a different threshold angle for open edges (those that bound only one face). A low value preserves open edges.
744 Chapter 8: Modifiers Note: When you apply the Patch Select modifier and then go to any sub-object level, the select-and-transform buttons in the toolbar are unavailable, and the Select Object button is automatically activated. 4. Add another modifier to affect only the selection from step 3. Interface Modifier Stack Using XForm Modifiers to Animate a Patch Selection When you apply a Patch Select modifier, there are no animation controllers assigned to the sub-object selection.
Patch Select Modifier Parameters rollout Edge—Selects an edge beneath the cursor; region selection selects multiple edges within the region. Patch—Selects a patch beneath the cursor; region selection selects multiple patches within the region. Element—Selects all contiguous faces in an object; region selection selects the same. Select By Vertex—Selects any sub-objects at the current level that use a vertex you click. Applies to all sub-object levels except Vertex. Also works with Region Select.
746 Chapter 8: Modifiers the edge. Available only when Edge is not the current sub-object level. Get Patch Selection—Selects vertices, edges, or elements based on the last patch selection. This selection is added to the current selection. Available only when Patch is not the current sub-object level. Select by Material ID group Copy—Places a named selection into the copy buffer. Paste—Pastes a named selection from the copy buffer. Select Open Edges—Selects all edges with only one face.
PatchDeform Modifier the object by manipulating the patch object or adjusting the various controls in the Patch Deform panel. Parameters rollout Not all objects can be used with PatchDeform. Objects that are valid PatchDeform targets include: Plane, Cylinder, Cone and Torus. This modifier is also similar to the SurfDeform modifier (page 1–838), except that it uses a patch surface instead of a NURBS Point or CV surface. There’s also a world-space version of the PatchDeform modifier.
748 Chapter 8: Modifiers U Percent—Moves the object along the U (horizontal) axis of the gizmo patch, based on a percentage of the U distance. This spinner defaults to a setting of 50 percent, which places the object at the center of the gizmo patch. A setting of 0 percent places the object at the left edge of the gizmo patch, as seen from the viewport where the patch was created. rotate and twist it about the path. There’s also a world-space modifier version. See PathDeform (WSM) (page 1–533).
PathDeform Modifier 2. Apply PathDeform. 3. On the Parameters rollout, click Pick Path. 4. Select a spline or NURBS curve. Deform the object by adjusting the various controls in the Path Deform panel and by editing the path object. Example: To use the PathDeform modifier to curve text: The circle gizmo rotates to run through the specified axes, deforming the text object differently with each change. 7. Adjust the Percent spinner to view its effect, and then set it to 0.
750 Chapter 8: Modifiers Parameters rollout object takes up only a portion of the path, so the effect can be subtle. Path Deform Axis group X/Y/Z—Choose one to rotate the gizmo path to align with a specified local axis of the object. Flip—Reverses the gizmo path 180 degrees about the specified axis. Point Cache Modifier Select an object. > Modify panel > Modifier List > Object–Space Modifiers > Point Cache Select an object.
Point Cache Modifier If the animation is a good candidate for caching, the playback will drop many frames with Real Time Playback turned on, and will run slowly with Real Time Playback turned off. 3. Interface Parameters rollout From the Modify panel > Modifier List, choose Object–Space Modifiers > Point Cache. 4. On the Parameters rollout > Record Cache group, set frame numbers for Start Time and End Time. 5.
752 Chapter 8: Modifiers Note: When you turn on Use Relative Offsets and play back a cached animation with the modifiers turned on, the cached vertex positions are calculated relative to their positions as calculated by the modifiers. For example, if you record a Bend animation to a cache file, and then play it back with both Use Relative Offsets and the Bend modifier turned on and Strength=1.0, all vertex positions are doubled, resulting in exaggerated motion.
Poly Select Modifier Using XForm Modifiers to Animate a Poly Selection When you apply a Poly Select modifier, there are no animation controllers assigned to the sub-object selection. This means that the selection has no way to "carry" the transform information needed for animation. 4. Add another modifier to affect only the selection from step 3. Interface Modifier Stack To animate a sub-object selection using Poly Select, apply either an XForm or Linked XForm modifier to the selection.
754 Chapter 8: Modifiers Parameters rollout all sub-objects in the new level that touch the previous selection. For example, if you select a vertex, and then CTRL+click the Polygon button, all polygons that use that vertex are selected. • To convert the selection to only sub-objects all of whose source components are originally selected, hold down both CTRL and SHIFT as you change the level.
Poly Select Modifier selection selects multiple polygons within the region. Element—Selects all contiguous polygons in an object; region selection selects the same. By Vertex—Selects any sub-objects at the current level that use a vertex you click. Applies to all sub-object levels except Vertex. Also works with Region Select. Ignore Backfaces—Selecting sub-objects selects only those whose normals make them visible in the viewport.
756 Chapter 8: Modifiers Select by Material ID group Selects faces based on their material ID. ID—Set the spinner to the ID number you want to select, and then click the Select button. Press CTRL while clicking to add to the current selection, or press ALT to remove from the current selection.
Preserve Modifier Selection Info Procedures At the bottom of the Parameters rollout for Mesh Select is a text display giving you information about the current selection. If 0 or more than one sub-object is selected, the text gives the number and type selected. If one sub-object is selected, the text gives the ID number and type of the selected item. Using the Preserve modifier: Note: When the current sub-object type is Element, 1. Create an object. Before you edit it, create a copy. 2.
758 Chapter 8: Modifiers inverted selection) move up toward the selected vertices. 7. Turn off Invert Selection and slowly reduce the Iterations to 0. The object now looks as it did before you applied Preserve. Example: Animating a preserved object: You can animate the Preserve parameters, but the following procedure shows you how to use Morph and Preserve together. 1. Remove the Preserve modifier from the copied sphere, and go to object level (instead of sub-object level). 8.
Preserve Modifier 3. Apply Preserve to the third patch, using the 3. Use the Modify panel to select the top four vertices in the second box. Move them upward in Z, making the copied box taller than the original. 4. Apply Preserve, and pick the first box as the original. The selected vertices move down to match the original edge lengths. 5. Set Iterations to 0 to move the vertices back up, then turn on Invert Selection, and set iterations back up to 25.
760 Chapter 8: Modifiers Pick Original—Click this, and then select an unmodified copy of the current object. You should pick an object with the same topology as the current object, which has the same number of vertices. While you can select a completely different object with equal vertices, the results are unpredictable. Note: If all of the check boxes are turned off, Preserve uses whatever active selection is passed up the stack.
Projection Modifier item in the stack that is lower than the Projection modifier, you see a warning dialog that asks if you want to proceed. (The same is true of the Automatic Flatten UVs modifier.) 1. In the Projection modifier, go to the Face or Projection and Sub-Object Selections 2. Make a sub-object selection, then on the You can match geometry to sub-object selections. There are two ways to do so: matching material IDs, or matching named selections of sub-object geometry.
762 Chapter 8: Modifiers Selection Check Rollout (Projection Modifier) (page 1–765) Projection Rollout (Projection Modifier) (page 1–766) Selection Rollout (Projection Modifier) Select an object. > Modify panel > Modifier List > Object-Space Modifiers > Projection > Selection rollout The Projection modifier’s Selection rollout is for managing sub-object selections. Interface The Face sub-object level lets you assign different source geometry to different portions of a surface.
Reference Geometry Rollout (Projection Modifier) Select SG—To select by smoothing group value, Interface use the spinner to set the number of the smoothing group, and then click Select SG. Select MatID—To select by material ID, use the spinner to set the ID number, and then click Select MatID. • Sub-material drop-down list—When a multi/sub-object material is applied to the low-res object, this list shows the names and numbers of sub-materials that are assigned to faces or elements of the object.
764 Chapter 8: Modifiers they’re associated. If you have picked a high-res object at the object level, it also shows “Object Level” followed by the name of the source object. Proportion Multiplier—When Proportional is chosen for sub-object normal bump mapping in the Projection Mapping group of the Objects To Bake rollout (page 3–153) for Render To Texture, this value multiplies the default size of the normal bump map. Range=0.0 to 2.0. Default=1.0.
Selection Check Rollout (Projection Modifier) • Shaded—When on, the cage is shaded with a transparent gray. When off, the cage is displayed as a blue lattice. Default=off. list (see Reference Geometry Rollout (Projection Modifier) (page 1–763)). When off, the initial cage is not updated automatically. Default=on. The Shaded option can be useful when you need to tell whether or not high-resolution source geometry is within the cage, and when you need to expand the cage to include more geometry.
766 Chapter 8: Modifiers • Geometry—Checks for faces or elements being assigned to more than one selection. Interface • Both—(The default.) Checks for both material ID and sub-object overlap. Check—Click to run the check. Select Faces—When on, if running the selection check detects “bad” selections, the “bad” faces are selected by the Projection modifier automatically. When off, “bad” selections are not selected automatically. Default=on.
Project Mapping Rollout (Projection Modifier) then make adjustments to the cage, then click Show Alignment to see the effects of the cage modification. Interface This button is unavailable if no selection has been made in the Reference Geometry rollout. Clear—Click to turn off the Show Alignment display. Project—Click to perform the projection. Project All—Click to perform all projections that are in the projector list. Project Mapping Rollout (Projection Modifier) Select an object.
768 Chapter 8: Modifiers Create New Holder—When you click the Project button in the Project rollout, a Projection Holder modifier is added to the geometry selection. When Create New Holder is on, 3ds Max creates and adds a new modifier each time you click Project. When Create New Holder is off, clicking Project simply updates the data in the existing Projection Holder; it creates a new Projection Holder modifier only if none was present, before. Default=off.
Push Modifier Push Modifier Relax Modifier Modify panel > Make a selection. > Modifier List > Object-Space Modifiers > Push Modify panel > Make a selection. > Modifier List > Object-Space Modifiers > Relax Make a selection. > Modifiers menu > Parametric Deformers > Push Make a selection. > Modifiers menu > Parametric Deformers > Relax The Push modifier lets you "push" object vertices outward or inward along the average vertex normals.
770 Chapter 8: Modifiers • Positive Relax values move each vertex in closer to its neighbors. The object becomes smoother and smaller. • When the Relax value=0.0, vertices do not move and Relax has no affect on the object. • Negative Relax values move each vertex away from its neighbors. The object becomes more irregular and larger. Original objects compared to relaxed objects Relax Values=1.0, 0.0, -1.
Renderable Spline Modifier Renderable Spline Modifier Select a shape. > Modify panel > Modifier List > Renderable Spline Iterations=0,1, 5 Relax Value=-0.5 Keep Boundary Pts Fixed—Controls whether vertices at the edges of open meshes are moved. Default=on. When Keep Boundary Pts Fixed is on, boundary vertices do not move while the rest of the object is relaxed. This option is particularly useful when working with multiple objects, or multiple elements within a single object, that share open edges.
772 Chapter 8: Modifiers Enable In Viewport—When on, the shape is displayed in the viewport as a 3D mesh using the Radial or Rectangular parameters set for Renderer. In previous versions of the program, the Display Render Mesh performed the same operation. Use Viewport Settings—Lets you set different parameters for viewport display and rendering, and displays the mesh generated by the Viewport settings in the viewports. Available only when Enable in Viewport is turned on.
Ripple Modifier viewport. Set Length and Width both to 100.0, and set Length Segs and Width Segs both to 10. Ripple Modifier The Plane object is useful as the basis for the surface of a body of water in which ripples form. Modify panel > Make a selection. > Modifier List > Object-Space Modifiers > Ripple Make a selection. > Modifiers menu > Parametric Deformers > Ripple The Ripple modifier lets you produce a concentric rippling effect in an object’s geometry.
774 Chapter 8: Modifiers 7. Drag slowly upward or downward on the Phase Parameters rollout spinner. Increasing the Phase value moves the waves inward, and decreasing it moves the outward. To animate the waves, create keyframes (page 3–760) for the Phase value. To simulate an object dropping in liquid, use the Decay setting. 8. Drag slowly upward on the Decay spinner. The farther you drag, the more the wave sizes decrease with the distance from the center of the effect.
Select By Channel Modifier Select By Channel Modifier Select an object. > Modify panel > Modifier List > Select By Channel The Select By Channel modifier works in conjunction with the Channel Info utility (page 2–1549). After you store a vertex selection into a subcomponent with Channel Info, use Select By Channel to quickly access the selection.
776 Chapter 8: Modifiers outward. If an object has no faces with at least one free edge, Shell will not create any edges. Examples of Shell Usage Following are some examples of modeling tasks for which the Shell modifier would be appropriate: • An artist is modeling a vehicle such as a car, a tank, or, in this case, a helicopter. The artist builds a solid external shell as the body of the copter.
Shell Modifier material IDs, and apply a Multi/Sub-Object material (page 2–1403). 6. Interface Likewise, Shell keeps the texture coordinates of the new surfaces consistent with those of the original object. To change these on the new edges, change the Edge Mapping choice, and with the Strip and Interpolate choices, optionally change the TV Offset setting.
778 Chapter 8: Modifiers The sum of the two Amount settings determines the thickness of the object’s shell, as well as the default width of the edges. If you set both to 0, the resultant shell has no thickness, and resembles an object set to display as 2-sided. Segments—The number of subdivisions across each edge. Default=1. Change this setting if you need greater resolution on the edge for use by subsequent modeling or modifiers.
Shell Modifier If you don’t specify a material ID, the surface uses the same material ID or IDs as the original faces from which the edges are derived. • Copy—Each edge face uses the same UVW coordinates as the original face from which it’s derived. Edge Mat ID—Specifies the material ID for edge • None—Each edge face is assigned a U value of 0 and a V value of 1. Thus, if a map is assigned, the edges will take the color of the upper-left pixel. faces. Available only when Override Edge MatID is on.
780 Chapter 8: Modifiers Procedures To skew an object: 1. Select an object, go to the Modify panel, and choose Skew from modifier list. 2. On the Parameters rollout, set the axis of the skew to X, Y, or Z. This is the axis of the Skew gizmo, not the axis of the selected object. Box with Straighten Corners off (left) and on (right) Skew Modifier Modify panel > Make a selection. > Modifier List > Object-Space Modifiers > Skew Make a selection.
Skin Modifier Interface Modifier Stack Direction—Sets the direction of the skew relative to the horizontal plane. Skew Axis group X/Y/Z—Specify the axis that will be skewed. Note that this axis is local to the Skew gizmo and not related to the selected entity. Default=Z. Gizmo—At this sub-object level, you can transform and animate the gizmo like any other object, altering the effect of the Skew modifier. Translating the gizmo translates its center an equal distance.
782 Chapter 8: Modifiers By default, each vertex that’s affected by a single bone is given a weight value of 1.0, which means it’s affected by that bone only. Vertices within the intersection of two bones’ envelopes have two weight values: one for each bone. And you can use Skin modifier toolsets such as the Weight Tool dialog (page 1–796) to arbitrarily assign vertices to any number of bones. The ratio of a vertex’s weight values, which always total 1.
Skin Modifier 4. In the Weight Properties group, change the Abs. Effect parameter to the new vertex weight. To mirror envelope or vertex weight settings: Example: To apply the Skin modifier to a cylinder with a bones skeleton: 1. 1. Adjust envelopes and vertex weights on one side of the mesh. 2. In the middle of the Top viewport, click and drag 20 units to create the base of the cylinder. 2. On the Mirror Parameters rollout, click Mirror Mode.
784 Chapter 8: Modifiers The cylinder deforms to follow the bones. To adjust envelopes to refine the surface deformation, choose the Skin modifier’s Envelope sub-object level, and use the Edit Envelopes controls to resize envelopes and change vertex weights. Example: To use a morph angle deformer: Create the cylinder and bones from the preceding procedure before you continue with this procedure. 1. At frame 50, animate bone 2 so that bones 1 and 2 represent a 90-degree angle. 2.
Skin Modifier Parameters rollout Edit Envelopes—Turn on this sub-object level to work on envelopes and vertex weights. Select group The following filtering options are grouped together to help you work on a particular task, by preventing you from accidentally selecting the wrong item in the viewports. Vertices—Turn on for vertex selection. You can rotate around selected vertices using Arc Rotate SubObject (page 3–787) from the Arc Rotate flyout (page 3–786).
786 Chapter 8: Modifiers • Note: You must select at least 2 vertices to use Example: the Ring selection. $’Sphere01’.modifiers[#Skin].shortenBoneNames = false Select Element—When on, selects all vertices of the element you select, as long as you select at least one vertex from that element. Tip: You can edit your selection by holding CTRL or ALT, and then select vertices. This adds or removes, respectively, vertices to or from your selection.
Skin Modifier Radius—Select an envelope cross section, and Falloff Flyouts—Select a falloff curve for the use Radius to resize it. In order to select a cross section, the Cross Sections option in the Select group must be checked. displayed envelopes. Weight falls off in the area between the inner and outer envelope boundaries if envelopes overlap and Absolute is turned on. Controls here allow you to specify how the falloff is handled.
788 Chapter 8: Modifiers Weight Properties group Select Exclude Verts—Takes the currently excluded vertices and selects them. Bake Selected Verts—Click to bake the current vertex weights. Baked weights are not affected by envelope changes, only by changes to Abs. Effect or weights in the Weight Table. Weight Tool—Displays the Weight Tool dialog (page 1–796), which offers control tools to help you assign and blend weights on selected vertices. Weight Table—Displays a table for viewing and Abs.
Skin Modifier Mirror Parameters rollout Paste Green to Blue Bones—Pastes the envelope settings from green bones to blue. Paste Blue to Green Bones—Pastes the envelope settings from blue bones to green. Paste Green to Blue Verts—Pastes the individual vertex assignments from all green vertices to the corresponding blue vertices. Paste Blue to Green Verts—Pastes the individual vertex assignments from all blue vertices to the corresponding green vertices.
790 Chapter 8: Modifiers Negative options allow selection of vertices on one side of the character only. The None option does not project selected vertices to either side. Default=Default Display. Tip: You can use the Positive and Negative options to temporarily project the display of one side’s vertices to the other side so you can see how the vertices align. This can be helpful when determining the correct Mirror Plane settings for an asymmetrical mesh.
Skin Modifier Advanced Parameters rollout move the time slider to frame 0; turn off Always Deform, move the bones into the correct position and turn on Always Deform. Back Transform Vertices—Allows you to link the mesh to the bone structure. Ordinarily, when you do this, any movement of the bones causes the mesh to move twice as far as it should, because it moves once with the bones and once with the link. Checking this option prevents the mesh from moving twice under these circumstances.
792 Chapter 8: Modifiers Save/Load—Allows you to save and load the envelope position and shape, as well as the vertex weights. If you load a saved file onto a different system of bones, a Load Envelopes dialog (page 1–795) prompts you to match the incoming bones to the current bones. Update on mouse up—When on and the mouse button is pressed down, no updates will take place. When the mouse button is released, updates will occur.
Skin Modifier Keep these distinctions in mind when you select vertices to deform. For example, if you want to use the Joint Angle deformer, then select vertices close to the joint that will drive the deformation. If you want the parent bone vertices to deform like a biceps muscle, then select vertices that are only assigned to the parent bone before adding the Bulge Angle deformer.
794 Chapter 8: Modifiers Deformer Parameters rollout List Window—Contains the current morph targets and associated bone angles. Naming Field—Select a morph target and rename it in this field. Add from stack—Uses the current state of the stack to get the morph target. Ideally, you have put an Edit Mesh modifier on top of the stack and done your edits before you click Add From Stack. Add from node—Uses another object as your morph target for this angle.
Load Envelopes Dialog (Skin Modifier) The following parameters are for the Joint Angle and Bulge Angle deformers. These two deformers are almost identical in the way they operate. The difference is that the Bulge Angle deformer only works on vertices of the parent bone, while the Joint Angle deformer works on vertices on both the child and parent bone. To apply either of these deformers, first select the child link, then select vertices on the mesh, and then apply the deformer.
796 Chapter 8: Modifiers Move Up\Down—Move the current selection in the incoming list up or down. Create Blank—Creates space in the Incoming list. Delete—Removes the current selected incoming envelopes. Match by Name—Resorts the Incoming list and matches any bones that have the same name in the list of current envelopes. Remove Incoming Prefix—Removes any prefixes on the names of the incoming envelopes.
Weight Tool Dialog The Weight Tool dialog opens. 7. 5. Select a few vertices and then click the .25 weight button. Select a few other vertices, and assign them a weight of 0.250. The selected vertices are weighted at 0.250 for the active bone (highlighted in the Parameters rollout list), coloring them yellow. Note: The active bone is added to the list of bones influencing each of the selected vertices, if necessary.
798 Chapter 8: Modifiers Interface The two separate colors blend into a smooth gradient. Shrink—Modifies the current vertex selection by progressively subtracting the outermost vertices from the selection. Has no effect if all vertices in an object are selected. Grow—Modifies the current vertex selection by progressively adding neighborhood vertices of the selected object. You must start with at least one vertex to be able to grow your selection.
Weight Table (Skin Modifier) Vertex information [specific weight values]—Assigns an absolute weight value between 0 and 1 for the active bone to the selected vertices. Note: When you click one of these buttons, the active bone is added to the list of bones influencing each of the selected vertices, if necessary. Set Weight—Sets an absolute weight based on the field value. Default=0.5. Note: The spinner increments the field value by steps of 0.05.
800 Chapter 8: Modifiers • Highlight a weight and type in a new weight. • Select vertices by dragging over vertex IDs, then click and drag one weight to change all selected weights for the bone. • Right-click to enter a value of 0. • CTRL+right-click to enter a value of 1.0. Menu options: Edit menu—Copy/paste vertex weights, and choose vertices to edit. • Copy: Copies weights for highlighted vertices. • Paste: Pastes the copied weights.
Painter Options Dialog Painter Options Dialog Modify panel > Skin modifier > Parameters rollout > Weight Properties group > Painter Options button Brush Properties group Min. Strength—Sets the minimum vertex weight to paint. Max.
802 Chapter 8: Modifiers Pressure Affects—Selects the brush parameter to be affected by pressure sensitivity. Choose from four options: None, Strength, Size, or both size and strength (Size/Str). Predefined Str Pressure—Turn this option on to use a predefined strength pressure. Click the button to view and edit the falloff curve for the strength. Predefined Size Pressure—Turn this option on to use a predefined size pressure. Click the button to view and edit the falloff curve for the size.
Skin Morph Modifier frame 0, but it can be any frame, even a negative-numbered one. This is the frame from which the modifier measures delta: the change in the vertex position between this pose and the morph. Interface Skin Morph modifier stack 3. Determine which bones are driving deformations that you want to modify with Skin Morph. For example, bending an arm might cause the inside of the elbow to indent too far, or you might want to add a bulging bicep.
804 Chapter 8: Modifiers Parameters rollout Highlighting a morph in the list lets you edit the morph. To change the morph’s name, edit the Local Properties rollout > Morph Name field. Add Bone—Click to add one or more bones from the Select Bones dialog. Tip: To keep things simple, add only bones that will drive morphs. There’s no point in adding any other bones. Pick Bone—Lets you add bones by selecting them in a viewport. Click Pick Bone, and then select bones in any viewport.
Skin Morph Modifier Selection rollout soft-selection characteristics globally; it works much like other such graphs in 3ds Max, such as Curve Editor (page 2–489). The toolbar above the graph offers functions for moving and scaling points on the graph, as well as inserting new ones. The same functions are available by right-clicking the graph: If you right-click a graph point, you can set it to Corner or one of two different Bezier types.
806 Chapter 8: Modifiers Local Properties rollout morph and adds it as a child to the highlighted bone in the list window. Tip: By default, the Show Edges switch is on, which might make it difficult to see the vertices themselves. To see only the vertices, turn off Options rollout > Show Edges. Tip: To help keep track of morphs, use the Local Properties rollout to rename each morph as you create it. Delete Morph—Deletes the highlighted morph, removing it from its parent bone in the list window.
Skin Morph Modifier the muscle should be largest at frame 150 instead, go to frame 150, choose the morph in the list box, and then click Reset Orientation. Remove Verts—Removes selected vertices from the current morph, which deletes any animation applied as part of the morph. Use this command to save memory by removing vertices not part of the morph animation.
808 Chapter 8: Modifiers Reload only selected verts—When on, Reload Target copies only the positions of vertices selected in the Skin Morph mesh from the target mesh. When off, Reload Target copies the positions of all vertices. Default=off. Copy and Paste rollout Preview Bone— Highlights the target bone in red in the viewports. Preview Vertices—Displays the morphing-qualified vertices in red in the viewports, as well as any animation present in the source vertices.
Skin Wrap Modifier morph. Otherwise, the software creates a new morph automatically and applies the edits to that morph. Show Driver Bone Matrix—Shows the matrix tripod of the current bone. Show Morph Bone Matrix—Shows the tripod of the orientation of the active morph. Show Current Angle—Shows pie wedges depicting the angles between the driver bone matrix and the morph bone matrix.
810 Chapter 8: Modifiers Procedure Interface To use Skin Wrap (basic method): Skin Wrap modifier stack 1. Create a high-resolution base object and one or more low-resolution control objects, which will deform the base object. In general, each control object should have an overall shape similar to the part of the base object that it will deform, and be positioned near that part of the base object. 2. Apply Skin Wrap to the high-resolution base object.
Skin Wrap Modifier Parameters rollout adding, right-click in the viewport or click Add again. You can use as a control object anything that can be converted to a triangle mesh, such as a mesh, patch, or a NURBS object. However, avoid using objects that change topology, such as a deforming NURBS object with adaptive tessellation. Remove—Removes control objects from the list. Click an object in the list, and then click Remove. Deformation Engine—Determines which engine drives the deformation.
812 Chapter 8: Modifiers Distance Influence is a multiplier. It looks at the length of each edge that touches each control vertex. For each vertex, it averages all the lengths and then multiplies the average by the Distance Influence value. This lets vertices that are touching only small faces to affect a small area, and vice-versa. The higher the influence value, the smoother the deformation, but the less individual control each vertex has. For best results, keep this value between 1.0 and 2.0.
Skin Wrap Modifier Threshold—Determines the distance in system Advanced Parameters rollout units that the software uses to find the closest face to a control vertex. The greater the distances by which the control object’s and base object’s surfaces deviate, the higher the Threshold value needs to be. Default=5.0. Note: Threshold is recomputed only when you add a base mesh or click Reset. Warning: Be careful about increasing this setting.
814 Chapter 8: Modifiers Note: For mirror data to be visible, the Skin Wrap > Control Vertices sub-object level must be active. Mirror Plane—Choose the X, Y, or Z axis for mirroring. Mirror Offset—Moves the mirror plane as well as all mirrored vertices. Mirror Threshold—Sets the distance, in system units, that Skin Wrap uses to find a control vertex near a projected vertex. Increase this if vertex locations are not the same on either side of the mirror plane.
Skin Wrap Patch Modifier Skin Wrap Patch Modifier Make a selection. > Modify panel > Modifier List > Object-Space Modifiers > Skin Wrap Patch Skin Wrap Patch is a simple modifier that allows a patch object to deform a mesh object. It’s very easy to use: just assign the modifier to a mesh object, and then use the modifier to specify a deforming patch object. Each point on the patch object influences a surrounding volume of points on the mesh object.
816 Chapter 8: Modifiers Warning: Slice and Sub-Object Selections You can use Slice on sub-object selection sets by slicing or removing only the selected faces. However, because selected faces are sliced and unselected adjacent faces are not, there may be "holes" in the mesh on the edge where the slice occurs. These holes can be problematic, creating discontinuities in smoothing and rendering. Holes are created only when Operate On Faces is on.
Slice Modifier For more information on the stack display, see Modifier Stack (page 3–802). Slice Parameters rollout Example: To slice vertically through an object: 1. Create a teapot (page 1–178) primitive. 2. Apply a Slice modifier. The Slice Plane gizmo appears at the base of the teapot. 3. On the stack display, open the Slice modifier and choose the Slice Plane gizmo. 4. Move the Slice Plane gizmo so it intersects the middle of the teapot. 5. Rotate the Slice Plane gizmo so it is vertical. 6.
818 Chapter 8: Modifiers eliminating hidden edges. Outputs a polymesh-type object (page 1–1012). Smooth Modifier Select an object. > Modify panel > Modifier List > Object-Space Modifiers > Smooth Select an object. > Modifiers menu > Mesh Editing > Smooth The Smooth modifier provides auto-smoothing based on the angle of adjacent faces. You can apply new smoothing groups to objects. Smoothing eliminates the facets on geometry by grouping faces into smoothing groups.
Spherify Modifier Procedures To smooth an object: between their normals is less than the threshold angle. 1. Select the object to be smoothed. Prevent Indirect Smoothing—Turn on to prevent 2. On the Modifiers menu, choose Mesh Editing > Smooth. 3. Turn on Auto Smooth and adjust the Threshold for the desired smoothing effect. To apply smoothing groups manually: 1. Select an object. 2. Use a Mesh Select modifier (page 1–710) to select the faces to be smoothed. 3.
