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258 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry
•Definemotionpaths
Theprogramsupplies11basicsplineshape
objects, plus two types of NURBS curves. You
can quickly create these shapes u sing 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.
Cr e at in g S h apes
To access the shape creation tools, go to
the Create panel and click the Shapes button.
You’ll find the standard shapes under Splines in
the category list, and Point Curve and CV Curve
under NURBS Curves.
As you add plug-ins, other shape categories might
appear in this list.
TheObjectTyperolloutcontainsthespline
creation buttons. You can combine one or more of
these spline types into a single shape.
Creat e Sha pe f r om Edges
You can create shapes from edge selections in
mesh objects. In Edit/Editable Mesh objects, at the
Edgeselectionlevel,intheEditGeometryrollout,
is a button called Create Shape from Edges that
creates a spline shape based on selected edges. See
Editable Mesh (E dge) (page 1–997) .Similarly,
with Editable Poly objects, you can use the Create
ShapebuttonattheEdgeselectionlevel. See
Editable Poly (Edge) (page 1–1035)
Editable Splines
Yo u c a n c o n v e r t a b a s i c s p l i n e t o a n editable spline
object (page 1–284)
. The editable spline has a
variet y of controls that let you directly manipulate
it and its sub-objects. For example, at the Vertex
sub-object level you can move vertices or adjust
their Bezier handles. Editable splines let you create
shapes that are less regular, more free-form than
the basic spline options.
Whenyouconvertasplinetoaneditablespline,
you lose the ability to adjust or an imate its creation
parameters.
Renderable Shapes
When you use a shape to create a 3D object by
lofting, extruding, or other means, the shape
becomes a renderable 3D object. However, you
canmakeashaperenderwithoutmakingitintoa
3D object. There are three basic steps to rendering
ashape:
1. On the Rendering rollout of the shape’s creation
parameters,turnonEnableInRenderer.
2. Specify the thickness for the spline using the
Thickness spinner in the Rendering rollout.