3ds Max 2012 Bible - Kelly L. Murdock [150]
You can type the text to be created in the text area. You can cut, copy, and paste text into this text area from an external application if you right-click on the text area. After setting the parameters and typing the text, the text appears as soon as you click in one of the viewports. The text is updated automatically when any of the parameters (including the text) are changed. To turn off automatic updating, select the Manual Update toggle. You can then update with the Update button.
If you open the Character Map application, you can see a complete list of special characters. The Character Map application, shown in Figure 12.10, can be opened in Windows by selecting Start⇒All Programs⇒Accessories⇒System Tools⇒Character Map. To enter special characters into the text area in Max, choose the special character by clicking on it in the Character Map dialog box and click the Select button. Then click the Copy button to copy the character to the Windows clipboard and in Max, use the Ctrl+V paste command to add it to the text area.
FIGURE 12.9
The Text shape lets you control the space between letters, known as kerning.
FIGURE 12.10
The Character Map application shows all the special characters that are available.
Helix
A Helix is like a spring coil shape, and it is the one shape of all the Shape primitives that exists in 3D. Helix parameters include two radii for specifying the inner and outer radius. These two values can be equal to create a coil or unequal to create a spiral. Parameters also exist for the Height and number of Turns. The Bias parameter causes the Helix turns to be gathered all together at the top or bottom of the shape. The CW and CCW options let you specify whether the Helix turns clockwise or counterclockwise.
Figure 12.11 shows a sampling of Helix shapes: The first Helix has equal radii values, the second one has a smaller second radius, the third Helix spirals to a second radius value of 0, and the last two Helix objects have Bias values of 0.8 and –0.8.
FIGURE 12.11
The Helix shape can be straight or spiral shaped.
Section
Section stands for cross section. The Section shape is a cross section of the edges of any 3D object through which the Section's cutting plane passes. The process consists of dragging in the viewport to create a cross-sectioning plane. You can then move, rotate, or scale the cross-sectioning plane to obtain the desired cross section. In the Section Parameters rollout is a Create Shape button. Clicking this button opens a dialog box where you can name the new shape. You can use one Section object to create multiple shapes.
Note
You can make sections only from intersecting a 3D object. If the cross-sectioning plane doesn't intersect the 3D object, then it won't create a shape. You cannot use the Section primitive on shapes, even if it is a renderable spline. •
The Parameters rollout includes settings for updating the Section shape. You can update it when the Section plane moves, when the Section is selected, or Manually (using the Update Section button). You can also set the Section Extents to Infinite, Section Boundary, or Off. The Infinite setting creates the cross-section spline as if the cross-sectioning plane were of infinite size, whereas the Section Boundary limits the plane's extents to the boundaries of the visible plane. The color swatch determines the color of the intersecting shape.
To give you an idea of what the Section shape can produce, Figure 12.12 shows the shapes resulting from sectioning two Cone objects, including a circle, an ellipse, a parabola, and a hyperbola. The shapes have been moved to the sides to be more visible.
FIGURE 12.12
You can use the Section shape primitive to create the conic sections (circle, ellipse, parabola, hyperbola) from a set of 3D cones.
Tutorial: