3ds Max 2012 Bible - Kelly L. Murdock [152]
Another difference is that the shape primitive base name is listed along with the Edit Spline modifier in the Modifier Stack. Selecting the shape primitive name makes the Rendering, Interpolation, and Parameters rollouts visible, and the Selection, Soft Selection, and Geometry rollouts are made visible when you select the Edit Spline modifier in the Modifier Stack. For Editable Splines, only a single base object name is visible in the Modifier Stack, and all rollouts are accessible under it.
Note
Another key difference is that subobjects for the Edit Spline modifier cannot be animated. •
Making splines renderable
Splines normally do not show up in a rendered image, but using the Renderable option in the Rendering rollout and assigning a thickness to the splines makes them appear in the rendered image. Figure 12.15 shows a rendered image of the Expeditions South logo after all shapes have been made renderable and assigned a Thickness of 3.0.
Note
The settings in the Rendering and Interpolation rollouts are the same as those used for newly created shapes, which were covered earlier in the chapter. •
FIGURE 12.15
Using renderable splines with a Thickness of 3.0, the logo can be rendered.
Selecting spline subobjects
When editing splines, you must choose the subobject level to work on. For example, when editing splines, you can work with Vertex (1), Segment (2), or Spline (3) subobjects. Before you can edit spline subobjects, you must select them. To select the subobject type, click the small plus sign icon to the left of the Editable Spline object in the Modifier Stack. This lists all the subobjects available for this object. Click the subobject in the Modifier Stack to select it. Alternatively, you can click the red-colored icons under the Selection rollout, shown in Figure 12.16. You can also select the different subobject modes using the 1, 2, and 3 keyboard shortcuts. When you select a subobject, the selection in the Modifier Stack and the associated icon in the Selection rollout turn yellow.
Note
The Sub-Object button turns yellow when selected to remind you that you are in subobject edit mode. Remember, you must exit this mode before you can select another object. •
You can select many subobjects at once by dragging an outline over them in the viewports. You can also select and deselect vertices by holding down the Ctrl key while clicking them. Holding down the Alt key removes any selected vertices from the selection set.
After selecting several vertices, you can create a named selection set by typing a name in the Name Selection Sets drop-down list in the main toolbar. You can then copy and paste these selection sets onto other shapes using the buttons in the Selection rollout.
The Lock Handles option allows you to move the handles of all selected vertices together when enabled, but each handle moves by itself when disabled. With the Lock Handles and the All options selected, all selected handles move together. The Alike option causes all handles on one side to move together.
FIGURE 12.16
The Selection rollout provides icons for entering the various subobject modes.
The Area Selection option selects all the vertices within a defined radius of where you click. The Segment End option, when enabled, allows you to select a vertex by clicking the segment. The closest vertex to the segment that you clicked is selected. This feature is useful when you are trying to select a vertex that lies near other vertices. The Select By button opens a dialog box with Segment and Spline buttons on it. These buttons allow you to select all the vertices on either a spline or segment that you choose.
The Selection rollout also has the Show Vertex Numbers option to display all the vertex numbers of a spline or to show the numbers of only the selected vertices. This can be convenient for understanding how a spline