Chapter 12: Introducing Modifiers and Using the Modifier Stack


Think for a moment of a wood shop, with all its various (and expensive) tools and machines. Some tools are simple, like a screwdriver or a sander, and others, like a planer or router, are more complex, but they all change the wood (or models) in different ways. In some ways, you can think of modifiers as the tools and machines that work on 3D objects.

Each woodshop tool has different parameters that control how it works, such as how hard you turn the screwdriver or the coarseness of the sandpaper. Likewise, each modifier has parameters that you can set that determine how it affects the 3D object.

Modifiers can be used in a number of different ways, to reshape objects, apply material mappings, deform an object's surface, and perform many other actions. Many different types of modifiers exist. This chapter introduces you to the concept of modifiers and explains the basics on how to use them. The chapter concludes by exploring two different categories of modifiers that are used to deform geometry objects: Parametric Deformers and Free Form Deformers (FFD).

Exploring the Modifier Stack

All modifiers applied to an object are listed together in a single location known as the Modifier Stack. This Stack is the manager for all modifiers applied to an object and can be found at the top of the Modify panel in the Command Panel. You can also use the Stack to apply and delete modifiers; cut, copy, and paste modifiers between objects; and reorder them.

Understanding Base Objects

The first entry in the Modifier Stack isn't a modifier at all; it is the Base Object. The Base Object is the original object type. The Base Object for a primitive is xlisted as its object type, such as Sphere or Torus. Editable meshes, polys, patches, and splines can also be Base Objects. NURBS Surfaces and NURBS Curves are also Base Objects.

You can also see the Base Objects using the Schematic View window if you enable the Base Objects option in the Display floater.

Applying modifiers

An object can have several modifiers applied to it. Modifiers can be applied using the Modifiers menu or by selecting the modifier from the Modifier List drop-down list located at the top of the Modify panel directly under the object name. Selecting a modifier in the Modifiers menu or from the Modifier List applies the modifier to the current selected object. Modifiers can be applied to multiple objects if several objects are selected.

Note 

Some modifiers aren't available for some types of objects. For example, the Extrude and Lathe modifiers are enabled only when a spline or shape is selected.

Other Modifier Stack entities

Most modifiers are Object-Space modifiers, but another category called World-Space modifiers also exists. World-Space modifiers are similar to Object-Space modifiers, except they are applied using a global coordinate system instead of a coordinate system that is local to the object. More on World-Space modifiers is presented later in this chapter, but you should be aware that World-Space modifiers (identified with the initials, WSM) appear at the top of the Modifier Stack and are applied to the object after all Object-Space modifiers.

In addition to World-Space modifiers, Space Warp bindings also appear at the top of the Modifier Stack.

CROSS-REF 

Space Warps are covered in Chapter 36, "Using Space Warps."




3ds Max 9 Bible
3ds Max 9 Bible
ISBN: 0470100893
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2007
Pages: 383

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