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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)
.
Bec ause the space-warp version is s omewhat 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. See
Ve r t e x
Projection Direct ion g roup (p age 1–321)
for more
information.
Procedure
Example: To create a Conform object:
1.
Po sition two objec ts, one of which will be the
Wrapper, and the other the Wrap-To. (For this
example, create a box as the Wrap-To object,
and then create a larger sphere that completely
surroundsit.ThespherewillbetheWrapper.)
2. Select the Wrapper object (the sphere), and
click Create panel> Geometry > Com pound
Objects > Object Type rollout > Conform
button.
Note: Both objects used in Conform must be
either mesh objects or objects that can be
converted to mesh objects. If the selected
Wrapp er object is invalid, the Conform button
is unavailable.
3. Specify the method of vertex projection in the
Vertex Projection Direction group. (Use Along
Vertex Normals for t h is example.)
Note: IfyouweretochooseUseActive
View port, you would next activate whichever
viewportlooksinthedirectionthatyouwant
to project the vertices. For example, if the
Wrapper hovered over a Wrap-To terrain on the
home plane, you’d activate the Top viewport.
4. Cho ose Reference, Copy, Move, or Instance
to specify the type of cloning to perform on
the Wrap-To object. (Choose Instance for this
example.)
5. Click Pick Wrap-To Object, and then click the
object onto which to project the vertices. (You
can press the H key and use the Select By Name
dialog to sele ct the box.)
The list windows display the two objects,
andthecompoundobjectiscreatedwiththe
Wrapp er objec t confor ming to the Wrap-To
object. (In the example, the sphere is wrapped
into the shape of the b ox.)
6. Use t he various parameters and settings to alter
the ver tex projection direction, or adjust the
vertices that are being projected.
To proj ect a roa d onto ter r ain:
1.
Create the road and terrain objects.
Tip: You c an quickly make a terrain by c reating a
patch g rid (page 1–980) and applying the Noise
modifier (page 1–735)
to it. For the road, you
can use a
Loft compound object (p age 1–347)
by lofting a rectangle along a curved line. Both
objects must have a sufficient level of detail to
conform smoothly.
2. Orient both the road and t he terrain so you
are looking str aight down at them in the Top
viewport. Position the road so it ’s completely
abovetheterrain(higherontheworldZaxis).
Note: For the conform projection to work
correctly,theroadshouldnotextendbeyond
the boundaries of the terrain when viewed in
the Top viewport.
3. Select the road object.
4. Click Conform.
5. In the Pick Wrap-To Object rollout, make sure
the Instance option is selected.
6. ClickPickWrap-ToObject,andclickthe
terrain.