820 Chapter 8: Modifiers 3. On the Modify panel, choose Spherify from the Modifier List. Turn the Auto Key button on. 4. 5. Set the Spherify Percent to 0. 6. Move the time slider ahead to frame 30. 7. Set the Spherify Percent to 100. Turn the Auto Key button off. 8. 9. Drag the time slider to play the animation, or Spherify shapes the dog inside the snake. press Play. The success of the operation depends on the topology of the geometry to which it’s applied.
Spline IK Control Modifier Use the Spline IK Control modifier to prepare a spline or NURBS curve for use with the Spline IK Solver. Link Types group See also Animating with the Spline IK Solver (page 2–455) Interface These options cause helpers to be linked upon creation. Link All in Hierarchy—Links each helper to its immediately previous helper. For example, the helper at knot #3 is linked to the helper at knot #2, while the helper at knot #2 is linked to the helper at knot #1.
822 Chapter 8: Modifiers Box—Displays a small at each knot. Tip: You can transform the selection using Helper Size—Sets the size for helpers. an XForm modifier (page 1–942) or Linked XForm modifier (page 1–703). Constant Screen Size—Keeps the sizes of helpers constant regardless of how much viewports are zoom in or out. Interface Modifier Stack Draw On Top—Displays the helpers on top of all other objects in the scene.
Squeeze Modifier Select Segment rollout You can copy a named selection from one object to another or one modifier to another. You must copy and paste in the same sub-object level. Squeeze Modifier Modify panel > Make a selection. > Modifier List > Object-Space Modifiers > Squeeze Make a selection. > Modifiers menu > Parametric Deformers > Squeeze Get Vertex Selection, Get Spline Selection—Select segments based on the last vertex or spline selection. The selection is added to the current selection.
824 Chapter 8: Modifiers Gizmo—At this sub-object level, you can transform and animate the gizmo like any other object, altering the effect of the Squeeze modifier. Translating the gizmo translates its center an equal distance. Rotating and scaling the gizmo takes place with respect to its center. Center—At this sub-object level, you can translate and animate the center, altering the Squeeze gizmo’s shape, and thus the shape of the squeezed object.
STL Check Modifier STL Check Modifier Select an object. > Modify panel > Modifier List > STL Check Select an object. > Modifiers menu > Mesh Editing > STL check The STL Check modifier checks an object to see if it’s correct for exporting to an STL (stereolithography) file format (page 3–636). Stereolithography files are used by specialized machines to produce prototype physical models based on the data in the STL file. To create a physical model, an STL file must have a complete and closed surface.
826 Chapter 8: Modifiers Errors group Choosing one of these options selects incorrect geometry specific to the choice, and selects it depending on the option chosen in the Selections group. Open Edge—Checks for open edges (holes). Double Faces—Checks for faces that share the same Status—Displays the number of errors when Check is on. Tip: If Select Edges is turned off, you can see faces in error by applying an Edit Mesh modifier (page 1–613) and selecting by material ID at the Face sub-object level.
Stretch Modifier Procedures Parameters rollout To stretch an object: 1. Select an object. 2. Apply Stretch. 3. On the Parameters rollout > Stretch Axis group, choose X, Y, or Z. 4. On the Parameters rollout > Stretch group, enter a value in the Stretch field. 5. Adjust the Parameters rollout > Stretch group > Amplify setting to change the amount of scaling along the minor axes. To limit a stretch: 1. Apply a Stretch modifier to an object and specify the stretch amounts and stretch axis. 2.
828 Chapter 8: Modifiers The calculated scale factor is applied to the selected stretch axis and the inverse scale is applied to the minor axes. Stretch Axis group You select which of the object’s local axes is the Stretch Axis using options in the Stretch Axis group of the Parameters rollout. • The scale factor calculated from the Stretch Amount is applied to the Stretch Axis. • The inverse scale factor is applied to the remaining minor axes. Stretch values of 0.0, 0.5, and -0.
Subdivide Modifier Subdivide Modifier Make a selection. > Modify panel > Modifier List > Subdivide Make a selection. > Modifiers menu > Radiosity Modifiers > Subdivide Limiting the effect of Stretch Click Sub-Object and move the modifier’s center to change the location of the limited stretch areas. The Upper and Lower Limit boundaries move with the modifier center to maintain their specified distances.
830 Chapter 8: Modifiers space coordinates. The object space modifier limits the size in object space coordinates. Note: Typically, the Subdivide modifier is applied automatically to objects in the scene when a radiosity solution is processed. Meshing parameters can be set on a global basis in the radiosity control panel (page 3–60) or for individual objects in the Object Properties dialog (page 1–111).
Substitute Modifier Alternatively, click the ... button to the right of Pick Scene Object and select an object from the dialog that is displayed. The original object is replaced by an instance of the substitute object. 3. To see the original object in the viewport, turn off In Viewport. To see the original object in the final rendering, turn off In Render. To permanently disable the substitution, delete the modifier. The Substitute modifier replaces the 2D objects with their 3D counterparts.
832 Chapter 8: Modifiers Parameters rollout Substitute Assignment group Pick Scene Object—Lets you choose an object from the current scene to be instanced as a substitute for the selected object. Click Pick Scene Object, and then select the object from a viewport to use as a substitute. If In Viewport is on and Retain Current Position is off (the default settings), an instance (page 3–1051) of the substitute object appears in the place of the original object.
Surface Modifier instanced substitute object in the same place as the object containing the Substitute modifier. You must specify the Retain Local Rotation/Scale setting before designating the substitute object. Changing this setting afterward has no effect. Surface Modifier Select a spline object. > Modify panel > Modifier List > Object-Space Modifiers > Surface Select a spline object.
834 Chapter 8: Modifiers 3. Use the CrossSection modifier to connect spline cross-sections, unless you plan on manually creating the splines that connect the model’s cross-sections. This approach works for modeling a face or body of a character. Modeling Examples 4. Apply the Surface modifier, then adjust the weld threshold to generate a patch object.
Surface Modifier Face: Spline network based on front and profile reference images Two intersecting texture-mapped polygons are used as a reference to create a network of splines manually. Drawing lines on the physical sculpture is used as an added visual aid to position the splines in this case. The CrossSection modifier is not necessary if you create the spline network manually. Rhino head: Spline network begins with the profile.
836 Chapter 8: Modifiers rollout, such as Line (page 1–265), Circle (page 1–268), Arc (page 1–269), and Section (page 1–277). Splines can also be created using the Create Line command in an Editable Spline or and Edit Spline modifier. • Splines are edited by applying an Edit Spline modifier to the selected spline object or editing parameters in an Editable Spline. Editing splines changes the patch surface created by the Surface modifier.
Surface Modifier 3. Choose Modifiers menu > Patch/Spline Editing 5. In the stack display, choose the Surface modifier > Surface from the Modifier List. again. Now the five-sided NGon is a patch object, consisting of a quad patch and a tri patch. Notice that the three- and four-sided splines formed patches but the five-sided NGon did not. The five-sided spline does not form a three- or four-sided closed region.
838 Chapter 8: Modifiers Interface Patch Topology group Steps—The steps field spinner determines how many steps are used between each vertex. The higher the step count, the smoother the curve you will get between vertices. SurfDeform Modifier Select an object. > Modify panel > Modifiers List > Object–Space Modifiers > SurfDeform Select an object. > Modify panel > Modifiers List > World–Space Modifiers > SurfDeform Select an object.
Sweep Modifier 3. On the Parameters rollout, click Pick Surface. 4. Select a NURBS Point or CV surface. 5. Deform the object by adjusting the controls in the Surface Deform group. Interface that you create in 3ds Max or import from other MAX files. Note: This modifier is similar to the Extrude modifier in that once the Sweep is applied to a spline, the end result is a 3D mesh object. Both sections and paths can contain multiple splines or multiple NURBS curves.
840 Chapter 8: Modifiers The line takes on the shape of an angled extrusion. 3. Click the Use Custom Section radio button. Built-In Section group Built-In Section list—Clicking the arrow button for this list displays common structural sections. The line displays as a line again. 4. Click the Pick button in the Custom Section Types group and choose the NGon in the viewport. The hexagonal shape is swept along the line’s length.
Sweep Modifier • Wide Flange section—Sweeps a structural wide flange section along the spline. Use Custom Section—Choose this if you’ve created your own section or there is another shape in the current scene or in another MAX file that you’d like to use as your section. Note: Using a 2D shape as the Sweep modifier’s custom section will yield the most predictable results.
842 Chapter 8: Modifiers Parameters rollout Left: The quarter-round section is set to zero steps. Right: The same section on the right is set to four steps. The Parameters rollout is context-sensitive and displays different settings depending upon the built-in section you’ve chosen to sweep along a spline. For example, more complex sections such as the Angle have seven settings that you can change whereas the Quarter-Round has only one setting.
Sweep Modifier Edge Radii—Controls the interior radius at the Thickness—Controls the thickness of both legs of outermost edges of the vertical and horizontal legs. Default=0.0. the channel. Default=0.5. Note: Be cautious when adjusting these settings. There are no constraining relationships between them. Therefore, it’s possible to set an inside radius (Corner Radius 2) that is greater than the length or width of the legs of the angle.
844 Chapter 8: Modifiers Radius—Controls the exterior radius of the pipe Parameters rollout – Tube section. Default=3.0. Thickness—Controls the thickness of the wall of the pipe. Default=0.5. Parameters rollout – Quarter-Round Radius—Controls the radius of the quarter round section. Default=3.0. Parameters rollout – Tee Length—Controls the height of the tube section. Default=6.0. Width—Controls the width of the tube section. Default=6.0. Thickness—Controls the thickness of the walls of the tube.
Sweep Modifier Parameters rollout – Wide Flange Sweep Parameters rollout Length—Controls the height of the vertical web of the wide flange section. Default=14.0. Width—Controls the width of the horizontal flanges crossing the section. Default=8.0. Thickness—Controls the thickness of the web and flanges. Default=0.5. Corner Radius—Controls the radius of the four interior corners between the vertical web and horizontal flanges. Default=0.5. Note: Be cautious when adjusting these settings.
846 Chapter 8: Modifiers Angle—Allows you to rotate the section relative to the plane on which the underlying spline is located. Left: The object shows the default state. Right: The object has Mirror On XY Plane turned on. X Offset—Lets you shift the horizontal position of the section relative to the underlying spline. Left: The section is in the default position. Right: The section is rotated 30 degrees.
Sweep Modifier Note: When none of the Pivot Alignment buttons is depressed the pivot point of the section is used as the alignment point. Align Pivot—When turned on, a 3D representation of the Pivot Alignment grid appears in the viewport. You only see the 3x3 alignment grid, the section and the underlying spline path. Once you’re satisfied with the alignment, turn off the Align Pivot button or right-click to see the sweep. separate splines contained in one shape object.
848 Chapter 8: Modifiers Interface Left: Materials set by path IDs Right: Materials set by section IDs Rear: Section and Path IDs turned off Pick Shape Dialog Select a shape that already has a Sweep modifier applied. > Modify Panel > Section Type rollout > Turn on Use Custom Section > Click Pick Shape. The Pick Shape dialog is displayed when you select a custom shape in the scene. This shape can be any of the splines, extended splines or NURBS curves.
Extract Shape Dialog By Color—Sorts by object wireframe color. The sorting order is arbitrary; shapes of the same color are grouped together. By Size—This switch is available but has no effect on sorting. List Types group Because this dialog is specifically designed to work with the Sweep modifier, the List Type group is locked to only display Shapes. Shapes is the only switch in this group that affects what is displayed. 2.
850 Chapter 8: Modifiers shapes or section profiles from other scene files into the current scene. Automatic Unit Conversion When Respect System Units in Files is turned on in the Units Setup dialog (page 3–891) in the System Unit Scale group, merged objects from a file with a different scene-unit scale are scaled to maintain their correct size in the new scene.
Symmetry Modifier If the scene file you selected contains multiple shapes, keep in mind that you can only choose one shape to be swept along the spline in your current scene. All/None/Invert—These buttons are unavailable when Merge From File is used in the Sweep modifier. Symmetry Modifier Modify panel > Make a selection. > Modifier List > Symmetry Make a selection.
852 Chapter 8: Modifiers When the Symmetry modifier is applied to a mesh, any edits made to the original half of the mesh will appear interactively to the other half. The Symmetry modifier is especially useful when modeling characters or building ships and aircraft. For more information on the stack display, see Modifier Stack (page 3–802).
Taper Modifier when the mirror gizmo is outside the boundaries of the originating mesh. Taper Modifier Modify panel > Make a selection. > Modifier List > Object-Space Modifiers > Taper distance. Rotating and scaling the gizmo takes place with respect to its center. Center—At this sub-object level, you can translate and animate the center, altering the Taper gizmo’s shape, and thus the shape of the tapered object. For more information on the stack display, see Modifier Stack (page 3–802).
854 Chapter 8: Modifiers Taper group Amount—The extent to which the ends are scaled. Amount is a relative value with a maximum of 10. Curve—Applies a curvature to the sides of the Taper gizmo, thus affecting the shape of the tapered object. Positive values produce an outward curve along the tapered sides, negative values an inward curve. At 0, the sides are unchanged. Default=0.
Tessellate Modifier Operate On—Specifies whether to perform the tessellation on the triangular faces or on the polygonal facets (the areas bound by visible edges). Faces—Treats the selection as a set of triangular faces. Top: Original mesh object Lower left: Tessellation applied to polygonal facets Lower right: Tessellation applied to triangular faces Warning: Tessellating an object retains any UVW mapping that exists in the stack before the Tessellate modifier.
856 Chapter 8: Modifiers When Rendering—Tessellation is updated only Note: As of version 3 of 3ds Max, Edit/Editable when the object is rendered. Spline (page 1–284) includes interactive trim/extend functions. The only reason to use this modifier is to apply it at a specific location on the stack. Manually—Tessellation is updated only when the user clicks Update. Update—Click to update tessellation. Has no effect unless Manually is the active update option. Trim/Extend Modifier Select a shape.
TurboSmooth Modifier Interface you trim one linear spline against the extended length of another line that it doesn’t actually intersect. Note: As the number of open splines in the shape increases, the chance of finding an intersection, when using Infinite Boundaries, increases as well. This can produce results you might not have expected because of projected spline intersections you hadn’t considered, particularly if you’re in Auto mode.
858 Chapter 8: Modifiers TurboSmooth uses a single smoothing method (NURMS), can be applied only to an entire object, has no sub-object levels, and outputs a triangle-mesh object. TurboSmooth lets you subdivide the geometry while interpolating the angles of new faces at corners and edges, and apply a single smoothing group to all faces in the object. The effect of TurboSmooth is to round over corners and edges as if they had been filed or planed smooth.
TurboSmooth Modifier Interface From right to left, effect of increasing the number of iterations Note: Be cautious when increasing the number of iterations. The number of vertices and faces in an object (and thus the calculation time) can increase as much as four times for each iteration. Applying four iterations to even a moderately complex object can take a long time to calculate. Render Iter(ation)s—Lets you choose a different Main group Lets you set the basic parameters for TurboSmooth.
860 Chapter 8: Modifiers Explicit Normals—Lets the TurboSmooth modifier compute normals for its output, which is faster than the standard method 3ds Max uses to compute normals from the mesh object’s smoothing groups. Default=off. Manually—Turns on manual updating. When Consequently, if the TurboSmooth result is used directly for display or rendering, it will generally be faster with this option turned on. Also, the quality of the normals will be slightly higher.
Turn To Mesh Modifier Procedure Sub-object Selections group Example: To translate a patch sub-object selection to a polygon sub-object selection: These options control the selection of sub-objects. 1. Select a patch model and turn on wireframe mode. 2. In the stack display, choose the Patch sub-object level. 3. Select a patch on the model. 4. Apply the Turn To Mesh modifier from the Modifier list. 5. In the stack display, right-click the Turn To Mesh modifier and choose Collapse All. 6.
862 Chapter 8: Modifiers the stack. The Turn To Mesh modifier takes the sub-object patch selection into account and selects the mesh faces that derive from the patch selection. Object—Uses Object as the selection level for passing up the rest of the stack. Edge—Uses Edge as the sub-object selection level for passing up the rest of the stack. Vertex—Uses Vertex as the sub-object selection level for passing up the rest of the stack.
Turn To Poly Modifier Clear—Clears the sub-object selection so that nothing is selected. Default=off. Patch—Uses patch as the sub-object selection level for passing up the rest of the stack. Invert—Inverts the sub-object selection. All sub-objects not currently selected are selected, and all sub-objects currently selected are deselected. Default=off.
864 Chapter 8: Modifiers Procedure Interface Example: To prevent interior vertices from being passed up the stack: Parameters rollout 1. Create an NGon in wireframe mode: Create panel > Shapes > Splines > Object Type rollout > NGon. 2. Open the Modify panel and convert the NGon to an editable mesh by right-clicking the stack display and choosing Convert to > Editable Mesh. 3. In the stack display (or in the Selection rollout), choose the Polygon sub-object mode. 4.
Twist Modifier triangles, rather than joining together more than two triangles into pentagons, hexagons, and so on. the same soft selection will apply to the polymesh vertices. Default=on. Max Size—The maximum number of sides to a For more information, see Soft Selection Rollout polygon. (page 1–945). Require Planar Polygons—Creates polygons composed of flat planes. Does not join faces together across an edge if the edge has a sharper angle than the threshold listed.
866 Chapter 8: Modifiers Note: When you apply the Twist modifier, the Twist gizmo’s center is placed at the object’s pivot point, and the gizmo lines up with the object’s local axis. To limit the twist: 1. Turn on Limits group > Limit Effect. 2. Set values for the upper and lower limits. These are distances in current units above and below the modifier’s center, which is at zero on the gizmo’s Z axis. The upper limit can be zero or positive, the lower limit zero or negative.
Unwrap UVW Modifier Twist Parameters rollout Upper Limit—Sets the upper limit for the twist effect. Default=0. Lower Limit—Sets the lower limit for the twist effect. Default=0. Unwrap UVW Modifier Select an object. > Modify panel > Modifier List > Object-Space Modifiers > Unwrap UVW Select an object. > Modifiers menu > UV Coordinates > Unwrap UVW Twist group Angle—Determines the amount of twist around the vertical axis. Default=0.0.
868 Chapter 8: Modifiers and Highlight Selected Verts are no longer necessary and have been eliminated. • The modifier has inherited a number of additional mapping types from the UVW Map modifier. In addition to planar, you can now apply cylindrical, spherical, and box mapping to objects and face selections within Unwrap UVW. You can also align the mapping gizmo manually or with any of a number of different procedural methods.
Unwrap UVW Modifier modifier to do both. You can select sub-object vertices, edges, or faces/patches, store sub-object selections as named selections, map them using planar and other methods, and then edit the UVW coordinates for each sub-object selection, all from within the Unwrap UVW modifier.
870 Chapter 8: Modifiers faces. You’ll use a single mapping type on this selection. Within the single modifier, you can apply as many different mappings as you like to different face selections. as a guide. If you don’t see them, make sure Parameters rollout > Display Group > Thin Seam Display or Thick Seam Display is active. 7. Open the Edit UVWs dialog (page 1–878) (Parameters rollout > Edit). 3.
Unwrap UVW Modifier 13. In a viewport, drag to select a group of faces by region. The faces’ UVW coordinates display in the Edit UVWs window. This is another way of choosing what you want to work on. As you can see, from within the Unwrap UVW modifier you can assign multiple mapping types to different, named face selections, and then edit the UVW coordinates to fine-tune map placement on the geometry. To use Pelt mapping: 1. Apply Unwrap UVW to the object. 2.
872 Chapter 8: Modifiers The springs contract, pulling the pelt seam vertices toward the stretcher points. The internal UV vertices are also affected by this action. You can adjust the extent to which they’re affected with the Decay setting. 10. Continue adjusting the stretcher points, mapping vertices, dialog settings, etc., and re-running the solution until you get the desired results. If things get out of hand, simply undo, or click Reset Stretcher and start over.
Unwrap UVW Modifier 5. At the bottom of the dialog, click Render UV Modifier Stack display Template. This opens a new rendered frame window (page 3–5) containing the rendered template as a bitmap. Inspect the output, and if changes are necessary, make them on the Render UVs dialog and re-render. 6. When you’re satisfied with the results, click Save Bitmap on the rendered frame window toolbar, and then use the file dialog to specify the file type and name. Click Save to export the file.
874 Chapter 8: Modifiers Selection Parameters rollout Use these settings to make or modify a sub-object selection for use by the modifier. If you’ve passed a face selection up the stack, for example from the Poly Select modifier, Unwrap UVW uses that instead, and makes these controls unavailable. contiguous faces whose angles are less than the threshold value. Planar Angle is available only at the Face sub-object level. Select MatID—Enables face selection by material ID (page 3–1063).
Unwrap UVW Modifier Reset UVWs—Resets the UVW coordinates in the Edit UVWs dialog. Clicking this is almost the same as removing and reapplying the modifier, except that a map assigned in the Edit UVWs dialog is not deleted. For example, if you forgot to turn on the Generate Mapping Coordinates check box for an object, and then applied the Unwrap UVW modifier, the modifier would have no UVW coordinates to use and its settings would be wrong.
876 Chapter 8: Modifiers You can apply any map type to selected faces, patches, or surfaces, and align the mapping gizmo in any of a variety of ways. Note: When a mapping type button is active, you cannot change the selection without first exiting the mapping operation. Planar—Applies planar mapping to the selected faces. Make the selection, click Planar, adjust the mapping using the transform tools and Align buttons on the Map Parameters panel, and then click Planar again to exit.
Unwrap UVW Modifier when you open the editor, the radius of the sphere’s mapping coordinates is 25 units. As a result, the texture map is tiled onto the sphere surface many times. With Normalize Map on, both the sphere and the map fit into the 0-1 coordinate space, so they’re the same size. In general, for best results, leave Normalize Map on.
878 Chapter 8: Modifiers When the editor is open in Pelt mode you can use the editor and dialog controls to “stretch” out the mapping coordinates, resulting in coordinates that are easier to texture map. Edit UVWs Dialog Select an object. > Modify panel > Modifier List > Object-Space Modifiers > Unwrap UVW > Edit button (on Parameters rollout) The heart of the Edit UVWs dialog is a window that displays a lattice made up of UVW faces and UVW vertices.
Edit UVWs Dialog When transforming with Rotate and Scale, pressing CTRL+ALT will allow you to transform the selection from the point of the mouse click, instead of the selection center. The initial click specifies the center of the transform. Freeform rotation respects the angle snap (page 2–36) status. • Move—Lets you select and move sub-objects. Flyout options are Move, Move Horizontal, and Move Vertical. Press SHIFT to constrain the movement to a single axis.
880 Chapter 8: Modifiers Flip first detaches the selection along its boundary edges and then applies a Mirror Horizontal or Vertical depending on the mode. Turn on Target Weld, and then drag one vertex to another vertex, or one edge to another edge. As you drag, the cursor changes in appearance to cross hairs when it’s over a valid sub-object. While this command is active, you can continue welding sub-objects, and change the sub-object level. To exit Target Weld mode, right-click in the editor window.
Edit UVWs Dialog All ID’s (drop-down)—Filters the object’s material IDs. Displays texture faces that match the ID drop-down. Pan—Click Pan, and then drag in the window to change the visible portion. Tip: With a three-button mouse, you can also pan the window by dragging with the middle mouse button held down. Zoom—Click Zoom, and then click+drag to zoom the window.
882 Chapter 8: Modifiers Combine this with Center Pixel Snap to snap to the center of pixels rather than the corner. Note: With multiple vertices selected, all vertices snap to the nearest pixel, relatively; this can slightly alter the spatial relationships among them. Options panel Edge Distance—Turn on to limit the falloff region by the specified number of edges between the selection and the affected vertices.
Edit UVWs Dialog Unwrap UVW modifier and the Selection Modes group. When you choose a sub-object level in one, it’s also activated in the other. Similarly, selecting sub-objects in a viewport selects them in the editor and vice-versa. Expand Selection—Adds sub-objects to the selection. Vertex and face expansion proceeds outwards in all available directions. Edge expansion proceeds along available UV paths.
884 Chapter 8: Modifiers Height—Scales the bitmap along the vertical axis. Unwrap Editor Options group Tile Bitmap—When turned on, you can repeat the Show Hidden Edges—Toggles the display of face bitmap in the editor, displaying tiling set in the material. You can use any part of the tiled image for setting texture coordinates. This is helpful when the sections of the texture image are packed tightly together and the mesh contains many different areas to map. edges.
Edit UVWs Dialog Menu Bar Reset All has almost the same effect as removing and reapplying the modifier, except that a map assigned in the Edit UVWs dialog is not deleted. For example, if you forgot to turn on the Generate Mapping Coordinates check box for an object, and then applied the Unwrap UVW modifier, the modifier would have no UVW coordinates to use and its settings would be wrong.
886 Chapter 8: Modifiers Face sub-object mode. For a face to be selected, the current edge selection must include all of its vertices. For example, if two opposite edges of a four-sided face are selected, the edge selection includes all four of the face’s vertices, so this command will select the face. find overlapping faces in order to separate them as needed.
Edit UVWs Dialog Menu Bar Detach Edge Verts—Tries to split off the current selection into a new element. Any invalid vertices or edges are removed from the selection set before the detach. Stitch Selected—For the current selection, finds all the texture vertices that are assigned to the same geometric vertex, brings them all to the same spot, and welds them together. With this tool you can automatically connect faces that are contiguous in the object mesh but not in the editor.
888 Chapter 8: Modifiers Normal Mapping—Applies planar maps based on different vector-projection methods. Choosing Normal Mapping opens the Normal Mapping dialog (page 1–890). Unfold Mapping—Unfolds the mesh so you get no face distortion, but does not guarantee that faces will not overlap. Choosing Unfold Mapping opens the Unfold Mapping dialog (page 1–902). Options menu Advanced Options—Opens the Unwrap Options dialog (page 1–902). Load Defaults—Loads the editor settings from the file unwrapuvw.
Flatten Mapping Dialog and/or edges. You can change the highlight color on the Unwrap Options dialog (page 1–902). UVW Editor Dialogs Update Map—Refresh the editor window background and displays the current texture map. If you change a bitmap used in the object’s material, choose Update Map to show the new image in the Edit UVWs dialog editor window. Flatten Mapping Dialog Select an object.
890 Chapter 8: Modifiers Spacing —Controls the amount of space between See also clusters. Flatten Mapping Dialog (page 1–889) The higher this setting, the larger the gap that appears between clusters. Unfold Mapping Dialog (page 1–902) Normalize Clusters— Controls whether the final Interface layout will be scaled down to 1.0 unit to fit within the standard editor mapping area.
Pack UVs Dialog Align By Width—Controls whether the width or the height of the clusters is used to control the layout of the clusters. OK—Accepts the settings, closes the dialog, and performs the mapping as specified. Cancel—Undoes any changes and closes the dialog. Set As Default—Makes the current settings the defaults for the current session. off, the final size of the clusters will be in object space, and they’ll probably be much larger than the editor mapping area.
892 Chapter 8: Modifiers The stretcher points surround the pelt UVs in the Edit UVWs dialog window. The lines connecting the stretcher vertices to the pelt-seam vertices function as springs that pull the pelt seams outward in an animated simulation. After you set up the pelt UVs and the stretcher shape, you run the simulation by clicking the Simulate Pelt Pulling button. Depending on the results, further adjustment and simulation might be required.
Pelt Map Parameters Dialog Note: While Straighten Stretcher is active, you can pan and zoom the editor window at any time using contextual controls (middle-button drag or turn mouse wheel, respectively) to access a different part of the window. After doing so, the software still remembers the last vertex you dragged and draws a straight line between it and the next one you drag. Similarly, you can adjust the window using the control buttons and then return to straightening the stretcher.
894 Chapter 8: Modifiers Iterations—The number of times the simulation will run through when you click Simulate Pelt Pullings. Default=20. Range=1 to 100. Often, you’ll need to run repeated simulations to get the desired result. Samples—The number of samples around each pelt-seam point used in the simulation. A higher value results in a greater pulling effect. Default=5. Range=1 to 50. Relax (Light)—Causes a relatively weak normalization of the distances between mapping vertices.
Relax Tool Dialog This opens the Relax Tools dialog. 5. On the Relax Tool dialog, set Stretch to an intermediate value. If the overlapping is considerable, use 0.5 or higher. If it’s relatively small, try 0.1 to 0.3. 3. Choose the relax method. Three are available from the drop-down list: • Relax By Face Angles • Relax By Edge Angles 6. Click Apply. If this seems to be helping, continue clicking Apply until the overlapping is resolved.
896 Chapter 8: Modifiers • Relax By Centers—The original Relax method from previous versions of 3ds Max. It relaxes vertices based off the centroids (centers of mass) of their faces. It does not take into account the face or edge shapes/angles so it is mainly useful for removing overlap or for faces that are mostly rectangular. Iterations—The number of times the Relax settings are applied when you click Apply. Each iteration is applied successively, to the results of the previous iteration.
Render UVs Dialog Interface Warning: Using this function can result in Height value that is not a power of 2. If your mesh is destined for a real-time renderer, adjust the resulting Height value to the nearest power of 2 after using Guess Aspect Ratio. For example, if it sets Height to 650, change it to 512 before rendering the template. Force 2-Sided—When on, all UV edges are rendered into the template.
