Basics

Since each program is unique and does things a little differently, ou may need to get up to speed on the user interface specifics. However, but we will start by covering what’s common among most modelling suites. For example, each software will provide viewports, camera controls, sets of object with parameters and properties, or even commands and script interpreter, dialogs or input panels where you can set options, and so forth. Let’s take a look at some of the things to be first concerned with.

Getting Around Space

You’ll probably be using a mouse to construct and modify objects, as well as navigate your way through the 3D universe. Familiarize yourself with any special functions the mouse performs through the use of the mouse button or key combinations. In particular, look for shortcuts that enable you to manipulate frequently used controls, such as selecting axes and switching between move, rotate, and scale functions.

To modify a shape or object, you have to select it, which usually highlights it somehow to set it apart from the rest. You can select things in the typical ways, by clicking on them with the cursor or dragging a marquee around a cluster of objects. In addition, many products allow you to open a dialog box and select objects by name, type, or color, in a tree like display. Very useful for picking out groups of related objects quickly (especially if you’ve followed a good object-naming convention).

You’ll spend time peering at viewports, so get familiar with their controls. Most programs provide a way to pan (slide around the viewpoint) so that you can see things that are off to the sides. You can also zoom in and out zoom to see more details or more of the scene.

Most programs allow you to customize your viewports, selecting where you want the top view, the left view, the perspective view, and so on, even your own custom views to define shortcuts to be relocated to those points and directions. You may also be able change the size of these windows in some cases.

Units and Scale

3D software uses coordinates to keep track of the size and location of objects. These numbers can be rather awkward for users to work with directly. Some intuitive way to refer to and adjust measurements is to pick some system you’re familiar with, like inches or the metric system. Because of this, 3D programs often allow users to select the type of units they want to use for measuring: The british units (feet and inches), Metric units (meters and centimeters), or Generic (some decimal numbers).

Just as blueprints and engineering drawings use a scale—such as 1/8"=1’-0" or 1cm=1m—3D programs often allow you to set a scaling factor as well. It’s important to set both units and scale when you first start a project, and be sure you use the same ones when building other models to combine with the first. That way, you’re using a consistent measurement system, and when you merge the models into a single project, they’ll be the proper sizes relative to each other.

Grids and Snaps

Grids are cross-hatched lines that can be seen in the viewport and used like graph paper for determining scale when creating objects (see Figure 3.5). When you build a 3D object, part of it usually ends up on a default grid that radiates out of the origin point, in the center of the 3D universe. However, you can change the spot at which an object will appear through the use of construction planes or construction grids, which are alternate, movable planes that move the default location for new objects to other parts of the universe. These are useful when you have a large scene and are working in a particular section only, or if you want objects to appear already aligned to a particular plane.

Figure 3.5FIGURE 3.5 Using grids and snaps: (a) Grids and snaps make the creation and alignment of shapes and objects easier. (b) Because both objects are active regardless of viewpoint, you can align objects from any perspective. (c) For creating free-form shapes or objects, turn snap off. (d) Snaps can be set independently of the grid, making it easier to handle adjustments that are smaller than the grid.

The snap feature usually is employed in conjunction with a grid and causes the cursor to snap from one position to another, usually at the intersection of two grid lines. Depending on the program, you may be able to snap to the vertices or faces on objects as well. Note that the snap setting can be different from the grid setting, which is convenient for creating or moving objects precisely without having to alter the grid setting.

It’s a good idea to use grids and snaps whenever possible, because it makes your shapes and alignments more exact, and you probably will find that it makes the modeling process go faster.

Hide and Show

Hide enables you to make a shape or object disappear from the scene; use Unhide to make it reappear later. This pair of commands is great for clearing out mesh that you don’t need to see at the present time (as well as preventing that mesh from being accidentally modified), and it makes the scene render faster, as well. Sometimes, however, you want to see the object, but don’t want it to be selected or modified accidentally. That’s where a command that is commonly called either Freeze or Ghost comes in.

Freeze/Ghost

When you apply Freeze or Ghost to a shape or object, it still appears in the scene, but you cannot select it while it’s frozen. This is a very useful feature, because 3D scenes tend to get cluttered, it’s very common to pick or transform the wrong object. Frozen objects usually show with some visual cue (e.g colored specifically), letting you know the object which objects can be selected. When you want to modify some frozen objects, you simply go ahead and Unfreeze or Unghost them.

Groups

Grouping is a convenient way to tie a number of different shapes or objects together. The assignment of object to a group may just be temporary. This enables you to deal with them as a whole for transforms, mapping, and other operations, but still tweak them on an individual basis if need be.