8

Modeling Objects 5
Setting Grid Spacing
Set spacing for the visible grid in the Grid And
Snap S ettings dialog >
Home Grid panel (page
2–46)
. You can change gr id spacing at any time.
See
Precision and Drawing Aids (page 2–1) for
inform ation ab out the system unit, unit display,
andgridspacing.
Setting the Viewpor t Display
Viewport layout options
The default four viewports in 3ds Max represent an
efficient and popular screen layout. Set options in
the
View por t Configuration dialog (page 3–896)
to change v iewport layout and display properties.
See
Viewing and Navigating 3D Space (page 1–21)
for more information.
Saving Scenes
Save your scene frequently to protect yourself from
mistakes and loss of work. See
Backing Up and
Archiving Scenes (page 1–19)
.
Model ing Objects
1. Modify panel
2. Create panel
3. Ob ject categories
Yo u m o d e l o b j e c t s i n y o u r s c e n e b y c r e a t i n g
standard objects, such as 3D geometry and 2D
shapes, and then applying modifiers to those
objects. The program includes a wide r ange of
standard objects and modifiers.
Cr e a ti n g O b jects
Yo u c r e a t e o b j e c t s b y c l i c k i n g a n o b j e c t c a t e g o r y
and type on the Create panel and then clicking
or dragg ing in a viewport to define the object’s
creation parameters. The program organizes the
Create panel into these bas ic categories: Geometry,
Shapes, Lights, Camer as, Helpers, Space Warps,
and Systems. Each category contains multiple
subcategories from which you can choose.
You can also create objects from the Create
menu by choosing an object categor y and ty p e
and then clicking or dragging in a viewport to
define the object’s creation parameters. The
program organizes the Create menu into these
basic categories: Standard Primitives, Extended
Primitives, AEC Objects, Compound, Particles,
PatchGrids,NURBS,Dynamics,Shapes,Lights,
Cameras, Help ers, Space Warps, and Systems.
See
Basics of Creating and Modifying Objects
(page 1–149)
.
Selecting a nd Positioning Objects
You select objects by clicking or dragg ing a region
arou nd them. You can also select objects by name
or other properties such as color or object category.
After selecting objects, you position them in your
scene using the transform tools Move, Rotate, and
Scale. Use alignment tools to precisely position
objects.
See
Selecting Objects (page 1–61) , Moving,
Rotating, and Scaling Objects (page 1–401)
,and
Precision and Drawing Aids (page 2–1) .
Modifying Objects
Yo u s c u l p t a n d e d i t o b j e c t s i n t o t h e i r f i n a l f o r m b y
applying modifiers from the Modif y panel. The