2010

Table Of Contents
dot). In addition, when a face is selected in the scene, the entire face
appears highlighted.
5 Click the Save button to close the settings window.
6 Turn off the Interactive Creation option for primitives: Select Create >
Polygon Primitives > Interactive Creation (no check mark).
Using 2D reference images
You can use front, side, and top views from drawings, sketches, or photographs
to help visualize your 3D model in Maya, much like an architect or engineer
creates their designs from the plan and elevation views of a blueprint.
You can import 2D images into your orthographic camera views as image
planes. An image plane is a 2D object (plane) that places an image file in the
scene view. By default, an image plane only appears in the camera to which
the image plane is connected. Image planes are also used to create backgrounds
and environments when rendering.
When you load an image into an image plane, it appears in your selected
orthographic view at the origin along an axis that is perpendicular to the
selected orthographic view. You can refer to the image in the orthographic
view to define the silhouette and character lines of your model. You can move
the image plane, change its transparency, or turn it off.
For this lesson you load two images weve provided for the lesson into image
planes in the front and side orthographic views of your scene. Youll refer to
them frequently while you model the helmet.
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