Using the Edit Poly Modifier

In older versions of 3ds Max, if you wanted to create a complex polygonal object, your best modeling strategy would be to collapse a primitive object to an editable poly object and work from there. But if you wanted to use additional modifiers in the stack, you had no way of performing work on the editable poly at a level other than at the bottom of the stack.

But now you can use the Edit Poly modifier, which implements the functionality of the editable poly object as a modifier. This modifier lets you create poly objects any way you need to. Because the Edit Poly modifier can appear anywhere in the modifier stack, in multiple locations if appropriate, you can model parametrically, retaining the modeling and animation flexibility you need.

In this tutorial you will go through the process of using the Edit Poly modifier to build, alter, and animate a toy spaceship. You'll perform all of the modeling with this single modifier.

Skill Level: Beginner/Intermediate

Time to Complete: 1 hour

Tutorial Files

Note: All the files necessary for this tutorial are provided on the program disc in the \tutorials\edit_poly directory. Before starting the tutorials, copy the \tutorials folder from the disc to your local program installation.

In This Tutorial

• Building the Ship's Hull
• Modeling the Tail and Thrusters
• Animating a Special Effect

Building the Ship's Hull

In this sequence you will begin building the toy spaceship by adding an Edit Poly modifier to a primitive cylinder to construct the basic shape of the toy spaceship.

Set up the lesson

• Start 3ds Max. On the menu bar, choose Customize > Units Setup to display the Units Setup dialog. Choose Generic Units, if necessary, and then click OK to confirm the choice.

Create the base object:

1. On the Create panel, choose Standard Primitives, and click Cylinder.
2. In the center of the Left viewport, click and drag to create a cylinder with a radius of about 24 and a height of about 10.
3. While the cylinder is still selected, click the Modify tab and rename the object Spaceship1.
   
   
4. In the Parameters rollout, set Radius to 24 and set Height to 10. Change Height Segments to 1 and Sides to 6. Turn off the Smooth option.
   
   
   You now have a flat hexagonal object to use as a base for the Edit Poly modifier.
   
   
5. On the main toolbar, with the object still selected, click the Select And Move tool.
6. In the Coordinate Display area on the status bar, right-click each of the spinners to the right of the X, Y, and Z numeric fields to reset them to 0.0. This moves the object to the world origin.

Create the hull:

1. Open the file spaceship02.max from the \tutorials\edit_poly folder or continue from the previous section.
2. On the Command Panel > Modify tab, choose the Edit Poly modifier from the Modifier List.
   
   
3. On the Selection Rollout, set the sub-object level to Polygon.
   
   
4. Click the Zoom Extents All button to get a better look at what you are doing.
5. In the Perspective viewport, select the front-facing polygon.
   
   
   The selected polygon turns red.
6. On the main toolbar, right-click the Select And Uniform Scale tool to open the Scale Transform Type-In dialog. In the Offset:World group, type 75 in the % box and press Enter.
   
   
   The hexagonal face scales to 75 percent of its original size.
   Close the Scale Transform Type-In dialog.
7. On the Modify tab > Edit Poly modifier > Edit Polygons rollout, click the Bevel Settings button to open the Bevel Polygons dialog.
   
   
8. On the Bevel Polygons dialog, set Bevel Type to Local Normal. Set Height to 5.0, and Outline Amount to -5.0.
   
   
   Click Apply to accept the edits.
   
   
9. On the Bevel Polygons dialog, set Height to 2.5, and Outline Amount to -3.0. Click Apply to accept the edits.
   
   
10. On the Bevel Polygons dialog, set Height to 1.0, and Outline Amount to 0.0. Click Apply to accept the edits.
    
    
11. On the Bevel Polygons dialog, set Height to 2.0, and Outline Amount to 3.0. Click Apply to accept the edits.
    
    
12. On the Bevel Polygons dialog, set Height to 5.0, and Outline Amount to 5.0. Click Apply to accept the edits.
    
    
13. On the Bevel Polygons dialog, set Height to 18.0, and Outline Amount to 5.0. Click Apply to accept the edits.
    
    
14. On the Bevel Polygons dialog, set Height to 17.0, and Outline Amount to 0.0. Click Apply to accept the edits.
15. Click the Zoom Extents button.
16. On the Bevel Polygons dialog, set Height to 18.0, and Outline Amount to -4.5. Click Apply to accept the edits.
    
    
17. On the Bevel Polygons dialog, set Height to 10.0, and Outline Amount to -3.5. Click Apply to accept the edits.
18. On the Bevel Polygons dialog, set Height to 10.0, and Outline Amount to -4.0. Click Apply to accept the edits.
    
    
19. On the Bevel Polygons dialog, set Height to 11.0, and Outline Amount to -3.5. Click Apply to accept the edits.
    
    
20. On the Bevel Polygons dialog, set Height to 12.0, and Outline Amount to -4.5. Click OK to accept the edits and close the Bevel Polygons dialog.
    
