9

Creating Circular and Spiral Arrays 489
you add rotation to a linear array, the choice of
transform center becomes important.
Using Scale in Linear Arr ays
Linear array with progressive scaling
When you apply a Scale factor, 3ds Max scales
each copy from the previous copy. Objects in the
array become progressively smaller or larger, as
in the illustration.
Scale and Movement in Nested Arrays
Using only Scale settings and the local pivot of an
object produces nested arrays, like Russian dolls,
just as it does when you
Shi f t +Sca le from the
local pivot. However, with the Array tool, you can
add movement as well. This means you can create
increasingly larger or smaller copies and array
thematthesametime.
Using Uniform Scaling
By default, all axes are available for scaling.
IfyouturnonUniform,onlytheScaleXfieldis
activ e; the Y and Z fields are unavailable. The X
value is applied as uniform scaling on all axes of
the arrayed objects.
Cre atin g Circu lar a n d Sp iral Arra ys
Creating circular and spiral arrays ty pical ly
involves some combination of moving, scaling,
and rotating copies along one or two axes and
aroundacommoncenter. Theeffectscanvary
from the uniform radial arrangement of bolts on
a wheel hub to the complex geometry of a spiral
staircase. You can model many circular patterns
w ith these techniques.
See Using the Array Dialog (page 1–485) for an
explanat ion of interface terms used here. See
Arraying Objects (page 1–484) for the basic steps
in mak ing an array.
U sing a Commo n Cen ter
Both circular and spiral arr ays require a common
center for the arrayed objects. This c an b e the
world center, the center of a custom grid object, or
the center of the object group itself. You can also
move the pivot point of an individual object and
use that as the common center.