In This Chapter

table of contents

Having worked through the basics of modeling with NURBS in the previous chapter, you're ready to explore more complex surfaces and advanced modeling techniques. You'll continue modeling the house, adding a detailed front porch, stairs for the porch, a chimney, and doors and windows . Along the way, you will see the rest of the main methods for modeling with NURBS. Here are some of the concepts and techniques covered in this chapter:

  • Using curves to create complex surfaces You can connect, spin, or extrude curves in many ways to model complex surfaces.

  • Snapping You can snap elements (such as CVs) or objects to any NURBS-based CV, edge, or curve for precise placement.

  • Rebuilding You can re-create NURBS surfaces with more or fewer divisions to retain the current shape and to add or remove detail in specific areas.

  • Modeling from existing objects You can start a surface with the edge of any existing NURBS object to quickly model new details in a specific place.

Key Terms

edit point A point that lies on a curve or surface, displayed as a small x in Maya. You create a shape by creating sequential edit points. Moving these points changes the shape of the curve or surface.

control vertex ( CV ) A NURBS control point that defines the shape of a curve or surface. CVs often float somewhere in space, seemingly tugging on the fabric of the NURBS surface.

isoparms The curves that define the surface topology of a NURBS object. These NURBS " dividers " create the surface as a sheet, with U and V directions that make up the sheet.

span The part of a curve between two edit points. Spans are not directly edited; they " react " to changes you make to the edit points.

hull A visualization enhancement in which the CVs are connected with lines to yield a kind of imaginary cage that shows the CV influence across a surface.

multiplicity A factor specific to each point on a curve that determines its strength or hardness ”how "pointy" it can be.

pivot point The designated center point of an object or a curve, which rotates or scales around that center point.

Hotkeys to Memorize

Insert adjust pivot point toggle

Ctrl+g group selected objects

g repeat last action

x (with Move) snap to grid

c (with Move) snap to edges or curves

F9 edit NURBS object CVs

F8 exit Component Editing mode of NURBS objects

t (on revolved objects) adjust the revolve axis

Custom Marking Menu Hotkeys

Custom hotkeyed marking menus used in this chapter:

Ctrl+c Create NURBS Curve

Alt+c Edit NURBS Curve

Ctrl+z Create NURBS Primitive

Alt+z Edit NURBS Surface

Ctrl+Alt+z Create NURBS Surface

This chapter uses custom marking menus that were loaded at the beginning of Chapter 5, "NURBS Modeling Basics." These commands can be found readily in the Hotbox ( mainly in the fifth row, under Edit Curves, Surfaces, or Edit NURBS) if you do not have the marking menus loaded.



Maya 4. 5 Fundamentals
Maya 4.5 Fundamentals
ISBN: 0735713278
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 201

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