    
21. Click Zoom Extents All to view the entire model in all four viewports.

The basic shape of the toy’s hull has been defined using the Edit Poly Modifier. Next you will add a cockpit to the hull.

Create the cockpit:

1. Open spaceship03.max from the \tutorials\edit_poly folder or continue from the previous sequence.
   If you are starting with spaceship03.max, select the Spaceship1 object and click the Modify tab. On the Selection Rollout, set the sub-object level to Polygon.
   
   
2. Select the two polygons on the top of the hull just ahead of the flat section.
3. On the Edit Polygons rollout, click the Bevel Settings button.
4. On the Bevel Polygons dialog, set Height to 5.0, and Outline Amount to -5.0. Click OK to accept the edits and close the dialog.
5. Click the Polygon sub-object button to return to the Edit Poly level.

Now that you have created the hull and added the cockpit, it is time to add the lower trailing thrusters.

Next

• Modeling the Tail and Thrusters

Modeling the Tail and Thrusters

In this lesson you will continue to use the Edit Poly modifier to add detail to the lower rear portion of the toy’s hull.

Set up the lesson:

• Open spaceship04.max from the \tutorials\edit_poly directory, or continue from the previous lesson.

Add the rear thrusters:

1. Select the Spaceship1 object. On the Modify panel, choose the Symmetry modifier from the Modifier List to apply it to the object.
2. In the modifier stack, choose the Edit Poly modifier below the Symmetry modifier. Turn on Show End Result, if necessary
   
   
3. Click the Arc Rotate button. In the Perspective viewport, arc rotate the view until you can see the lower rear of the left side of the model.
   
   
4. On the Selection rollout, click Polygon.
   
   
5. In the Perspective viewport, select the lower polygon just to the rear of the straight section.
   
   
6. On the Edit Polygons rollout, click the Bevel Settings button. On the Bevel Polygons dialog, set Height to 0, and Outline Amount to –2.5. Click Apply to accept the edits.
   
   
7. On the Bevel Polygons dialog, set Height to 2.0, and Outline Amount to -3.5. Click Apply to accept the edits.
   
   
8. On the Bevel Polygons dialog, set Height to 1.5, and Outline Amount to -1.5. Click OK to accept the edits and close the dialog.
   
   
9. In the Perspective viewport, zoom and pan the view so you can see the back of the model and the selected polygon.
   
   
10. On the Edit Polygons rollout, click the Hinge From Edge Settings button.
    
    
    This opens the Hinge Polygons From Edge dialog.
11. On the Hinge Polygons From Edge dialog, click the Pick Hinge button.
    
    
12. In the Perspective viewport, click the rearmost edge of the selected polygon.
    
    
13. On the Hinge Polygons From Edge dialog, set Angle to 60.0 and Segments to 2. Click OK to accept the edits and close the dialog.
14. On the Edit Polygons rollout, click Bevel Settings. On the Bevel Polygons dialog, set Height to 33.0, and Outline Amount to -1.5. Click OK to accept the edits and close the dialog.
    
    
15. Click in an empty area of the viewport to deselect the polygons, and then exit the sub-object level.
16. Zoom and arc rotate the Perspective viewport to get a top-front view.

Add the tail fin:

In the following steps, you will add a new Edit Poly modifier to the existing object in order to attach a tail object.

1. Open the spaceship05.max file from the \tutorials\edit_poly folder or continue from the previous sequence.
2. Zoom out in the Left viewport to provide enough room to add the tail fin.
   
   
3. On the Create panel, choose Geometry > Standard Primitives. On the Object Type rollout, click Box. In the Left viewport, click and drag to create a box.
   
   
4. Make sure the Box01 object is still selected. Go to the Modify panel and then change Length to 12.0, Width to 2.0, and Height to 12.0. Set Width Segs to 2.
   
   
5. On the Main toolbar, with Box01 still selected, click Select And Move.
6. In the Coordinate Display, right-click each of the spinners to the right of the X and Y values to set them to 0.0. In the Z field, enter 34.0.
   
   
7. Apply an Edit Poly modifier to the Box01 object.
8. On the Selection Rollout, set the sub-object level to Polygon.
   
   
9. Pan and zoom in the Perspective viewport to see the tail and the rear of the spaceship more clearly, if necessary.
   
   
10. In the Perspective viewport, select the two forward-facing polygons on the box.
    Tip: To select multiple faces, hold down the Ctrl key while clicking the faces you wish to select.
    
    
11. On the Main toolbar, click and hold on the Select And Uniform Scale button, and from the flyout choose Select And Non-uniform Scale. Right-click the button to open the Scale Transform Type-in dialog, and set Offset: World Z to 120. Close the dialog.
    
    
    
    
    The front of the box splays vertically.
12. On the Modify panel, on the Edit Polygons rollout, click the Extrude Settings button
    
    
13. On the Extrude Polygons dialog, set Extrusion Height to 10.0. Click OK to accept the edit and close the dialog.
    
    
14. On the Edit Polygons rollout, click the Hinge From Edge Settings button. On the Hinge Polygons From Edge dialog, click the Pick Hinge button. In the Perspective viewport, choose the edge at the bottom of the selected polygons.
    
