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Part III: Modeling Basics

You have several ways to convert an object to an Editable Patch. One way is to right-click a selected object
and choose Convert To ➪ Convert to Editable Patch from the pop-up quadmenu. Another way is to apply
the Edit Patch modifier by selecting it from the Modifier List in the Modifier Stack, or by choosing
Modifiers ➪ Patch/Spline Editing ➪ Edit Patch. These two methods create slightly different Editable Patches.

Editable patches versus the Edit Patch modifier
The differences between Editable Patches and objects with the Edit Patch modifier applied are subtle. The
main difference between these two appears in the Modifier Stack. Editable Patch objects have the type
Editable Patch displayed in the Stack. Patch grids with the Edit Patch modifier applied maintain their cre-
ation parameters, and the Edit Patch modifier is displayed in the Stack above the object type, where you can
move or remove it at any time.
The other big difference is that the transformation of an Editable Patch subobject can be animated, whereas
patch grids with the Edit Patch modifier cannot.
Editable patches and patch grids with the Edit Patch modifier applied both access subobjects and their
parameters in the same way. These are covered in the next section.
Note
Using the Edit Patch modifier offers more flexibility during the modeling phase, and the object can be collapsed
down to an Editable Patch object after the modeling is completed for speed. n
The Edit Patch modifier also can be applied to a closed spline. This makes the spline a surface in one step
instead of applying the Cross Section and Surface modifiers.

Selecting patch subobjects
Editable patches and the Edit Patch modifier both make patch subobjects accessible. The subobjects for
patches include Vertex (keyboard shortcut, 1), Handle (5), Edge (2), Patch (3), and Element (4). Before you
can edit patch subobjects, you must select them. To select a subobject type, click the small plus sign to the
left of the Editable Patch object in the Modifier Stack. Alternatively, you can click the red-colored icons
under the Selection rollout. When selected, the subobject button and hierarchy turn yellow.
A third way to enter subobject edit mode is to right-click the Editable Patch and select Sub-Object and the
subobject type to edit from the pop-up quadmenu. You also can select the different subobject modes using
the 1–5 keyboard shortcuts—1 enters Vertex mode, 2 enters Edge mode, and so on.
Clicking either the subobject button or the hierarchy object again exits subobject mode. Remember, you
must exit this mode before you can select another object. This is called Top Level in the quadmenu.
To select many subobjects at once, drag an outline over them. You also can select and deselect many subob-
jects by holding down the Ctrl key while clicking them. Hold down the Alt key to remove any selected ver-
tices from the current selection set.
With subobjects selected, the options in the Selection rollout become enabled. Using these controls enables
you to more easily select the desired subobjects. Figure 13.35 shows the Selection and Soft Selection rollouts.
After selecting several subobjects, you can create a named selection set by typing a name in the Name
Selection Sets drop-down list on the main toolbar. You can then copy and paste these selection sets onto
other patch objects using the Copy and Paste buttons in the Selection rollout. In Vertex subobject mode,
the Selection rollout lets you see, when selected, just Vertices, just Vectors, or both. The Lock Handles
option causes all selected Bézier handles to move together when one handle is moved.

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