Working with the Preset Shelf
You may have noticed that the simple scene you’ve been working with is composed of more than just one surface. Two of the surfaces, Ball_2 and Ball_3, are the same because you copied and pasted the settings. Instead of redoing all the surface parameters, or constantly copying and pasting with the right mouse button as you did, you can use the Preset Shelf to save and apply the same surface and then simply make any necessary changes to the surface properties.
Note
Loading and saving surfaces works as well, yet the Preset Shelf shows you a small thumbnail of the surface. Nice!
From the Windows drop-down list in Layout, select Presets. You can also just press F8. The Preset Shelf defaults to a tall thin column (Figure 3.41) that appears when you access the Surface Editor, but it can be resized.
Figure 3.41 By default, the Preset Shelf opens as a tall window, but it can be resized to fit your screen.
If you don’t care for the tall narrow look of the Preset Shelf, you can click and hold one of the corners of the panel and resize it to your liking. A good option is to stretch the shelf out across the interface from left to right and move it to the bottom of the screen. Because all of your Preset Shelf samples remain in the shelf, you also can open up the panel to fit your entire screen. The choice is yours.
Note
Using LightWave with a dual-monitor system is great when setting up surfaces. Simply set the Preset Shelf wide open on the additional monitor to maximize preset visibility and workflow real estate. If two monitors are beyond your needs,at least consider a bigger single screen. Monitors have become even cheaper, and it might be a good time to invest in a nice 24-inch-wide model—or go for broke and get the 30-inch-wide monitor from Apple or Dell. Go ahead, you know you want to.
Exercise 3.5 Saving a Surface
If you set up a surface you’d like to keep, you can simply save it in the Preset Shelf. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Make sure the Preset Shelf is still open. Then in the Surface Editor, select the Ball_2 surface. Double-click on the display preview at the top of the Surface Editor. You’ll see that surface sample appear on the Preset Shelf (Figure 3.42).
Figure 3.42 Double-clicking the display sample in the Surface Editor, shown on the right, instantly adds those surface settings to the Preset Shelf, shown on the left.
Note
Although double-clicking the sample display is one way to add a surface to the Preset Shelf, you can also right-click on the preview window and select Save Surface Preset. You can also just press the s key while in the Surface Editor. Finally,you can click Add Preset in the VIPER window.
2. Select the second surface you need to apply surfacing to, such as the Ball_3 surface, in the Surface Name list.
3. Go back to the Preset Shelf and double-click the sample you recently added.
A small window appears, asking you to load the current settings. This is asking if you want the settings from the Preset Shelf sample to be applied to the currently selected surface in the Surface Editor. In this case, you do.
4. Click Yes, and all the surface settings are applied from the preset to the Ball_3 surface. For any small changes, adjust as needed in the Surface Editor.
By using a preset to copy and paste a surface, you’ll find it’s much easier to change one simple parameter, such as reflection, than it is to reset all the surface and reflection properties again.
As you can see from the previous examples, it’s not too hard to create simple, good-looking surfaces. The next step is to continue surfacing on your own, using the few simple parameters outlined in the previous pages. Color, diffuse, specularity, glossiness, and reflection form the base for nearly all the surfaces you create. After you have a handle on setting up the basics, read on to learn about the Node Editor. Now, there’s a lot more to learn about surfacing, such as texture mapping, bump mapping, and using procedurals for computer-generated textures. You’ll do this more throughout the projects in this topic, but the information here should have you up and running with the basics of the Surface Editor.
