9

Displace Modifier 629
4.
In the material’s Maps rollout, click
the Displacement button, then use the
Material/Map Browser to apply a displacement
map.
Inter face
Subdivision Displacement—Subdivides mesh faces
to accurately displace the map, using the method
and settings you specify in t he Subdivision Presets
and Subdivis ion Method group boxes. When
turned off, the modifier applies the map by moving
vertices in the mesh, the way the Displace modifier
(page 1–629) does. Default=on.
Split Mesh—Affectstheseamsofdisplacedmesh
objects; also affects texture mapping. When
on, the mesh is split into individual faces before
displacing them; this helps preser ve texture
mapping. When off, texture mapping is assigned
using an internal method. D efault=on.
Tip: This p arameter is required because of an
architectural limitation in the way displacement
mapping works. Turning Split Mesh on is usually
the b etter technique, but it can cause problems for
objects with clearly distinct faces, such as boxes,
or even spheres. A box’s sides m ight separate as
they displace outward, leaving 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 m i ght need to add a Displace Mesh modifier
(page 1–514) and make a snapshot (page 1–453)
of the mesh. You would then apply a UVW Map
modifier (page 1–922) andthenreassignmapping
coordinates to the displaced snapshot mesh.
Subdivision Presets an d Subdivision Method
group b oxes
The controls in these two g roup boxes specify how
the mo difier applies the displacement map when
Custom Settings and Subdivision Displacement
are both turned on. They are identical to the
Surface Approximation controls (page 1–1239) used
for NURBS surfaces.
Displ ace M odifi er
Modify panel > Make a selection. > Modifier List >
Object-Space Modifiers > Displace
Make a selection. > Modifiers menu > Parametric
Deformers > Displace
The Displace modifier acts as a force field to push
and reshape an object’s geometry. You can apply
its variable force directly from the modifier gizmo,
or from a bitmapped image.