3ds Max 2012 Bible - Kelly L. Murdock [141]
Note
In order for the Preserve modifier to keep objects and modifiers in check, it must be placed above the objects and modifiers it is watching. •
The Iterations option determines the number of times the process is applied. You can also specify to apply to the Whole Mesh, to Selected Vertices Only, or to an Inverted Selection.
Relax modifier
The Relax modifier tends to smooth the overall geometry by separating vertices that lie closer than an average distance. Parameters include a Relax Value, which is the percentage of the distance that the vertices move. Values can range between 1.0 and –1.0. A value of 0 has no effect on the object. Negative values have the opposite effect, causing an object to become tighter and more distorted.
Tip
As you model, it is common for meshes to have sections that are too tight, which are dense locations in the mesh where a large concentration of vertices are close together. The Relax modifier can be used to cause the areas that are too tight to be relaxed. •
The Iterations value determines how many times this calculation is computed. The Keep Boundary Points Fixed option removes any points that are next to an open hole. Save Outer Corners maintains the vertex position of corners of an object.
Ripple modifier
The Ripple modifier creates ripples across the surface of an object. This modifier is best used on a single object; if several objects need a ripple effect, use the Ripple Space Warp. The ripple is applied via a gizmo that you can control. Parameters for this modifier include two Amplitude values and values for the Wave Length, Phase, and Decay of the ripple.
The two amplitude values cause an increase in the height of the ripples opposite one another. Figure 11.15 shows the Ripple modifier applied to a simple Quad Patch with values of 10 for Amplitude 1 and a Wave Length value of 50. The right Quad Patch also has an Amplitude 2 value of 20.
FIGURE 11.15
The Ripple modifier can make small waves appear over the surface of an object.
Shell modifier
When a mesh subobject is deleted, it leaves a hole in the surface that allows the inside of the object to be seen. This inside section doesn't have normals pointing the right direction, so the object appears blank unless the Force 2-Sided option in the Viewport Configuration dialog box is selected. The Shell modifier makes an object into a shell with a surface on the inside and outside of the object.
For the Shell modifier, you can specify Inner and Outer Amount values. This is the distance from the original position that the inner or outer surfaces are moved. These values together determine how thick the shell is. The Bevel Edges and Bevel Spline options let you bevel the edges of the shell. By clicking on the Bevel Spline button, you can select a spline to define the bevel shape.
For each Material ID, you can use the Material ID for the inner section or the outer section. The Auto Smooth Edge lets you smooth the edge for all edges that are within the Angle threshold. The edges can also be mapped using the Edge Mapping options. The options include Copy, None, Strip, and Interpolate. The Copy option uses the same mapping as the original face, None assigns new mapping coordinates, Strip maps the edges as one complete strip, and Interpolate interpolates the mapping between the inner and outer mapping.
The last options make selecting the edges, the inner faces, or the outer faces easy. The Straighten Corners option moves the vertices so the edges are straight.
Tutorial: Making a character from a sphere
Creating a little game character from a sphere is a good example of how the Shell modifier can be used.
To use the Shell modifier to create a character, follow these steps:
1. Open the Gobbleman shell.max file from the Chap 11 directory on the CD.
This file includes a simple sphere object that has had several faces deleted.
2. With the sphere