9

Identifying the Basic Building Blocks 155
combinat ion, depending on the object type. This
is the general sequence:
•Chooseanobjecttype.
• Clickordraginaviewporttocreateanobject
of approximate size and location.
• Adjust the object’s p a rameters and pos ition,
either immediately or later.
See Creating an Object (page 1–157) .
Cr e at e P an el In t erface
Controls in the Create panel vary depending on
thekindofobjectyouarecreating. However,
certain controls are always present, and others a re
shared by nearly all object types.
Cate gory—Buttons at the top of the panel access
the se ven main categories of objects. Geometry
is the default category.
Subcategor y—A list lets you select subcategories.
Forexample,subcategoriesunderGeometry
include Standard Primitives, Extended Primitives,
Compound Objects, Particle Systems, Patch Grids,
NURBS Surfaces, and Dynamics Objects.
Each subcategory contains one or more object
types. If you’ve installed plug-in components for
additional object types, these might be grouped
as a single subcategory.
Object Type—A rollout contains labeled buttons
forcreatingobjectsinaparticularsubcategory,
plus the AutoGrid (page 2–7) check box.
Name a nd Color—TheNameshowsthe
automatically assigned name of the object. You can
edit this name or replace it with another. (Different
objects can have the same name, though this is not
recommended.) Clicking the square color swatch
brings up an Object Color dialog (page 1–159)
to change the color of the object as it appears in
viewports (the wireframe color).
Creation M ethod—This rollout provides a choice of
howyouusethemousetocreateanobject. For
example, you can use either the center (r adius) or
edge (diameter) to define the size of a Circle shape.
A default creation method is always selected
when you access the tool. If you want to use an
alternate method, choose the option before you
create the object. The creation method has no
effect on a finished object; the options are for your
convenience during creation.
Keyboard Entry—This rollout lets you enter
creation parameters from the keyboard for
geometric primitive and shape objects.
Parameters—This rollout shows creation
parameters: the defining values for an object.
Some parameters can be preset, w hile others
are only for adjustment after an object has been
created.
Other rollouts—Additional rollouts can appear
on the Create panel, depending on what kind of
object you create.
Identifying the B asic Building
Blocks
On the Create panel, the categories for Geometry
and Shapes supply the "building blocks" to
combine and modify into more sophisticated
objects. These parametric (page 3–989) objects are
ready to use. By adjusting values and turning some
buttons on or off, you can create dozens of "new"
building blo cks from the ones listed here.
You can choose these types f rom the sub-categories
listontheCreatepanel.
Geometr y Types
Standard Pr imitives—Relatively simple 3D objects
such as Box, Sphere, and Cylinder, as well as