3ds Max 2012 Bible - Kelly L. Murdock [149]
Rectangle
The Rectangle shape produces simple rectangles. In the Parameters rollout, you can specify the Length and Width and also a Corner Radius. Holding down the Ctrl key while dragging creates a perfect square shape.
Circle
The Circle button creates—you guessed it—circles. The only adjustable parameter in the Parameters rollout is the Radius. All other rollouts are the same, as explained earlier. Circles created with the Circle button have only four vertices.
Ellipse
Ellipses are simple variations of the Circle shape. You define them by Length and Width values. Holding down the Ctrl key while dragging creates a perfect circle (or you can use the Circle shape).
Arc
The Arc primitive has two creation methods. Use the End-End-Middle method to create an arc shape by clicking and dragging to specify the two end points and then dragging to complete the shape. Use the Center-End-End method to create an arc shape by clicking and dragging from the center to one of the end points and then dragging the arc length to the second end point.
Other parameters include the Radius and the From and To settings, where you can enter the value in degrees for the start and end of the arc. The Pie Slice option connects the end points of the arc to its center to create a pie-sliced shape, as shown in Figure 12.6. The Reverse option lets you reverse the arc's direction.
FIGURE 12.6
Enabling the Pie Slice option connects the arc ends with the center of the circle.
Donut
As another variation of the Circle shape, the Donut shape consists of two concentric circles; you can create it by dragging once to specify the outer circle and again to specify the inner circle. The parameters for this object are simply two radii.
NGon
The NGon shape lets you create regular polygons by specifying the Number of Sides and the Corner Radius. You can also specify whether the NGon is Inscribed or Circumscribed, as shown in Figure 12.7. Inscribed polygons are positioned within a circle that touches all the outer polygon's vertices. Circumscribed polygons are positioned outside of a circle that touches the midpoint of each polygon edge. The Circular option changes the polygon to a circle that inscribes the polygon.
FIGURE 12.7
An inscribed pentagon and a circumscribed pentagon
Star
The Star shape also includes two radii values—the larger Radius value defines the distance of the outer points of the Star shape from its center, and the smaller Radius value is the distance from the center of the star to the inner points. The Point setting indicates the number of points. This value can range from 3 to 100. The Distortion value causes the inner points to rotate relative to the outer points and can be used to create some interesting new star types. The Fillet Radius 1 and Fillet Radius 2 values adjust the Fillet for the inner and outer points. Figure 12.8 shows a sampling of what is possible with the Star shapes.
Text
You can use the Text primitive to add outlined text to the scene. In the Parameters rollout, you can specify a Font by choosing one from the drop-down list at the top of the Parameters rollout. Under the Font drop-down list are six icons, shown in Table 12.2. The left two icons are for the Italic and Underline styles. Selecting either of these styles applies the style to all the text. The right four icons are for aligning the text to the left, centered, right, or justified.
FIGURE 12.8
The Star primitive can be changed to create some amazing shapes.
Note
The list of available fonts includes only the Windows TrueType fonts and Type 1 PostScript fonts installed on your system and any extra fonts located in the font path listed in the Configure Paths dialog box. You need to restart Max before the fonts in the font path are recognized. •
The size of the text is determined by the Size value. The Kerning (which is the space between adjacent characters) and Leading