898 Chapter 8: Modifiers • Solid: Renders faces using the fill color specified by the swatch at the top of the Fill group. Hidden edges are most often found dividing mesh polygons into triangles. They aren’t present in polygon objects. • Normal: Renders each vertex’s normals into the bitmap. The result looks similar to a normal map. Seam Edges—When on, seam (outside) edges • Shaded: Uses a simple lighting setup to render shading across the UV surface. To change the seam color, click the color swatch.
Sketch Tool Dialog the operation quickly, rather than dragging the vertices one at a time. Procedure Example: To sketch texture vertices free form: You can start with the vertices already selected, or use the Sketch tool to select them. In this example, we’ll assume the latter. 1. Choose Sketch Vertices. 2. In the Sketch Tool dialog, next to Select By, choose Drag Selection, if necessary. 3. Next to Align To, choose Free Form, if necessary. 4.
900 Chapter 8: Modifiers and move again to draw connected straight-line segments. You can combine free-form and straight-line sketching freely: • To append a free-form line to a straight-line segment, release the ALT key and then begin dragging. • To append a straight-line segment to a free-form line, press and hold ALT as you drag, and then release the mouse button and move the mouse. 8. To exit the Sketch tool, right-click in the editor window.
Stitch Tool Dialog using one of the automatic tools on the Mapping menu (page 1–887), you can use the Stitch tool to recombine specific clusters by merging corresponding edges. Note: You can stitch together only two clusters at a time. If the current sub-object selection is shared by more than one cluster, then “majority rules”: Stitch attaches the cluster that shares the most sub-objects.
902 Chapter 8: Modifiers Unfold Mapping Dialog Select an object. > Modify panel > Modifier List > Object-Space Modifiers > Unwrap UVW > Edit button (on Parameters rollout) > Mapping menu > Unfold Mapping The Unfold Mapping method of procedural mapping eliminates texture distortion, but can result in overlapping coordinate clusters. The Unfold Mapping dialog lets you control how faces are unfolded. See also Cancel—Undoes any changes and closes the dialog.
Unwrap Options Dialog Colors group Contains color swatches to customize the display of the UVW lattice. With certain maps, the default colors may become difficult to see. Use these swatches to choose colors that work better for your specific map. To change a color, click its swatch, and then use the Color Selector (page 1–157) to choose a new one. Line Color—Specifies the color of the UVW lattice lines. Default=white. Handle Color—The color assigned to patch handles. Default=yellow.
904 Chapter 8: Modifiers together and the mesh contains many different areas to map. Affect Center Tile—When turned on, the Brightness setting affects all tiles equally. When off, the center, or “home,” tile always remains at full brightness, so you can easily distinguish the home tile from the copies. Constant Update in Viewports—Affects the adjusting of UVW vertices in the viewport while you move the mouse.
UVW Map Modifier UVW Map Modifier Select an object. > Modify panel > Modifier List > UVW Map Select an object. > Modifiers menu > UVW Map the bitmap is rotated and projected so that it is perpendicular to the surface. Primitive objects, like spheres and boxes, can generate their own mapping coordinates, as can loft objects and NURBS surfaces. Scanned, imported, or hand-constructed polygonal or patch models do not have mapping coordinates until a UVW Map modifier is applied.
906 Chapter 8: Modifiers assigning explicit map channels to the bitmaps. In the Material Editor you assign each map a different channel number, then you add multiple UVW Map modifiers to the object’s modifier stack, each UVW Map modifier is set to a different map channel. To change the type of mapping or gizmo placement for a particular bitmap, you select one of the UVW Map modifiers in the modifier stack and change the parameters.
UVW Map Modifier Manipulators for UVW Map The UVW Map modifier has graphic manipulators to help you adjust the mapping dimensions and tiling when Real-World Map Size is off. When Real-World Map Size is on, you can adjust positioning only for the Planar and Box mapping types. Manipulators are visible and usable while the Select And Manipulate button (page 2–26) is active. This button is on the default toolbar (page 3–732).
908 Chapter 8: Modifiers texture map appears in the scene with the correct scaling. There are two parts to the equation in order for real-world mapping to work. First, the correct style of UV texture coordinates must be assigned to the geometry. Basically, the size of the UV space needs to correspond to the size of the geometry. Therefore, a new switch, called Real-World Map Size, has been added to many of the dialogs and rollouts where you can generate texture coordinates.
UVW Map Modifier control in the Material Editor. You can adjust the mapping of channel 2 without altering the mapping of channel 1 if you’ve assigned two UVW Map modifiers. Render the scene to see the effect. To use the XYZ to UVW option: 9. 10. In the Front viewport, select the top vertices of the box, and move them up. 11. Render the Front viewport again. The cellular pattern stretches with the box. This effect is enabled by the XYZ to UVW option.
910 Chapter 8: Modifiers To use manipulators to control the width and length: Interface Modifier Stack 1. On the Modify panel, choose the UVW Map modifier in the stack display. You can also be at the Gizmo level of the modifier. 2. On the default main toolbar, click to turn on Select And Manipulate. The UVW Map modifier’s gizmo turns green, showing it is now a manipulator. Also, two small circles appear next to two of the gizmo’s edges. 3. Drag an edge of the gizmo to adjust the width or length.
UVW Map Modifier Mapping group Determines the type of mapping coordinates used. Different kinds of mapping are distinguished by how the map is geometrically projected onto the object and how the projection interacts with the object’s surfaces. Planar—Projects the map from a single plane flat against the object, somewhat like projecting a slide. Planar projection is useful when only one side of an object needs to be mapped.
912 Chapter 8: Modifiers Shrink-wrap mapping is useful when you want to hide the mapping singularity. Cylindrical map projection Cap—Applies planar mapping coordinates to the caps of the cylinder. Shrink-wrap projection Note: If the ends of the object geometry are not at Box—Projects the map from the six sides of a box. Each side projects as a planar map, and the effect on the surface depends on the surface normal.
UVW Map Modifier Length, Width, Height—Specify the dimensions of the UVW Map gizmo. The default scale of the mapping icon is defined by the largest dimension of the object when you apply the modifier. You can animate the projection at the gizmo level. Note the following facts about these spinners: • The dimensions are based on a bounding box of the gizmo. Face projection XYZ to UVW—Maps 3D procedural coordinates to UVW coordinates. This "sticks" the procedural texture to the surface.
914 Chapter 8: Modifiers When on, the Length, Width, Height and Tiling spinners are unavailable. Channel group Each object can have up to 99 UVW mapping coordinate channels. The default mapping (from the Generate Mapping Coordinates toggle) is always channel 1. The UVW Map modifier can send coordinates to any channel. This lets you have many different sets of coordinates on the same face simultaneously. Map Channel—Sets the map channel.
UVW Map Modifier Fit—Fits the gizmo to the extents of the object and Acquire—Effectively copies the UVW coordinates centers it so that it’s locked to the object’s extents. Unavailable when Real-World Map Size is on. from other objects When you pick an object from which you want to acquire UVWs, a dialog prompts you whether the acquire should be done in an absolute or relative fashion. Center—Moves the gizmo so that its center coincides with the center of the object.
916 Chapter 8: Modifiers UVW Mapping Add Modifier Select an object. > Modify panel > Modifier List > UVW Mapping Add Select an object. > Channel Info (page 2–1549) > Add a channel. The UVW Mapping Add modifier is added to an object’s modifier stack when you add a channel in the Channel Info utility (page 2–1549). You can also add the modifier explicitly by choosing it from the Modifier List. It has no user interface.
Vertex Weld Modifier Interface Channel group Specifies whether to apply the transform to a mapping channel or a vertex color channel, and which channel to use. For more information on these channels, see UVW Map Modifier (page 1–905). Map Channel—Specifies a UVW channel to use for the mapping, and use the spinner to its right to set the channel number. Vertex Color Channel—Uses the vertex color channel for the mapping.
918 Chapter 8: Modifiers Procedure Note: A higher threshold setting will result in Example: To apply the Vertex Weld modifier to a mesh: welding more vertices, thus removing smaller faces and details. If the threshold is set too high, the mesh will begin to deform. 1. Create a box with Length, Width, and Height set to 40. 2. Right-click the box and choose Convert to > Convert to Editable Poly. 3. Set the sub-object mode to polygon, and select Polygon 6.
VertexPaint Modifier The amount of color that 3ds Max applies to a vertex depends on the distance of the vertex from the position of the paint cursor on the face. The more you select a face, the more it changes to the new color. The Opacity button also controls the strength of the color. 3ds Max shades the color, so if you have one green vertex and two white vertices for one face, for example, you’ll see a gradient on that face.
920 Chapter 8: Modifiers One of the primary advancements of the new VertexPaint is its use of the modifier stack as a kind of image composite stack. Each VertexPaint modifier is a single layer in the composite. Layers can be moved up and down the stack, enabled or disabled, and the stack can be flattened using Condense To Single Layer.
VertexPaint Modifier Vertex Color is one item on a drop-down list. The other items are Vertex Illumination, Vertex Alpha, Map Channel Color (which uses the spinner immediately below the list), and Soft Selection Color. Viewports can display only one of these vertex channels at a time. 2. 3. Animate the U, V, and W spinners using identical values. For example, animate UVW from 1 to 0 over the length of the animation. This will attenuate the RGB values of the underlying vertex color results uniformly.
922 Chapter 8: Modifiers Interface Parameter rollout • Map Channel—Choose this to paint on a specifically named or numbered map channel. Map channel spinner—Specifies the channel number. Available only when Map Channel is chosen. Note: If you have painted on a layer and then change the channel setting, the painted information will be moved to the new channel.
VertexPaint Modifier as transparent and the layer colors are displayed in the raw (not blended with anything). Assign Vertex Color rollout Note: Per-vertex layer opacity is not passed up the stack. A paint layer modifier makes a yes/no decision about whether an object below it has vertex colors or not, and will subsequently treat all base colors as transparent or all as opaque.
924 Chapter 8: Modifiers VertexPaint Paintbox Select an object. > Modify panel > Modifier List > VertexPaint > Paintbox dialog (Click Edit in the Parameters rollout if it isn’t displayed.) Select an object. > Modifiers menu > Mesh Editing > Vertex Paint > Paintbox dialog (Click Edit in the Parameters rollout if it isn’t displayed.) Select an object.
VertexPaint Paintbox Interface Vertex Color Display controls Control the display of the vertex paint in the viewport by using the four icons at the top of the floating panel. You can easily switch between shaded and unshaded vertex color modes, or turn off the display of vertex color and or texture maps. Note: The first three of these buttons stay highlighted when you click them, to indicate which shading mode is active. Toggle Texture Display simply performs the action without becoming highlighted.
926 Chapter 8: Modifiers Toggle texture display —Displays or hides texture maps on the currently selected object. Viewport Channel Display selector This menu allows you to select which one of the map channels to paint on: • • Vertex colors—Choosing this lets you display the vertex color channel in the viewport. • You might choose map channels above the standard channel 1, 2, 3 that do typically get used for texture mapping.
VertexPaint Paintbox Vertex Paintbrush group layer. But if the selected objects do not currently have a vertex paint layer highlighted in the modify panel, then a dialog appears letting you create a new modifier. This will be instanced across all the selected objects. You will not see the results of your brush strokes, unless the proper display mode is set (above) Be sure your display mode and your paint target match.
928 Chapter 8: Modifiers a vertex of interest to pick up its color. Since this button enters a mode, it must be clicked to leave the mode, or you can choose another mode to turn it off. Color swatch—The color swatch indicates the current color that will be used when painting begins. Clicking on the swatch launches the standard color selector. Here you can change the color that will be used on the next brush stroke.
VertexPaint Paintbox Select face —Allows you to select faces in the currently selected objects. Once selected, only these faces will be available for painting. Select element —Allows you to select elements in the currently selected objects. Once selected, only these elements will be available for painting. Ignore Backfacing—When this is on, prevents you from mistakenly selecting sub-objects facing away from the user.
930 Chapter 8: Modifiers layers above, below, or in the current paint layer. The following modes are supported per paint layer: • Normal—The layer color completely overwrites the base color. • Overlay—The color cast is shifted towards the layer color and contrast might be increased. It’s useful when you want to make an object appear a different color but in the same lighting conditions.
VertexPaint Paintbox • Hue—The output color has the saturation and value of the base color, with the hue of the layer color. • Saturation—The output has the hue and value of the base color, and the saturation of the layer color. • Color —The output has the value of the base color, and the hue and saturation of the layer color. • Luminosity —The output has the hue and saturation of the base color, and the brightness value of the layer color.
932 Chapter 8: Modifiers Interface New Layer—Click to create a new VertexPaint layer. Clicking new layer displays a New Layer dialog. Delete Layer—Click to delete the current VertexPaint layer. This removes the modifier from the stack. Condense to single layer—Click to condense the layers into a single layer. Condensing layers is a two-part operation: first 3ds Max adds a new VertexPaint modifier to the stack, combining colors from previous VertexPaint layers according to the settings described above.
Color Palette (VertexPaint Modifier) better match your target hardware display (such as a game engine). Shadow level—Adjusts the level of shadow display. Gamma level—Adjusts the gamma display. This value is a gamma correction (page 3–1042) value. deleting the INI file causes the palette to revert to the default grayscale palette. Procedures To use the palette to choose a color: • On the List or Swatch panel, click the color.
934 Chapter 8: Modifiers To change a color’s name: Interface 1. In the List panel, click the name twice (more slowly than a double-click). The name changes to an editable field. 2. Enter a new name or edit the existing one, and then press ENTER. Press ESC to cancel the name change. To save a palette to a file: 1. Right-click the List panel or the Swatch panel. The Palette’s pop-up menu (page 1–935) appears. 2. Choose Save As from the menu. A Save Color Clipboard File dialog appears. 3.
Volume Select Modifier List panel—Displays the colors in the palette, along with their names. Swatch panel—Displays the colors in the active palette. The swatch panel doesn’t list the names of colors, but each color’s name appear as a tooltip when the mouse is over the swatch. By default, Color Clipboard files are saved in the \images directory below the 3ds Max root directory. Load—Displays a file open dialog that lets you choose a CCB palette file to load.
936 Chapter 8: Modifiers Volume Select lets you use one of three gizmos or another object to define a volume of space as the selection area, to which you can then apply modifiers. You can move the selection over an object and animate it. When applied, Volume Select begins with the current geometry in the object’s stack, whether it’s a whole object or a sub-object selection (for example, from an Edit Mesh (page 1–613) or another Volume Select modifier).
Volume Select Modifier • Apply modifiers to the selection. • Transform the Volume Select gizmo at the sub-object level, changing the selection in the process. • Combine these options. See the following example. Example: To animate a volume selection: 1. Apply Volume Select to an object. 2. Make a sub-object selection of the object’s geometry at Face or Vertex level, and apply a geometric modifier, such as Bend (page 1–541), to the selection. 3. Move to a nonzero frame and begin animation.
938 Chapter 8: Modifiers Parameters rollout Stack Selection Level group Object/Vertex/Face—Volume Select provides three selection levels. Vertex and Face levels put the modifier stack in sub-object selection. You can make one sub-object selection for each Volume Select modifier. You can then toggle the one selection between Face and Vertex level to send either up the stack. Object (top) level lets you modify the whole object while retaining any sub-object selection.
Volume Select Modifier rotate, or move the gizmo anywhere around the object. Volume: Mesh Object—Choose this option to use another object to define the selection space. After choosing Mesh Object, click the button below it (labeled "None" by default), and then select an object to use as the volume. Material ID—Specifies a material ID. All faces or vertices using the ID indicated by the spinner value are selected. Sm Group—Specifies a smoothing group.
940 Chapter 8: Modifiers Auto Fit—When on, automatically adjusts the gizmo size and shape to fit the object as you change the underlying topology (for example, transforming vertices). Soft Selection rollout These controls, available only at the Vertex stack selection level, let you set a gradual falloff of influence between selected and unselected vertices. See Soft Selection Rollout (Edit/Editable Mesh) (page 1–945). Note: Soft Selection does not apply to materials or smoothing groups.
Wave Modifier them in the other. This effect is especially clear when animated. For more information on the stack display, see Modifier Stack (page 3–802). Parameters rollout Phase effect on a wave To add a decay effect: Amplitude 1/Amplitude 2—Amplitude 1 produces • Set a decay value to increase or decrease the amplitude. a sine wave along the gizmo’s Y axis, while Amplitude 2 creates a wave along the X axis (although peaks and troughs appear in the same direction with both).
942 Chapter 8: Modifiers XForm Modifier Modify panel > Make a selection. > Modifier List > Object-Space Modifiers > XForm Make a selection. > Modifiers menu > Parametric Deformers > XForm Use the XForm (short for Transform) modifier to apply transformations (Move, Rotate, Scale) to objects. The XForm has two main functions: • To animate transformations of a sub-object selection. You can also animate the position of the modifier’s center. • To transform an object at any point in the stack.
XForm Modifier Interface This modifier has no parameters, but you can transform the XForm gizmo and the XForm center. If you switch the selection level to the XForm center, only the Move transform is available. This lets you offset the center and transform the gizmo around it. Both offset and gizmo transformations are animatable.
944 Chapter 8: Modifiers
Surface Modeling Surface modeling is more free form than geometric (parametric) modeling. Although you can create Patch and NURBS primitives from the Create panel, more often a surface model begins when you use the quad menu (page 3–741) or the modifier stack (page 3–802) to “collapse” a parametric model to some form of editable surface. Once you have done so, a variety of tools let you shape the surface. A lot of surface modeling work is done by editing sub-objects (page 3–1111) of the surface object.
946 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Partially selected sub-objects within the field are drawn along smoothly as you transform the sub-object selection; the effect diminishes with distance or the “strength” of the partial selection. This falloff is visible in the viewports as a color gradient surrounding the selection, conforming to the first part of the standard color spectrum: ROYGB (red, orange, yellow, green, blue). Red sub-objects are those you select explicitly.
Soft Selection Rollout box must be on before transforming or modifying the selection. Edge Distance—When on, limits the soft-selection region to the specified number of edges between where you select and the maximum extent of the soft selection. The affected region is measured in terms of "edge-distance" space, along the surface, rather than real space. This option is useful in cases where you want to select only contiguous sections of geometry.
948 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Using Paint Soft Selection (see following) turns on Lock Soft Selection automatically. If you turn it off after using Paint Soft Selection, the painted soft selection is lost. You can restore it with Undo. Paint Soft Selection group Selection Value—The maximum relative selection of the painted or reverted soft selection. The values of surrounding vertices within the brush radius fall off towards a value of 0. Default=1.0.
Collapse Utility 2. Select the object or objects that you want to collapse. 3. Click the Collapse Selected button. All modifiers are removed from the modifier stack and the object becomes an editable mesh. To collapse the stack of an object into an editable surface other than mesh: 1. On the Utilities panel, click the Collapse button. 2. On the Collapse rollout, set Output Type to 4. On the Collapse rollout, set Output Type to Mesh, if necessary. 5. In the Collapse To group, choose Single Object. 6.
950 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Output Type group Specifies the type of object that results from the collapse. Modifier Stack Result—The resultant object will be the same as if you had collapsed its stack. In most cases, this results in a mesh object, as when using the Mesh option. However, if the object has an Edit Patch modifier so that its stack produces a patch, then the result will be a patch object rather than a mesh. Likewise, a shape with Edit Spline modifiers becomes an editable spline.
Editable Patch Surface The surface is the renderable geometry of the object. Prior to version 3 of the software, some patch objects contained a lattice that appeared separate from the surface. This is no longer the case: The control framework conforms exactly to the surface, making it easier to visualize the results of patch modeling. The output of the Surface modifier (page 1–833) is a patch surface.
952 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling To delete patches: To add a patch: 1. Make a selection at the Patch sub-object level. 1. At the Edge sub-object level, select an open 2. Click Delete. The patches disappear. To subdivide a patch: 1. Make a selection at the Patch sub-object level. 2. Turn on Propagate to maintain surface continuity. 3. Click Subdivide. The patch selection is subdivided, increasing the number of patches. You can repeat this process, subdividing multiple times.
Editable Patch Surface When the weld occurs, the anchor patch remains fixed while the other patch moves to make the weld. Clicking a button here is the same as clicking a sub-object type in the Modifier Stack rollout. Click the button again to turn it off and return to the object selection level. To create a new element, do one of the following: • SHIFT+drag one or more patches. • SHIFT+extrude one or more patches. • SHIFT+extrude one or more edges. • SHIFT+drag an element.
954 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling surface is broken into smaller patches, each with its own vertices and edges. Element—Select and edit an entire element. An element has contiguous faces. Tip: You can highlight selected patches in a shaded display by turning on Shade Selected Faces in the Viewport Properties dialog. Right-click over the viewport name and choose Configure in the menu to display the Viewport Properties dialog. You can also use the default keyboard shortcut, F2, to toggle this feature.
Editable Patch (Object) Ring—Expands an edge selection by selecting all edges parallel to the selected edges. Available only at the Edge sub-object level. Loop—Expands the selection as far as possible, in alignment with selected edges. Available only at the Edge sub-object level.
956 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Geometry rollout Subdivision group Not available at this level. Topology group Attach—Attaches an object to the currently selected patch object. Click the object you want to attach to the currently selected patch object. If you attach a non-patch object, the object is converted to a patch object.
Editable Patch (Object) Top: Original patch object with rendering Bottom: Rendering with another patch attached Reorient—Reorients the attached object so that its creation local coordinate system is aligned with the creation local coordinate system of the selected patch object. Unhide All—Restores any hidden sub-objects to visibility.
958 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling patch surfaces, which can generate more accurate shading. Surface Properties rollout In the illustration below, a sphere was converted to Editable Patch format, and then a vertex was moved toward the center and rotated. The sphere on the left has Use True Patch Normals turned off, and the one on the right has it turned on. In both cases, View Steps was set to 8.
Editable Patch (Vertex) 2. Choose from commands on the quad menu. The Tools 1 (upper-left) quadrant includes two options specific to patch vertices: A patch box with Relax off (left), and Relax Value=1.
960 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Welding vertices To transform interior vertices: Deleting vertices To weld vertices: 1. At Patch (Vertex) level, select two valid vertices on different patches. 2. Set Weld Threshold to a value at least equal to the distance between the selected vertices. 3. Click Selected. The two vertices move together and join. Using program defaults, you can select only vertices and vectors on the outer edge or boundary of a patch. This default is known as Auto Interior.
Editable Patch (Vertex) Note: Certain objects are automatically set to Manual Interior when converted to patch objects. In such cases, you can see all interior vertices when you go to the Vertex sub-object level. Interface Selection rollout For information on these settings, see Editable Patch (page 1–953). Soft Selection rollout See Soft Selection Rollout (page 1–945) for information on the Soft Selection rollout settings.
962 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling When the Vertex sub-object level is active, the Geometry rollout on the Modify panel has the options listed below. Unbind—Disconnects a vertex connected to a patch with Bind. Select the vertex, and then click Unbind. Subdivision group Topology group Bind—Lets you create a seamless, gapless Create—Creates a three or four-sided patch on existing geometry or in free space.
Editable Patch (Vertex) vertex at the top of a spherical patch object, the top four patches are also deleted, leaving a hemisphere. Break—Breaks a vertex into multiple vertices. Use this if you need to split open an edge to add another patch or for general modeling operations. Select a vertex and then click Break. After the break select the individual vertices and move them to separate the edges. Hide—Hides selected vertices and the attached patches.
964 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling When the check box is off, the software computes the surface normals from the smoothing groups of the mesh object to which the patch object is converted before rendering. These normals are not accurate, especially with a low View/Render Steps setting. When the check box is on, the software computes true patch normals directly from the patch surfaces, which can generate more accurate shading.
Editable Patch (Handle) The spinner value is a percentage; zero is completely transparent and 100 is completely opaque. • The ability to select multiple handles for transformation and application of operations such as Patch Smooth to them. Select Vertex By group • Usage of the transform gizmo when manipulating handles. Color and Illumination radio buttons—These buttons determine whether to select vertices by vertex color values or vertex illumination values.
966 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Interface When the Handle sub-object level is active, the Geometry rollout on the Modify panel has the options listed below. Topology group Attach—Attaches an object to the currently selected patch object. Click the object you want to attach to the currently selected patch object. For further details, see Attach.
Editable Patch (Edge) changes to the one shown below. Click a handle end to paste the information from the buffer to the handle. You can continue clicking other handle ends to paste the information repeatedly. To exit Paste mode, right-click in the viewport or click the Paste button. and the one on the right has it turned on. In both cases, View Steps was set to 8. Paste Length—When on, and you use the Paste function, the length of the originally copied handle is pasted as well as its orientation.
968 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Procedure To unlock interior edges: When you move an outer or boundary edge of a patch, the adjacent interior edges are normally “locked” so that they move in parallel with the boundary edge. This is often useful, because it provides a uniform transition across the patch. This default is known as Auto Interior.
Editable Patch (Edge) When the Edge sub-object level is active, the Geometry rollout on the Modify panel has the options listed below: Subdivision group Subdivide—Subdivides selected edges and the associated patches. Select one or more edges, and then click Subdivide. Propagate—When on, subdividing edges propagates the subdivision to neighboring patches. Propagating the subdivisions along all contiguous patches prevents patch cracks where you have attached patches together.
970 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Delete—Removes edges from the framework. Use this option with caution. Deleting an edge also deletes any patches that share the edge. Break—Splits an edge. Use this if you need to split open an edge for general modeling operations. Select one or more edges and then click Break. After the break move the handles of adjacent vertices to create a gap in the patch. Note: To move the handles away from each other, use SHIFT+Move.
Editable Patch (Patch) a patch object at the patch level. As well as moving and rotating patches, you can create a separate element by holding down the SHIFT key during a move operation. This creates a separate element of the selected patches. Texture Mapping Patches: Interpolation in Curved Space A patch sphere with Use True Patch Normals off (left) and on (right). Create Shape—Creates splines based on the selected edges. If no edges are selected then splines are created for all the patch edges.
972 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling represents the UVW space and notice how the handles and knots contribute to the shape of the UVW space. In short, leave the Linear option off for predictable planar maps. Leave the linear mapping option on for backward compatibility. Note: The Unwrap UVW modifier now supports the new patch curve mapping. Spline handles can be manipulated in the Edit dialog in the Unwrap UVW modifier.
Editable Patch (Patch) Subdivision group Subdivide—Subdivides selected patches. Select one or more patches, and then click Subdivide. Propagate—When on, extends the subdivision to neighboring patches. Propagating the subdivisions along all contiguous patches prevents patch cracks where you have attached patches together. Topology group Create—Creates a three or four-sided patch on existing geometry or in free space.
974 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Click Extrude again or right-click to end the operation. Bevel—Click this button, and then drag any patch to extrude it interactively, then click and release the mouse button, and drag again to bevel the extrusion. Hold down the SHIFT key during this operation to create a new element. • When the mouse cursor is over a selected patch, it changes to a Bevel cursor. • With multiple patches selected, dragging on any one bevels all selected patches equally.
Editable Patch (Patch) Use True Patch Normals—Determines how the software smoothes the edges between patches. Default=off. Surface Properties rollout When the check box is off, the software computes the surface normals from the smoothing groups of the mesh object to which the patch object is converted before rendering. These normals are not accurate, especially with a low View/Render Steps setting.
976 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Flip Normal Mode—Flips the normal of any patch you click. To exit, click this button again or right-click anywhere in the program interface. Tip: The best way to use Flip Normal Mode is to set up your viewport to display with Smooth+Highlight and Edged Faces on. If you use Flip Normal Mode with default settings, you’ll be able to flip a patch away from you, but you won’t be able to flip it back. For best results, turn off Ignore Backfacing in the Selection rollout.
Editable Patch (Element) The spinner value is a percentage; zero is completely transparent and 100 is completely opaque.
978 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Geometry rollout Subdivision group Subdivide—Subdivides selected elements. Select one or more elements, and then click Subdivide. Propagate—When on, extends the subdivision to neighboring patches. Propagating the subdivisions along all contiguous patches prevents patch cracks where you have attached patches together. Topology group Create—Creates a three or four-sided patch on existing geometry or in free space.
Editable Patch (Element) Copy—When on, the detached patch elements are copied to a new patch object, leaving the originals intact. Attach—Lets you attach an object to the currently the extrusion. Hold down the SHIFT key during this operation to create a new element. When the mouse cursor is over a selected element, it changes to a Bevel cursor. selected patch object. Click the object you want to attach to the currently selected patch object. For further details, see Attach.
980 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Bevel Smoothing—These settings let you set the shape of the intersection between the surface created by a beveling operation and the neighboring patches. The shapes are determined by the handle configurations of vertices at the intersections. Start refers to the intersection between the sides and the patches surrounding the beveled patch. Finish refers to the intersection between the sides and the beveled patch or patches.
