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              <p><font color="#0000FF"><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#0000CC">volume 
                1, issue 11</font></b></font></p>
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              <p>  <p><font face="Courier New, Courier, mono"><b><font color="#339900" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Today 
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        <p align="LEFT"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#0022A8"><b><a target="" href="../../corner/index.html"><font size="-1">Thinking 
          Outside the Box</font></a><font size="-1">:</font></b></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="+3" color="#0022A8"><br>
          Modelling Detris</font></p>
        <p align="RIGHT"><font color="#804000"><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">By 
          Paul &quot;<a target="_self" href="mailto:paul@loonygames.com">Villam</a>&quot; 
          Steed</font></b></font></p>
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        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Another thing I've found 
          myself doing of late that helps speed is doing my transforms in one 
          window. Knowing and quickly changing your axes whether you're doing 
          a move, scale or rotate transform is crucial to making the one window 
          work, though. Since I've only recently begun using Max, I distinctly 
          remember some confusion and frustration getting the axes down. However, 
          I really dig hotkeys so I quickly embraced the F5, F6, F7 and F8 keys 
          for my axis-switching instead of the buttons... </font></p>
        <p align="CENTER"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><img src="images/totb1205.jpg" width="259" height="222"></font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">I still occasionally go to 
          orthographic windows (left, right, front, top, etc.) for moves, scales 
          and rotates yet for the most part I do almost everything in the perspective 
          window. In this view by clicking on a vertex in my mesh I can use that 
          selected point for my axis of rotation, quickly spinning and checking 

          my model on any side. Some other hotkeys I use ALL the frickin' time 
          besides F5, F6, F7 and F8 are 'z' for zoom and [ctrl] 'r' for rotate. 
          These are my work horses since I'm constantly zooming in and out and 
          looking all over my object. </font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">So unless you have that plugin 
          for max that gives you Alias-like marking menus, I strongly recommend 
          the use of at least these hotkeys. Some miscellaneous ones I also use 
          are [alt] 'h' for hiding selected geometry and [alt] 'u' for 'unhide 
          all' geometry. Regardless, Grasshopper…USE HOTKEYS. They're easy to 
          learn (like, uh… u-s-e them a few times) and the chronal units they 
          save by adding to your rhythm is prodigious to say the least. Go right 
          now to File/Preferences and get intimate with the Keyboard section. 
          Go ahead. I'll wait. </font></p>
        <p align="CENTER"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="images/totb1206.jpg"><img src="images/totb1206_thumb.jpg" width="252" height="232" alt="Click for fullsize image" border="0"></a></font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Another thing. This may sound 
          strange but until recently I didn't use the 'edit mesh' modifier. I 
          simply applied some modifier of choice and then collapsed the stack 
          once I was satisfied with the results. This is probably because I didn't 
          like a long string of entries in my modifier stack or I got that warning 
          early on in my Max learnin' and figured, "Why use edit mesh if it won't 
          let me go back earlier in the stack once I've made some changes?" Thing 
          is, 'edit mesh' and 'editable mesh' do have some differences in the 
          way they allow you access to at least edge and face sub-objects.</font></p>
        <p align="CENTER"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="images/totb1207.jpg"><img src="images/totb1207.jpg" width="400" height="300" alt="Click for fullsize image" border="0"></a></font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">We'll start with edge. Do 
          this simple experiment. Make a perfect cube. Just make a box in the 
          perspective window and type in 200, 200, 200 in the initial box creation 
          parameters menu. Then convert it to an editable mesh by choosing appropriately 
          after clicking on the stack icon. Click on 'zoom extents' and rotate 
          the view into a nice 'corner on' view of the box. </font></p>
        <p align="CENTER"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="images/totb1209.jpg"><img src="images/totb1209_thumb.jpg" width="211" height="196" alt="Click for fullsize image" border="0"></a></font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Turn off your grid (I find 
          the grid very annoying most of the time - unless I need to measure or 
          guide something of course) and go to 'edge' in the sub-object menu.</font></p>
        <p align="CENTER"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="images/totb1208.jpg"><img src="images/totb1208_thumb.jpg" width="202" height="209" alt="Click for fullsize image" border="0"></a></font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Now, your 'backface cull' 
          box should be checked automatically under Display so you should be seeing 
          the above and the edges on the backside of the box are now visible. 
