Menu Cells
Get -> Primitive
The Get -> Primitive commands are available in all modules except Tools. They let you define primitive objects which are basic objects with a fixed geometric structure.
For detailed descriptions of polygon mesh objects, curves, and surfaces, as well as the modelling tasks you can perform with them, see the Modelling User's Guide.
Circle
The Get -> Circle command allows you to define a primitive circle, which is a closed 2D curve in the shape of a circle.
1. Choose the Get -> Circle command.
The Create Circle dialogue box is displayed.
2. Select the type of curve (Linear, Cardinal, B-Spline, or NURBS).
3. For NURBS curves, select the degree of curve: Linear (the default), Quadratic, or Cubic.
4. Set the Radius in SOFTIMAGE units.
5. Set the Step.
6. Click Ok to accept the settings or Cancel to exit.
Parameters
Curve Type
- Linear: Straight line between control points.
- Cardinal: Curved line passing through control points.
- B-Spline: Curved line not necessarily passing through control points.
- NURBS: Curved line not necessarily passing through control points. Specify the degree, which affects the smoothness and continuity of the curve. For information on degree and continuity, see the Degree and Continuity section of the Modelling User's Guide.
- Linear creates a NURBS curve of the first degree. The resulting curve is of continuity zero (positional continuity). This is the default value.
- Quadratic creates a NURBS curve of the second degree. The resulting curve is of continuity 1 (positional and tangential continuity).
- Cubic creates a NURBS curve of the third degree. The resulting curve is of continuity 2 (positional, tangential, and curvature continuity).
Radius
Size of circle in SOFTIMAGE units.
Step
Number of control points (used in defining the circle).
Arc
The Get -> Arc command allows you to define an arc, which is an open 2D curve.
1. Choose the Get -> Arc command.
The Create Arc dialogue box is displayed.
2. Select the type of curve (Linear, Cardinal, B-Spline, or NURBS).
3. For NURBS curves, select the degree of curve: Linear (the default), Quadratic, or Cubic.
4. Set the parameters Radius, Begin, End, and Step.
5. Click Ok to accept the settings or Cancel to exit.
Parameters
Curve Type
- Linear: Straight line between control points.
- Cardinal: Curved line passing through control points.
- B-Spline: Curved line not necessarily passing through control points.
- NURBS: Curved line not necessarily passing through control points. Specify the degree, which affects the smoothness and continuity of the curve.
- Linear creates a NURBS curve of the first degree. The resulting curve is of continuity zero (positional continuity). This is the default value.
- Quadratic creates a NURBS curve of the second degree. The resulting curve is of continuity 1 (positional and tangential continuity).
- Cubic creates a NURBS curve of the third degree. The resulting curve is of continuity 2 (positional, tangential, and curvature continuity).
Radius
Size of arc in SOFTIMAGE units.
Begin
Starting point degree reference (0 ° = 3 o'clock).
End
Ending point degree reference, up to a maximum of 360°. The default is 90° = 12 o'clock.
Step
Number of control points (definition).
Spiral
The Get -> Spiral command creates a spiral, which is an open 2D curve.
1. Choose the Get -> Spiral command.
The Create Spiral dialogue box is displayed.
2. Select the type of curve (Linear, Cardinal, B-Spline, or NURBS).
3. For NURBS curves, select the degree of curve: Linear (the default), Quadratic, or Cubic.
4. Set the parameters: Starting and Ending Radii, Starting and Ending Angles, Depth, and Step.
5. Click Ok to accept, or Cancel to exit.
Parameters
Curve Type
- Linear: Straight line between control points.
- Cardinal: Curved line passing through control points.
- B-Spline: Curved line not necessarily passing through control points.
- NURBS: Curved line not necessarily passing through control points. Specify the degree, which affects the smoothness and continuity of the curve.
- Linear creates a NURBS curve of the first degree. The resulting curve is of continuity zero (positional continuity). This is the default value.
- Quadratic creates a NURBS curve of the second degree. The resulting curve is of continuity 1 (positional and tangential continuity).
- Cubic creates a NURBS curve of the third degree. The resulting curve is of continuity two (positional, tangential, and curvature continuity).
Starting Radius
Size of the spiral in SOFTIMAGE units at the start.
Ending Radius
Size of the spiral in SOFTIMAGE units at the end. Together, the two radius parameters determine the shape of the spiral: conic or cylindrical.
Starting Angle
Angle of the first point.
Ending Angle
Angle of the last point.
Together, the two angle parameters determine the curvature of the spiral. Use the Front window centre as a reference point for these angles.
Depth
Size of the spiral in SOFTIMAGE units and starting from the origin the world. Use the Top or Right window for reference.
Step
Number of control points (definition).
Square
The Get -> Square command creates a square, which is a 2D object that is a linearly closed curve.
1. Choose the Get -> Square command.
The Create Square dialogue box is displayed.
2. Set the Length of a side of the square in SOFTIMAGE units:
range [0,].
3. Click Ok to accept the settings or Cancel to exit.
Cube
The Get -> Cube command creates a cube, which is a closed 3D polygon mesh object.
1. Choose the Get -> Cube command.
The Create Cube dialogue box is displayed.
2. Set the Length of each side of the cube in SOFTIMAGE units: range [0, ].
3. Click Ok to accept the settings or Cancel to exit.
Sphere
The Get -> Sphere command allows you to define a sphere, a 3D object that may be a polygon mesh, a patch, or a NURBS surface.
