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310 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry
The original object is know n as the seed or base
object. T he 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.
• Both objects must have an equal number of
vertices.
If these conditions don’t apply, the Morph button
is unavailable.
You can use any kind of object as a morph target,
including an animated object or another mor ph
object,aslongasthetargetisameshthathasthe
same number of vertices as the seed object.
Creating a morph involves the following steps:
• Modelthebaseobjectandtargetobjects.
•Selectthebaseobject.
• Click Create panel > Geometr y > C ompound
Objects > Morph.
• Add the target objects.
•Animate.
Setting Up the Mor ph G eometr y
Make sure that the objects you want to use as the
seed and targets have the same number of ver tices.
Tip: When you create Loft objects that you want
to use as morph seeds and targets, make sure that
Morph Capping is on and Adaptive Path Steps and
Optimize are turned off. All shapes in the Loft
object must have the same number of vert ices.
You should also turn off Adaptive a nd Optimize
for other shape-based objects that you want to use
with Morph, such as those with Extrude or Lathe
modifiers.
Wa rni ng: The selected objec t is permanently converted
to a morph object as soon as you click Morph, whether or
not you proceed to select a target object. The only way
to restore the original object is to undo the Morph click.
Morph Object and Morpher Modifier
Therearetwowaystosetupmorphinganimations:
the Morph compound object and the Morpher
modifier.
The
Morpher modifier (page 1–721) is more
flexible because you can add it multiple times at
any place in an object’s modifier stack display.
This flexibility lets you animate the base object or
the morph targets before reaching the Morpher
modifier, for example with a noise modifier. The
Morpher modifier works hand in hand with the
Morphe r materi al. The Morpher modifier is the
ideal way to morph characters.
The Barycentric Morph controller can be simpler
to use in Track View. The Track View display for
Compound Morph has only one animation track
regardless of the number of targets. Each key on
the track represents a morph result based on a
percentage of all the targets. For basic morphing
needs, Compound Morph may be preferable to
the Morpher modifier.
Lastly, you can add the Morpher modifier to the
stack of a Compound Morph object.
Procedures
Ex ample: To create a bas ic mor ph:
1.
On the Create panel > Geometry > Patch Grids
>ObjectTyperollout,clickQuadPatch.
2. In the Top viewport, click and drag to create a
patch on the left side of the viewport.