Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
In general, a combination of both lighting types gives the best quality and control. However, there are
times when using just one or the other can deliver excellent results.
The Camera
The camera in a 3D scene gives the viewpoint for finished images. Cameras appear only as representations
in the scene and will not appear when a finished image is rendered (so you don't have to worry about them
showing up in reflections). Cameras offer control over many of the options that physical cameras have. You
can control focal length, lens distortion, f-stop, film back, and shutter speed. Although they are simple, cam-
eras are the window into a scene, so using them properly will improve your art and add impact to your
designs.
Navigating the modo User Interface
Modo offers visual cues that enable us to keep things straight from an orientation standpoint. In the bottom-
left corner of each viewport window, a small axis indicator shows, in the orthographic view, the two axes
making up the plane of view. The colored lines point in the positive direction, and the colors always cor-
respond to a particular direction (red for x, green for y, and blue for z). These same colors will appear in
tool handles after modeling begins. In the perspective view, indicators are displayed for all three axes. As in
the orthographic view, each line indicates the positive direction. In the perspective view, there is also a light
gray square that aligns itself to the two axes that are most perpendicular to the current view. This square in-
dicates the orientation of the work plane, which is presented in more depth in Chapter 2, “Creating Objects.”
By staying aware of these markers, we can more easily keep the scene aligned.
In addition to the axis widget, the perspective view offers a gradient background that helps to keep us
from looking at our scene upside-down (or enables us to more easily get there if that is our desire). The
background consists of a two-color gradient: a light blue-gray color indicates up, in the positive y direc-
tion (think of the sky); and a darker shade of the bluish color fills the negative y direction (indicating the
ground). Because we spend a lot of time rotating around our objects to get the best view, staying aware of
this gradient ensures that we keep our feet on the ground, so to speak.
Before you move on to navigating this space, you need to know about scale. You may notice that there
are no document boundaries in 3D space as there are in a page layout document, at least not visible ones.
What we do have to consider is the depth that the computer is able to re-create. This is called draw distance .
A good example of a short draw distance can be seen in older racing video games. As you drive along a
course and look into the distance, objects (such as buildings, trees, and mountains) will appear rather sud-
denly instead of growing from small points on the horizon. Although modern 3D applications are much
more capable of handling distance than those games were, we want to keep draw distance in mind and create
our scenes at (or near) actual scale.
In the bottom-right corner of each modo viewport, a display shows the scale of the small grid boxes. By
default, the three orthographic views are linked together, but the perspective view is independent. Because
modo uses physical scale for many aspects of lighting and texturing, it is important to check your scale as
you begin to create models in 3D space. I have seen many students (and, regrettably, myself) create large
sections of scenes only to realize that the pencil onscreen is as large as an oak tree—or bigger! In the 3D
view, you will also see a light-colored grid that changes position and orientation based on your perspective.
This is the Work Plane, and it is a huge help when you begin modeling objects.
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