9

Cloning with Shift +Scale 481
You can move the local pivot any distance from
the object, creating large circular arrays. Since
direct animation is limited to the local pivot, this is
a key technique in animating circular arrays. See
Animating
Shift +Rotate and Shift +Scale (page
1–482).
Selection Center
Foreithersingleormultipleobjects,theselection
center is the geometric center of the bounding box
(page 3–919) enclosing the entire selection. Clones
are arrayed around this center, forming wheel-like
arrays.
For a single object, this center is usually different
from its local center, but the effects are similar to
those based on a local pivot.
Coordinate Center
Using the coordinate center,
Shif t +Rotate can
produce circular arrays of an y size.
The rotation t akes place around the center of the
home grid, the screen, or whichever co ordinate
system you choose. While clones can be created
this way, the process cannot be directly animated.
For details on overcoming this limitation, see
Animating
Shift +Rotate and Shift +Scale (page
1–482).
Cl on in g with Shift +Scale
Cloning objects w hile sca ling them can produce a
variety of nested objects and ar r ays, depending on
the center you cho ose.
Shift +Scale creates a clone of a different size.
To clone with Shift +Scale:
1.
ClickaScalebuttononthemaintoolbar.
2. Choose a coordinate system, axis constraint,
and transform center.
3. Make the selection you want to clone.
4. Hold down Shift and drag to sca le the
selection.
5. UsetheCloneOptionsdialogtochoosethe
number of clones you want to make and
whether you want them to be copies, instances,
or references.
Ef fect s of Transfor m S ettings
Transform settings determine how 3ds Max
distributesclonesofaselectionduring
Shi f t +Scale. In all scaling operations, the
transform center acts as the center of scaling:
• When clone objects decrease in size, they
shrink toward the transform center.
• When clone objects increase in size, they
expand away from the transform center.
The distance between cloned objects is sc aled
like the clones themselves, based on the initial
distance from the original to the first clone. The