          Wave your mouse over the edges in the foreground. Go ahead. Do it. What 
          happens? A little cross pops up over the edge telling you it can be 
          selected or messed with. Now wave your mouse over the edges that aren't 
          in the foreground. Nothin'. Nada. Zip. No little cross. No action at 
          all for you. This edge is playing coy and will make you do some work 
          before you can affect it. To do that you'd have to [ctrl] 'r' your happy 
          butt to the other side and then you'd get some. Again, this is accessing 
          the sub-object menu via 'editable mesh'. The lowest of manipulation 
          with no construction history which is the result of a collapsed stack 
          or converted primitive. With me so far?</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Okay. Now let's take the 
          same box and apply an 'edit mesh' modifier to it. Go ahead. Select the 
          box if you haven't already and click over there on 'edit mesh'. If it 
          isn't visible go to where it says 'more' and find 'edit mesh'. Cool. 
          Now try the same thing. Go to 'edge' under the sub-object menu and wave 
          your mouse over any edge. Yeah, baby. This box is an easy box. Lascivious 
          and wanton even.</font></p>
        <p align="CENTER"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="images/totb1210.jpg"><img src="images/totb1210_thumb.jpg" width="211" height="186" alt="Click for fullsize image" border="0"></a></font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Notice also that this particularly 
          accessible box automatically gives you the invisible diagonal edges 
          as well. I'm constantly going to Display and UN-checking the 'edges 
          only' box after I make something (I'll send a shirt to the first one 
          who tells me how to keep from doing this all the time and have the invisible 
          edges show all the time automatically when I create the object. Takers?)</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Now look at face. When creating 
          faces you have to make them connecting the dots in a counter-clockwise 
          fashion using 'build face' once that button is lit. Now why in the hell 
          is it that when you build faces on an object using 'edit mesh' you do 
          NOT have the option to remove smoothing groups on a face by the 'clear 
          all [smoothing groups]' button? Try it. Delete a face from your box 
          while using the same 'edit mesh' modifier as before, build it again 
          (counter-clockwise) and look at what you get when you go down to the 
          smoothing group area of the menu.</font></p>
        <p align="CENTER"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="images/totb1211.jpg"><img src="images/totb1211_thumb.jpg" width="113" height="214" alt="Click for fullsize image" border="0"></a></font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Now collapse the mesh's stack 
          and do the same thing. Delete and rebuild a face. Select it and check 
          out the extra option under the smoothing group boxes...</font></p>
        <p align="CENTER"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="images/totb1212.jpg"><img src="images/totb1212_thumb.jpg" width="148" height="232" alt="Click for fullsize image" border="0"></a></font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Weird.</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Ah well. Hope this short 
          trip kicking up modeling effluvia proved at least interesting. I apologize 
          if I talked over your head or (a more likelier probability) brought 
          up dumb stuff of no use to anyone. Next tutorial in two weeks we're 
          going to choke our chicken. Be here next week when I wax philosophically.</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Andy Rooney </font></p>
        <p align="LEFT">&nbsp; </p>
        <p align="RIGHT"><i><font size="-1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">- 
          Paul Steed is an incredibly opinionated 3D artist at <a target="_top" href="http://www.idsoftware.com">id 
          Software</a>. He bares no resemblence to Andy Rooney. loonyboi, however, 
          does look strikingly like Ed Bradley.</font></i></p>
        <p align="LEFT">&nbsp;</p>
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      <p><i><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-2"> </font></i><i><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-2"><b>Credits:</b> 
        Thinking Outside the Box logo illustrated and is &copy; 1998 Dan Zalkus. 
        Thinking Outside the Box is &copy; 1998 Paul Steed. All other content 
        is &copy; 1998 <a target="_self" href="http://www.loonyboi.com">loonyboi 
        productions</a>. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited, so 
        don't even try it. We've got really big guns, and we're ripped, baby.</font></i></p>
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