9.5.2

292 • CHAPTER 7
OBJECTS MENU • SPECIAL MODELING TOOLS • 293
The use of a null object gives the desired result. The null must point in the same direction of the object
and the object must be made a child of the null. Now the object can be rotated correctly, using the
null as the coordinate system for rotation.
Correct rotation behavior through the use of a null object.
In addition, some tools that rely on a particular orientation of an object in 3D space (such as Rotate
and Duplicate) prot from the use of a parental null object.
Animations with particles represent a further problem that null objects can help with. Assume you
move an object from A to B, record this as a position track for the object and place this in an emitter.
What happens? The objects simply y from the emitter, as if they had never heard of the phrase
“position animation”. The solution is to use a null object. Put the animated object into the null object
and then the null object into the emitter. The result is that, as you intended, all emitted particles follow
the position track you dened.
Attribute manager settings
Object Properties
These parameters enable you to change the shape that is displayed for the null in the viewport,
including its width and height as well as the general shape. This is especially useful when you are
rigging complex characters and need to be able to see the nulls clearly.
Display
Choose the shape that is used to represent the null in the viewport. Possible shapes include Point,
Circle and Pyramid.