    
15. On the Hinge Polygons From Edge dialog, set Angle to 70.0 and Segments to 2. Click OK to accept the edits and close the dialog.
    
    
16. Click the Polygon button to return to the Edit Poly level.

The shape of the tail fin is complete. The final step is to attach the tail fin to the hull.

Attach the tail fin to the hull:

1. Select the Spaceship1 object, and then add an Edit Poly modifier to add a new Edit Poly to the stack.
   
   
2. On the Edit Geometry rollout, click the Attach button.
3. In the Perspective viewport, click on the Box01 object to attach it. Right-click in the active viewport to exit Attach mode.
4. In the top Edit Poly modifier, go to the Polygon sub-object level.
   
   
   The two polygons on the front underside of the tail fin object are already selected. You'll also select faces on the hull to attach them to.
5. In the Perspective viewport, Ctrl+click to select the two polygons on the top of the hull just behind the flat section.
   
   
6. In the Edit Polygons rollout, click the Bridge > Settings button.
   
   
   This displays the Bridge dialog.
7. In the Bridge dialog, set Twist 1 to -1. Set Segments to 2, Taper to -0.6, Bias to 1.0, and keep Smooth at 45.0.
   Click OK to accept the edit and close the dialog.
   
   
   Bridge joins the selected faces on the hull and the tail fin.
8. On the Selection rollout, click the Polygon button to return to the Edit Poly level.
   
   
9. Click the Zoom Extents All to view the model.

Next

• Animating a Special Effect

Animating a Special Effect

Edit Poly can apply many of its modeling tools to an animated sub-object selection passed up the stack. In this lesson, you'll create an animated special effect, the result of the space ship being hit by a futuristic “prickly-wave” weapon.

Set up the lesson:

• Open spaceship06.max from the \tutorials\edit_poly directory, or continue from the previous lesson.

Animate a sub-object selection:

1. Select the Spaceship1 object. On the Modify panel, choose the Vol. Select modifier from the Modifier List to apply it to the object. You'll find it near the top of the list, in the Selection Modifiers category.
   By default, the Volume Select modifier gizmo takes the shape of a box, its volume encompassing that of the spaceship.
2. On the Parameters rollout, set Stack Selection Level to Vertex.
3. In the modifier stack display, expand the Vol. Select entry and click Gizmo to access its sub-object level.
4. On the Main toolbar, open the Transform flyout and choose Select And Non-Uniform Scale.
5. Right-click the Select And Non-Uniform Scale button. On the Scale Transform Type-In dialog, set Offset: World > X to 10.0. Close the dialog.
   This shrinks the gizmo so that it can select only a slice of the spaceship at a time.
6. Move the gizmo about –70 units on the X axis so that it's in front of the spaceship.
   
   

   The gizmo sits in front of the spaceship in the Front viewport.
7. Turn on Auto Key, go to frame 20, and then move the gizmo about 140 units on the X axis so it's behind the spaceship.
   
   

   At frame 20, the gizmo sits behind the spaceship in the Front viewport.
8. Scrub the time slider.
   The vertex selection changes as the gizmo passes over the spaceship.
   
   

   At frame 10, the animated Volume Select gizmo selects the vertices in the middle of the spaceship.

Extrude the animated sub-object selection:

1. Apply another Edit Poly modifier to the spaceship.
2. On the Edit Poly Mode rollout, choose Animate.
   This allows modeling in Edit Poly to be animated, either explicitly by setting keyframes, or procedurally by applying the modeling to an animated sub-object selection. In this case, you'll use the latter method.
3. On the Selection rollout, click the Vertex button, and then turn on Use Stack Selection.
   Use Stack Selection uses the sub-object selection passed up the stack as the Edit Poly sub-object selection at each frame.
4. Scrub the time slider.
   The animated vertex selection from the Volume Select modifier passes over the spaceship, as before.
5. On the Edit Vertices rollout, click the Extrude Settings button.
   This opens the Extrude Vertices dialog.
6. Set both Extrusion Height and Extrusion Base Width to 5.0.
7. Scrub the time slider.
   In each frame, Edit Poly applies the extrusion only vertices selected in that frame, so the extrusion effect passes over the spaceship. This shows the result of the spaceship being hit by the “prickly-wave” weapon. You can, if you like, change the time and duration of the effect by moving the keys in the track bar.

Smooth the spaceship:

• From the Modify panel > Modifier List, choose the TurboSmooth modifier to add it to the stack. On the TurboSmooth rollout, set Iterations to 2 and turn on Isoline Display.
  
  
  The spaceship is now complete. You can view the final results of this tutorial in the file spaceship_final.max in the \tutorials\edit_poly folder .

Summary

In this tutorial, you learned how to use the new Edit Poly modifier to create a spaceship out of two simple primitive shapes, and to animate a special effect moving over its surface. You also used the new TurboSmooth modifier to quickly smooth the shape.