3ds Max 2012 Bible - Kelly L. Murdock [192]
Optimize
The Optimize tool quickly collapses subobjects. Click an edge with this tool to remove it and to combine its two end points into one. The Shift key is used to target weld two vertices into a single one, and the Alt key removes vertices. The Shift+Ctrl key combo can remove an entire edge loop at once.
Tutorial: Opening a diamond
Ever wonder what was inside a diamond? This example uses some of the PolyDraw tools to open up a diamond. Maybe there is treasure inside!
To edit a diamond-shaped object, follow these steps:
1. Select Create⇒Standard Primitives⇒Sphere, and drag in the Top viewport to create a Sphere object. Set its Segments value to 6. Then right-click, and select Convert To⇒Editable Poly from the pop-up quadmenu.
2. Open the Graphite Modeling tools, click the Freeform tab, select the Step Build tool, press and hold the Ctrl key, and click the center polygon to delete the polygon. Then click within the center polygon to create four vertices in the shape of a square. Then press and hold the Shift key, and drag near these vertices to create a polygon.
3. Select the Drag tool, and drag the new vertices until they are aligned with each other to form a square.
4. Select the Extend tool, and with the Shift key pressed, drag the edge on the left side of the open polygon toward the middle to create a new extended polygon. Then repeat for the left side.
Figure 14.23 shows the resulting diamond.
FIGURE 14.23
The PolyDraw tools let you work quickly to add, remove, and rebuild polygons.
Draw On and Pick
The Draw On drop-down list gives you three options for specifying the object that is drawn on: Grid, Surface, and Selection. If Surface is selected, you can use the Pick button to choose the surface object. You also can set an Offset, which is the distance above the surface on which the drawn objects appear.
Tip
It is best to keep a non-zero offset value when drawing on the surface of an object, especially if the drawn object overlaps an edge. This keeps the surfaces from interpenetrating. •
Shapes and Solve Surface
The Shapes tool lets you draw polygonal shapes directly on the surface of an object. Figure 14.24 shows three polygons drawn on the surface of a torus. You also can delete drawn polygons with the Ctrl key. The completed polygons likely will have multiple vertices, but you can reduce the polygons to tris and quads using the Solve Surface button.
FIGURE 14.24
Using the Shapes tool, you can draw polygons that conform to the surface of the underlying object.
Splines
The Splines tool lets you draw spline objects that follow the surface of the underlying object. The Ctrl key can be used to delete drawn splines.
Surface, Topology, Strips, and Branches
The Surface tool covers the object with a mesh of quads by painting over the object. You can delete any polygon by clicking it with Ctrl key held down. The Topology tool lets you draw a series of parallel lines followed by a set of perpendicular lines to form quads. The Auto Weld option automatically welds vertices together to form a mesh. The Ctrl key extends a line from the nearest end point.
The Strips tool draws a consecutive row of quads that flow across the surface of the object. The Shift key extends the strip from the nearest edge. The Branches tool extends a tapered branch from a single polygon. For the branches, you can set a Taper amount; the Minimum Distance value sets the distance between the segments. This is useful for creating tentacles, as shown in Figure 14.25.
FIGURE 14.25
Using the Branches tool, you can drag out extending arms from polygons.
Using the Paint Deform tools
The Paint Deform tools let you sculpt the surface of an object by pushing, pulling, and modeling the object in organic ways like it was clay. Whenever any of the tools on the Paint Deform panel, shown in Figure 14.26, are selected, its settings for the brush's Size and Strength (and sometimes Offset, depending on