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Surf ace Modifier 833
instanced substitute object in the same place as the
object containing the Substitute modifier.
Yo u m u s t s p e c i f y t h e R e t a i n L o c a l R o t a t i o n / S c a l e
settingbeforedesignatingthesubstituteobject.
Changing this setting afterward has no effect.
Surface Modifier
Select a spline object. > Modify pane l > Modifier List >
Object-Space Modifiers > Sur face
Selec t a spline object. > Modifiers menu > Patch/Spline
Editing > S urface
Procedures (page 1–836) Interface (page 1–838)
The Surface modifier generates a p atch surface
based on the contours of a spline network. A patch
is created wherever t he segments of the interwoven
splines form a three- or four-sided polygon.
The Surface modifier and the CrossSection
modifier, taken together, are referred to as Surface
To ols. They allow you to create complex or
organic sur faces, like the fuselage of a plane, or a
three-dimensional character.
Applying the Surface modifier to create a patch surface.
The CrossSection mo difier (page 1–602) can b e
appliedbeforetheSurfacemodifiertoconnect
splines representing cross-sections. Once the basic
spline network is created and the Surface modifier
is applied, the model can be adjusted by editing
the splines using an Edit Spline modifier below the
Surface modifier in the modifier stack. Since the
Surface modifier creates a Patch surface, further
refinements can be made to the patch model by
adding an Edit Pa tch modifier above the Surface
modifier.
The bulk of the work in using Surface tools to
model lies in creating and editing splines in an
Editable Spline or Edit Spline modifier. One of
the benefits to modeling using splines and Surface
Toolsistheeaseofeditingthemodel.Atalmost
any stage of modeling, you can add a nostril, ear ,
limb or body by simply adding splines. This lends
itself to a free-form approach to organic modeling:
you have a mental image of what you want, then
you create and edit the spline network until you
are satisfied.
See the tutorial "Modeling a Rhino Head with
Surface Tools" for an in-depth look at modeling
using the Surface mo difier.
Note: 3ds Max offers a simplified workflow for this
modeling technique, using E dit/Editable Spline
and the Edit Patch modifier. For details, see
To
create a patch object using the Cross Section and
Spline Surface tools: (page 1–618)
.
Surf ace Modifier Basics
1. Create a spline object.
2. Make sure that the Spline vertices for m valid
three-sided or four-sided, closed regions.
Vertices on splines that cross one another
should be coincident.
To ma ke sp l i n e ve r t i c e s coi n c i d e nt , d r a g
vertices over each other with 3D Snap turned
on. 3D Snap must have the Vertex or End Point
option turned on. With 3D Snap turned on,
you can snap to vertices on existing splines
as you create new splines. You can also select
vertices and use the Fuse option in an Editable
Spline to make vertices co-incident.