Quad Patch Patch grids provide convenient "building material" for custom surfaces and objects, or for adding patch surfaces to existing patch objects. You can animate the surface of a Patch object using various modifiers such as the Flex and Morph modifiers. Control vertices and tangent handles of a patch surface can be animated with an Editable Patch modifier. Surface Tools Modifier Stack Controls (page 3–802) Procedure To create a patch grid: 1.
982 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling An ear is created by adding patches and editing patch vertices Interface Quad Patch Procedures To create a patch grid: 1. On the Create panel > Geometry > Patch Grids > Object Type rollout, click either Quad Patch or Tri Patch. 2. Drag over any viewport to define a length and width for the patch. To edit a Quad Patch: 1. Select a Quad Patch. 2. On the Modify panel, right-click Quad Patch in stack view and choose Editable Patch.
Tri Patch Length—Sets the patch length. Width—Sets the patch width. Create—Creates a patch based on the XYZ, Length, and Width values. Parameters rollout Length, Width—Sets the grid dimensions in current units. Length, Width Segments—Determines the number of facets along the length and width of the grid. Default=1. The density of a Quad Patch rises sharply as you increase the segments. A Quad Patch of two segments on a side contains 288 faces. The maximum is 100 segments.
984 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Interface Meshes Editable Mesh Surface Create or select an object. > Quad menu > Transform quadrant > Convert To: submenu > Editable Mesh Create or select an object. > Modify panel > Right-click the base object in the stack. > Convert to: Editable Mesh Create or select an object.
Editable Mesh Surface features described in the Editable Mesh topics also apply to objects with Edit Mesh applied, except as noted. Tip: Editable Poly (page 1–1012) is similar to Editable Mesh, but lets you work with polygons of four or more sides, and provides a greater range of functionality. Tip: You can exit most Editable Mesh command modes, such as Extrude, by right-clicking in the active viewport.
986 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Selection rollout Edge—Turns on Edge sub-object level, which lets you select the edge of a face or polygon beneath the cursor; region selection selects multiple edges within the region. At the Edge sub-object level, selected hidden edges are displayed as dashed lines, allowing for more precise selection. Face—Turns on Face sub-object level, which lets you select a triangular face beneath the cursor; region selection selects multiple triangular faces within the region.
Editable Mesh Surface Ignore Visible Edges—This is enabled when the Polygon face selection method is chosen. When Ignore Visible Edges is off (the default), and you click a face, the selection will not go beyond the visible edges no matter what the setting of the Planar Thresh spinner. When this is on, face selection ignores the visible edges, using the Planar Thresh setting as a guide. Unhide All—Restores any hidden objects to visibility.
988 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Editable Mesh (Object) (page 1–989) Using Sub-Object Selection Editable Mesh (Vertex) (page 1–992) With either an editable mesh (or Edit Mesh modifier) or a Mesh Select modifier, you can store three separate sub-object selections: one for each selection level (vertex, face, and edge). These selection sets are saved with the file.
Editable Mesh (Object) selection. In effect, the selection works like any other object. Interface Edit Geometry rollout Editable Mesh (Object) Select an editable mesh object or object with the Edit Mesh modifier applied. > Modify panel Select an editable mesh object. > Quad menu > Tools 1 quadrant > Top-Level Editable Mesh (Object) functions are available when no sub-object levels are active.
990 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling When you attach an object, the materials of the two objects are combined in the following way: • If the object being attached does not have a material assigned, it inherits the material of the object it is being attached to. • Likewise, if the object you’re attaching to doesn’t have a material, it inherits the material of the object being attached.
Editable Mesh (Object) To Objects/Elements—Specifies whether the Surface Properties rollout exploded faces become the separate objects or elements of the current object. Remove Isolated Vertices—Deletes all isolated vertices in the object regardless of the current selection. View Align—Aligns all vertices in selected objects to the plane of the active viewport. If a sub-object level is active, this function affects only selected vertices or those belonging to selected sub-objects.
992 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Split Mesh—Affects the seams of displaced mesh objects; also affects texture mapping. When on, the mesh is split into individual faces before it is displaced; this helps preserve texture mapping. When off, the mesh is not split and an internal method is used to assign texture mapping. Default=on. Tip: This parameter is required because of an architectural limitation in the way displacement mapping works.
Editable Mesh (Vertex) 3. If the vertices are very close together, go to the Edit Geometry rollout > Weld group and click Selected. If that doesn’t work (you get a “No vertices within weld threshold.” message), proceed to the next step. 4. Increase the numeric value to the right of the Selected button. This is the threshold value; the minimum distance that vertices can be apart from each other to be welded. 5. Click Selected again.
994 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Interface Edit Geometry rollout Selection rollout For information on the Selection rollout settings, see Editable Mesh (page 1–986). Soft Selection rollout Soft Selection controls affect the action of sub-object Move, Rotate, and Scale functions. When these are on, the program applies a spline curve deformation to unselected vertices surrounding the transformed selected sub-object. This provides a magnet-like effect with a sphere of influence around the transformation.
Editable Mesh (Vertex) Attach—Attaches another object in the scene to the selected mesh. You can attach any type of object, including splines, patch objects, and NURBS surfaces. Attaching a non-mesh object converts it to a mesh. Click the object you want to attach to the currently selected mesh object. For further details, see Attach. Detach—Detaches the selected vertices and all attached faces as a separate object or element. The Detach As Clone option copies the faces rather than moving them.
996 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Release the mouse at that point to weld all selected vertices to the target vertex they were dropped on. Surface Properties rollout The pixels spinner to the right of the Target button sets the maximum distance in screen pixels between the mouse cursor and the target vertex. Remove Isolated Vertices—Deletes all isolated vertices in the object, regardless of the current selection. View Align—Aligns selected vertices to the plane of the active viewport.
Editable Mesh (Edge) Select Vertices By group Color/Illumination—These radio buttons let you choose to select vertices by vertex color value or vertex illumination value. Set the desired options and then click Select. Color Swatch—Displays the current color to match. Click to open the Color Selector, where you can specify a different color.
998 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling result in a single spline, and perform Create Shape repeatedly to make the correct number of shapes. Finally, use Attach in the Editable Spline to combine the shapes into one. Top: Selected edges removed from original object Bottom: Unwanted edges removed Interface Top: Original object Selection rollout Bottom: Object with edges selected See Editable Mesh (page 1–986) for information on the Selection rollout settings.
Editable Mesh (Edge) Edit Geometry rollout For further details, see Attach. Divide—Lets you divide edges into two edges with a new vertex at the center of each edge. Click Divide, and then select an edge to be divided. Each edge is divided where you click it. You can click as many edges as you want divide, in sequence. To stop dividing, click Divide again or right-click. Turn—Rotates the edge within its bounding.
1000 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling one of the neighboring faces (picked at random) and a smoothing group which is an intersection of all neighboring smoothing groups. Chamfer Amount—Adjust this spinner (to the right of the Chamfer button) to apply a chamfer effect to selected edges. Normal—Determines how a selection of more than one edge is extruded. With Normal set to Group (the default), extrusion takes place along the averaged normal of each continuous group (line) of edges.
Editable Mesh (Face/Polygon/Element) viewports have invisible camera planes.) In these cases, the selection of edges is not translated but only rotated. Grid Align—Aligns the selected edges to the current construction plane. The current plane is specified by the active viewport in the case of the home grid. When using a grid object, the current plane is the active grid object. Make Planar—Forces all selected edges to become coplanar.
1002 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling rollout functions for these sub-object types; for other controls, see Editable Mesh (page 1–984). Edit Geometry rollout Interface Selection rollout For information on the Selection rollout settings, see Editable Mesh (page 1–986). Soft Selection rollout Soft Selection controls affect the action of sub-object Move, Rotate, and Scale functions.
Editable Mesh (Face/Polygon/Element) new face. (The cursor changes to a cross when it is over a vertex that can legally be part of the face.) You can also create new faces at the Polygon and Element sub-object levels. At the Face and Element sub-object levels, a new face is created after every third click. At the Polygon sub-object level, you can continue clicking as many times as you like to add vertices to the new polygon.
1004 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling 3. Set a negative Bevel value using the numeric field or the spinner. This insets the new polygon created by the extrusion without changing its height. Extrude—Click this button, and then drag vertically on any face to extrude it. • When over a selected face, the mouse cursor changes to an Extrude cursor. • With multiple faces selected, dragging on any one extrudes all selected faces equally.
Editable Mesh (Face/Polygon/Element) Cut & Slice group The Cut and Slice functions, previously available only in Edge sub-object level, are available in Face, Polygon, and Element modes as of version 3 of 3ds Max. For details, see Cut and Slice (page 1–1010). Tessellate group Use these controls to tessellate (subdivide) selected faces. Tessellation is useful for increasing local mesh density while modeling. You can subdivide any selection of faces.
1006 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Face-Center adds a vertex to the center of each face and draws three connecting lines from that vertex to the three original vertices. As a result, three faces are created out of one face. faces below which separation will not occur. For example, all sides of a box are at 90-degree angles to each other. If you set the spinner to 90 or above, exploding the box changes nothing. However, at any setting below 90, the sides all become separate objects or elements.
Editable Mesh (Face/Polygon/Element) Collapse—Collapses selected faces by welding their vertices to the vertex in the center. Surface Properties rollout Top: Selected faces in Perspective view Bottom: Same faces aligned to Front view Grid Align—Aligns the selected faces to the current construction plane. The current plane is specified by the active viewport in the case of the home grid. When using a grid object, the current plane is the active grid object.
1008 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling their original orientations. Sometimes normals of objects that have come into 3ds Max as part of a DXF file are irregular, depending on the methods used to create the objects. Use this function to correct them. Note: Sub-material names are those specified in the Name column on the material’s Multi/Sub-Object Basic Parameters rollout; these are not created by default, and must be specified separately from any material names.
Attach Options Dialog Edit Vertex Colors group Use these controls to assign the color, illumination color (shading), and alpha (transparency) values of vertices on the selected face(s). Color—Click the color swatch to change the color of vertices on the selected face(s). Assigning vertex colors at the face level prevents blending across the face(s). Illumination—Click the color swatch to change the illumination color of vertices on the selected face(s).
1010 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Condense Material IDs selected. This maintains the appearance of the objects, and results in the fewest additional sub-materials or IDs. • Use the second option (Match Material to Material IDs) when you need to maintain the original material ID assignments. • Avoid using the third option, unless you need to repeat a 3ds Max version 1 attachment for compatibility with a previous project.
Cut and Slice 7. If you want, move the Slice Plane to a second position and click the Slice button again. 8. Click the Slice Plane button again to turn it off and see the results. 9. To better understand what has happened, turn off Edges Only in the Display panel. Before and after applying Cut to faces Slice gizmo placed for first slice (top) and second slice (bottom) To create multiple slices: 1. Select an editable mesh. Interface Note: The keyboard shortcuts listed here require 2.
1012 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Slice Plane—Creates a gizmo for a slice plane that can be positioned and rotated where you want to slice the edges. Also enables the Slice button. Slice—Performs the slice operation at the location of the slice plane. The Slice button is available only when the Slice Plane button is highlighted. This tool slices the mesh just like the Slice modifier (page 1–815) in “Operate On: Face” mode. Note: Slice works only on a sub-object selection.
Editable Poly Surface discuss these options for each of the polymesh components. optionally change the settings, click Apply, and then repeat with a different selection. • Pass a sub-object selection to a modifier higher in the stack. You can apply one or more standard modifiers to the selection. Important: When you click Apply, the settings are “baked into” the selection, and then applied again to the selection as a preview. If you then click OK to exit, you will have applied the settings twice.
1014 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling slice a circular primitive, or change the number of sides on a cylinder. Any modifiers you apply to an object are merged into the mesh as well. After conversion, the only entry left on the stack is "Editable Poly." Selection rollout To maintain an object’s creation parameters: • As noted in the previous procedure, if you convert an existing object to an editable poly, 3ds Max replaces the creation parameters in the stack with "Editable Poly.
Editable Poly Surface selected, hold down both CTRL and SHIFT as you change the level. For example, if you convert a vertex selection to a polygon selection with CTRL+SHIFT+click, the resultant selection includes only those polygons all of whose vertices were originally selected. • not all of their edges selected, and were next to faces with no edges selected.
1016 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling You can also connect borders between objects with the Connect compound object (page 1–323). Polygon—Turns on Polygon sub-object level, which lets you select polygons beneath the cursor. Region selection selects multiple polygons within the region. Element—Turns on Element sub-object level, which lets you select all contiguous polygons in an object. Region selection lets you select multiple elements.
Editable Poly Surface Left: Original loop selection Upper right: Ring Shift up moves selection outward (from center of model). Lower right: Ring Shift down moves selection inward (toward center of model). Ring selection adds to the selection all the edges that are parallel to the ones selected originally. Tip: After making a ring selection, you can use Connect to subdivide the associated polygons into new edge loops.
1018 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Left: Original ring selection Upper right: Loop Shift up moves selection outward. Lower right: Loop Shift down moves selection inward. Loop selection extends your current edge selection by adding all the edges aligned to the ones selected originally. To expand the selection in the chosen direction, CTRL+click the up or down spinner button. To shrink the selection in the chosen direction, ALT+click the up or down spinner button.
Editable Poly Surface deformation modifiers (such as Bend) applied to the object. This provides a magnet-like effect with a sphere of influence around the selection. Subdivision Surface rollout For more information, see Soft Selection Rollout (page 1–945). Edit (sub-object) rollout The Edit (sub-object) rollout provides sub-object-specific functions for editing an editable poly object and its sub-objects.
1020 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling You control the degree of smoothing with the Iterations controls in the Display and Render groups. Note: The remaining controls on this rollout take effect only when Use NURMS Subdivision is on. Isoline Display—When on, the software displays only isolines: the object’s original edges, before smoothing. The benefit of using this option is a less cluttered display.
Editable Poly Surface You can press ESC to stop calculation and revert to the previous iteration setting. Smoothness—Determines how sharp a corner must be before polygons are added to smooth it. A value of 0.0 prevents the creation of any polygons. A value of 1.0 adds polygons to all vertices even if they lie on a plane. When the Smoothness check box in the Render group (see below) is off, this setting controls smoothness both in the viewports and at render time.
1022 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Subdivision Displacement rollout group boxes. When off, the poly is displaced by moving existing vertices, the way the Displace modifier (page 1–608) does. Default=off. Split Mesh—Affects the seams of displaced poly objects; also affects texture mapping. When on, the poly object is split into individual polygons before it is displaced; this helps preserve texture mapping. When off, the poly is not split and an internal method is used to assign texture mapping. Default=on.
Editable Poly (Object) Editable Poly (Object) Interface Edit Geometry rollout Select an editable poly object. > Modify panel Select an editable poly object. > Quad menu > Tools 1 quadrant > Top-level Editable Poly (Object) functions are available when no sub-object levels are active. These functions are also available at all sub-object levels, and work the same in each mode, except as noted below.
1024 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling • None: No constraints. • Edge: Constrains vertex transformations to edge boundaries. • Face: Constrains vertex transformations to face surfaces. Note: You can set this at the Object level, but its usage pertains primarily to sub-object levels. The Constraints setting persists at all sub-object levels. Create—Lets you create polygons from isolated vertices and border vertices. All vertices in the object are highlighted.
Editable Poly (Object) Split—When on, the QuickSlice and Cut operations create double sets of vertices at the points where the edges are divided. This lets you easily delete the new polygons to create holes, or animate the new polygons as separate elements. QuickSlice—Lets you quickly slice the object without having to manipulate a gizmo. Make a selection, click QuickSlice, and then click once at the slice start point and again at its endpoint.
1026 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling current plane is specified by the active viewport in the case of the home grid. When using a grid object, the current plane is the active grid object. Relax—Applies the Relax function to the current selection, using the Relax dialog settings (see following). Relax normalizes mesh spacing by moving each vertex toward the average location of its neighbors. It works the same way as the Relax modifier (page 1–769). Note: At the object level, Relax applies to the entire object.
Editable Poly (Vertex) number of vertices to the average position of all of them. Alternatively, to combine two vertices that are far apart, resulting in a single vertex that’s in the same position as one of them, use Target Weld. 1. To use Weld: 1. On the Selection rollout, turn on Ignore Backfacing, if necessary. This ensures that you’re welding only vertices you can see. 2. Select the vertices to weld. 3. If the vertices are very close together, simply click Weld.
1028 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Existing Color swatch, and then clicking the Select button. (If you want an exact match, be sure to set the RGB Range spinners to 0 first.) Interface Selection rollout See Editable Poly (page 1–1014) for information on the Selection rollout settings. Note: To delete vertices, select them and press the DELETE key. This can create one or more holes in the mesh. To delete vertices without creating holes, use Remove (see below).
Editable Poly (Vertex) The extrusion has the same number of sides as the number of polygons that originally used the extruded vertex. Following are important aspects of vertex extrusion: • When over a selected vertex, the mouse cursor changes to an Extrude cursor. • Drag vertically to specify the extent of the extrusion, and horizontally to set the size of the base. • With multiple vertices selected, dragging on any one extrudes all selected vertices equally.
1030 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling In Target Weld mode, the mouse cursor, when positioned over a vertex, changes to a + cursor. Click and then move the mouse; a dashed, rubber-band line connects the vertex to the mouse cursor. Position the cursor over another, neighboring vertex and when the + cursor appears again, click the mouse. The first vertex is moved to the position of the second, the two are welded, and Target Weld mode is automatically exited.
Editable Poly (Vertex) Edit Geometry rollout Constraints—Lets you use existing geometry to constrain sub-object transformation. Use the drop-down list to choose the constraint type: • None—No constraints. • Edge—Constrains vertex transformations to follow edges. • Face—Constrains vertex transformations to face surfaces. When set to Edge, moving a vertex will slide it along one of the existing edges, depending on the direction of the transformation.
1032 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling editing while preserving mapping, use the Channel Info utility (page 2–1549) instead. original object when you move them to a new position. Cut and Slice group Original object (left); Scaled vertices with Preserve UVs off (center); Scaled vertices with Preserve UVs on (right) These knife-like tools let you subdivide the poly mesh along a plane (Slice) or in a specific area (Cut). Also see Full Interactivity.
Editable Poly (Vertex) To stop slicing, right-click in the viewport, or click QuickSlice again to turn it off. Note: At the Vertex sub-object level, QuickSlice affects the entire object. To slice only specific polygons, use QuickSlice on a polygon selection at the Poly sub-object level. Cut—Lets you create edges. Click at the start point, move the mouse and click again, and continue moving and clicking to create new connected edges.
1034 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Relax Settings—Opens the Relax dialog (page 1–1077), which lets you specify how the Relax function is applied. Hide Selected—Hides any selected vertices. Hidden vertices are unavailable for selection or transformation. Unhide All—Restores any hidden vertices to visibility. Hide Unselected—Hides any unselected vertices. Hidden vertices are unavailable for selection or transformation. only when you release the mouse button after transforming the plane.
Editable Poly (Edge) Select Vertices By group Color/Illumination—Determines whether to Editable Poly (Edge) select vertices by vertex color values or vertex illumination values. Select an editable poly object. > Modify panel > Selection rollout > Edge Color Swatch—Displays the Color Selector (page 1–157), where you can specify a color to match. Select an editable poly object. > Modify panel > Modifier Stack display > Expand Editable Poly.
1036 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling By default, the Plane object is divided into 4 x 4 polygons. If you don’t see the polygons in the Perspective viewport, press F4 to activate Edged Faces view mode. 4. In the Perspective viewport, position the mouse cursor in the center of a corner polygon, such as the one closest to you, click once, and then move the mouse around the viewport. 2. Convert the Plane object to Editable Poly format.
Editable Poly (Edge) All diagonals, including those created from the Cut operations, appear as dashed lines. The result is a rectangle across four polygons, without any connecting visible edges. In previous versions, you would have had eight connecting visible edges: two in each of the original polygons. Note that all the edges you created are selected, and ready for further transformation or editing. 8. Click a diagonal to turn it, and then click it again to return it to its original status. 6.
1038 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling • Enter a curve name or keep the default. • Choose Smooth or Linear as the shape type. 4. Click OK. The resulting shape consists of one or more splines whose vertices are coincident with the vertices in the selected edges. The Smooth option results in vertices using smooth values, while the Linear option results in linear splines with corner vertices. If the selected edges are not continuous, or if they branch, the resulting shape will consist of more than one spline.
Editable Poly (Edge) the object. This provides a magnet-like effect with a sphere of influence around the selection. For more information, see Soft Selection Rollout (page 1–945). Edit Edges rollout Above: Selected edges removed from original object Below: Unwanted edges removed Interface Selection rollout See Editable Poly (page 1–1014) for information on the Select rollout settings. Soft Selection rollout Soft Selection controls apply a smooth falloff between selected sub-objects and unselected ones.
1040 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Remove—Deletes selected edges and combines the polygons that use them. Warning: Use of Remove can result in mesh shape changes and non-planar polygons. Split—Divides the mesh along the selected edges. This does nothing when applied to a single edge in the middle of a mesh. The vertices at the end of affected edges must be separable in order for this option to work.
Editable Poly (Edge) • Drag vertically to specify the extent of the extrusion, and horizontally to set the size of the base. • With multiple edges selected, dragging on any one extrudes all selected edges equally. • You can drag other edges in turn to extrude them while the Extrude button is active. Click Extrude again or right-click in the active viewport to end the operation. Weld Settings—Opens the Weld dialog (page 1–1078), which lets you specify the weld threshold.
1042 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling edge, the cursor changes to a + cursor. Click and move the mouse and a dashed line appears from the vertex with an arrow cursor at the other end of the line. Position the cursor over another edge and when the + cursor appears again, click the mouse. The first edge is moved to the position of the second, and the two are welded. You can weld only edges that have one polygon attached; that is, edges on a border.
Editable Poly (Edge) Weight—Sets the weight of selected edges. Used by the NURMS subdivision option and by the MeshSmooth modifier (page 1–714). Increasing an edge weight tends to push the smoothed result away. Crease—Specifies how much creasing is performed on the selected edge or edges. Used by the NURMS subdivision option and by the MeshSmooth modifier (page 1–714). At low settings, the edge is relatively smooth. At higher settings, the crease becomes increasingly visible. At 1.
1044 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling When you activate Turn, the diagonals (page 3–1022) become visible as dashed lines in Edit Geometry rollout wireframe and edged-faces views. In Turn mode, click a diagonal to change its position. To exit Turn mode, right-click in the viewport or click the Turn button again. Each diagonal has only two available positions at any given time, so clicking a diagonal twice in succession simply returns it to its original position.
Editable Poly (Edge) Constraints—Lets you use existing geometry to constrain sub-object transformation. Use the drop-down list to choose the constraint type: • None—No constraints. • Edge—Constrains edge transformations to edge boundaries. • Face—Constrains vertex transformations to face surfaces. Note: The Constraints setting persists at all sub-object levels. Preserve UVs—When on, you can edit edges without affecting the object’s UV mapping.
1046 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Slice Plane—Creates a gizmo for a slice plane that you can position and rotate to specify where to slice. Also enables the Slice and Reset Plane buttons. As you transform the slice plane, you see a preview of where the slice will occur in the mesh object. To perform the slice, click the Slice button. Split—When on, the Slice and Cut operations create double sets of vertices at the points where the edges are divided.
Editable Poly (Edge) viewports have invisible camera planes.) In these cases, the selection of edges is not translated but only rotated. Full Interactivity—Toggles the level of feedback for the Slice and Cut tools, as well as all settings dialogs. Grid Align—Aligns the selected edges to the current When on (the default), the final result is always visible as you use the mouse to manipulate the tool or change a numeric setting.
1048 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Soft Selection rollout Editable Poly (Border) Select an editable poly object. > Modify panel > Selection rollout > Border Select an editable poly object. > Modify panel > Modifier Stack display > Expand Editable Poly. > Border Select an editable poly object. > Quad menu > Tools 1 quadrant > Border A border is a linear section of a mesh that can generally be described as the edge of a hole. This is usually a sequence of edges with polygons on only one side.
Editable Poly (Border) Extruding a border moves it along a normal and creates new polygons that form the sides of the extrusion, connecting the border to the object. The extrusion can form a varying number of additional sides, depending on the geometry near the border. As you increase the length of the extrusion, the base increases in size, to the extent of the vertices adjacent to the extruded border’s endpoints.
1050 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling • Select an even number of borders on the object, and then click Bridge. This immediately creates the bridge between each pair of selected borders using the current Bridge settings, and then deactivates the Bridge button. • If no qualifying selection exists (that is, two or more selected borders), clicking Bridge activates the button and places you in Bridge mode.
Editable Poly (Border) Each diagonal has only two available positions at any given time, so clicking a diagonal twice in succession simply returns it to its original position. But changing the position of a nearby diagonal can make a different alternate position available to a diagonal. For more information on how to use Turn with the enhanced Cut tool, see this procedure (page 1–1035).
1052 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Preserve UVs Settings—Opens the Preserve Map Channels dialog (page 1–1076), which lets you specify which vertex color channels and/or texture channels (map channels) to preserve. By default, all vertex color channels are off (not preserved), and all texture channels are on (preserved). Create—Creates an edge from vertex to vertex. Click Create, click a vertex, and then move the mouse. A rubber-band line extends from the vertex to the mouse cursor.
Editable Poly (Border) Cut—Lets you create edges from one polygon to another or within polygons. Click at the start point, move the mouse and click again, and continue moving and clicking to create new connected edges. Right-click once to exit the current cut, whereupon you can start a new one, or right-click again to exit Cut mode. Use Snaps (page 2–35) with Cut for precision. Cut supports Midpoint, Endpoint, and Vertex snaps. Note: Cut performance has been enhanced in 3ds Max 7.
1054 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling For more information, see Named Selection Sets (page 1–67). more information, see Paint Deformation Rollout (page 1–1065). Copy—Opens a dialog that lets you specify a named selection set to place into the copy buffer. Editable Poly (Polygon/Element) Paste—Pastes the named selection from the copy buffer. Full Interactivity—Toggles the level of feedback for the Slice and Cut tools, as well as all settings dialogs.
Editable Poly (Polygon/Element) sub-objects near your selection are given partial selection values. These values are shown in the viewports by means of a color gradient on the vertices, and optionally on the faces. They affect most types of sub-object deformations, such as the Move, Rotate, and Scale functions, as well as any deformation modifiers (such as Bend) applied to the object. This provides a magnet-like effect with a sphere of influence around the selection.
1056 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Click the Outline Settings button to open the Outline Selected Faces dialog, which lets you perform outlining by a numeric setting. Chamfer box showing extruded polygon Extrude Settings—Opens the Extrude Faces dialog (page 1–1073), which lets you perform extrusion via interactive manipulation.
Editable Poly (Polygon/Element) • When over a selected polygon, the mouse cursor changes to a Bevel cursor. • With multiple polygons selected, dragging on any one bevels all selected polygons equally. • You can drag other polygons in turn to bevel them while the Bevel button is active. Click Bevel again or right-click to end the operation. Inset works on a selection of one or more polygons. As with Outline, only the outer edges are affected.
1058 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Note: Bridge always creates a straight-line connection between polygon pairs. To make the bridge connection follow a contour, apply modeling tools as appropriate after creating the bridge. For example, bridge two polygons, and then use Bend (page 1–541). Bridge Settings—Opens the Bridge dialog (page 1–1068), which lets you connect pairs of polygon selections via interactive manipulation.
Editable Poly (Polygon/Element) Each diagonal has only two available positions at any given time, so clicking a diagonal twice in succession simply returns it to its original position. But changing the position of a nearby diagonal can make a different alternate position available to a diagonal. For more information on how to use Turn with the enhanced Cut tool, see this procedure (page 1–1035).
1060 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling For example, if you extrude a polygon, and want to apply the same extrusion to several others, select the others, and then click Repeat Last. You can apply a spline extrusion of a single polygon (left) repeatedly to other single polygons (1) or to multiple polygon selections, contiguous (2) or not (3). Note: Repeat Last does not repeat all operations. For instance, it does not repeat transforms.
Editable Poly (Polygon/Element) Collapse—Collapses groups of contiguous selected polygons by welding their vertices to a vertex at the selection center. Not available for elements. Attach—Lets you attach another object in the scene to the selected editable poly. You can attach any type of object, including splines, patch objects, and NURBS surfaces. Attaching a non-mesh object converts it to editable-poly format. Click the object you want to attach to the currently selected poly object.
1062 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Cut—Lets you create edges from one polygon to another or within polygons. Click at the start point, move the mouse and click again, and continue moving and clicking to create new connected edges. Right-click once to exit the current cut, whereupon you can start a new one, or right-click again to exit Cut mode. Tessellate—Subdivides selected polygons based on the Tessellation settings (page 1–1078). Tessellation is useful for increasing local mesh density while modeling.
Editable Poly (Polygon/Element) Relax Settings—Opens the Relax dialog (page 1–1077), which lets you specify how the Relax function is applied. Hide Selected—Hides any selected polygons or elements. Unhide All—Restores any hidden polygons or elements to visibility. Hide Unselected—Hides any unselected polygons or elements. Named Selections Lets you copy and paste named selection sets of sub-objects between objects.
