SOFTIMAGE®|XSI® Version 4.0 Modeling & Deformations © 1999–2004 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Avid, meta–clay, SOFTIMAGE, XSI, and the XSI logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the United States and/ or other countries. mental ray and mental images are registered trademarks of mental images GmbH & Co. KG in the U.S.A. and some other countries. mental ray Phenomenon, mental ray Phenomena, Phenomenon, Phenomena, Software Protection Manager, and SPM are trademarks or, in some countries, registered trademarks of mental images GmbH & Co. KG. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners. This software includes the Python Release 2.3.2 software. The Python software is: Copyright © 2001, 2002, 2003 Python Software Foundation. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2000 BeOpen.com. All rights reserved. Copyright © 1995-2000 Corporation for National Research Initiatives. All rights reserved. Copyright © 1991-1995 Stichting Mathematisch Centrum. All rights reserved. The SOFTIMAGE|XSI application uses JScript and Visual Basic Scripting Edition from Microsoft Corporation. Activision is a registered trademark of Activision, Inc. © 1998 Activision, Inc. Battlezone is a trademark of and © 1998 Atari Interactive, Inc., a Hasbro company. All rights reserved. Licensed by Activision. This document is protected under copyright law. The contents of this document may not be copied or duplicated in any form, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of Avid Technology, Inc. This document is supplied as a guide for the Softimage product. Reasonable care has been taken in preparing the information it contains. However, this document may contain omissions, technical inaccuracies, or typographical errors. Avid Technology, Inc. does not accept responsibility of any kind for customers’ losses due to the use of this document. Product specifications are subject to change without notice. Documentation Team Judy Bayne, Grahame Fuller, Edna Kruger, Luc Langevin, and Jamal Rahal. 05 2004 Contents Contents Modeling & Deformations Roadmap . .13 Where to Find Information . .14 Document Conventions . .16 Softimage Customer Service . .18 Section I • Modeling & Deformation Basics Chapter 1 Modeling in XSI . .23 Modeling in XSI . .24 Geometric Objects . .25 Types of Geometry . .25 Density. .28 Centers. .28 Normals . .29 Useful Tools for Modeling . .30 Model Toolbar . .30 Context Menus . .30 Views . .31 Duplicating and Cloning . .32 Symmetry. .32 Transformations . .32 Clipping Planes . .32 Rotoscopy . .32 Geometry Approximation Parameters . .33 Visibility, Display, and Selectability . .33 Hierarchies. .34 Layers. .34 Info Selection . .34 Info Geometry. .34 Chapter 2 Starting From Scratch: Primitives and Text . .35 Starting From Scratch. .36 Primitives. .37 Getting Primitives . .37 U, V, and Base Subdivisions . .39 Start and End Angles . .39 Open and Closed Ends . .39 Geodesics. .40 Creating Text . .41 Overview of Creating Text . .41 Modeling & Deformations • 3 Contents Typing Text . 42 Setting Font Attributes . 43 Setting Line Attributes. 43 Importing RTF Files. 44 Saving RTF Files. 44 Controlling Conversion to Curves . 45 Controlling Conversion to Polygon Meshes . 46 Chapter 3 Building 3D Objects . 47 Building 3D Objects . 48 The Process of Modeling . 49 Overview of Modeling . 49 Picking. 49 Modifying Multiple Objects. 50 Operator Stack . 51 Viewing and Modifying Operators . 51 Operator Classification. 53 Construction Modes and Regions . 53 Special Considerations for Topology Modifications. 59 Changing the Order of Operators. 60 Disabling the Top of the Stack . 62 Freezing the Operator Stack . 63 Collapsing Deformation Operators . 64 Modeling Relations . 66 Managing Generator Inputs . 68 Substituting Inputs . 70 Showing Modeling Relations in the 3D Views . 70 Optimizing Performance with Modeling Relations . 70 Breaking the Modeling Relation . 70 Immediate Mode . 71 Commands and Immediate Mode . 71 Chapter 4 Generating Objects from Curves . 73 Generating Objects from Curves. 74 About Building from Curves . 75 Picking Input Curves. 75 Controlling Subdivisions . 76 Controlling Degree of Surfaces . 76 Controlling the Direction of Normals . 77 Managing Input Objects . 77 Using Birail . 78 Using Curve Net . 79 Extruding Curves along Axes. 80 Extruding Curves along Curves . 81 Extruding with Two Profiles . 82 4 • SOFTIMAGE|XSI Contents Picking Boundaries Using Four-Sided . .83 Lofting Curves. .84 Revolving Curves around Axes . .87 Revolving Curves Around Curves. .88 Chapter 5 Manipulating Components. ..