3ds Max 2012 Bible - Kelly L. Murdock [135]
Note
In addition to the Yes and No buttons, the warning dialog box includes a Hold/Yes button. This button saves the current state of the object to the Hold buffer and then applies the Collapse All function. If you have any problems, you can retrieve the object's previous state before the collapse was applied by choosing Edit⇒Fetch (Alt+Ctrl+F). •
FIGURE 11.4
Because the Collapse operation cannot be undone, this warning dialog box offers a chance to Hold the scene.
Using the Collapse utility
You can also use the Collapse utility found on the Utility panel to collapse the Modifier Stack. This utility enables you to collapse an object or several objects to a Modifier Stack Result or to a Mesh object. Collapsing to a Modifier Stack Result doesn't necessarily produce a mesh but collapses the object to its base object state, which is displayed at the bottom of the Stack hierarchy. Depending on the Stack, this could result in a mesh, patch, spline, or other object type. You can also collapse to a Single Object or to Multiple Objects.
If the Mesh and Single Object options are selected, you can also select to perform a Boolean operation. The Boolean operations are available if you are collapsing several overlapping objects into one. The options are Union (which combines geometries together), Intersection (which combines only the overlapping geometries), and Subtraction (which subtracts one geometry from another).
Cross-Reference
Boolean operations can also be performed using the Boolean compound object. See Chapter 27, “Working with Compound Objects,” for details on this object type. •
If multiple objects are selected, then a Boolean Intersection results in only the sections of the objects that are intersected by all objects; if no objects overlap, all objects disappear.
If you use the Boolean Subtraction option, you can specify which object is the base object from which the other objects are subtracted. To do so, select that object first and then select the other objects by holding down the Ctrl key and clicking them. Figure 11.5 shows an example of each of the Boolean operations.
FIGURE 11.5
Using the Collapse utility, you can select the following Boolean operations (shown from left to right): Union, Intersection, and Subtraction.
Using gizmo subobjects
As you've worked with modifiers, you've probably noticed the orange wireframe box that surrounds the object in the viewports when you apply the modifier. These boxes are called modifier gizmos, and they provide a visual control for how the modifier changes the geometry. If you want, you can work directly with these gizmos to affect the modifier.
Clicking the plus sign to the left of the modifier name reveals any subobjects associated with the modifier. To select the modifier subobjects, simply click the subobject name. The subobject name is highlighted in yellow when selected. Many modifiers create gizmo subobjects. Gizmos have an icon usually in the shape of a box that can be transformed and controlled like regular objects using the transformation buttons on the main toolbar. Another common modifier subobject is Center, which controls the point about which the gizmo is transformed.
Tutorial: Squeezing a plastic bottle
To get a feel for how the modifier gizmo and its center affect an object, this tutorial applies the Squeeze modifier to a plastic bottle; by moving its center, you can change the shape of the object.
To change a modifier's characteristics by moving its center, follow these steps:
1. Open the Plastic bottle.max file from the Chap 11 directory on the CD.
This file includes a plastic squirt bottle with all the parts attached into a single mesh object.
2. With the bottle selected, choose the Modifiers⇒Parametric Deformers⇒Squeeze menu command to apply the Squeeze modifier to the bottle. Set the Radial Squeeze Amount value to 1.
3. In the Modifier Stack, click the plus