Datasheet

Understanding 3D Space 3
Luxology’s modo and many other common 3D applications work by default with the y-axis
pointing up. Some applications, however, use z as the up-axis. The modo program allows
you to customize this aspect in its preferences. Choose System
Preferences
Input
Accuracy And Units. From the heading marked Coordinate System, you can change the up-
axis to z, y, or even x to suit your needs.
You can view a 3D scene through either an orthographic or a perspective view. An
orthographic view oers a completely at vantage point of objects, and placement without
perspective of any kind. is means that objects located farther from the viewer will not
appear smaller as the distance increases. An orthographic view is similar to a oor plan
or elevation in architecture. Because it lacks the distortion associated with perspective,
this type of view is ideal for creating and aligning objects.
Modo oers dierent interface layouts under its viewport tabs. Model Quad gives us
three orthographic views and one perspective view. Although these two-dimensional
views are initially set to Top, Front, and Right views, they can be changed to any other
angle (Bottom, Le, or Back) and to views that include three-dimensional perspective.
Perspective views enable you to see objects and scenes with real depth. ere are
options to use an arbitrary perspective (the default in the Model Quad layout), camera
perspective (based on the default scene camera or any additional cameras that have been
added in the creative process), or light perspective. You can completely adjust the rst
Figure1.2
Three dimen-
sions from a map
perspective
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