9

Using the Modify Panel 501
Using Modifier s
Once you’ve applied modifiers to an object, you
can use the Modifier Stack (page 3–760) to find a
particul ar modifier, change its parameters, edit its
sequence in the mo d ifier stack, copy its settings to
another object, or delete it entirely.
You can find a complete, alphabetical list of
modifiers in List of Available Modifiers (page
1–497).
General Guidelin es
You can generally do the following w ith the Modify
panel:
• Modify anything you can select. This includes
any object or set of objects, or any part of
an object down to the sub-object level. For
example, you can use the Mesh Select modifier
to select a single face, then apply a Taper
modifier to it.
• Apply an unlimited number of modifiers to an
object or part of an object.
The order or sequence in which you make
modifications is important. Each modification
affects t hose that come after it. See Using the
Modifier Stack (page 1–502).
Note: Some mo difiers c an be applied only to
certain types of objects.
Modifier Sub-Object Levels
In addition to its own set of parameters, a modifier
typically has one or more sub-object levels that you
access through the modifier stack (page 1–502).
Themostcommonoftheseareagizmoanda
center.
Gizmo—Displaysinviewportsasawireframethat
initially surrounds the selected object. A gi z mo
acts like a mechanical apparatus that transfers its
modification to the object it’s attached to. To alter
the effect of the modifier on the object, you can
move, scale, and rotate the gizmo as you would
any object.
Center—The center is the modifier’s pivot point
(page 3–995). You can move a modifier’s center,
which alters the effect of the modifier on the object.
Parametric D eformation s and Other Modifier
Types
One set of object-space modifiers is known as
parametric deformations (“parametric deforms”
on the Modifiers menu). Tw ist (page 1–876) and
Bend (page 1–560) are examples. Parametric
deformations alter the selection passed to them
without explicitly depending on topology.
Many other types of modifiers, however, per form
operations on the explicit topology of sub-object
selections. The Edit modifiers and Select modifiers
are examples. When a topology-dependent
modifier is present on the stack, you can adversely
affect its results if you visit previous stack
operations and change the number or order of
sub-objects (such as faces or vertices) in the
selection. If you try to do this, a warning alerts
you to the situation.
You can safely edit the stack beneath the
topology-dependent modifier, as long as you do
not add or remove sub-objects from the selection
on which it operates.