1064 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling when you release the mouse button after changing the setting. The state of Full Interactivity doesn’t affect changing a numeric setting from the keyboard. Whether it’s on or off, the setting takes effect only when you exit the field by pressing TAB or ENTER, or by clicking a different control in the dialog. Polygon Properties rollout Select ID—Selects sub-objects corresponding to the Material ID specified in the adjacent ID field.
Paint Deformation Rollout deselected. If Clear Selection is off, the new selection is added to any previous selection set. Subdivision Displacement rollout Clear All—Removes any smoothing group See Subdivision Displacement rollout (page 1–1022) for information on the Subdivision assignments from selected polygons. Displacement rollout settings. Auto Smooth—Sets the smoothing groups based Paint Deformation rollout on the angle between polygons.
1066 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling have enough mesh resolution for the desired deformation. Interface 2. Do either of the following: • To deform anywhere on the object, remain at the object level, or work at a sub-object level with no sub-objects selected. • To deform only specific areas of an object, go to a sub-object level and then select the sub-objects in the area to deform. 3. On the Paint Deformation rollout, click Push/Pull. 4.
Paint Deformation Rollout Note: Push/Pull supports soft selection in that effective strength falls off with the selection value of soft-selected sub-objects. Relax—Normalizes the distances between vertices using the current reference coordinate system (page 1–423). Push/Pull Value—Determines the direction and by moving each vertex to a position calculated from the average of its neighbors. Relax uses the same method as the Relax modifier (page 1–769).
1068 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Brush Options—Click this button to open the Painter Options dialog (page 1–801), where you can set various brush-related parameters. Commit—Makes any deformation changes permanent, “baking” them into the object geometry. After using Commit, you can no longer apply Revert to changes up to that point. Cancel—Eliminates all changes since the initial application of Paint Deformation or the most recent Commit operation.
Bridge Borders/Polygons Dialog object, the bridge polygons face inward. But if you create a bridge that goes through empty space, such as when connecting sub-objects between two elements, the polygons face outward. To make the bridge polygons face differently, use the Flip function. Use Polygon/Border Selection—If one or more qualifying selection pairs exist, choosing this option connects them immediately. If not, you can select pairs of sub-objects in a viewport to connect them.
1070 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Note: To change the location of maximum taper, use the Bias setting. Bias—Determines the location of maximum taper amount. The range of the Bias value is -99.0 to 99.0. At the default value of 0.0, the taper amount is greatest at the center of the bridge. At -99.0, the taper amount is greatest near the first selected polygon or border; at 99.0, it’s greatest near the second selected polygon or border. the polygons face outward, in general.
Chamfer Vertices/Edges/Borders Dialog column is a string of polygons extending along the length of the bridge. OK—Applies the settings to the current selection Reverse Triangulation—When bridging two edge selections each of which contains different numbers of edges, two ways of triangulating the bridge polygons are possible. This check box lets you toggle between them. Cancel—Closes the dialog without applying the and closes the dialog. settings to the current selection.
1072 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Connect Edges Dialog Interface Select an Edit Poly or editable poly object. > Modify panel > Edge sub-object level > Edit Edges rollout > Connect Settings button Select an Edit Poly or editable poly object. > Edge sub-object level > Quad menu > tools 2 quadrant > Connect Settings button Connecting edges creates new edges between adjacent pairs of selected edges.
Extrude Polygons Dialog Interface This setting also applies to manually extruded polygons. Taper Amount—Sets the extent to which the extrusion becomes smaller or larger along its length. Negative settings taper the extrusion smaller; positive settings taper it larger. Taper Curve—Sets the rate at which the tapering proceeds. Lower settings result in a more gradual taper; large settings result in a more abrupt taper.
1074 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Interface Extrude Vertices/Edges Dialog Select an Edit Poly or editable poly object. > Modify panel > Vertex/Edge/Border sub-object level > Edit Vertices/Edges/Borders rollout > Extrude Settings button Select an Edit Poly or editable poly object. > Vertex/Edge/Border sub-object level > Quad menu > tools 2 quadrant > Extrude Settings button Use this dialog for extruding vertices, edges, and borders in Interactive Manipulation mode.
Hinge Polygons From Edge Dialog Cancel—Closes the dialog without applying the settings to the current selection. Does not reverse previous uses of Apply. Hinge Polygons From Edge Dialog polygons, each from one of its own sides, you must reselect the hinge each time. Apply—Applies the settings to the current selection, retaining them if you then make another selection. OK—Applies the settings to the current selection Select an Edit Poly or editable poly object.
1076 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Inset Amount—Specifies the amount of the inset in scene units. Apply—Applies the settings to the current polygons that don’t share at least one smoothing group. selection, retaining them if you then make another selection. Separate by Materials—Prevents the creation of new polygons for edges between polygons that do not share Material IDs. OK—Applies the settings to the current selection Apply—Applies the settings to the current and closes the dialog.
Relax Dialog Relax Dialog Select an Edit Poly or editable poly object. > Modify panel > object level or any sub-object level > Edit Polygons rollout > Relax Settings button Select an Edit Poly or editable poly object. > object level or any sub-object level > Quad menu > tools 2 quadrant > Relax Settings button Use these settings for relaxing vertices in Interactive Manipulation mode.
1078 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling When on, boundary vertices do not move while the rest of the object is relaxed. This option is particularly useful when working with multiple elements within a single object that share open edges. number of polygons created will equal the number of sides of the original polygon. Face—Adds a vertex to the center of each polygon When this check box is off, all vertices of the object are relaxed. and draws connecting lines from that vertex to the original vertices.
Introduction to NURBS Modeling Interface NURBS Introduction to NURBS Modeling Weld Threshold—Specifies the maximum distance, in scene units, within which selected sub-objects will be welded. Any vertex or edge that lies outside this threshold (that is, it’s farther than this from the nearest vertex or edge) will not be welded. Number of Vertices—Shows the number of vertices before and after the weld. The After quantity updates dynamically as you change the setting with the spinner.
1080 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling NURBS surfaces, on the other hand, are analytically generated. They are more efficient to calculate, and you can render a NURBS surface that appears to be seamless. (A rendered NURBS surface is actually approximated by polygons, but the NURBS approximation can be very fine grained.
Creating NURBS Models See also Creating NURBS Models (page 1–1081) Working with NURBS Models (page 1–1081) Modifying NURBS Models and Creating Sub-Objects (page 1–1083) Sub-Object Selection (page 1–1086) CV Sub-Objects and Point Sub-Objects (page 1–1086) Rigid Surfaces (page 1–1090) Dependent Sub-Objects (page 1–1088) Nonrelational NURBS Surfaces (page 1–1118) • You can turn a loft (page 1–347) object into a NURBS object.
1082 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Going immediately to the Modify panel avoids the problem of creating additional top-level NURBS objects, which you can’t use to build relational, dependent sub-objects. (The exception is using curves for loft and sweep surfaces. See U Loft Surface (page 1–1197), UV Loft Surface (page 1–1202), 1-Rail Sweep Surface (page 1–1205), or 2-Rail Sweep Surface (page 1–1210).
Modifying NURBS Models and Creating Sub-Objects NURBS surface objects includes rollouts that let you create new NURBS sub-objects. Above: CV curve on surface Below left: Using the curve to trim the surface Below right: Using Flip Trim to change the trimming direction To select an untrimmed surface: 1. Make sure the Keyboard Shortcut Override Toggle button on the status bar is on. 2. At the appropriate sub-object level or during a replace parent operation, press H. A select-by-name dialog appears. 3.
1084 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling blend surface is a dependent surface sub-object that connects the edges of two other surfaces. • You can attach 3ds Max objects. If the attached object is not already a NURBS object, it is converted to NURBS geometry. You can attach a NURBS curve, another NURBS surface, or a convertible 3ds Max object. The attached object becomes one or more curve or surface sub-objects. • You can import 3ds Max objects. The imported object retains its parameters.
Using the NURBS Toolbox to Create Sub-Objects sub-object by inserting or refining. For the difference between inserting and refining, see Editing Surface CV Sub-Objects (page 1–1132). See NURBS Concepts (page 1–1093) for more information about refining. Using the NURBS Toolbox to Create Sub-Objects Modify panel > Select NURBS object. > General rollout > NURBS Creation Toolbox button Keyboard > CTRL+T (Keyboard Shortcut Override Toggle must be on.
1086 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Sub-Object Selection When you work with NURBS models, you often work with sub-objects. While you are at the sub-object level, you use the usual selection techniques, such as clicking, dragging a region, or holding down CTRL, to choose one or more sub-objects. You can also select NURBS point, curve, and surface sub-objects by name. Turn on the Keyboard Shortcut Override Toggle (page 3–912) on the status bar, go to a NURBS sub-object level, and then press the H key.
CV Sub-Objects and Point Sub-Objects necessarily lie on the curve or surface they define. The CVs define a control lattice (page 3–1017) that connects the CVs and surrounds the NURBS curve or surface. The control lattice displays in lines that are yellow by default.
1088 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling them are required to lie on the curve or surface. Unlike CVs, points do not have a weight. Point curves and point surfaces can be more intuitive to create and work with. However, working with point sub-objects is slower than working with CV sub-objects. You can think of a point curve or point surface as being dependent on the points to which it fits.
Dependent Sub-Objects Transforming Dependent Sub-Objects Moving a parent surface changes the blend surface (the blend surface is displayed in green) The immediate, interactive relation between the parent and dependent sub-objects is known as relational modeling. Relational modeling is one of the reasons NURBS models can be particularly easy to change or to animate. Important: Dependent sub-objects must have parents that are also sub-objects of the same NURBS model.
1090 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Replacing Parent Sub-Objects Dependent sub-objects have controls that let you replace the object or objects on which they depend. For example, Offset Surface has a button called Replace Base Surface. You can click this button and then click a different surface to act as the base of the offset. The arrow points to the segment indicating an error condition. Seed Values Some kinds of dependent sub-objects depend on geometry that might have more than one solution.
NURBS and Modifiers NURBS and Modifiers In general, you can apply modifiers to NURBS models as you do to other objects. You can apply Edit Patch (page 1–617) and Edit Mesh (page 1–613) modifiers to NURBS surface objects. Tip: To improve performance while you animate your scene, make the surfaces in your NURBS model nonrelational surfaces (page 1–1118).
1092 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling NURBS Selection Modifier The NURBS Surface Selection (NSurf Sel) (page 1–740) lets you place a NURBS sub-object selection on the modifier stack. This lets you modify only the selected sub-objects. Also, selected curve sub-objects are Shape (page 1–257) objects that you can use as paths and motion trajectories. NSurf Sel can select any kind of NURBS sub-object except imports. Each sub-object selection is of one sub-object level only.
NURBS Concepts This operation removes the animation of anything directly dependent on the object. • Break, Extend, Join and Zip, Refine, Delete, Rebuild, Reparameterize, Close, Make Loft, Convert Curve, and Convert Surface Any operation that changes the number of points or CVs in a curve or surface removes the animation of all points or CVs that are lost. • Fuse The animation of the point or CV being fused to the other point or CV (the second one chosen) is lost.
1094 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Degree and Continuity All curves have a degree (page 3–1021). The degree of a curve is the highest exponent in the equation used to represent it. A linear equation is degree 1; a quadratic equation is degree 2. NURBS curves typically are represented by cubic equations and have a degree of 3. Higher degrees are possible, but usually unnecessary. Curves also have continuity (page 3–1017). A continuous curve is unbroken. There are different levels of continuity (page 3–1017).
NURBS Tips and Techniques change it by transforming the newly added CVs, or adjusting their weights. Refining a NURBS curve. NURBS surfaces have essentially the same properties as NURBS curves, extended from a one-dimensional parameter space to two dimensions. ability to construct curves based on dependent (constrained) points, and then use these to construct dependent surfaces.
1096 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling and adding sub-objects by using rollouts or the NURBS Creation Toolbox (page 1–1085). • Sub-objects are either independent or dependent. Dependent sub-objects (page 1–1088) use relational modeling to build NURBS geometry that is related to other geometry. However, understand that the more dependencies a model has, the slower interactive performance becomes. • In general, point curves and surfaces are slower than CV curves and surfaces.
How to Make Objects with NURBS Modeling • There are special NURBS Snaps in the Grid and Snap Settings dialog (page 2–38) (right-click the 3D Snap toggle to display this). When you use NURBS snaps, turn off Options/Axis Constraints; otherwise, snaps work only in the current axis. Also, remember that snaps work in a viewport only when you have made the viewport active. And choosing your snap settings does not turn on snaps. You must also turn on the 3D Snap Toggle button (page 2–35) (on the status bar).
1098 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Curves for Sweeps Creating Blend Surfaces • Besides expecting cross-section curves to be all in the same direction, 1-rail (page 1–1205) and 2-rail (page 1–1205) sweep surfaces work best if the cross sections intersect the rail or rails. To achieve this, draw the rails first, then draw the cross sections using the NURBS Snaps (page 2–38) Curve End and Curve Edge turned on. • You can blend between curves or between surface edges. (You can’t blend from a trimmed edge.
How to Fix NURBS Objects If a curve is dependent or a point curve, first you will have to make it independent (this also improves performance). Curves that are made of two joined curves have this problem more often than others. If you have a joined curve as one of the curves to construct the loft, reparameterize it before you create the loft, or set the curves to reparameterize automatically.
1100 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling at the Surface sub-object level on the Surface Common rollout. • If you create a blend surface (page 1–1184) and it looks like a bow tie, use Flip End 1 or Flip End 2 to correct the twist. • If a CV curve gives you unexpected or incorrect results, try reparameterizing it. Click Reparam. at the Curve sub-object level. This button is on the CV Curve rollout. In the Reparameterize dialog (page 1–1238), choose Chord Length reparameterization.
Animation, Textures, and Rendering • Trim holes only when you need to. For example, when you connect an arm to a torso, you don’t need to create a hole beneath the arm, as it won’t be visible anyway. You can also speed up performance by turning off the Display Trims toggle. The shortcut SHIFT+CTRL+T toggles trim display. The trims still appear in renderings. • For symmetrical models, create only half the geometry, and then mirror it.
1102 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Parametric tessellation also solves this problem for every kind of surface except U lofts (page 1–1197) and UV lofts (page 1–1202). • If the View Dependent setting doesn’t seem to be doing much, change the tessellation (on the Surface Approximation rollout) from Curvature to Spatial. You will then get a much more drastic change in face count.
Point Surface Editing Surface Sub-Objects (page 1–1142) You can also create NURBS surface sub-objects by attaching or importing other 3ds Max objects (page 1–1121). Point Surface Create panel > Geometry > NURBS Surfaces > Point Surf Create menu > NURBS > Point Surface Both NURBS curves and NURBS surfaces have a Display area in the General rollout on the Modify panel. These controls affect which portions of the NURBS geometry are displayed.
1104 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Interface Create Parameters rollout The creation parameters are the same for both point surfaces and CV surfaces, except that the labels indicate which kind of basic NURBS surface you are creating. Keyboard Entry rollout The Keyboard Entry rollout lets you create a point surface by typing. Use the TAB key to move between the controls on this rollout. To click the Create button from the keyboard, press ENTER while the button is active.
CV Surface The Generate Mapping Coordinates control is present on the Modify panel. It is at the Surface sub-object level. Flip Normals—Turn on to reverse the direction of objects. The Modify panel provides other ways to change the values you set in the Create panel. Procedure the surface normals. To create a CV surface: The Flip Normals control is present on the Modify panel. It is at the Surface sub-object level. 1.
1106 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Create Parameters rollout X, Y, and Z—Let you enter the coordinates of the center of the surface. Length and Width—Let you enter the dimensions of the surface, in current 3ds Max units. Length—The length of the surface in current Length CVs—Lets you enter the number of CVs Width—The width of the surface in current 3ds Max units. along the length of the surface (this is the initial number of CV columns).
NURBS Curves Generate Mapping Coordinates—Generates mapping coordinates so you can apply mapped materials to the surface. NURBS Curve Primitives The Generate Mapping Coordinates control is present on the Modify panel. It is at the Surface sub-object level. NURBS Curves Create panel > Shapes button > NURBS Curves Flip Normals—Turn on to reverse the direction of the surface normals. The Flip Normals control is present on the Modify panel. It is at the Surface sub-object level.
1108 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Creating and Editing Point Sub-Objects (page 1–1220) Common Sub-Object Controls (page 1–1123) Editing Point Sub-Objects (page 1–1124) Point Curve Create panel > Shapes button > NURBS Curves > Point Curve button Create menu > NURBS > Point Curve Editing Curve CV Sub-Objects (page 1–1128) Editing Surface CV Sub-Objects (page 1–1132) Editing Curve Sub-Objects (page 1–1136) Editing Surface Sub-Objects (page 1–1142) Point curves are NURBS curves (page 1–1107) whose points ar
Point Curve location is set when you release the mouse button. than five pixels away from where you initially pressed it, this creates an additional point. This method is probably more intuitive. While you are creating a point curve, you can press BACKSPACE to remove the last point you created, and then previous points in reverse order. • Click-click. If you CTRL+click and then release the mouse button, the height changes as you drag the mouse.
1110 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Rendering rollout Use Viewport settings—Lets you set different rendering parameters, and displays the mesh generated by the Viewport settings. Available only when Enable in Viewport is turned on. Generate Mapping Coords—Turn this on to apply mapping coordinates. Default=off. The U coordinate wraps once around the thickness of the spline; the V coordinate is mapped once along the length of the spline. Tiling is achieved using the Tiling parameters in the material itself.
Point Curve Sides—Sets the number of sides (or facets) for the spline mesh n the viewport or renderer. For example, a value of 4 results in a square cross section. Angle—Adjusts the rotational position of the cross-section in the viewport or renderer. For example, if the spline mesh has a square cross section you can use Angle to position a "flat" side down. Keyboard Entry rollout The Keyboard Entry rollout lets you create a NURBS curve by typing.
1112 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Draw In All Viewports—Lets you use any viewport while you are drawing the curve. This is one way to create a 3D curve. When off, you must finish drawing the curve in the viewport where you began it. Default=on. While Draw In All Viewports is on, you can also use snaps (page 2–38) in any viewport. CV Curve Create panel > Shapes button > NURBS Curves > CV Curve button CVs shape the control lattice that defines the curve.
CV Curve from the plane. You can move the mouse into an inactive viewport, in which case the software sets the height of the CV using the CV’s Z axis in the inactive viewport. This lets you set the height of the CV with accuracy. Snaps (page 2–38) also work when you change the height of a CV. For example, if you turn on CV snapping, you can set a CV to have the same height as another CV by snapping to that other CV in an inactive viewport. Procedure want the curve to be closed.
1114 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Enable In Renderer—When on, the shape is rendered as a 3D mesh using the Radial or Rectangular parameters set for Renderer. In previous versions of the program, the Renderable switch performed the same operation. Enable In Viewport—When on, the shape is displayed in the viewport as a 3D mesh using the Radial or Rectangular parameters set for Renderer. In previous versions of the program, the Display Render Mesh performed the same operation.
CV Curve segments are put in the same smoothing group if the angle between them is less than the threshold angle. Threshold—Specifies the threshold angle in Finish—Ends creation of the curve, leaving it open ended. Create CV Curve rollout degrees. Any two adjacent spline segments are put in the same smoothing group if the angle between them is less than the threshold angle.
1116 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Chord Length—Chooses the chord-length algorithm for reparameterization. Chord-length reparameterization spaces knots (in parameter space (page 3–1082)) based on the square root of the length of each curve segment. Chord-length reparameterization is usually the best choice. Uniform—Spaces the knots uniformly. A uniform knot vector has the advantage that the curve or surface changes only locally when you edit it.
Creating NURBS Surfaces from Geometric Primitives Procedure To turn a spline into NURBS curves: 1. Create the spline. Creating NURBS Surfaces from Geometric Primitives Go to the Modify panel. 2. 3. In the stack display, right-click the name of the spline. 4. On the pop-up menu, choose Convert To: NURBS. The spline is converted to one or more CV curves. Smoothly curved splines, such as circles and arcs, convert to a single CV curve.
1118 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Procedure To turn a primitive into a NURBS object: 1. Create the primitive object. Go to the Modify panel. 2. 3. In the stack display, right-click the name of the object. 4. On the pop-up menu, choose Convert To: NURBS. The object is converted to one or more CV surfaces. The surfaces can be independent surface sub-objects, or dependent surface sub-objects such as Lathe. Nonrelational NURBS Surfaces Select NURBS object.
Display Controls for NURBS Models Procedure Interface To use nonrelational NURBS surfaces: 1. Make sure Relational Stack is off and Shaded Lattice is chosen. 2. Set up your modifiers and animation. 3. If your model has only independent CV surfaces, you can render it now. If it has relational surfaces such as blends or lofts, then before you render, choose the NURBS model at the bottom of the stack, and turn on Relational Stack.
1120 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Surface Trims—When on, displays surface trimming (page 1–1082). When turned off, displays the entire surface, even if it’s trimmed. Keyboard shortcut (while Keyboard Shortcut Override Toggle is on): CTRL+SHIFT+T Transform Degrade—When on, transforming a NURBS surface can degrade its display in shaded viewports, to save time. This is similar to the Degradation Override (page 1–34) button for playing animations.
Attaching and Importing 3ds Max Objects U Lines and V Lines—The number of lines used to approximate the NURBS surface in viewports, along the surface’s local U and V dimensions, respectively. Reducing these values can speed up the display of the surface, but reduce accuracy of the display. Increasing these values increases accuracy at the expense of time. Setting one of these values to 0 displays only the edge of the object in the corresponding dimension.
1122 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling • To maintain parametric control over primitives. For example, if you import a sphere, you can change its radius directly, which you can’t do after using Attach. a converted NURBS curve. Leaving the Imports sub-object level returns to NURBS-style display. You can extract an imported object. This creates an independent, top-level object again. • To use Bezier splines as NURBS curves. For example, if you want to use a Bezier spline as a curve in a NURBS model, import it.
Common Sub-Object Controls whole NURBS model before you can see the extracted object. of Imports (page 1–1121)). This topic introduces the controls that are common to most NURBS sub-objects. Interface See also Editing Point Sub-Objects (page 1–1124) Editing Curve CV Sub-Objects (page 1–1128) Editing Surface CV Sub-Objects (page 1–1132) Attach and Import controls Editing Curve Sub-Objects (page 1–1136) Attach—Lets you attach another object to the Editing Surface Sub-Objects (page 1–1142) NURBS object.
1124 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Selection controls also include a Name field that lets you customize the name of individual NURBS sub-objects other than CVs. (The Name field is the only selection control for Import sub-objects.) Visibility You can hide or unhide NURBS sub-objects as you do other objects. Hidden sub-objects are invisible in viewports, but remain renderable. (At the sub-object level, hiding doesn’t affect the renderer.) You can’t select hidden sub-objects.
Editing Point Sub-Objects some additional options for selecting Point sub-objects. 2. Turn on Move or another transform and then drag in a viewport to transform the selection. The shape of the model changes as you interactively transform the points. Rotate and Scale are useful only when you’ve selected multiple points. Tips • The Lock Selection Set button is useful when you transform NURBS point sub-objects.
1126 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling The point, row, or column is deleted. Deleting a "single" point actually deletes both the row and column to which the point belongs. To add a point to a curve: it. If the first point has an animation controller, the controller is discarded. If the second point has an animation controller, the first point acquires it too. Fused points display in purple by default. 1. In the Refine group box, turn on Curve. 2.
Editing Point Sub-Objects Column of Points—When on, clicking a point selects the entire column the point belongs to. Dragging selects all columns in the region. If the point is on a curve, Column of Points selects only a single point. Row and Column of Points—When on, clicking a point selects both the row and column the point belongs to. Dragging selects all rows and columns in the region. All Points—When on, clicking or dragging selects all the points in the curve or surface.
1128 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling the Colors panel (page 3–843) of the Customize User Interface dialog (page 3–836).) Unfuse—Unfuses the fused points. Extend—Extends a point curve. Drag from the end of a curve to add a new point and extend the curve. Warning: When you add points with Extend, you lose the animation controllers for all points on the curve or surface. Make Independent—Disabled if the point is independent. If the point is dependent, clicking this button makes it independent.
Editing Curve CV Sub-Objects The Selection group box, described under "Interface" later in this topic, provides some additional options for selecting CV sub-objects. 2. Turn on Move or another transform and then 1. Select a CV. The shape of the model changes as you interactively transform the CVs. 2. Click Delete. Tips The Lock Selection Set button is useful when you transform NURBS CV sub-objects.
1130 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling an animation controller, the first CV acquires it too. Fused CVs display in purple by default. To unfuse fused CVs: 1. Select the fused CV. 2. Click Unfuse. Now you can move and edit the two CVs independently. To transform a region: 1. Using sub-object selection, select one or more CVs for the center of transformation. 2. Turn on Soft Selection. 3. Transform the CV. A region around the selected CV is transformed accordingly.
Editing Curve CV Sub-Objects toward the CV. Decreasing the weight relaxes the curve away from the CV. Increasing weight is a way to harden a curve; that is, to sharpen its curvature at a particular location. By default, the weight is 1.0 for the CVs of NURBS objects that you create on the Create panel or the NURBS sub-object creation rollouts. The weight of CVs in geometry that you convert to NURBS can vary, depending on the object’s original shape. You can change the weight when multiple CVs are selected.
1132 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling The Selection group box, described under "Interface" later in this topic, provides additional options for selecting CV sub-objects. Editing Surface CV Sub-Objects Modify panel > Select NURBS object or sub-object. > Stack display > Surface CV sub-object level > Select CV sub-objects. 2. Turn on Move or another transform and then drag in a viewport to transform the selection. Modify panel > Select NURBS object or sub-object. > Right-click a viewport.
Editing Surface CV Sub-Objects To fuse two CVs: 1. Turn on the Keyboard Shortcut Override Toggle. 2. Click or drag to select CVs. 3. Hold down CTRL and use the arrow keys to move among the CV sub-objects. For CVs on surfaces, the left and right arrow keys traverse the U dimension of a surface, while the up and down arrow keys traverse the V dimension of the surface. The arrow keys don’t move between surface sub-objects.
1134 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Interface Single CV—(The default.) When on, you can select individual CVs by clicking, or groups of CVs by dragging a region. In addition to the CV rollout described here, the Surface CV sub-object level also displays the Soft Selection rollout (page 1–1148). Row of CVs—When on, clicking a CV selects the CV rollout entire row the CV belongs to. Dragging selects all rows in the region. Column of CVs—When on, clicking a CV selects the entire column the CV belongs to.
Editing Surface CV Sub-Objects value you choose. Because weights are relative to each other (rational), using the Weight control when all CVs are selected has no visible effect. Tip: You can increase the curvature of an indentation in a surface by increasing the weight of the CVs surrounding the indented area. This is easier and often more effective than moving the indented area’s CVs. Hide—Click to hide the currently selected CVs. Unhide All—Click to unhide all hidden CVs. Fuse—Fuses a CV to another CV.
1136 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Refine group These buttons refine the surface by adding CVs. As you move the mouse over the surface, a preview of the CVs that will be added, and their locations, is displayed in blue. Warning: When you add CVs with Refine, you lose the animation controllers for all CVs on the surface. Row—Adds a row of CVs to the surface. Col.—Adds a column of CVs to the surface. Both—Adds both a row and a column of CVs to the surface.
Editing Curve Sub-Objects The Sub-Object Clone Options (page 1–1239) dialog is displayed. This dialog provides various ways to clone the curves, some of which reduce relational dependencies to improve performance. To use the keyboard to select curve sub-objects: You can select curve sub-objects using the CTRL key and the arrow keys. The arrows traverse the sub-objects in the order they were created. To do so, follow these steps: The Make Point Curve (page 1–1237) dialog is displayed.
1138 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling To reverse a curve: • Select a curve sub-object and then click Reverse. The small circle indicates the first vertex. To turn a curve that lies on a surface into a Point Curve on Surface: 1. Select the curve sub-object, and then click Make COS. Make COS is unavailable unless the curve already lies on a surface; for example, it is a U Iso curve. 2. The Convert Curve on Surface dialog (page 1–1228) is displayed.
Editing Curve Sub-Objects If the curve is a closed curve, Break creates a single curve object, with its new start and end points at the location you clicked. The new start and end points are coincident but independent. Interface Curve Common rollout To close a curve: • Select the curve and then click Close. The software closes the curve by adding a segment between the curve’s endpoints. The curvature of the new segment blends the curvature of the previous end segments.
1140 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Reverse—Reverses the order of the CVs or points in a curve, so that the first vertex becomes the last, and the last becomes the first. Curve sub-object selection controls Single Curve—Clicking or transforming a curve selects only a single independent curve sub-object. All Connected Curves—Clicking or transforming a curve selects all curve sub-objects that are connected within the NURBS object.
Editing Curve Sub-Objects Convert Curve—Click to display the Convert Curve dialog (page 1–1227). This dialog provides a more general way to convert a CV curve to a point curve, or a point curve to a CV curve. It also lets you adjust a number of other curve parameters. Make Independent—Disabled if the curve is independent. If the curve is dependent, clicking this button makes it independent.
