8

Optimize Modifier 741
With NSurf Sel, the selection can be of surface
CV or surface sub-objects. If you turn on
Relational Stack for the NURBS object, you
can also select point, curve, and curve CV
sub-objects.
4. At the Surface CV sub-object level, adjust Soft
Selectioncontrolsasyouwish.Thesecontrols
arethesameasthoseinthe
Soft Selection
rollout (p age 1–1148)
for NURBS curves and
surfaces,exceptthattheSameTypeOnlytoggle
is absent.
Once you’ve used the modifier to create the
selection, you ca n apply other modifiers to it.
Optimi ze M odif ier
Select an object. > Modify panel > Modifier List >
Optimize
Select an object. > Modifiers menu > Mesh Editing >
Optimize
TheOptimizemodifierletsyoureducethenumber
of faces and vertices in an object. This simplifies
the geometry and speeds up rendering while
maintaining an acceptable image. A Before/After
readout gives you exact feedback on the reduction
as you make each change.
Optimize simplifies a smooth model with a high number of
faces without greatly changing the model’s appearance.
Tip: Because Optimize makes decisions based on
angles between faces, it’s sometimes best to apply
it to selected face sub-objects rather than to an
entire object. Avoid applying Optimize to areas
where you want to preserve geometric detail.
Applying Optimize
When you first apply Optimize, you might not
seeanychangeintheviewports.AdjusttheFace
Threshold setting to obtain the best optimization.
In the Last Optimize Status g roup, you can see how
the object or faces were optim ized. Watch these
values while you adjust the Opt imize parameters,
untilyouhavethebestpossibleresult.
Setting Level of Detail
Optimize lets you maintain two levels of
optimizat ion detail. You might set a lower
optimizat ion level, with fewer faces, to speed up
your viewport work, and a higher level for final
output in the renderer. However, you can render at
either level. You can also switch to the higher level
in a viewport to get an idea of what the rendered
image will look like.
Procedures
To optimize manually :
1.
Set up two viewport s: one wireframe, one
smooth shaded.
2. Select an object and apply the Optimize
modifier.
The Parameters rollout for this modifier
appears.
3. Turn off Manual Update and then adjust the
Face Thresh value. Observe the result in the
view por ts.
You c an also choose to v iew the results of the
Optimize operation manually by leaving the
Manual Update check box turned on and