Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Grouping Polygons (Parts) and Point
Selection Sets
Getting at a tight area of an object has
always been an issue for modelers as they
work. Fingers, if modeled so they touch
each other, can be tricky, as can the surface
detail of a vehicle or weapon. Grouping the
lower part of a character's facial “mask”
separately from the upper part is integral to
quickly creating the “endomorph” targets
that drive facial animation. (In grouping for
facial animation, you'll also want to estab-
lish separate groups for upper and lower
“inner” mouth parts, such as the jaw/teeth
masses, in addition to groups for left and
right brows, upper and lower eyelids, and
cheeks.)
You create a polygon group (a
part
)ora
point selection set anytime you want to
quickly isolate a part of your object that
you'll want to get at later.
The Grouping controls can be found
under
View | Selection Sets
. With the
polys selected that you wish to add to,
remove from, or reassign to a grouping (a
part), choose the
Create Part
button.
Note
In the “old days,” modelers had to assign
separate surfaces to groups of polys that
they wanted to get at quickly. Though this is
still very much a viable option, the addition
of groups and point selection sets makes life
much easier when you want to have easy
access to a model covered in a lot of the
same surface.
To
add
the selected polys to a part or
change
the part the polys are associated
with, type in the name of the part or select
it from the pop-up menu that lists all cur-
rently assigned parts.
Figure 3-15: The Change Part Name window.
Figure 3-16: The Part heading in the Polygon
Statistics window now lists stats for the parts
you've created in its pop-up menu.
To remove a poly selection from a part,
simply leave the Name box blank in the
Change Part Name window.
Figure 3-14: The Grouping controls.
