Page 207 - Kitab3DsMax

Chapter 5: Creating and Editing Primitive Objects

L-Ext
The L-Ext primitive stands for L-Extension. You can think of it as two rectangular boxes connected at right
angles to each other. To create an L-Ext object, you need to first drag to create a rectangle that defines the
overall area of the object. Next, you drag to define the Height of the object, and finally, you drag to define
the width of each leg.
The Parameters rollout includes dimensions for Side and Front Lengths, Side and Front Widths, and the
Height. You can also define the number of Segments for each dimension.
C-Ext
The C-Ext primitive is the same as the L-Ext primitive with an extra rectangular box. The C shape connects
three rectangular boxes at right angles to each other.
The Parameters rollout includes dimensions for Side, Front, and Back Lengths and Widths, and the Height.
You can also define the number of Segments for each dimension. These primitives are great if your name is
Clive Logan or Carrie Lincoln. No, actually, these primitives are used to create architectural beams.

Hose
The Hose primitive is a flexible connector that can be positioned between two other objects. It acts much
like a spring but has no dynamic properties. In the Hose Parameters rollout, you can specify the Hose as a
Free Hose or Bound to Object Pivots. If the Free Hose option is selected, you can set the Hose Height. If the
Bound to Object Pivots option is selected, then two Pick Object buttons appear for the Top and Bottom
objects. Once bound to two objects, the hose stretches between the two objects when either is moved. You
can also set the Tension for each bound object.
For either the Bound Hose or Free Hose, you can set the number of Segments that make up the hose;
whether the flexible section is enabled; to smooth along the Sides, Segments, neither, or all; whether the hose
is Renderable; and to Generate Mapping Coordinates for applying texture maps. If the flexible section is
enabled, then you can set where the flexible section Starts and Ends, the number of Cycles, and its Diameter.
You can also set the Hose Shape to Round, Rectangular, or D-Section. Figure 5.25 shows a flexible hose
object bound to two sphere objects.
Tutorial: Creating a bendable straw
If you’ve ever found yourself modeling a juice box (or drinking from a juice box and wondering, “How would
I model this bendable straw?”), then this tutorial is for you. The nice part about the Hose primitive is that once
you’ve created the model, you can reposition the straw and the bend changes as needed, just like a real straw.
To create a bendable straw, follow these steps:
1. Open the Bendable straw.max file from the Chap 05 directory on the DVD.
This file includes two Tube primitives to represent the top and bottom portions of a straw. I’ve
oriented their pivot points so the Z-axis points toward where the Hose primitive will go.
2. Select Create ➪ Extended Primitives ➪ Hose, and drag in the Top viewport close to where the two
straws meet. Select the Bound to Object Pivots option, click on the Pick Top Object button, and
select the top Tube object. Then click on the Pick Bottom Object button, and select the bottom
Tube object. This step positions the Hose object between the two Tube pieces.
3. In the Hose Parameters rollout, set the Tension for the Top object to 35 and the Tension for the
bottom object to 10.0. Set the Segments to 40, the Starts value to 0, the Ends value to 100, the
Cycles to 10, and the Diameter to 24. Make sure that the Renderable option is enabled, and
enable the Round Hose option with a Diameter of 20.0.

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