8

936 Chapter 8: Modifiers
Volume Select lets you use one of three gizmos
or another object to define a volume of space as
the selection area, to which you can then apply
modifiers. You can move the selection over an
object and animate it.
When applied, Volume Sele ct begins with the
current geometry in the object’s stack, whether
it’sawholeobjectorasub-objectselection(for
example, from an
Edit Mesh (page 1–613) or
another Volume Select modifier).
Top: Original mesh w ith select gizmo s howing
Bottom: Modi f ic ation made after applying Volume Select
modifier
Pat ches
As of version 4, patch objects coming up the
modifier stack are not conver ted to a mesh by
this modifier . A patch object input to the Volume
Select modifier retains its p atch defin ition. Files
that contain patch objects with the Volume Select
modifier from previous versions of the software
wi ll be converted to meshes to maintain backward
compatibility.
Scalin g Compatibi lit y
The Volume Select gizmo scales along with
its object. Thus, if you apply a Volume Select
modifier, and then change the sca le of your object
(w ith t he toolbar
Scale funct ion (page 1–421) )the
selection doesn’t change. In other words, all three
transforms affect the Volume Select gizmo and its
object identically.
Volume S elect Center
The Volume Select modifier has a center as
wellasagizmo. Thisletsyoualterthecenter
for non-animated transforms. However, if you
animate a rotation about the offset center, you
achieve animation of both rotation and translation.
Procedures
To apply a nd us e volume selection:
1.
Select an object and apply the Vol. Select
modifier.
The Parameters rollout appears.
2. In the Stack Selection Level group, choose
Object, Vertex, or Face to specify the kind of
geometry you want to work with.
3. In the Select By group, choose one of the four
volume types: Box, Sphere, Cylinder, or Mesh
Object.
If you cho ose Mesh Object, you should then
click the None button and select an object to
use a s the selection volume.
4. Choose a selection method and ty pe (defined
inthefollowingInterfacesection). Youcan
change these choices as you work, depending
on the particular selection you’re trying to
make.
5. Once the selection is complete, you can do the
following: