Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 7
Modeling 3:
Sub-Patch Organic
Modeling
A
sub-patch
is just a regular four-sided poly-
gon that has been subdivided into smaller,
four-sided polygons. How many depends
upon the number set for Patch Divisions
(
level of detail
) in the General Options win-
dow. (A three-sided poly will also work as a
sub-patch but not quite as well.)
Saying that a sub-patch is “just” a poly-
gon diced into tinier ones in no way, shape,
or form gives even an inkling of how totally,
awesomely
cool
a sub-patch is (in all its
splendor and glory). The “magic” of the
sub-patch lies in the fact that each of the
component polys tries to make itself con-
form to a spherical shape (or a discoid
shape, if the main poly is two-dimensional).
Pressing <
Ta b
> activates
Construct
| Convert | SubPatch
, which tells
LightWave to handle all your quads as sub-
patches. (I hesitate to say that the polys are
“converted” into sub-patches because the
polys technically
remain exactly as they were
and are directly referenced in the interpreting
of the sub-patch surface
. Pressing <
Ta b
>
again turns the sub-patches right back into
the polys you were looking at before.)
Figure 7-1
