Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
hardware preview of the object or objects as they're lit in the scene. The detail level hot-
keys for NURBS objects (1, 2, 3) apply in Shaded mode as well. Here's a summary:
Key
FunctIon
4
Toggles into Wireframe mode
5
Toggles into Shaded mode
6
Toggles into Textured mode
7
Toggles into Lighted mode
It's always good to toggle between the Wireframe and Shaded modes to get a feel for
the weight and proportion of your model as you're building it. The Texture mode is good
for the rudimentary lining up of textures, but typically it's better to rely on fully rendered
frames for that. The IPR renderer in
Maya is also great for previewing work
because it updates areas of the frame
in good-quality renders at interactive
speeds. Chapter 11, “Maya Rendering,”
covers IPR.
The Lighted mode is useful for spot-
ting proper lighting direction and object
highlights when you first begin lighting
a scene. It helps to see the direction of
lights in your scene without having to
render frames all the time. How many
lights you see in the Modeling window
depends on your computer's graphics
and overall capabilities. Chapter 10,
“Maya Lighting,” covers lighting and
makes frequent use of this mode.
Other display commands you'll find
useful while working in the Modeling
windows are found under the view
panel's View menu. Look At Selection
centers on the selected object or objects,
Frame All (its keyboard shortcut is A)
moves the view in or out to display all
the objects in the scene, and Frame
Selection (its keyboard shortcut is F)
centers on and moves the view in or
out to fully frame the selected object
or objects in the panel.
Figure 3.13
Shaded NURBS
display detail
