Vertex Manipulation 1 - The Basics and reshaping solids
Vertexmanipulation, in the right hands, is a very handy and powerful tool.However, it is arguably the hardest tool to use to produce error-freeshapes. It is complex, and different shapes can only have certainmanipulation done to them.
This tutorial will cover the basics of vertex manipulation and what shapes can do what.
Note for vertex manipulation: ALWAYS select the vertices or edges inthe 3D view. Then, drag them in the 2D views. This way, only one vertexor edge is selected, rather than the one clicked on in the 2D views,and the one below it..
Ok first of all, we'll look at what you can do with vertex manipulation and what all those dots do!
Draw yourself a standard block. Select it and go into vertex manipulation mode (shift + v). Mine is 128 x 128 x 128.
You will see the block appear like in the picture above. The yellowsquares and the white squares each do different things. Yellow dots areknown as edges and the white dots are known as vertices. We willexplore these now:
Select the yellow dot at the top of the solid from the Top(x/y) view.Then, drag this up in the same view, by one square (I'm using thestandard grid size here).
This has moved the entire plane outwards, creating a wedge. The 'ghost'area of the solid like this is what the original solid looks like, andthe dark grey area is what the solid will look like (ghost area and thegrey area combined).
Now, select the selection tool to exit vertex manipulation mode. This will save the solid in its current state.
This idea above is useful for reducing solid counts and brush planes. I will talk about this, and how to achieve it later.
Next, we shall explore the white vertices. Draw another block (or undothe previous action) and go into vertex manipulation mode. This time,select this white vertex:
Now, move it down one square and left one square:
Now, upon exiting vertex manipulation mode, press Alt + P. This willbring up the check for problems box and will show that this solid isinvalid.
Just by looking at the brush, you should be able to tell that the editor isn't going to like it.
Now, this is a common error of vertex manipulation. For blocks, onlythe edges (yellow dots) can be moved to produce valid brushes. However,selecting two vertices that are in line with each other (see below) andmoving them, is valid. This is effectively like moving the single edgethat is between the two vertices:
This has produced the same object as moving the single edge earlier.
So what is the point of the white vertices if you can just select oneedge? Well, they can be used for different shaped solids other thanblocks.
The best examples are triangles. These are THE shapes to make complexlooking objects and are almost foolproof using this tool.
To create a triangle, either use the clip tool on a standard block, andslice it down the middle, or insert a cylinder that has 3 sides. Thiswill place a triangle into the map.
Both edges and vertices can be moved about on a triangle, to create odd-looking triangles.
Edges have to be moved in groups of 2 and vertices can be moved by themselves or as groups:
The top two pictures are using the edges, the bottom two are moving the vertices.
We have covered how to convert triangles and blocks. Cylinders aretrickier to do. The more sides you have, the harder and more confusingit looks:
However, it can still be done. The main difference is that a lot more care is needed to get the results that you want.
Ok, first of all, draw yourself an 8-sided cylinder and bring your gridsize down to the smallest. I have drawn a cylinder with dimensions of192 x 192 x 192. Then, go into vertex manipulation mode:
Ok, now try moving a single vertex in or out in any direction.
Done?
Ok, well this will produce an error. However, moving two of them thatare 'together' (i.e. one at top and one at bottom of the cylinder) willnot produce an error.
This also applies for edges on cylinders. I have shown this in a picture below:
Hopefully, this has shown you what can and can't be done with cylinderre-shaping. Note that vertices and edges can't be moved up or down,unless you use every single top or bottom vertex to move it up or down.It applies for edges as well.
But, this is pointless, as you can just re-size the solid by normal methods and is a lot quicker too.
Well, that's all this tutorial covers. Basics of manipulatingcylinders, blocks and triangles. You should now be able to use the toolwith more confidence than when you first used it.
Just remember that certain types of solids can only have edges and/orvertices moved. Remembering this is the key to vertex manipulation. Asyou become more experienced with the tool, the more you will be able todo with it.
The next tutorial covers reducing brush counts by using complex brushes made by vertex manipulation as mentioned earlier. By The God
[ 本帖最后由 Simen.sllove 于 2007-11-20 09:21 编辑 ] |
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