8

354 Chapter 5: Creating Geometry
At this angle, the path cross sections i ntersect,
causingproblemsinthemesh.
12. Select the loft object, and set the Path Steps to 1.
The cross sections no longer intersect, and the
corner is clean.
When creating straight-edge molding for
architectural modeling, you can avoid mangled
cornersbysimplyreducingthepathstepsto0.
Inter face
Capping group
Cap St art—When on, the end of a loft at the first
vertex of the p ath is covered, or capped. When off,
the end is open, or uncapped. Default=on.
Cap En d—When on, the end of a loft at the last
vertex of the p ath is covered, or capped. When off,
the end is open, or uncapped. Default=on.
Morph—Arranges cap faces in a predictable,
repeatable pattern necessary for creat ing morph
targets. Morph capping can generate long, thin
faces that do not render or deform as well as those
created with grid capping.
Gri d—Arranges cap faces in a rectangular grid
trimmed at the shape boundaries. This method
produces a surface of evenly sized faces that can be
deformed easily by other modifiers.
Roadway lofted with capping turned off
Roadway lofted with capping turned on
Options group
Shape Steps—Sets t he number of steps between
each ver tex of the cross-sect ion shapes. This value
affectsthenumberofsidesaroundtheperimeter
of the loft.