Page 416 - Kitab3DsMax

Part III: Modeling Basics

Split and Insert Vertex
The Split button adds a new vertex at the middle of the edge and splits the edge into two equal sections.
This button is handy when you need to increase the resolution of a section quickly.
The Insert Vertex button lets you add a new vertex anywhere along an edge. The cursor changes to cross-
hairs when it is over an edge. Click to create a vertex. When in Edge, Border, Polygon, or Element subob-
ject mode, this button also makes vertices visible.

Bridge Edges
The Bridge button for edges allows you to create a new set of polygons that connect the selected edges. If
two edges are selected when the Bridge button is pressed, then they are automatically connected with a new
polygon. If no edges are selected, then you can click the edges to bridge after clicking the Bridge button.
The selected edges on either side of the bridge can be different in number.
You also can access the settings dialog box for the Bridge feature. This dialog box offers the options to
Bridge Specific Edges or to Use Edge Selection. The Bridge Specific Edges option has two buttons for each
edge. If you click one of these buttons, you can select an edge in the viewport. The Use Edge Selection
option lets you drag a marquee in the viewport to select the edges. The Bridge Edges dialog box also
includes options for setting the number of Segments, the Smooth value, and a Bridge Adjacent value, which
increases the triangulation for angles above the given threshold.
Figure 13.18 shows a simple example of some edges that have been bridged. The letters before bridging are
on the top and after bridging on the bottom.
Create Shape from Selection
The Create Shape from Selection button creates a new spline shape from selected edges. The Create Shape
dialog box appears, shown in Figure 13.19, enabling you to give the new shape a name. You can also select
options for Smooth or Linear shape types.
Edit Triangulation
For the Editable Poly object, the Edge, Border, Polygon, and Element subobjects include the Edit
Triangulation button. The Edit Triangulation button lets you change the internal edges of the polygon by
dragging from one vertex to another. When this button is clicked, all hidden edges appear. To edit the hid-
den edges, just click a vertex and then click again where you want the hidden edge to go. If you’re dealing
with multiple four-sided polygons, then the Turn button is quicker.
Turn and Spin
The Turn button rotates the hidden edges that break up the polygon into triangles (all polygonal faces
include these hidden edges). For example, if a quadrilateral (four-sided) face has a hidden edge that runs
between vertices 1 and 3, then the Turn button changes this hidden edge to run between vertices 2 and 4.
This affects how the surface is smoothed when the polygon is not coplanar.
This button is available for all subobject modes except Vertex. When enabled, all subobjects that you click
on are turned until the button is disabled again. Figure 13.20 shows the top face of a Box object with a hid-
den edge across it diagonally. The Turn button was used to turn this hidden edge.

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