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This hides the sphere so that you can create a link between the airplane and the dummy object.

4. Click the Select and Link button on the main toolbar, and drag a line from the airplane to the dummy object.

5. Click the Auto Key button (or press N) to enable animation key mode, and drag the Time Slider to frame 100. Then click the Select and Rotate button on the main toolbar (or press E), and select the dummy object. Then rotate the dummy object about its X-axis, and notice how the linked airplane also rotates over the surface of the sphere.

6. Select the dummy object and right-click to access the pop-up quadmenu. Then select the Unhide All menu command to make the sphere visible again.

By linking the airplane to a dummy object, you don't have to worry about moving the airplane's pivot point to get the correct motion. Figure 9.4 shows a frame from the final scene.

FIGURE 9.4

With a link to a dummy object, making the airplane circle the globe is easy.

Summary

As scenes become more complex, the name of the game is organization. You can organize objects within the scene in several ways, including grouping, linking, and building hierarchies.

In this chapter, you've done the following:

• Grouped objects using the Group menu and learned to work with groups

• Learned about parent, child, and root relationships

• Created a hierarchy of objects using the Link and Unlink features

• Viewed links in the viewport

• Learned how to create and use dummy objects

In the next chapter, you jump headfirst into modeling by covering the basics of modeling and working with subobjects and helper objects.

Part III: Modeling Basics

IN THIS PART

Chapter 10

Accessing Subobjects and Using Modeling Helpers

Chapter 11

Introducing Modifiers and Using the Modifier Stack

Chapter 12

Drawing and Editing 2D Splines and Shapes

Chapter 13

Modeling with Polygons

Chapter 14

Using the Graphite Modeling Tools and Painting with Objects

Chapter 10: Accessing Subobjects and Using Modeling Helpers

IN THIS CHAPTER

Understanding the modeling types

Using normals

Working with subobjects

Using Soft Selection

Using helper objects and utilities

Modeling is the process of pure creation. Whether it is sculpting, building with blocks, construction work, carving, architecture, or advanced injection molding, many different ways exist for creating objects. Max includes many different model types and even more ways to work with them.

This chapter introduces the various modeling methods in Max. It also explains the common modeling components, including normals and subobjects. The chapter also covers many utilities and helpers that, well, help as you begin to model objects. The purpose of this chapter is to whet your whistle for modeling and to cover some of the general concepts that apply to all models. More specific details on the various modeling types are presented in the subsequent chapters, so onward into the realm of creation.

Exploring the Model Types

You can climb a mountain in many ways, and you can model one in many ways. You can make a mountain model out of primitive objects like blocks, cubes, and spheres, or you can create one as a polygon mesh. As your experience grows, you'll discover that some objects are easier to model using one method, and some are easier using another. Max offers several different modeling types to handle various modeling situations.

Parametric objects versus editable objects

All geometric objects in Max can be divided into two general categories―parametric objects and editable objects. Parametric means that the geometry of the object is controlled by variables called parameters. Modifying these parameters modifies the geometry of the object. This powerful concept gives parametric objects lots of flexibility. For example, the sphere object has a parameter called Radius. Changing this parameter changes the size of the sphere. Parametric objects in Max include all the objects found in the Create menu.

Editable objects do not have this