1142 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling the number of CVs in the curve. Degree 3 curves are adequate to represent continuous curves, and are stable and well behaved. Default=3. rebuild the curve. Rebuilding the curve can change its appearance. Setting the degree greater than 3 isn’t recommended because higher-degree curves are slower to calculate and less stable numerically. Higher-degree curves are supported primarily to be compatible with models created using other surface modeling programs. (page 1–1238).
Editing Surface Sub-Objects Procedures To transform surface sub-objects: 1. At the Surface sub-object level, select one or more surface sub-objects. The sub-object selection tools are the same as for other kinds of sub-objects. In addition, you can use the H key when the status bar’s Keyboard Shortcut Override Toggle button is on. See Sub-Object Selection (page 1–1086). The Selection group box, described under "Interface" later in this topic, provides additional options for selecting surfaces. 2.
1144 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling One or two blue curves appear on the surface to indicate where the break will occur. 2. When you have dragged to the location you want to break, click the surface. Note: If you break a dependent surface, the new "broken" surfaces are made independent. which edge you are choosing when two surfaces have coincident edges. The Join Surfaces dialog (page 1–1234) is displayed, which gives you a choice of methods for how to join the surfaces.
Editing Surface Sub-Objects Interface Surface Common rollout Surface sub-object selection controls Single Surface—Clicking or transforming a surface selects only a single surface sub-object. All Connected Surfaces—Clicking or transforming a surface selects all surface sub-objects that are connected within the NURBS object. To be connected, two surfaces must have all the CVs on a shared edge fused between them, or one surface must be a connected dependent of the other (for example, a blend or a cap).
1146 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Rigid surfaces reduce the amount of memory used by the NURBS model. Making surfaces rigid improves performance, especially for large and complex models. When a surface is rigid, you can’t see its points or CVs when you are at the Point or Surface CV sub-object levels. If the model has no nonrigid surfaces and no point curves, the Point and Surface CV sub-object levels aren’t available at all. To make a surface no longer rigid, click Make Point or Make Independent.
Editing Surface Sub-Objects Force 2-Sided in the Rendering Method panel of the Viewport Configuration dialog (page 3–896), or assign a Double-Sided Material (page 2–1400). Break Row—Breaks the surface into two surfaces in the direction of a row (the surface’s U axis). Break Col.—Breaks the surface into two surfaces in the direction of a column (the surface’s V axis). Break Both—Breaks the surface into four surfaces in both directions. You cannot break a trimmed surface.
1148 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Chord Length—Chooses the chord-length algorithm for reparameterization. Chord-length reparameterization spaces knots (in parameter space (page 3–1082)) based on the square root of the length of each curve segment. Chord-length reparameterization is usually the best choice. Warning: When you reparameterize a surface, you lose the animation controllers for all CVs on the surface. Point Surface rollout This additional rollout appears when a point surface is selected.
Soft Selection Rollout (NURBS) Interface With soft selection, transforming a single vertex can move others. The Soft Selection rollout for point and CV sub-objects contains the controls for this feature. The Soft Selection check box is turned off by default. Before you begin, you might need to increase the number of CVs or points on the surface. This allows smoother and more complex reshaping effects. A single point or CV works well for many purposes.
1150 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Left: Bubble=1 Left: Falloff=20 (the default) Right: Bubble=6 Right: Falloff=40 Falloff and Pinch have their default values. Pinch—Raises and lowers the top point of the curve along the vertical axis. Sets the relative "pointedness" of the region. When negative, a crater is produced instead of a point. At a setting of 0, Pinch produces a smooth transition across this axis. Default=0. Material Properties Rollout Modify panel > Select NURBS object.
Material Properties Rollout make one checker color another checker map on channel 2. Interface Material Properties rollout Texture Channels group The controls in this group box support materials, including tiling and positioning mapping coordinates on the surface. Map Channel—Chooses a UV coordinates map channel (page 3–1060). Range=1 to 99. A single surface can use up to 99 texture channels. Default=1. Gen.
1152 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling box in 3D viewports, and the U and V spinners are enabled. U and V—Unavailable unless you’ve chosen one of the Corners radio buttons. When available, you use these spinners to set the U and V texture values for the chosen corner. By default, the U and V values for most surfaces range from 0.0 to 1.0. For some kinds of geometry converted to a NURBS surface, these ranges can vary.
Creating Curve Sub-Objects project, this field displays the name of the projector (source) surface. Otherwise, this field says "None." Creating Curve Sub-Objects Select NURBS object. > Modify panel > Create Curves rollout Select NURBS object.
1154 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Create an independent point curve sub-object (page 1–1157). Create a dependent fit curve (as with the Create a dependent point curve on surface (page 1–1176). Create a dependent surface offset curve (page Curve Fit (page 1–1158) button). 1–1169). Create a dependent transform curve (page 1–1159). 1–1178). Create a dependent surface edge curve (page Create a dependent blend curve (page 1–1159). Create a dependent offset curve (page 1–1161).
CV Curve Sub-Object • Click-click. If you CTRL+click and then release the mouse button, the height changes as you drag the mouse. Clicking the mouse a second time sets the CV’s location. This method is less prone to repetitive stress injury. While you are offsetting the CV, a red dotted line is drawn between the original CV on the construction plane and the actual CV offset from the plane.
1156 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling None—Do not reparameterize automatically. Chord Length—Chooses the chord-length algorithm for reparameterization. Chord-length reparameterization spaces knots (in parameter space (page 3–1082)) based on the square root of the length of each curve segment. Chord-length reparameterization is usually the best choice. Uniform—Spaces the knots uniformly. A uniform knot vector has the advantage that the curve or surface changes only locally when you edit it.
Point Curve Sub-Object Point Curve Sub-Object Select NURBS object. > Modify panel > Create Curves rollout > Point Curve button Select NURBS object. > Modify panel > NURBS toolbox > Create Point Curve button construction plane and the actual point offset from the plane. You can move the mouse into an inactive viewport, in which case the software sets the height of the point using the point’s Z axis in the inactive viewport. This lets you set the height of the point with accuracy.
1158 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling keep the curve open or Yes to close the curve. (You can also close a curve when you edit it at the Curve sub-object level.) When a closed curve is displayed at the Curve sub-object level, the initial point is displayed as a green circle, and a green tick mark indicates the curve’s direction. Curve Fit Select NURBS object. > Modify panel > Create Curves rollout > Dependent Curves group box > Curve Fit button Select NURBS object.
Transform Curve Transform Curve Select NURBS object. > Modify panel > Create Curves rollout > Dependent Curves group box > Transform button Select NURBS object. > Modify panel > NURBS toolbox > Create Transform Curve button A transform curve is a copy of the original curve with a different position, rotation, or scale. curve in place; then once it is created, transform it using constraints. Tip: You can also use axis constraints by using SHIFT+clone at the Curve sub-object level.
1160 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling value, the more closely the tangent parallels the parent curve, and the smoother the transition. The lower the tension, the greater the tangent angle and the sharper the transition between parent and blend. Tension 1—Controls tension at the edge of the first curve you clicked. Tension 2—Controls tension at the edge of the second curve you clicked. Blend Curve rollout (modification time) Blend curves connecting original curves Procedure To create a blend curve: 1.
Offset Curve Interface Offset Curve Offset Curve rollout (creation time) Select NURBS object. > Modify panel > Create Curves rollout > Dependent Curves group box > Offset button Select NURBS object. > Modify panel > NURBS toolbox > Create Offset Curve button Offset—The distance between the parent curve An Offset curve is offset from the original, parent curve. It is normal to the original. You can offset both planar and 3D curves. and the offset curve, in 3ds Max units. This parameter is animatable.
1162 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Mirror Curve rollout (creation time) Mirror Axis group Curve used to create a mirror curve Procedure To create a mirror curve: 1. In a NURBS object that contains at least one curve, turn on Mirror. 2. On the Mirror Curve rollout, choose the axis or plane you want to use. 3. Click the curve you want to mirror, and drag to set the initial distance. A mirror curve is created. A gizmo (yellow by default) indicates the direction of mirroring.
Chamfer Curve Mirror Axis group The Mirror Axis buttons control the direction in which the original curve is mirrored. You can’t transform the mirror curve directly (that would simply transform the mirror curve and its parent curve at the same time). You transform it by transforming its gizmo. By using transforms you can mirror about an arbitrary axis, rather than using one of the Mirror Axis presets.
1164 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Interface Chamfer Curve rollout (creation time) Flipping the direction of a trim Trim Curve—When on (the default), trims the parent curve against the fillet curve. When off, the parent isn’t trimmed. Flip Trim—When on, trims in the opposite direction. The lengths are the distances from the intersection (or apparent intersection) at which the chamfer segment is drawn. Length 1—The distance along the first curve you click. This parameter is animatable.
Fillet Curve Chamfer Curve rollout (modification time) Flipping the direction of a trim Trim Curve—When on (the default), trims the parent curve against the fillet curve. When off, the parent isn’t trimmed. Flip Trim—When on, trims in the opposite direction. Seed 1 and Seed 2—Change the U location of the seed value on the first and second curves. If there is a choice of directions, the direction indicated by the seed points is the one used to create the chamfer.
1166 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Interface Fillet Curve rollout (creation time) Above: Two simple fillets Below: Flip Trim changes the direction of trimming and the shape the fillet. Procedure To create a fillet curve: Radius—The radius of the fillet arc in the current 1. In a NURBS object that contains at least two curves, turn on Fillet. 2. Click one curve near the end that you want to connect. The end that will be connected is highlighted.
Surface-Surface Intersection Curve Seed 1 and Seed 2—Change the U location of the seed value on the first and second curves. If there is a choice of directions, the direction indicated by the seed points is the one used to create the fillet. Fillet Curve rollout (modification time) Trim Curve—When on (the default), trims the parent curve against the fillet curve. When off, the parent isn’t trimmed. Flip Trim—When on, trims in the opposite direction.
1168 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling If the surfaces intersect at two or more locations, the intersection closest to the seed point is the one that creates the curve. Procedure To create a surface-surface intersection curve: 1. Turn on Create Surface-Surface Intersection Curve in the NURBS toolbox, or Surf x Surf on the Create Curves rollout. U Seed and V Seed—Change the UV location of the seed value on surface 1, the first surface you clicked.
Surface Offset Curve Replace First Surface and Replace Second Surface—Let you replace the parent surfaces. Click toolbox, or Surf Offset on the Create Curves rollout. a button, then click the surface to replace the original first or second surface. 2. Put the cursor over a curve that lies on a surface, Surface Offset Curve Interface Select NURBS object. > Modify panel > Create Curves rollout > Dependent Curves group box > Surf Offset button and drag to set the offset amount.
1170 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Interface U and V Iso Curves Iso Curve rollout (creation time) Select NURBS object. > Modify panel > Create Curves rollout > Dependent Curves group box > U Iso Curve button or V Iso Curve button Select NURBS object. > Modify panel > NURBS toolbox > Create U Iso Curve button or Create V Iso Curve button Position—Sets the iso curve’s position along the U or V axis of the surface. This parameter is animatable.
Normal Projected Curve Trim Controls group Procedure Trim—When on, trims the surface against the iso To create a normal projected curve: curve. Flip Trim—When on, flips the direction of the trim. Replace Base Surface—Lets you replace the parent surface. Click the button, then click the new surface on which to base the iso curve. 1. In a NURBS object that contains at least one surface and one curve sub-object, turn on Normal Projected Curve in the NURBS toolbox or Normal Proj.
1172 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling of projections, the projection closest to the seed point is the one used to create the curve. Normal Projected Curve rollout (modification time) Vector Projected Curve Select NURBS object. > Modify panel > Create Curves rollout > Dependent Curves group box > Vector Proj. button Select NURBS object. > Modify panel > NURBS toolbox > Create Vector Projected Curve button A Vector Projected curve lies on a surface.
Vector Projected Curve 2. Click the curve, then the surface where you want the vector projection curve to lie. The initial vector direction is in the view direction. That is, the vector points away from you as you look at the viewport. If the curve can be projected onto the surface in this direction, the projection curve is created. The original, parent curve can go "off the edge of the surface." The projection curve is created only where the projection and the surface intersect.
1174 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling CV Curve on Surface Select NURBS object. > Modify panel > Create Curves rollout > Dependent Curves group box > CV on Surf button Select NURBS object. > Modify panel > NURBS toolbox > Create CV Curve on Surface button create a curve on a surface if the portion of the surface where the curve will lie is clearly visible in the viewport.
CV Curve on Surface Interface CV Curve on Surface rollout (creation time) Chord-length reparameterization is usually the best choice. Uniform—Spaces the knots uniformly. A uniform knot vector has the advantage that the curve will change only locally when you edit it. With the other two forms of parameterization, moving any CV can change the entire curve.
1176 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Automatic Reparameterization group The radio buttons in this group box let you choose automatic reparameterization. With reparameterization, the curve maintains its parameterization as you edit it. Without reparameterization, the curve’s parameterization doesn’t change as you edit it, and can become irregular. None—Do not reparameterize. Chord Length—Chooses the chord-length algorithm for reparameterization. Point Curve on Surface Select NURBS object.
Point Curve on Surface on a surface can exist in three dimensions. The more complex the 3D surface, the more effort it can require to create and edit a curve on a surface. Procedure Visual feedback can help you draw the curve. The point whose surface you first click is shown as a blue square, and the surface’s minimum UV point is shown as a plus sign (+). As you draw the curve, it is displayed interactively in viewports. 1.
1178 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Flip Trim—When on, trims the surface in the opposite direction. 2D View—When on, displays the Edit Curve on Surface dialog (page 1–1230), which lets you create the curve in a two-dimensional (UV) representation of the surface. Point Curve on Surface rollout (modification time) Surface Edge Curve Select NURBS object. > Modify panel > Create Curves rollout > Dependent Curves group box > Surf Edge button Select NURBS object.
Creating Surface Sub-Objects Seed 1 and Seed 2—The curve resides on the edge closest to the two seed values. Adjust the seed values to change the edge on which the curve resides. Replace Surface— This lets you replace the parent surface. Click a button, then click a surface to replace the original parent surface. Creating Surface Sub-Objects Select NURBS object. > Modify panel > Create Surfaces rollout Select NURBS object.
1180 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Create an independent point surface sub-object (page 1–1182). Create a dependent multicurve trimmed surface (page 1–1216). Create a dependent fillet surface (page Create a dependent transform surface (page 1–1183). 1–1218). Create a dependent blend surface (page 1–1184). Create a dependent offset surface (page 1–1187). CV Surface Sub-Object Select NURBS object. > Modify panel > Create Surfaces rollout > CV Surf Select NURBS object.
CV Surface Sub-Object CV Surface rollout (creation time) doesn’t change as you edit it, and can become irregular. None—Do not reparameterize. Chord Length—Chooses the chord-length algorithm for reparameterization. Chord-length reparameterization spaces knots (in parameter space (page 3–1082)) based on the square root of the length of each curve segment. Chord-length reparameterization is usually the best choice. Uniform—Spaces the knots uniformly.
1182 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Setting the degree greater than 3 isn’t recommended, because higher degrees are slower to calculate and less stable numerically. Higher degrees are supported primarily to be compatible with models created using other surface modeling programs. The number of CVs in a given dimension must be at least one greater than that dimension’s degree. Automatic Reparameterization group The radio buttons in this group box let you choose automatic reparameterization.
Transform Surface 2. In a viewport, drag to specify the initial area of Point Surface rollout (modification time) the point surface. 3. Adjust the point surface’s creation parameters. Interface The parameters that appear when you create a point surface sub-object differ from those you see when you modify it as a sub-object. Point Surface rollout (creation time) The close controls let you close a surface. They appear on the Point Surface rollout while an independent point surface sub-object is selected.
1184 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Procedure Transform Surface rollout (modification time) To create a transform surface: • In a NURBS object that contains at least one surface, turn on Transform. To move the transform surface, click and drag the surface you want to duplicate.
Blend Surface 2. Click one surface near the edge that you want to connect. The edge that will be connected is highlighted in blue. Drag to choose the other edge you want to connect. When the edge you want is highlighted, click and then drag to the other surface. The edge of the other surface is also highlighted in blue. Drag on the other surface to choose the edge to connect, and then release the mouse button to create the blend surface.
1186 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Start Point 1 and Start Point 2—Adjust the position of the start point at the two edges of the blend. Adjusting the start points can help eliminate unwanted twists or "buckles" in the surface. These spinners are unavailable if the edges or curves are not closed. While you’re adjusting start points, a dotted blue line is displayed between them, to show the alignment. The surface is not displayed, so it doesn’t slow down adjustment.
Offset Surface Tension 2—Controls tension at the edge of the second surface you clicked. This value has no effect if the edge is a curve. Flip End 1 and Flip End 2—Flip one of the normals used to construct the blend. A blend surface is created using the normals of the parent surfaces. If the two parents have opposing normals, or if a curve has the opposite direction, the blend surface can be shaped like a bow tie.
1188 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Offset Surface rollout (creation time) Offset—The distance between the parent surface Offset Surface rollout (modification time) Offset—The distance between the parent surface and the offset surface, in 3ds Max units. and the offset surface in 3ds Max units. If the parent surface is planar, the appearance of the offset surface doesn’t change with distance.
Mirror Surface Procedure Mirror Axis group To create a mirror surface: The Mirror Axis buttons control the direction in which the original surface is mirrored. 1. In a NURBS object that contains at least one surface, turn on Mirror. 2. On the Mirror Surface rollout, choose the axis or plane you want to use. 3. Click the surface you want to mirror, and drag to set the initial distance of the mirror surface. The mirror surface is created.
1190 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling and its parent surface at the same time). You transform it by transforming its gizmo. By using transforms you can mirror about an arbitrary axis, rather than using one of the Mirror Axis presets. When you transform a mirror surface, you are actually transforming the mirror plane, so Rotate has the effect of rotating the plane about which the surface is mirrored. (This is like rotating the mirror gizmo in the Mirror modifier.
Extrude Surface Extrude Surface rollout (creation time) rather than a property (or parameter) of extrude surfaces. To flip the normal of an extrude cap, select it as a Surface sub-object and use the Flip Normals toggle on the Surface Common rollout. Extrude Surface rollout (modification time) Amount—The distance the surface is extruded from the parent curve in current 3ds Max units. This parameter is animatable. Direction group X, Y and Z—Choose the axis of extrusion. Default=Z.
1192 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Lathe Surface Select NURBS object. > Modify panel > Create Surfaces rollout > Dependent Surfaces group box > Lathe Select NURBS object. > Modify panel > NURBS toolbox > Create Lathe Surface button A lathe surface is generated from a curve sub-object. It is similar to a surface created with the Lathe modifier. The advantage is that a lathe sub-object is part of the NURBS model, so you can use it to construct other curve and surface sub-objects.
Lathe Surface Degrees—Sets the angle of rotation. At 360 degrees (the default), the surface completely surrounds the axis. At lower values, the surface is a partial rotation. Max—Locates the lathe axis at the curve’s positive local X-axis boundary. Min, Center, and Max lathes of the same curve A partial lathe (degrees=225) Direction group X, Y, and Z—Choose the axis of rotation. Default=Y. Start Point—Adjusts the position of the curve’s start point.
1194 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Center—Locates the lathe axis at the curve’s center. Max—Locates the lathe axis at the curve’s positive local X-axis boundary. Start Point—Adjusts the position of the curve’s start point. This can help eliminate unwanted twists or "buckles" in the surface. This control is disabled if the curve is not a closed curve. The start point is displayed as a blue circle.
Ruled Surface Automatic Curve Attachment Interface When you create a ruled surface, you can select curves that are not already sub-objects of the active NURBS model. You can select another curve or spline Splines object in the scene. When you select that curve, it attaches to the current object as if you had used the Attach button (page 1–1121).
1196 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Ruled Surf rollout (modification time) Cap Surface Select NURBS object. > Modify panel > Create Surfaces rollout > Dependent Surfaces group box > Cap Select NURBS object. > Modify panel > NURBS toolbox > Create Cap Surface button This command creates a surface that caps a closed curve or the edge of a closed surface. Caps are especially useful with extruded surfaces. Flip Beginning and Flip End—Flip one of the curve directions used to construct the ruled surface.
U Loft Surface creation, you can flip normals using controls on the Surface Common rollout.) U Loft Surface Interface Select NURBS object. > Modify panel > Create Surfaces rollout > Dependent Surfaces group box > U Loft While a cap surface sub-object is selected, a rollout with cap surface controls is displayed at the bottom of the Modify panel. Select NURBS object.
1198 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Closed U lofts Automatic Curve Attachment When you create a U loft, you can select curves that are not already sub-objects of the active NURBS model. You can select another curve or spline (page 1–261) object in the scene. When you select that curve, it is automatically attached to the current object as if you had used the Attach button.
U Loft Surface To create a U loft with automatic attach (example): U Loft Surface rollout (creation time) 1. From the Create panel, create three or more independent CV or Point NURBS curves. 2. Go to the Modify panel, and click to turn on U Loft in the NURBS toolbox. 3. Select the curves in the appropriate order for the loft. The U loft is created. You don’t have to collapse the curves to a NURBS surface, or attach them to an existing NURBS model (page 1–1121).
1200 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Curve Properties group Replace—(Disabled.) These controls affect individual curves you select in the U Curves list, as opposed to properties of the loft surface in general. They are enabled only when you have selected a curve in the U Curves list. Display While Creating—When on, the U loft Reverse—When set, reverses the direction of the normals. surface is displayed while you create it. When off, the loft is created more quickly. Default=off.
U Loft Surface Arrow Buttons—Use these to change the order of curves used to construct the U loft. Select a curve in the list, and then use the arrows to move the selection up or down. These buttons are available at creation time. Curve Properties group These controls affect individual curves you select in the U Curves list, as opposed to properties of the loft surface in general. They are enabled only when you have selected a curve in the U Curves list.
1202 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling control lattice if the curve is a CV curve. You can now transform or otherwise change the points or CVs as if you were at the Point or Curve CV sub-object level. To finish editing the curve, click to turn off Edit Curve. When you turn on Edit Curves, all applicable rollouts for the selected curves are displayed, including the Curve Common rollout, the CV or Point rollout (depending on the curve type), and the CV Curve or Point Curve rollout.
UV Loft Surface Warning: If the curve you attach is a sub-object of another NURBS model, the entire model (that is, the curve’s parent NURBS object) is attached as well. As you move the mouse over a curve that is not part of the active NURBS object, the cursor changes shape to indicate that you can pick the curve, but the curve is not highlighted in blue. Procedures To create a UV loft: 1. Create the curves that outline the surface you want to create. 2.
1204 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling UV Loft Surface rollout (creation time) Insert—(Disabled.) Remove—Removes a curve from the U list or V list. Select the curve in the list, and then click Remove. Refine—(Disabled.) Replace—(Disabled.) Display While Creating—When on, the UV loft surface is displayed while you create it. When off, the loft can be created more quickly. Default=off. Flip Normals—Reverses the direction of the UV loft’s normals.
1-Rail Sweep Surface U Curves and V Curves—These lists show the names of the curves you click, in the order you click them. You can select a curve by clicking its name in a list. Viewports display the selected curve in blue. The two buttons above and the four below each list are identical for both lists. Arrow Buttons—Use these to change the order of curves in the U Curve or V Curve list. Select a curve in the list, and then use the arrows to move the selection up or down.
1206 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling 2. Click to turn on 1 Rail Sweep in the toolbox or on the Create Surfaces rollout. 3. Click the curve to use as the rail, then click each of the cross-section curves. Right-click to end creation. The sweep is interpolated smoothly between the cross sections, following the outline defined by the rail. 1-rail sweep surface Changing the position of the rail can change the shape of the surface. The cross-section curves should intersect the rail curve.
1-Rail Sweep Surface Example: To create a 1-rail sweep with automatic attach: 1-Rail Sweep Surface rollout (creation time) 1. From the Create panel, create two independent CV or Point NURBS curves. 2. Go to the Modify panel, and click to turn on 1-Rail Sweep in the NURBS toolbox. 3. Select the curves in the appropriate order for the sweep. The sweep is created. You don’t need to collapse the curves to a NURBS surface or Attach them to an existing NURBS model.
1208 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Curve Properties group These controls affect individual curves you select in the Section Curves list, as opposed to properties of the sweep surface in general. They are enabled only when you have selected a curve in the Section Curves list. Reverse—When set, reverses the direction of the selected curve. Start Point—Adjusts the position of the curve’s start point. This can help eliminate unwanted twists or "buckles" in the surface.
1-Rail Sweep Surface 1-Rail Sweep Surface rollout (modification time) Curve Properties group These controls affect individual curves you select in the Section Curves list, as opposed to properties of the sweep surface in general. They are enabled only when you have selected a curve in the Section Curves list. Reverse—When set, reverses the direction of the selected curve. Start Point—Adjusts the position of the curve’s start point. This can help eliminate unwanted twists or "buckles" in the surface.
1210 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Sweep Parallel—When on, ensures that the sweep surface’s normal is parallel to the rail. Snap Cross-Sections—When on, cross-section curves are translated so they intersect the rail. The first cross section is translated to the start of the rail, and the last to the end of the rail. The cross sections in the middle are translated to touch the rail at the closest point to the end of the cross-section curves.
2-Rail Sweep Surface endpoints of the first cross-section curve must be coincident. Use NURBS Snaps to accomplish this. Automatic Curve Attachment When you create a 2-rail sweep, you can select curves that are not already sub-objects of the active NURBS model. You can select another curve or spline object (page 1–261) in the scene. When you select that curve, it attaches to the current object as if you had used the Attach button (page 1–1121).
1212 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling 2-Rail Sweep Surface rollout (creation time) of the sweep surface in general. They are enabled only when you have selected a curve in the Section Curves list. Reverse—When set, reverses the direction of the selected curve. Start Point—Adjusts the position of the curve’s start point. This can help eliminate unwanted twists or "buckles" in the surface. This control is disabled if the curve is not a closed curve.
2-Rail Sweep Surface the rails. The cross sections in the middle are translated to touch the rails at the closest point to the ends of the cross-section curves. Default=off. 2-Rail Sweep Surface rollout (Modification time) When Snap Cross-Sections is on, the sweep follows the rail curves exactly. This makes it easier to construct 2-rail sweep surfaces. Display While Creating—When on, the sweep surface is displayed while you create it. When off, the sweep can be created more quickly. Default=off.
1214 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling and then use the arrows to move the selection up or down. Curve Properties group These controls affect individual curves you select in the Section Curves list, as opposed to properties of the sweep surface in general. They are enabled only when you have selected a curve in the Section Curves list. Reverse—When set, reverses the direction of the selected curve. Start Point—Adjusts the position of the curve’s start point.
Multisided Blend Surface sub-object level. To finish editing the curve, click to turn off Edit Curves. Tip: When you edit curves in a 2-rail sweep, turning off display of the sweep itself can make the curves easier to see and improve performance as well. Use CTRL+D (while the Keyboard Shortcut Override Toggle (page 3–912) is on) to toggle display of dependent sub-objects, including sweeps.
1216 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling 3. Project the curves onto the surface by creating a normal or vector projected curve for each curve in the loop. Multicurve Trimmed Surface Select NURBS object. > Modify panel > Create Surfaces rollout > Dependent Surfaces group box > Multi-Trim Select NURBS object. > Modify panel > NURBS toolbox > Create a Multicurve Trimmed Surface button Tip: You can also use CV or point curve on surface for these curves. 4.
Multicurve Trimmed Surface Multicurve Trimmed Surface rollout (creation time) Multicurve Trimmed Surface rollout (modification time) Trim Curves—This list shows the names of the Trim Curves—This list shows the names of the curves used to trim the surface. You can select a curve by clicking its name. Viewports display the selected curve in blue. Insert—(Disabled.) Remove—Removes a curve from the list. Select the curve in the list, and then click Remove. Replace—(Disabled.
1218 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Replace—Lets you replace the selected curve. Procedure Select a curve in the list, click this button, and then select the new curve. To create a fillet surface: Flip Trim—Reverses the direction of the trim. Along with Edit Curves, the Insert, Remove, and Replace buttons let you alter the curves that trim the surface.
Fillet Surface and the second surface you chose, respectively. The radiuses control the size of the fillet surface. Default=1.0. Flip Trim—Reverses the direction of the trim. Flip Normals—Turn on to reverse the direction of the fillet surface’s normals. Lock—Locks the Start and End radius values so they are identical. When on, the End Radius setting is unavailable. Default=on. Fillet Surface rollout (modification time) Radius Interpolation group This group box controls the radius of the fillet.
1220 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Radius Interpolation group This group box controls the radius of the fillet. The Radius Interpolation setting has no effect unless one or both surfaces that define the fillet have curvature to them. Linear—When chosen (the default), the radius is always linear. Cubic—When chosen, the radius is treated as a cubic function, allowing it to change based on the parent surface’s geometry. Seeds group These spinners adjust the seed values for the fillet surface.
Point (NURBS) Create a dependent surface-curve intersection point (page 1–1226). Procedure To create a dependent offset point: 1. Select a NURBS object 2. On the Modify > Create Points rollout, turn on Point (NURBS) Select NURBS object. > Modify panel > Create Points rollout > Point button Select NURBS object. > Modify panel > NURBS toolbox > Create Point button Offset Point. 3. In a viewport, click an existing point. 4.
1222 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling then click the new point on which to base the offset point. Curve Point Select NURBS object. > Modify panel > Create Points rollout > Dependent Points group box > Curve Point button Select NURBS object. > Modify panel > NURBS toolbox > Create Curve Point button This command creates a dependent point that lies on a curve or relative to it. The point can be either on the curve or off the curve. If it is on the curve, the U Position is the only control of its location.
Surface Point Offset, normal, and tangent displacement of a curve point Trimming group box Controls in this group box let you trim the parent curve. Trim Curve—When on, trims the parent curve against the curve point’s U position. When off (the default), the parent isn’t trimmed. Flip Trim—When on, trims in the opposite direction. U Position—Specifies the point’s location on the curve or relative to the curve. On Curve—When on, the point lies on the curve at the U Position.
1224 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling 3. Right-click to end the create operation. 4. At the Point sub-object level, adjust the point’s position relative to the surface by adjusting the surface point parameters in the Surface Point rollout. U Position and V Position—If the point is on the surface, these coordinates specify the point’s location, based on the surface’s local UV coordinates. Interface While a surface point sub-object is selected, the Surface Point rollout appears.
Curve-Curve Intersection Point Tangent—Moves the point along the tangent of the UV position. U Tangent and V Tangent—Specify the distance from the surface along the tangents at U and V. Replace Base Surface—(Only at modification time.) Lets you replace the parent surface. Click the button, then click the new surface on which to base the surface point. Curve-Curve Intersection Point Select NURBS object.
1226 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Trim Curve—When on, the parent curve is trimmed against the curve-curve point. When off (the default), the parent isn’t trimmed. Flip Trim—When on, trims in the opposite direction. Seed 1 and Seed 2—Change the U location of the seed value on the first and second curves. If there is a choice of intersections, the intersection closest to the seed points is the one used to create the point. Replace First Curve and Replace Second Curve—(Only at modification time.
Convert Curve Dialog Reparameterization group NURBS Editing Dialogs Convert Curve Dialog Modify panel > Select NURBS curve sub-object. > Curve Common rollout > Convert Curve button This dialog is a general way to convert one kind of a curve to another or to adjust a curve’s parameters. Interface These controls let you reparameterize the CV curve and turn on automatic reparameterization. Chord Length—Chooses the chord-length algorithm for reparameterization.
1228 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Convert Curve on Surface Dialog Modify panel > Select NURBS object. > Stack display > Curve sub-object level > Select curve sub-object. > Curve Common rollout > Make COS button This dialog converts a curve to a point curve on surface (page 1–1176) or CV curve on surface (page 1–1174).
Convert Surface Dialog From U and V Iso Lines—Uses curves from both the Number—When chosen, the spinners set the U and V dimensions to construct a UV loft. number of CVs in the CV surface. U Curves—Sets the number of curves in U. In U—Sets the number of CV rows (in the surface’s V Curves—Sets the number of curves in V. Use Point Curves—When on, constructs the loft from point curves instead of the default CV curves. Default=off.
1230 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Delete Original Curves—This is available only if the Interface surface was already a U loft or UV loft. When on, Convert Surface deletes the original loft curves when you click OK. When off, the original curves remain where they are. Default=off. CV Curve: Close Curve Dialog Create panel > Shapes button > CV Curve button > In viewports, draw a CV curve and click to create a CV in the same location as the first CV in the curve. Modify panel > Select NURBS object.
Edit Curve on Surface Dialog You can edit multiple CV on surface (page 1–1174) or Point on surface (page 1–1176) curves, but you can’t edit both types of curves at the same time. The point whose surface you first click is shown as a blue square in the dialog as well as in viewports. As you draw the curve, it appears interactively in viewports and a blue asterisk (*) shows the current mouse location on the surface.
1232 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling button works differently.) These controls are disabled while you create a new curve on surface. Refine—Adds points to the curve. This does not change curvature. For point curves, the curvature can change, but only slightly. Insert—(Not available for point curves on surfaces.) Close—Closes the curve. Edit Texture Points button. See Material Properties Rollout (page 1–1150). Maps can shift with certain surface approximation methods.
Join Curves Dialog Move is a flyout. The alternative buttons constrain texture points to move either vertically or horizontally. Remove Animation—Removes animation Rotate—Rotates the selected points. to the default. Scale—Scales the selected points. This is a flyout Rebuild—Displays the Rebuild Texture Surface that lets you choose between uniform scale, nonuniform scale in the surface’s U dimension, or nonuniform scale in the surface’s V dimension.
1234 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling ZIP tab This tab chooses the zip algorithm. Zipping concatenates the CV lattices of the two original curves. Zipping can change the shape of the original curves, but usually it produces a better result than joining. By default, the ZIP tab is active. If both curves are untrimmed point curves, the result of zipping is a point curve. In all other cases, the result is a CV curve. Tolerance—A distance in 3ds Max units.
Make Loft Dialog ZIP tab This tab chooses the zip algorithm. Zipping concatenates the CV lattices of the two original surfaces. Zipping can change the shape of the original surfaces, but compared to joining it usually produces a simpler surface that is easier to edit. By default, the ZIP tab is active. If both curves are untrimmed point surfaces, the result of zipping is a point surface. In all other cases, the result is a CV surface. Tolerance—A distance in 3ds Max units.
1236 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Interface constructed from intersecting curves behave more predictably. Default=on. Delete Original Loft Curves—This is available only if the surface was already a U loft or UV loft. When on, Make Loft deletes the original loft curves when you click OK. When off, the original curves remain where they are. Default=off. Preview—When on, displays a preview of the new loft surface. Loft creation is faster when Preview is off. Default=off.
Make Point Curve Dialog Make Point Curve Dialog Modify panel > Select NURBS curve sub-object. > Curve Common rollout > Make Fit button Rebuild CV Curve Dialog Modify panel > Select NURBS object. > Stack display > Curve sub-object level > Select an independent CV curve sub-object. > CV Curve rollout > Rebuild button The Make Fit button for a NURBS curve sub-object turns a CV curve into a point curve. For point curves, it lets you change the number of points. It displays this dialog.
1238 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Interface Interface Number in U—Sets the number of CV columns. Number in V—Sets the number of CV rows. Tolerance—Rebuilds the surface according to accuracy. The lower the Tolerance value, the more accurate the rebuild. Increasing Tolerance enables the surface to be rebuilt using fewer CVs. Number—(The default.) Lets you alter the number of CVs in the surface. Number in U specifies the number in the U dimension, and Number in V specifies the number in the V dimension.
Sub-Object Clone Options Dialog Chord Length—Chooses the chord-length algorithm for reparameterization. Interface Chord-length reparameterization spaces knots (in parameter space (page 3–1082)) based on the square root of the length of each curve segment. Chord-length reparameterization is usually the best choice. Uniform—Spaces the knots uniformly. A uniform knot vector has the advantage that the curve or surface changes only locally when you edit it.
1240 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling CV surfaces. If Include Parent(s) is off, only the one curve or surface is cloned. Cloning is slower when Include Parent(s) is on, although quicker than Relational Copy. Select By Material ID Dialog Modify panel > Select NURBS object. > Stack display > Curve sub-object level > Select By ID button. This dialog lets you select curve sub-objects by the material ID number assigned to them.
Surface Approximation curvature is greatest, and fewer segments where its curvature is less. it doesn’t change when animated, so you can use image motion blur with Regular tessellation. Surface Approximation Per Surface Surface Approximation Modify panel > Select top-level NURBS object. > Surface Approximation rollout Modify panel > Select NURBS surface sub-object.
1242 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Tessellation group Tessellation Presets group Viewports—When chosen, the rollout affects how surfaces in the NURBS object are displayed interactively in viewports, including shaded viewports, and by the preview renderer. Lets you choose a preset low, medium, or high quality surface approximation. While a preset is chosen, the values it uses are displayed on the Tessellation Method rollout.
Surface Approximation Renderer, Displaced Surface: Method=Spatial and Curvature Edge=10.0 Distance=10.0 Angle=4.0 Merge=(Unavailable) Advanced Parameters > Minimum=0, Maximum=3 Keyboard shortcut: ALT+2 High—Selects a high-quality surface approximation. These are the default values: Viewports, Base Surface: Method=Spatial and Curvature Edge=5.0 Distance=15.0 Angle=10.0 Merge=0.0 Advanced Parameters > Minimum=0, Maximum=3 Renderer, Base Surface: Method=Spatial and Curvature Edge=5.0 Distance=5.0 Angle=3.
1244 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling The Edge parameter specifies the maximum length of a triangular face in the tessellation. The value is a percentage of the object’s bounding box. Decreasing this value increases accuracy but increases rendering time. Regular mesh of the NURBS teapot Parametric—Generates an adaptive tessellation based on U Steps by V Steps. Low values for U and V Steps using the Parametric method often provide good results.
Surface Approximation When both Distance and Angle are 0.0, the surfaces degenerate and can become flat surfaces. software ignores this parameter and uses the Edge and Distance values to control accuracy. When Distance, Angle, and Edge are all 0.0, the surfaces degenerate and can become flat surfaces. Curvature mesh of the NURBS teapot Spatial and Curvature—Combines the spatial (edge-length) method and the curvature (distance and angle) methods, using all three values.
1246 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling for production rendering, by default the software adjusts the tessellation of adjoining surfaces to match each other, in terms of the number of faces along the edges. The Merge parameter controls how this is done. If Merge is zero, adjoining faces are unchanged. Increasing the value of Merge increases the distance the software uses to calculate how edges should match, guaranteeing no gaps between the surfaces when they are rendered. Default=0.0.
Surface Approximation Utility into the NURBS model, and is especially useful for changing settings on multiple NURBS objects at once. It has two rollouts, one for surface approximation and the other for surface display controls. Surface Approximation Rollout (page 1–1247) Surface Display Rollout (page 1–1253) Procedure Delauney surface subdivision style Subdivision Limits For Grid or Tree subdivisions, the limits control the number of recursive decompositions that are performed during tessellation.
1248 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Interface Iso Parametric Lines group The controls in this group box affect the display of the NURBS surfaces in viewports. U Lines and V Lines—The number of lines used to approximate the NURBS surfaces in viewports, along the surface’s local U and V dimensions, respectively. Reducing these values can speed up the display of the surface, but reduce accuracy of the display. Increasing these values increases accuracy at the expense of time.
Surface Approximation Rollout Viewports—When chosen, the utility affects how surfaces in the NURBS objects are displayed interactively in viewports, including shaded viewports, and by the preview renderer. Distance=50.0 The Viewports surface settings are also used when you apply a mesh modifier such as Mesh Select to the NURBS objects. This is important because it can affect the scene’s geometry.
1250 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Renderer, Base Surface: Method=Spatial and Curvature Method=Spatial and Curvature Edge=5.0 Edge=10.0 Distance=5.0 Distance=15.0 Angle=2.0 Angle=10.0 Merge=(Unavailable) Merge=0.01 Advanced Parameters > Minimum=0, Maximum=4 Advanced Parameters > Minimum=0, Maximum=4 Renderer, Displaced Surface: Method=Spatial and Curvature Edge=10.
Surface Approximation Rollout Note: When Viewports is chosen, you must also choose Mesh Only in order to see the effect of the Mesh Parameter settings in wireframe viewports. Generally speaking, if the preset values you have chosen give good results, you don’t need to adjust the controls in this rollout further. Use them if you encounter problems with the preset alternative.
1252 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Changing surface curvature dynamically changes the curvature tessellation. The Distance parameter specifies how far the approximation can deviate from the actual NURBS surface. Distance is a percentage of the diagonal of each surface’s bounding box. Each surface in an object is tessellated based on its size, independently of other surfaces, and scaling a surface doesn’t change its tessellation. Decreasing this value increases accuracy but increases rendering time.
Surface Display Rollout limit. You might want to increase this value to 7 (the greatest value allowed). See the description of Advanced Parameters, below. Set Selected—Applies the surface approximation values active in the utility to all selected NURBS objects. Merge—Controls the tessellation of surface Reset—Resets the values in the utility to the default sub-objects whose edges are joined or very nearly joined.
1254 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling lattice for an object’s curves but not its surfaces, or vice versa. Use the Utilities panel (page 3–821) to open a low-polygon utility and make it active. Curves—When on, displays curves. Polygon Counter Utility (page 1–1254) Surfaces—When on, displays surfaces. Level of Detail Utility (page 1–1255) Dependents—When on, displays dependent sub-objects. Polygon Counter Utility Surface Trims—When on, displays surface trimming.
Level of Detail Utility to editable poly format, it will then show the number of polygons in the object instead of the number of triangular faces. You can customize the keyboard shortcut via Customize > Customize User Interface > Group: Main UI (page 3–922) > Polygon Counter. Procedure To use the Polygon Counter: 1. On the Utilities panel > Utilities rollout, click the More button and then choose Polygon Counter. Current—Displays the number of faces currently in selected objects or the scene.
1256 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling Procedures To set up an object for the Level Of Detail utility: 1. Create two or more objects that are identical except for their complexity. Note: It’s best to assign materials and mapping coordinates, as well as all modifiers while the objects are still separate. 2. Select all of the objects, and use the Align tool to center all of them about a common center. 3. Group the objects. 2.
Level of Detail Utility Interface Add To Set—Adds an object to the Level of Detail set. You must first attach the object you want to add to the group object. To add an object to the set, use Align to center the object with the group object. Select the object you want to add, and then choose Attach from the Group menu, and then click the group object. Finally, click the Add to Set button, and then click the object you want added.
1258 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling item. Double-clicking the object name in the list performs the same function. Threshold Units group The options in this group box let you choose between two types of threshold units. Switching between these two options does not alter the effect; it alters the method by which you set the thresholds. Pixels—The thresholds are determined by specifying the maximum pixel size of the image (measured diagonally).
index Index Symbols & Numerics 1-rail sweep surface 1–1205 2 3 4 links 2–963, 2–1001 2 feet down 2–841, 2–849 2.
1260 Index active 2–987 active link (glossary) 3–997 active time segment 2–282 active time segment (glossary) 3–998 active viewport 1–22 active/inactive footsteps 3–998 ActiveShade 3–17 commands (quad menu) 3–21 floater 3–20 glossary 3–998 keyboard shortcuts 3–913 quick render 3–17 viewport 3–20 actual stride height 2–844, 2–847 actual stride length 2–844, 2–847, 2–849 actual stride width 2–844, 2–847, 2–849 adapt locks 2–729, 2–833, 3–999 adaptation 3–999 adapting keyframes to edits 2–729 keys to footste
Index foliage 1–209 railing 1–212 wall 1–218 affect region 1–538 soft selection rollout (EMesh) 1–945 soft selection rollout (NURBS) 1–1148 affine transformation (glossary) 3–1000 after trajectory 2–799 age test 2–207 AI import dialog 3–525 airborne option 2–841, 2–847, 2–849 airborne periods 2–736, 3–1000 aliasing/antialiasing alias against background 3–863 and supersampling 2–1302 fast adaptive 2–1374 filters 1–547, 3–37 glossary 3–1001 multiresolution adaptive 2–1375 align 1–447 align geometry dialog (e
1262 Index layers 3–1004 loading 3–479 mapping 3–483 to 3–484, 3–486 methods 2–271 NURBS 1–1092 preferences settings 3–868 previewing animations after attaching Physique 2–935 sample animations in this release 2–774 saving 3–481 selecting and moving tracks 2–743 show ghosting 1–46 tips (NURBS) 1–1101 toggle animation mode 2–274 utilities 2–630 with radiosity 3–59 animation controls 3–759 animation menu 3–729 constraints 2–355, 2–375 to 2–376, 2–379 to 2–380, 2–384, 2–388, 2–391 create bones 1–381 dummy 2–
Index create 1–104 disassemble 1–107 explode 1–107 open 1–106 using 1–97 assembly commands 1–104 assembly heads helper objects 1–108 assembly menu assemble 1–104 attach 1–108 detach 1–108 disassemble 1–107 explode 1–107 asset browser 3–505 internet download dialog 3–516 preferences 3–515 using 1–17 asset tracking dialog 3–492 icons 3–499 open from vault 3–401 asset tracking dialog 2–774, 3–492 asset tracking dialog icons 3–499 asset tracking prompts 3–499 assign controller (Track View) 2–523 controller rol
1264 Index Autodesk VIZ files 3–526 autogrid 3–1007 AutoGrid 2–7 automatic auto archive 3–870 auto backup 1–19, 3–870 auto secondary (lens effects) 3–234 auto termination (IK) 2–481 automatic exposure control 3–291 secondary flare parameters 3–372 unit conversion 3–859 automatic mapping rollout rendering to texture 3–158 autoplay preview file 3–859 AVI files 3–163, 3–658 avoidance behavior 2–1016, 2–1063, 3–1007 preventing collisions 2–1092 awning window 1–251 axis constraints 1–428 to 1–431, 3–735 and hi
Index before trajectory 2–799 behavior assignments and teams dialog 2–1052 behavior rollout 2–1062 behaviors 2–1011, 3–1009 avoid 2–1063, 3–1007 fabric 1–561 obstacle-avoidance 2–1016, 3–1077 orientation 2–1066, 3–1079 patch-based 3–1085 path follow 2–1068, 3–1086 repel 2–1070, 3–1097 scripted 2–1072, 3–1102 seek 2–1072, 3–1102 space warp 2–1073, 3–1107 speed vary 2–1074, 3–1109 surface arrive 2–1075, 3–1112 surface follow 2–1078, 3–1113 wall repel 2–1079, 3–1127 wall seek 2–1081, 3–1127 wander 2–1083, 3–1
1266 Index posing a biped 2–780 rotating objects 2–749 scaling after physique is applied 2–950 visible in playback 2–799 bipeds dialog 2–620 birth event 3–1010 birth operator 2–139 birth script operator 2–141 bitmap map 2–1441 bitmap pager 3–865 bitmap pager statistics dialog 3–515 bitmap/photometric path editor 3–511, 3–517 bitmaps choosing 2–1445 display 3–884, 3–888 glossary 3–1011 Material Editor 2–1441, 2–1445 path configuration 3–504, 3–855 path editor 3–511 blend blend curve (NURBS) 1–1159 blend el
Index standard primitive 1–166 box caustics filter 3–104 box method 2–1094 box selected render bounding box/selected dialog 3–16 branching events (particle flow) 2–119 break spline at selected vertex 1–292 vertices 1–992 breathe option (links) 2–943, 2–987 bricks 2–1468 bridge dialog 1–1068 bridge edges dialog 1–1070 brightness and contrast effect 3–261 browse 2–922 browser material/map 2–1256 browsing from 3ds Max 3–505 brush options 1–801 brush preset manager 3–739 brush presets 3–737 BSP method 3–125 BS
1268 Index roll camera 3–790 roll light 3–796 save sequence 3–320 scale keys 2–536, 2–556 scale values 2–557 select and link 2–404 select and manipulate 2–26 select and move 1–419 select and rotate 1–420 select and uniform scale 1–421 select by material 2–1283 select by name 1–77 select object 1–77 selection center 1–427 selection lock 3–754 sets of modifiers 3–815 show curves 3–752 show end result 2–1290 snapshot 1–438 spacing tool 1–440 spinner snap 2–37 squash 1–422 transform coordinate center 1–427 tr
Index candela 3–1059 canopy mode 1–209 cap holes modifier 1–550 cap surface 1–1196 capsule 1–190 capture viewport 1–35 cartoon shading 2–1414 casement window 1–252 category, hiding and unhiding objects by 1–72 caustics 3–91, 3–104 caustics (mental ray) 3–80 caustics and global illumination rollout 3–104 CCB files 1–933 cellular map 2–1473 center 1–416 center of mass 2–691, 2–788, 3–1014 object 2–704 selecting tracks 2–746 shadow 2–704 shifting balance with 2–734 tracks in Track View 2–800 chains (kinematic
1270 Index circle 1–268 circular falloff graph 3–250 circular arrays 1–474 circulating materials 2–1276 clean multimaterial utility 2–1552 clear UVW mapping 1–916 clip ratio 2–591 replace 2–611 timing 2–591 transition 2–900 clip controllers 2–1030, 3–1015 clip frame numbers motion mixer 2–591 clip mode 2–878 clip properties dialog 2–878, 2–897, 2–910 clipping planes 2–1218, 2–1224, 3–1015 clips 2–897 combining 2–878 create 2–878 looping with motion-capture filtering 2–912 menu 2–609 move 2–878 path 2–893
Index temperature (light color) 2–1130 color clipboard files 1–933 color clipboard utility 1–159 color coding 2–800 color controls 2–1327 color modifier maps 2–1502 color palette vertexpaint modifier 1–933 color RGB controller 2–311 color selector 1–157, 3–859 colors 2–733 biped keys in Track View 2–733 footsteps 2–727 in Track View 2–799 vertex type 2–941 colors panel (customize UI) 3–843 COM 2–788 COM/DCOM server control utility 3–835 combining animations 2–878 combining motions motion mixer 2–581 combin
1272 Index user paths 3–852 utilities button sets 3–822 viewports 3–896 configure paths 3–852 configure preset dialog 3–32 configure system paths 3–854 configure user paths 3–852 bitmaps 3–855 file i/o path configuration 3–856 FX files 3–855 plug-ins path configuration 3–857 using 3–183 configure userpaths bitmaps 3–183 conform compound object 1–319 space warp 2–99 connect to child link 2–998 to parent link 2–998 connect compound object 1–323 connect edges dialog 1–1072 connect parameter to shader dialog
Index time duration 2–484 transform script 2–364 types of 2–284, 2–523 understanding 2–285 viewing types 2–285 waveform 2–366 working with 2–284 controlling colors 2–294 display performance 1–28 flipping on path 2–380 IK precision 2–444 object display 1–51 position 2–293 rotation 2–294 time 2–281 transforms 2–293 viewport rendering 1–27 controls camera viewport 3–788 light viewport 3–792 perspective and orthographic 3–781 special 1–12 viewport 3–778 conversion modifier turn to mesh 1–860 turn to patch 1–86
1274 Index create character 2–683 create key dialog 2–280 create material preview dialog 2–1296 create menu 1–342, 3–723 AEC objects 1–209, 1–212, 1–218, 1–227, 1–230, 1–234, 1–238, 1–246 to 1–247, 1–251 to 1–256 cameras 2–1210, 2–1215 to 2–1216 compound objects 1–313, 1–323, 1–326, 1–331, 1–333, 1–347 extended primitives 1–181 lights 2–1126 NURBS 1–1103, 1–1105, 1–1108, 1–1112 particles 2–233 patch grids 1–980 to 1–981, 1–983 photometric lights 2–1156 to 2–1162 shapes 1–257, 1–265, 1–267 to 1–269, 1–271
Index point surface 1–1103 point surface sub-object 1–1182 primitives from the keyboard 1–164 ruled surface 1–1194 shapes 1–257 skin 2–928 sub-objects 1–1179 surface edge curve 1–1178 surface offset curve 1–1169 surface sub-objects 1–1179 surface-surface intersection curve 1–1167 tendons 2–948 transform curve 1–1159 transform surface 1–1183 U loft surface 1–1197 UV loft surface 1–1202 vector projected curve 1–1172 creation method rollout 1–349 creation parameters 2–703 glossary 3–1019 cross fade compositor
1276 Index curves curve approximation 1–1240 curve fit 1–1158 curve point 1–1222 curve-curve intersection point 1–1225 curve-curve point 1–1225 freeze non-selected 2–564 function 2–695, 2–857 curves menu Track View 2–510 curves toolbar 2–513 custom attributes 1–124 custom grid 2–19 custom splash screen 1–17 custom UI and defaults switcher 3–833 custom UI scheme 3–848 customize keyboard shortcut 2–1276 toolbar 2–1276 transitions 2–885 customize menu 3–731 configure system paths 3–854 configure user paths 3
Index define append 2–900 inser below 2–900 insert above 2–900 script 2–900 defining search terms (HTML help viewer) 3–968 time tags 3–757 deflector space warp 2–86 deflector space warps deflector 2–86 PDynaFlect 2–77 POmniFlect 2–74 SDeflector 2–83 SDynaFlect 2–81 SOmniFlect 2–80 UDeflector 2–85 UDynaFlect 2–82 UOmniFlect 2–81 deform deform bevel 1–361 deform fit 1–362 deform scale 1–359 deform teeter 1–360 deform twist 1–359 deformable envelopes 2–692, 2–936, 2–942, 2–960, 2–963, 2–981, 3–1021 deformatio
1278 Index detach dialog (NURBS curve/surface) 1–1230 editable mesh vertices 1–992 editable patches 1–971 patch surface 1–950 DGS material (mental ray) 2–1389 dgs material shader (mental ray) 2–1527 diagnostics mental ray renderer 3–120 dialog asset tracking 3–492 bevel polygons 1–1068 bitmap pager statistics 3–515 chamfer 1–1071 connect edges 1–1072 extrude polygons 1–1073 flatten mapping 1–889 MAXScript debugger 3–826 mixer transition editor 2–615 normal mapping 1–890 pelt map parameters 1–891 pick node
Index display menu curve editor 2–504 particle view 2–125 display panel 3–818 display color rollout 1–52 display properties rollout 1–55 freeze rollout 1–54 hide by category rollout 1–52 hide rollout 1–53 link display rollout 1–58 object display 1–51 display rollout 1–781 display subtree 2–981 display trajectories;trajectories,displaying 2–809 displaying links 2–403 selected key statistics (Track View) 2–571 selected keys 2–571 distance distance from origin (accuracy setting) 3–859 measuring 2–13, 2–15 dis
1280 Index enable toggle 2–561 glossary 3–1025 ease options key info rollout 2–809 transition editor 2–902 ease out-of-range types (Track View) 2–562 edge visibility threshold 1–997 edges aligning 1–997 and rendering 3–863 attaching 1–997 chamfer 1–997 creating shapes from 1–997 cut and slice 1–997 deleting 1–997 divide 1–1010 dividing 1–997 extruding 1–997 make planar 1–997 rotating 1–997 welding 1–997 edit alpha compositor 3–355 biped 2–889 button appearance 3–847 clip 2–900 contrast filter 3–350 cross
