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1064 Chapter 9: Surface Modeling
mapping works. Turning Split Mesh on is usually
the better technique, but it can cause problems for
objects with clearly distinct faces, such as b oxes,
or even spheres. A box’s sides might separate as
they displace outward, leav ing gaps. And a sphere
might split along its longitudinal edge (found in
the rear for spheres created in the Top view) unless
you turn off Split Mesh. However, texture mapping
works unpredictably when Split Mesh is off, so
you might need to add a Displace Mesh modifier
(page 1–514) and make a snapshot (page 1–453)
of the poly. You would then apply a UVW Map
modifier (page 1–922) and then reassign mapping
coordinates to the displaced snapshot p oly.
Subdivision Presets group & Subdivision
Method group
Thecontrolsinthesetwogroupboxesspecify
how the program applies the displacement map
when Subdivision Displacement is on. They are
identical to the Surface Approximation controls
(page 1–1239) used for NURBS surfaces.
Pai nt Def or ma tion Ro llout
Edit/Editable Poly object > Paint Deformation rollout
Paint Deformation lets y ou push, pull, or
otherwise affect vertices by drag ging the mouse
cursor over the object surface. At the object
level, Paint Deformation affects all vertices in the
selected object. At sub-object levels, it affects only
selected vertices (or vertices that belong to selected
sub-objects), and recognizes s oft selec tion.
By default, deformation occurs in the normal (page
3–980) direction of each vertex. 3ds Max continues
to use a vertex’s original normal for the direction
of deformation, but you can opt to use the altered
normal direction for a more dynamic modeling
process, or even deform along a specific axis.
Note: Paint Deformation cannot be animated.
Tip: You can streamline the p ainting process by
using the Brush Presets tools (page 3–690).
Procedure
To pa int defor mati on onto a mesh obj ect:
1.
Apply an Edit Poly modifier (page 1–640) to
an object, or convert the object to Editable
Poly (page 1–1022) format. Paint Deformation
uses existing geometry, so the object should
have enough mesh resolution for the desired
deformation.
2. Do either of the following:
• To deform anywhere on the object, remain
at the object level, or work at a sub-object
level with no sub-objects selected.
• To deform only specific areas of an object,
go to a sub-object level and then select the
sub-objects in the area to deform.
3. On the Paint Deformation rollout, click
Push/Pull.
4. Set Push/Pull value to a negative va lue to push
into the object surface, or to a posit ive value
topullthesurfaceoutward. Thehigherthe
absolute va lue, the greater the effect.
5. Set Brush Size and Brush Strength.
6. Position the mouse cursor over the surface to
be deformed.
As you move t he mouse, the “ brush” reorients
dynamically to show the normal direction of
the portion of the mesh currently under the
cursor. You can use the normal direction of
deformed surfaces as the push/pull direction by
choosing Deformed Normals.
7. Press the mouse button and drag to deform the
surface. If you paint in the same spot repeatedly
without lifting the mouse button, the effect
is cumulative up to the maximum Push/Pull
Va lue s e t t i n g .