2009

Table Of Contents
NOTE The front and side images for this lesson were created so that the two
views are aligned and the height of each image is identical. When you import
them as image planes, they appear at the same scale. These are important
considerations when you construct your own reference images in the future.
Otherwise, your reference images may not align or may be at different scales
between the two orthographic views.
By referring to the image planes in the orthographic views as you work,
you can correlate how a feature in one view, appears in another. While
a top view reference image is useful in many cases, it isnt critical for this
lesson.
The image planes can be set so they appear partially transparent to allow
you to work with the polygonal components more easily. To do this youll
select the front and side orthographic cameras and modify the
transparency of the images.
To modify the transparency of the reference images
1 In the front view panel menu, select View > Select Camera.
The camera for the front orthographic view is selected.
2 Display the Channel Box by clicking the Show/Hide Channel Box icon
on the Status Line.
The Channel Box displays the keyable attributes for the Front
orthographic camera.
3 In the Inputs section, click the ImagePlane1 name to display the attributes
for the image plane.
4 Set the Alpha Gain attribute to a value of 0.25.
The image appears partially transparent.
5 In the side view panel menu, select the camera and change the Alpha
Gain setting for the side view image plane exactly as you changed the
front view image plane.
Using 2D reference images | 79