Index edge 1–642 extrude edges dialog 1–1074 extrude polygons along spline dialog 1–1072 extrude polygons dialog 1–1073 extrude vertices dialog 1–1074 hinge from edge dialog 1–1075 inset polygons dialog 1–1075 keyboard shortcuts 3–917 meshsmooth selection dialog 1–1076 object 1–630 paint deformation rollout 1–1065 polygon/element 1–658 preserve map channels dialog 1–1076 relax dialog 1–1077 tessellate selection dialog 1–1078 vertex 1–633 weld dialog 1–1078 weld edges dialog 1–1078 weld vertices dialog 1–10
1282 Index modifier stack 1–489 named selection sets 1–67 point sub-objects 1–1124, 1–1220 strokes 3–907 surface cv sub-objects 1–1132 surface sub-objects 1–1142 time (Track View) 2–542 time tags 3–758 wall objects 1–223 editing track sets 2–567 editor cognitive controller 2–1057 effects 3–213 auto secondary lens effects 3–234 blur lens effects 3–256 brightness and contrast lens effects 3–261 color balance lens effects 3–261 depth of field lens effects 3–265 effects (rendering menu) 3–214 effects panel 3–
Index event display 2–127, 2–129, 3–1029 event level 3–1030 glossary 3–1029 inputs 3–1051 local 3–1057 notating 2–202 properties 2–130 events (Video Post) 3–321 every step update script (particle flow) 2–135 exclude exclude left end point (Track View) 2–547 exclude right end point (Track View) 2–548 exclude/include lights 2–1137, 2–1179 exclude envelopes dialog 2–977 exclude left end point (Track View) 2–547 exclude option 2–938, 2–977 exclude right end point (Track View) 2–548 excluding layers 3–444 exclu
1284 Index L-Ext 1–193 L-Extrusion 1–193 oil tank 1–189 prism 1–200 ringwave 1–197 spindle 1–191 torus knot 1–184 extended shapes angle 1–281 channel 1–280 tee 1–282 wide flange 1–283 wrectangle 1–279 extended splines 1–261 extents scene extents 3–1101 zoom extents (particle view) 2–125 extents (glossary) 3–1030 external event 3–335, 3–348 external reference 3–1131 external reference, AutoCAD (glossary) 3–1130 extraction tolerance 2–922 extras dope sheet toolbar Track View 2–519 extras toolbar 3–736 extru
Index figure mode 2–692, 2–791, 2–835, 2–837, 3–1032 figure structure 2–922 file corruption 3–977 file formats 2–774, 2–1117 file i/o path configuration 3–856 file link 3–997 advanced settings 3–438 basic settings 3–436 basics 3–426 excluding layers 3–444 file link settings dialog 3–435, 3–441 including layers 3–444 manager utility 3–431 presets 3–436, 3–438 tips for using 3–428 working with drawing files 3–425 xref resolution 3–445 file menu 3–398, 3–721 archive 3–500 exit 3–504 export 3–491 export select
1286 Index fire environment effect 3–272 first vertex 1–292, 3–1035 fit 2–981, 2–998 fit (deformation) 1–362 fit to existing 2–922 fix ambient utility 3–513 fix panel 2–871 fixed transition editor 2–902 fixed width text button 3–859 fixed window 1–253 fixing errors 2–695, 2–864, 2–871 fixing motion errors 2–874 fixing problems 3–977 flag properties dialog (Material Editor) 2–1465 flag with black 3–863 flare 3–366 automatic secondary flare parameters 3–372 flare preferences 3–369 glow parameters 3–371 infe
Index footsteps 2–852 activating 2–723 airborne period 2–741 appending 2–720 bending path 2–726 convert to 2–852 creating 2–720 creating automatically 2–720 creating multiple 2–720 deleting 2–726 display 2–711 editing in time 2–727 editing placement 2–726 footstep mode dialog 2–853 freeform period between 2–741 moving and rotating 2–726 saving 2–740 selecting in Dope Sheet mode 2–727 selecting in viewports 2–726 timing 2–727 timing gait parameters 2–719 footsteps method 3–1037 force operator (particle flow
1288 Index geometric primitives 3–1042 geometric/deformable space warps bomb 2–101 conform 2–99 FFD(box) 2–87 FFD(cyl) 2–91 ripple 2–98 wave 2–96 geometry AutoCAD 3–447 AutoCADArchitectural Desktop 3–449 compound objects 1–308 doors 1–241 effect on cloth 1–558 extended primitives 1–181 file formats 3–524 geometric primitives 1–163 highlight lens effects 3–389 importing 3–525 loft object 1–347 standard primitives 1–165 types of 1–151 windows 1–248 geometry parameters rollout 2–1035 geometry rollout 2–1092
Index grid method, raytrace acceleration 3–1094 grids 2–33, 3–1045 activating 2–34 align to view 2–34 aligning to 1–989, 1–992, 1–997 and resolution of patch model surface 1–955, 1–959, 1–967, 1–971, 1–977 grid and snap settings 2–38 grid helper object 2–19 show home grid 2–33 using 2–4 to 2–5 viewing 2–6 ground plane (and collision detection) 2–749 group script 2–900 group menu 1–101, 1–107, 3–722 attach 1–104 close 1–102 detach 1–103 explode 1–103 group 1–102 open 1–102 ungroup 1–103 groups 1–95 and asse
1290 Index hide 1–53, 2–1001, 3–1045 hide attached nodes 2–960 hide by category 1–52 hide reference geometry 1–763 hide/show all 2–799 hiding and unhiding 1–53 by category 1–52, 1–72 by selection 1–71 edges 1–967 editable spline vertices 1–292 hide rollout 1–53 hierarchical linkage 3–1045 hierarchical subdivision surfaces 1–693 hierarchies hierarchical linkage (glossary) 3–1045 joint limits 2–403 navigating 2–407 terminology 2–398 using multiple 2–400 viewing 2–407 hierarchy of biped objects (Track View)
Index import table to 3ds Max 3–568 log files 3–566 overview 3–565 temporary files 3–567 ignore animation range 2–526 ignore backfacing 1–984, 1–1001, 1–1010 IK and control objects 2–417 and set key 2–276 animating with interactive IK 2–462 IK joints 2–418 IK solution (glossary) 3–1049 overlapping chains 2–427 preferences 3–865 IK blend 2–809, 3–1048 IK constraints 2–758, 2–760 IK limb solver 2–421, 2–454 IK object 2–809 ik only option 2–827 IK rollouts 2–473 auto termination 2–481 display options 2–439 IK
1292 Index input devices for motion capture 2–632 inputs (particle flow) 3–1051 insert 2–992, 2–998 actions, events (particle view) 2–129 bulge angle 2–965, 2–992 cross section slice 2–965 ctrl pts 2–965 insert animation 2–685 insert character 2–686 insert tracks dialog 3–471 time (Track View) 2–546 tracks 3–471 vertices 1–290, 1–303 insert keys 2–535 inset polygons dialog 1–1075 inside 2–987 installing 3ds Max (for network rendering) 3–180 instance duplicate maps utility 2–1555 instanced modifiers 1–496
Index setting parameters 2–465 sliding 2–465 sliding and rotational 2–478 surface 2–465 using default joint precedence 2–450 JPEG files (glossary) 3–670 JSR-184 editing parameters 3–572 export/import files 3–570, 3–572 log files 3–576 m3g player 3–576 texture parameters 3–572 JSR-184 player 3–576 jump 2–791, 2–841 jumping dynamics of 2–736 parameters 2–719 K Kaydara FiLMBOX 3–559, 3–562 KBD files 3–837, 3–848 keep apart operator 2–168 key filters 2–567, 3–761 key info Bezier controllers 2–305 key info rol
1294 Index layer properties dialog 3–711 layer track 2–583 layers 1–111 to 1–112, 2–827, 3–704, 3–1055 AutoCAD and 3ds Max 3–444 excluding in file linking 3–444 from AutoCAD 3–430 from Revit 3–430 glossary 3–1055 including in file linking 3–444 layer event 3–345 layer list button 3–715 layer manager 3–706 layer properties dialog 3–711 select dialog 3–444 layers toolbar 3–735 add selection to current layer 3–716 create new layer 3–716 select objects in current layer 3–716 set current layer to selection’s l
Index mental ray shadow maps 2–1205 name and color rollout 2–1127 omni 2–1148 orbit/pan 3–798 photometric lights 2–1155 placing 1–7 positioning 2–1136 properties of 2–1130 roll 3–796 standard 2–1142 target area 2–1161 target direct 2–1145 target linear 2–1159 target point 2–1157 target spotlight 2–1143 truck 3–797 types of 2–1126, 2–1155 using 2–1128 viewport controls 3–794, 3–796 working with 2–1128 lights name and color rollout 2–1127 Lightscape 3–583 creating geometry for export 3–578 creating materials
1296 Index link settings rollout 2–987 link sub-object level joint intersections rollout 2–991 link settings rollout 2–987 linkage, hierarchical 3–1045 linked file states 3–431 linked objects assigning materials to 3–452, 3–461 conversion settings 3–435, 3–441 selecting when file linking 3–446 linked XForm modifier 1–703 linking and unlinking objects 2–403 animatable parameters 2–393, 2–395 bones to follow objects 2–442 end effectors to parent 2–442 strategy 2–400 linking files 3–431 links 3–1057 adding a
Index skin parameters rollout 1–353 surface parameters rollout 1–349 lofting glossary 3–1058 shapes 1–257 log file 3–121, 3–1058 log files IGES 3–566 logarithmic exposure control 3–293 LogLUV format (TIFF files) 3–299 look at controller 2–329 look at object (particle flow) 3–1058 look-at constraint 2–388 loop 1–798 looping 2–912, 2–922 animation 2–528 animation (Track View) 2–547 to 2–548 loop event (Video Post) 3–337, 3–349 low res environment background 3–874 low-polygon modeling 1–1254 lower bound 2–998
1298 Index refraction 2–1350 self-illumination 2–1343 shininess 2–1342 shininess strength 2–1342 specular color 2–1341 specular level 2–1342 unfold 1–902 mapping biped motion 2–776 maps 2–1472, 3–121, 3–504 2D 2–1434 3D 2–1472 activate all 1–50 camera map per pixel 2–1542 cellular 2–1473 checker 2–1447 color modifier 2–1502 combustion 2–1448 composite 2–1498 compositor maps 2–1497 custom 3ds Max mental ray shaders 2–1521, 2–1524, 2–1526 to 2–1527, 2–1529, 2–1531 to 2–1534, 2–1538 to 2–1539, 2–1541 cutout
Index options dialog 2–1280 shortcuts 3–946 tools 2–1271 type button 2–1293 material effects channel flyout 2–1288 Material Editor 2–1287 material ID and attaching objects 1–1009 and Booleans 1–333 and editable meshes 1–1001 and editable patches 1–971 and editable splines 1–303 and particles 2–186 changing (particle flow) 2–187 glossary 3–1063 material IDs rollout Lightscape import 3–614 material operators dynamic 2–187 frequency 2–185 static 2–183 material propagation 2–1276 material shaders rollout menta
1300 Index using maps to enhance 2–1247 matte object (glossary) 3–1065 matte parameters rollout 3–137 matte texture element rollout 3–137 matte/shadow material 2–1393 max clips 2–626 MAX file finder utility 3–511 MAX files and Autodesk VIZ 3–526 max object add to motion mixer 2–583 max objects to mix dialog 2–619 maximum angular/positional deviation for a track 2–922 MAXScript 2–116 about MAXScript 1–xx and particle flow 2–204, 2–225 command-line 3–826 glossary 3–1066 listener 3–824 MAXScript listener 3–8
Index create 3–723 customize 3–731 edit 3–721 file 3–721 graph editors 3–730 group 3–722 help 3–732 material editor copy and paste 2–1262 MAXScript 3–732, 3–823 menu bar 3–720 menus panel (customize UI) 3–842 modifiers 3–726 particle view 2–122 reactor 3–729 rendering 3–731 Schematic View 3–692 tools 3–722 views 3–722 merge 3–469 animation (file menu) 3–471 custom sections 1–849 effects 3–216 insert tracks command 3–471 merge dialogs 2–1297 to 2–1298, 3–416, 3–469 scenes 1–16 shapes 1–849 merge from file s
1302 Index mixer transition editor dialog 2–613, 2–615 MNM file 3–1067 MNM files 2–774, 2–912, 2–916, 2–1117 MNU files 3–839, 3–842, 3–848 mobile gaming editing JSR-184 parameters 3–572 exporting JSR-184 files 3–570 MOC files 2–916, 2–922 modal (glossary) 3–1067 mode motion flow 2–878, 2–894 modeless (glossary) 3–1067 modeling objects 1–5, 1–833 modes 2–791, 2–835, 2–840 in place 2–785 mixer 2–629 rubber band 2–734 talent figure 2–912 Track View 2–501 modes menu curve editor and dope sheet 2–501 modifier
Index skew 1–780 skin 1–781 skin morph 1–802 skin wrap 1–809 skin wrap patch 1–815 slice 1–815 smooth 1–818 spherify 1–819 spline IK control modifier 1–820 spline select 1–822 squeeze 1–823 STL check 1–825 stretch 1–826 substitute 1–830 surface 1–833 surface mapper (world space) 1–536 SurfDeform 1–537, 1–838 sweep 1–839, 1–848 to 1–849 symmetry 1–851 taper 1–853 tessellate 1–854 topology dependent 3–1117 trim/extend 1–856 turbosmooth 1–857 turn to mesh 1–860 turn to patch 1–862 turn to poly 1–863 turn-to m
1304 Index samples 2–774 motion flow 2–695, 3–1070 and BIP files 2–779 BIP file location 2–774 clip properties dialog 2–897 compare with motion mixer 2–581 editor file 2–896 graph 2–878, 2–880, 2–896 to 2–897 mode 2–791, 2–878, 2–882, 2–894, 2–896, 2–900 optimize transition 2–909 random motion 2–887 random motion flow 2–890, 2–907 rollout 2–896 script 2–878, 2–900 shared 2–907 shared motion flow 2–890, 2–907 transition 2–880 unified motion 2–889 workflow 2–894 motion flow editor 3–1070 append 2–883 files
Index multicurve trim surface 1–1216 multiple instanced objects 2–117 multiple links 2–753 selecting and rotating 2–753 multiplicity (glossary) 3–1071 multiplier (glossary) 3–1071 multiplier curve applying 2–560 deleting 2–561 enable toggle 2–561 glossary 3–1072 multiplier out-of-range types (Track View) 2–563 MultiRes modifier 1–731 multiresolution adaptive antialiaser 2–1375 multisided blend surface 1–1215 multithreading and rendering 3–864 MVBlocks 3–465 N N blend surface 1–1215 n links 2–963, 2–1001 N
1306 Index next/previous key;finding, next/previous key 2–809 NGon 1–272 no blending 2–963, 2–1001 no footsteps 2–922 no key reduction 2–922 node (glossary) 3–1073 node track (glossary) 3–1073 noise and terrain effects 1–736 noise controller 2–337 noise map 2–1484 noise modifier 1–735 noise rollout (2D) 2–1439 noise threshold 2–1460, 2–1462, 2–1484, 3–278, 3–284 non-biped object 2–615, 2–618 non-vertical jambs 1–205 nonrelational NURBS surfaces 1–1118 nonscaling object size 3–874 normal bump map 2–1541 no
Index sub-object selection 1–1086 working with 1–1081 NURBS surfaces 1–1102 and IGES 3–565 creating from geometric primitives 1–1117 display line parameters 1–1120 glossary 3–1075 making rigid imported surfaces independent 3–565 surface approximation 1–1241 NURMS 1–714, 1–992 O OBJ exporting 3–637 obj files (wavefront) 3–637 object bounding box 2–963 object color dialog 1–155 object data flow 1–480 object display 1–51 object display culling 1–59 keyboard shortcuts 3–949 object fragmentation (particle flow
1308 Index open from vault 3–401 open physique file 2–958 open physique file button 2–949 open recent 3–402 OpenEXR files format 3–671 opening 3–675 saving 3–672 OpenGL driver 3–881, 3–884 opening screen 1–17 operands 1–333, 3–1079 operator icon 3–1079 operators 2–138 birth 2–139 birth script 2–141 delete 2–142 display 2–198 empty flow 2–205 force 2–200 glossary 3–1079 keep apart 2–168 mapping 2–191 material dynamic 2–187 material frequency 2–185 material static 2–183 notes 2–202 operator time frames 2–13
Index P pack UVs dialog 1–891 paint (vertexpaint modifier) 1–918 paint deformation rollout 1–1065 brush options 1–801 paint selection region 1–82 paint weights 1–801 paintbox vertexpaint modfier 1–924 painter options 1–801 PAL 3–863, 3–1082 palette vertexpaint modifier 1–933 paletted 3–863 pan panning views 1–29 particle view 2–125, 2–131 Track View 2–571 viewport controls 3–786 pan view 3–786 panels create 3–800 customize UI 3–837 to 3–839, 3–842 to 3–843 display 3–818 hierarchy 3–816 modify (command pane
1310 Index speed 2–229 split amount 2–230 split selected 2–231 split source 2–232 particle view depot 2–121 description panel 2–121 display tools 2–121 event display 2–127 introduction 2–105, 2–121 menu bar 2–122 open 2–132 parameters panel 2–121 particles along a path 2–159 and age 2–142 and binding to space warps 2–117 and deflector space warps 2–208, 2–211 and materials 2–183, 2–185, 2–187 and particle flow 2–106 and stretch 2–118 appearance when selected 2–134 caching 2–193 creating particle systems 2
Index path follow space warp 2–67 path parameters rollout 1–351 pattern background 2–1277 pattern design (cloth) 1–554 PBomb space warp 2–64 PCloud particle system 2–249 PDynaFlect space warp 2–77 pelt map parameters dialog 1–891 per-pixel camera map 2–1542 per-pixel camera projection 2–1542 percent snap 2–37 perform footstep extraction 2–922 performance 3–104, 3–125, 3–1094 and biped’s motion previewing 2–784 and weight painting 1–802 controlling display performance 1–28 improving in NURBS 1–1100 optimizi
1312 Index make edges 1–997 make vertices 1–992 threshold 1–710, 1–984 plane 1–180 plane angle manipulator 2–29 planet map 2–1488 plant 2–791, 2–817, 3–1089 leg state 2–725 plate match 3–37 plate match/MAX R2.
Index Schematic View 3–695 strokes 3–903, 3–908 viewports 3–874 preferences (display) 2–786 premultiplied alpha (glossary) 3–683, 3–1091 preserve map channels dialog 1–1076 preserve modifier 1–757 preset lights 2–1156 preset rendering options 3–23 preset views 1–24 presets 3–23, 3–443 brush 3–737 configure (Video Post) 3–323 rendering 3–23 preview animated material previews 2–1294 make 2–1278 play 2–1278 renderings 3–163 save 2–1278 previewing biped motion 2–784 motion 2–935 Shockwave 3D files 3–633 W3D fi
1314 Index PRS PRS controller (Track View) 2–341 PRS parameters 2–298 PS files 3–661 PSD file (glossary) 3–678 pseudo alpha compositor 3–356, 3–363 filter 3–352, 3–360 pseudo color exposure control 3–296 publish Shockwave 3–628 publishing to 3D DWF 3–556 pull 2–998 pull bias 2–998 pull/pinch/stretch options (tendons) 2–998 push modifier 1–769 space warp 2–55 put material to scene 2–1285 put to library 2–1287, 2–1298 pyramid 1–177 Q QOP files 3–845, 3–848 quad menu Schematic View 3–702 quad menus 1–1084,
Index ray-trace bias (glossary) 3–1094 RAYHOSTS file 3–121, 3–1095 specifying name and path 3–121 raytrace acceleration parameters 2–1372 adaptive antialiaser dialogs 2–1374 attenuation rollout 2–1516 basic material extensions rollout 2–1517 basic parameters rollout 2–1355 dynamics properties rollout 2–1368 extended parameters rollout 2–1360 global settings 2–1369 map 2–1508 map and material 2–1372 maps rollout 2–1364 material 2–1353 messages 2–1369 raytracer controls rollout 2–1362 refractive material ext
1316 Index remove ease or multiplier curve (Track View) 2–561 note track (Track View) 2–531 remove from link 2–941, 2–1001 remove from track set 2–568 remove note track 2–531 rename objects tool 1–123 rename preview 3–165 rename settings preset dialog 3–443 render ActiveShade 3–17, 3–20 blowup 3–13 common parameters rollout 3–27 default scanline 3–37 dialogs 2–1299, 3–2, 3–8, 3–683 presets 3–23 render operator (particle flow) 2–202 render scene 3–2, 3–11 render type list (main toolbar) 3–13 rendered outpu
Index radiosity 3–60 RAM player 3–685 raytrace global exclude 2–1372 raytrace settings 2–1369 render 3–11 render scene 3–11 render to texture 3–151 show last rendering 3–24 video post 3–307 rendering parameters rollout (radiosity) 3–70 rendering properties family elements 3–464 instanced objects 3–463 to 3–464 renderingmenu panoramic exporter 3–166 reparameterize dialog 1–1238 repathing 3–492 repel behavior 2–1070, 3–1097 replace (file menu) 3–476 replace clip 2–611 replace dialogs 2–1300, 3–476 replace ke
1318 Index ripple modifier 1–773 space warp 2–98 RLA files 3–680 RMAT materials in 3ds Max 3–452 roll angle manipulator 2–1179 roll viewport controls camera 3–790 light 3–796 rollout distributed bucket rendering 3–121 twist poses 2–805 rollouts 1–12, 2–470, 2–473 inverse kinematics 2–480 maps 2–1315 materials 2–1311 paint deformation 1–1065 PArray rollouts 2–254, 2–256, 2–258, 2–264 to 2–267, 2–270 root name 2–705, 2–837 rotate 1–420 rotating editable mesh edges 1–997 elbows and knees 2–749 lights 2–1136
Index scene/settings in buffer 1–94 save copy as 3–404 save custom UI scheme 3–850 save file 2–791 save parameters 2–922 save physique file 2–958 save reservoir items dialog 2–627 save segment 2–791 save talent figure structure 2–916 save talent pose adjustment 2–916 saved schematic views 3–702 saving backup on save 3–870 BIP files 2–774, 2–796 biped figure files 2–713 biped step files 2–779 compressed file 3–870 FIG files 2–796 files from previous versions 3–402 material 2–1250 materials 2–1253 physique d
1320 Index script and scripting definitions 3–1102 motion flow 2–878 random motion 2–887, 2–906 script controller (Track View) 2–356 shared motion flow 2–890, 2–907 script rollout (particle flow) 2–135 script wiring 2–130, 2–171 scripted behavior 2–1072, 3–1102 scripting birth operator 2–141 script operator 2–204 script test 2–225 script wiring (particle flow) 2–171, 2–201 scripts 2–882 and controlling particles 2–116 debugging 3–826 define script 2–882 start frame 2–882 start position x 2–882 start posit
Index vertex color 1–992 select by channel modifier 1–775 select by material ID dialog lightscape import 3–614 select delegates dialog 2–1057 select emitter objects dialog 2–147 select keys 2–484 select keys by time 2–511 select menu (particle view) 2–124 select menu (Schematic View) 3–692 select objects dialog 1–78 select objects in current layer 3–716 select region crossing 1–88 lasso 1–82 paint 1–82 window 1–87 window/crossing 1–88 select scale rotate control points 2–965 select time (Track View) 2–543
1322 Index LumeTools 2–1523 mental ray 2–1520 to 2–1522, 2–1533, 3–1103 mental ray (third party) 2–1521 viewport 2–1308 shading and lights 2–1243 shading type 2–1241 to 2–1242 shading, cartoon 2–1414 shadow (center of mass) 2–704, 2–788 shadow maps 2–1208, 3–1104 mental ray 2–1205 shadow parameters (lights) 2–1181 shadow types 2–1175, 3–44 shadows 3–88 shadow maps 3–88, 3–111, 3–1105, 3–1131 shadow modes 3–111 shadows rollout 3–111 shadows and rendering 2–1176 shadows from hair 3–218 shadows map (baking)
Index show buffer 2–916 to show original motion 2–912 trajectory 2–916 show entire trajectory 2–799 show graph motion flow 2–896 show icon control 2–1152 to 2–1153 show markers 2–916, 2–927 show prop markers 2–927 show recognized markers 2–927 show safe frame 3–899 show selected key statistics (Track View) 2–571 show tangents (Track View) 2–559 show time 2–799 show unrecognized markers 2–927 show/hide all 2–799 SHP files 3–534, 3–1106 shrink 1–798 shutter speed 3–100 sibling go forward 2–1291 go to 2–1291
1324 Index snaps 2D/2.
Index spherical area omni light 2–1152 spherical deflector 2–83 spherify modifier 1–819 spin operator (particle flow) 2–150 spindle 1–191 spine flexibility 2–705 spine link 2–837 spinner right-click menu 2–278 spinners 1–12 spinner precision 3–859 spinner snap 2–37, 3–859 spiral stair 1–230 splash screen 1–17 splash.
1326 Index start frame scripts 2–900 transition editor 2–902 start left 2–844, 2–847, 2–849 start position x scripts 2–900 start position y scripts 2–900 start position z scripts 2–900 start right 2–844, 2–847, 2–849 start rotation scripts 2–900 starting manager and server (network rendering) 3–175 network rendering 3–175 startup files 1–17 startup layout - return to 3–851 startup screen 1–17 startup script (glossary) 3–1109 startup.
Index surface approximation (NURBS) 1–1241, 1–1247, 1–1253 surface deform (SurfDeform) 1–537 surface edge curve 1–1178 surface mapper (world space) 1–536 surface modifier 1–602, 1–833 surface offset curve 1–1169 surface parameters (loft objects) 1–349 surface point 1–1223 surface properties rollout (editable objects) 1–303, 1–971, 1–989, 1–992, 1–997, 1–1001 surface sub-objects - creating 1–1179 surface tools 1–602, 1–833 surface trimming 1–1082 surface-curve intersection point 1–1226 surface-surface inter
1328 Index tendons sub-object 2–979 tension, continuity, and bias;TCB.
Index specifying active time segment 2–282 time configuration button 3–768 time ruler (Track View) 2–492 time slider 2–492, 2–533, 3–748 time tags 3–757 to 3–758 time controls 3–759 time frames 2–137 time in the air 2–736 time menu, Track View 2–510 time paste (Track View) 2–545 time reverse (Track View) 2–546 time ruler (Track View) 2–492 time to next footstep 2–844, 2–847, 2–849 time warps 2–597 TimeSensor (VRML97 helpers) 3–653 timing parameters 2–841 tips adjusting radiosity 2–1381 animation and textur
1330 Index snapshot 1–438 spacing tool 1–440 transform type-in 1–412 tooltips 2–129, 3–746 tooltips in viewports preferences 3–859 toon shader 2–1414 top/bottom material 2–1408 topology (glossary) 3–1116 topology dependent modifier 3–1117 torus 1–175 torus knot 1–184 touch 2–791, 2–817, 3–1117 leg state 2–725 touch dynamics 2–736 TouchSensor (VRML97 helpers) 3–652 trace depth 3–104, 3–113, 3–1088 track copying 2–544 glossary 3–1118 note 2–530 to 2–531 track bar 3–750 track selection 2–800 using motion-cap
Index transform type-in 1–404, 1–412, 3–756 transformation axis coordinate system list 1–423 transforms adjusting 2–413 and envelopes 2–938 and light objects 2–1136 and mesh sub-objects 1–988 and modifiers 1–485 animating 1–414 applying 1–401, 1–404 commands 1–419 constraints 1–428 controllers (glossary) 3–1003 curve 1–1159 curve sub-object 1–1159 glossary 3–1120 locking 2–414 locking axes 2–482 managers 1–414 resetting AutoCAD objects 3–448 surface 1–1183 surface sub-object 1–1183 transform tools 1–432 us
1332 Index video post 3–317 viewport transparency 3–990 truck camera 3–791 truck light 3–797 true/false, setting test results (particle view) 2–128 truecolor 3–863, 3–1121 tube 1–174 turbosmooth modifier 1–857 turn to mesh modifier 1–860 turn to patch modifier 1–862 turn to poly modifier 1–863 turning on/off actions, events (particle view) 2–129 particle system 2–132 tutorials 3–974 tweens 2–272 twist 2–805, 2–987 deformation 1–359 modifier 1–865 twist individual mode 2–807 twist links 2–713, 2–837 twist
Index use key reduction 2–922 use large toolbar buttons preference 3–859 use pivot point center 1–426 use pivot points 1–495 use planes (viewport preference) 3–874 use secondary threshold (IK) 3–865 use selection center 1–427 use soft select 2–509 use transform coordinate center 1–427 UseEnvironAlpha setting 3–1028 user grids 2–19, 2–48 user interface cloth modifier 1–562 customizing 3–829 garment maker modifier 1–593 hair growth modifier 1–509 introduction 3–717 menu bar 3–720 problems and recovery 3–987
1334 Index object display culling 1–59 panorama exporter 3–166 polygon counter 1–1254, 3–645 randomize keys (Track View) 2–539 rescale world units 2–49 to 2–50 reset XForm (transform) 1–418 resource collector 3–513 select keys by time (Track View) 2–541 shape check 1–260 skin utilities 2–678 strokes 3–909 surface approximation 1–1247 Track View 2–538 utilities menu, Track View 2–511 utilities panel 3–821 UVW remove utility 2–1252 visual MAXScript 3–826 UV coordinates 2–1249 loft surface 1–1202 sample UV t
Index video color check 2–1278 video driver and display problems 3–990 video post common procedures 3–309 common sequences 3–309 composite image sequences 3–309 composite scene over image sequence 3–309 create animation from still images 3–309 create starfield 3–309 join two animations 3–309 make an object glow 3–309 render in reverse 3–309 resize images 3–309 simple cross fade 3–309 switch views 3–309 troubleshooting 3–317 Video Post 3–307, 3–309 default keyboard shortcuts 3–961 edit current event 3–320 e
1336 Index grids 2–33 redraw all views 1–50 reset background transform 1–45 restore active view 1–37 save active view 1–37 shade selected 1–47 show dependencies 1–47 show ghosting 1–46 show key times 1–46 show transform gizmo 1–45 undo/redo 1–36 update background image 1–44 update during spinner drag 1–51 viewport background 1–38 viewport image 1–44 to 1–45 virtual viewport 3–902 visibility tracks 2–526, 2–533 visible after/before 2–827 visible/invisible 1–997 visual MAXScript utility 3–826 VIZ files link
Index fixed 1–253 pivoted 1–254 projected 1–255 sample preview 2–1264 sliding 1–256 wire editor 2–395 wire parameters 2–393, 2–395 expression techniques 1–141 wireframe color 3–800 wireframes 1–46, 1–52, 3–1128 wiring particle view 2–130 wiring (particle flow) 2–130, 3–1127 wiring tests to events (particle view) 2–127 wood map 2–1494 workbench 2–695, 2–857 analyze panel 2–869 analyzing curves 2–860 animation 2–864 curve view 3–1019 filters panel 2–874 fix panel 2–871 fixing curves 2–861 navigating 2–858 se
1338 Index glossary 3–1131 scenes 3–420 user path configuration 3–857 using XRefs 1–16 XRef merge dialog 3–416 XRef objects 3–405 to 3–406, 3–408, 3–423 XRef scenes 3–405, 3–416 XYZ controllers 2–311 to 2–312, 2–328, 2–340, 2–355 XYZ coordinate shader (mental ray) 2–1541 XYZ generator shader (mental ray) 2–1539 to 2–1540 xyz position 2–809 XYZ to UVW option (UVW map modifier) 1–905 Y YUV file (glossary) 3–685 Z -z command-line option 3–720 z element parameters rollout 3–139 zero all 2–807 zero twist 2–8
