8

988 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling
Editable Mesh (Object) (page 1–989)
Editable Mesh (Vertex) (page 1–992)
Editable Mesh (Edge) (p age 1–997)
Editable Mesh (Face/Polygon/Element) (page
1–1001)
Working with Mesh Sub-Objects
This topic descr ibes how to work with sub-object
selections w hen you are editing an
Editable Mesh
(page 1–984)
.
See also
Edit Modifiers and Editable O bjects (page 1–491)
Modif ying at the Sub-Object Level (page 1–492)
Modifier Stack Controls (page 3–802)
Editable Mesh (p age 3–1026)
Editable Poly (page 3–1026)
Selecting a nd Transforming
In selecting and t ransforming sub-object
geometry, you use standard techniques:
•Clickinganyvertex,edge,or
face/polygon/element selects it.
• Holding down CTRL lets you add to or subtract
from the selection with single clicks.
• Holding down ALT lets you a subtract from
the select ion with single clicks, or w ith
Window/Crossing select ions.
• Beginning a select ion outside the object starts a
region selection. Holding down CTRL during
region selection lets you add to the selection.
Once you’ve made a sub-object selection, you can
usetheSPACEBARtolocktheselectionwhile
you’re working with it.
Usin g S ub-Obj ect S el ection
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. With
sub-object selections, you have these options:
• Choose one of the selection sets to pass
geometry up the stack to other modifiers. Only
one selection set is active at a time.
• Change to one of the other selection sets at any
time.
•Use
named selection sets (page 1–85) for
sub-object geometry you want to reuse.
In modeling a head, for example, you might
have a number of different vertex selections for
forehead, nose, and chin. Such selections can
be difficult to re-create, so named sets give you
easy access to the or i ginal selection when you
want to rework a particular area.
Clonin g Sub -Ob ject Geo m et ry
Using SHIFT+transform w ith a selection of
vertices or faces displays the Clone Part Of Mesh
dialog.Thisletsyoudeterminewhetheryouwant
to "Clone To Object" or "Clone To Elemen t." Click
the desired option, optionally giving the cloned
object a new name, then click OK.
• If you choose Clone To Object, the cloned copy
becomes a plain mesh object, entirely separate
from the original object. The new object is
given the name in the field to the right of the
Clone To Object radio button.
• If you choose Clone To Element, the selection
is cloned in its new position and remains part
of the original object.
Animating Sub-Object Geometry
When you work with an editable mesh, you can
directly transform and animate a sub-object