Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Tip: Converting your selections from one
type to another
Even some professionals don't know this trick for some
reason. While selecting a polygon, sometimes you may
want to select the vertices that make up that polygon. All
you have to do is select the polygon, then Ctrl-click on the
sub-object type you want. Max automatically selects the
sub-objects that make up what you have selected. Pretty
nifty, huh? This is a
huge
time-saver! This works with any
type of sub-object to any other type of sub-object. Try it
out!
Another cool feature is the ring and loop selection grow. You
can now grow and shrink your ring and loop selections just
like you can grow and shrink a polygon selection. You do this
with the up and down arrows next to the Ring and Loop
buttons.
Another very useful type of selection
is Soft Selection, which can be used with
any type of sub-object. Soft Selection is
simply the ability to have your move-
ments affect the surrounding areas.
Choose Polygon mode and select a single
polygon on our trusty sphere that we are
still abusing. Return to the Modify panel
and locate the Soft Selection rollout.
(You may need to open the rollout if
it's closed.) For right now we are keeping
it super simple and really quick. Click the
Use Soft Selection check box at the top of
the Soft Selection options. This will acti-
vate the Soft Selection mode. You'll notice
that the sphere will show a gradient of col-
ors around your selected polygon. Red
represents a fully affected area, and it
fades to green and finally blue after that.
The closer to red it is, the more that area
will be affected. Before we actually move
anything, play around with the Falloff
Figure 3-14: The
Soft Selection rollout
for the Editable Poly
object