For patch spheres, you can specify the type of curve used in the u and v directions; for NURBS, you can specify the degree of curve in each direction.
Polygon mesh spheres are closed. By default, patch and NURBS spheres are closed in u and open in v.
1. Choose the Get -> Sphere command.
The Create Sphere dialogue box is displayed.
2. Select Polygon, Patch, or NURBS for the object type.
3. For all sphere types, set the radius and the number of Steps in Longitude and Latitude.
4. For Patch surfaces, select the type of curve (Linear, Cardinal, or
B-Spline) for longitude and latitude (U and V directions).
5. For NURBS surfaces, select the degree of the curve (Linear, Quadratic, or Cubic) for longitude and latitude (U and V).
6. Click Ok or Cancel.
Parameters
Object Type
- Polygon creates a polygon mesh sphere.
- Patch creates a patch sphere using Linear, Cardinal, or B-Spline curve types for longitude/latitude (U and V).
- NURBS creates a NURBS sphere of the first degree (linear), second degree (quadratic) or third degree (cubic), in either the U or V direction, or both.
- Linear creates a NURBS surface of the first degree in the chosen direction. The resulting direction is of continuity zero (positional continuity). This is the default value.
- Quadratic creates a NURBS surface of the second degree. The resulting direction is of continuity 1 (positional and tangential continuity).
- Cubic creates a NURBS surface of the third degree in the chosen direction. The resulting direction is of continuity 2 (positional, tangential, and curvature continuity).
Radius
Size of sphere in SOFTIMAGE units.
Longitude (U) Step
Number of equidistant subdivisions on the vertical axis.
Latitude (V) Step
Number of subdivisions on the horizontal axis.
- Tip:
- It is often useful to cap a patch or NURBS surface in V. To do this, select the sphere and choose Info -> Selection. In the dialogue box that appears, select the Capping options for Bottom and Top in V. Bottom refers to the start of V direction and Top refers to the end of V direction. After capping, the top or bottom points of the sphere move as one. Compare the results with and without capping.
Cylinder
The Get -> Cylinder command allows you to define a cylinder, which is a closed 3D polygon mesh object.
1. Choose the Get -> Cylinder command.
The Create Cylinder dialogue box is displayed.
2. Set the Radius and Height.
3. Set the Longitude Step, and the Latitude Base and Step.
4. Click Ok to accept the settings or Cancel to exit.
Parameters
Radius
Radius of the cylinder in SOFTIMAGE units.
Height
Height of the cylinder in SOFTIMAGE units.
Longitude Step
Number of subdivisions of vertical axis (determines roundness).
Latitude Step
Number of subdivisions around the base.
Latitude Base
Number of subdivisions on the base.
Cone
The Get -> Cone command creates a cone, which is a closed 3D polygon mesh object.
1. Choose the Get -> Cone command.
The Create Cone dialogue box is displayed.
2. Set the parameters: Radius, Height, Longitude Step, Latitude Step and Base.
3. Click Ok to accept the settings or Cancel to exit.
Parameters
Radius
Radius of the cone's base in SOFTIMAGE units.
Height
Length of the cone in SOFTIMAGE units.
Longitude Step
Number of subdivisions around the base (determines roundness).
Latitude Step
Number of subdivisions of the vertical axis.
Latitude Base
Number of subdivisions across the cone's base.
Torus
The Get -> Torus command creates a torus, which is a closed 3D doughnut-shaped object that may be a polygon mesh, a patch, or NURBS surface.
A torus is created by revolving a circle around the y axis.
1. Choose the Get -> Torus command.
The Create Torus dialogue box is displayed.
2. Select Polygon, Patch, or NURBS as the object type.
3. For a patch torus, select the type of curve (Linear, Cardinal, or
B-Spline) for Longitude and Latitude (U and V).
4. For a NURBS torus, select the degree of the curve (Linear, Quadratic or Cubic) for Longitude and Latitude (U and V).
5. For all torus types, set the radii and the number of steps for Longitude and Latitude.
6. Click Ok or Cancel.
Parameters
Object Type
- Polygon creates a polygon mesh torus.
- Patch creates a patch surface torus using Linear, Cardinal, or
B-Spline curve types for longitude/latitude.
- NURBS creates a NURBS torus of the first degree (linear), second degree (quadratic) or third degree (cubic), in either the U or V direction, or both.
- Linear creates a NURBS surface of the first degree in the chosen direction. The resulting direction is of continuity zero (positional continuity). This is the default value.
- Quadratic creates a NURBS surface of the second degree. The resulting direction is of continuity 1 (positional and tangential continuity).
- Cubic creates a NURBS surface of the third degree in the chosen direction. The resulting direction is of continuity 2 (positional, tangential and curvature continuity).
Radius 1
Radius of the circle in SOFTIMAGE units revolved around the y-axis to make the torus.
Radius 2
Radius of the path of revolution in SOFTIMAGE units. This is the distance from the origin (global centre) to the centre of the torus.
Longitude (U) Step
Number of subdivisions on the vertical axis.
Latitude (V) Step
Number of subdivisions on the horizontal axis.
Tetrahedron
The Get -> Tetrahedron command creates a tetrahedron, which is a closed 3D polygon mesh object with four sides.
1. Choose the Get -> Tetrahedron command.
The Create Tetrahedron dialogue box is displayed.
2. Set the Radius which defines the size of the tetrahedron in SOFTIMAGE units. The range is [0, ].
Octahedron
The Get -> Octahedron command creates an octahedron, which is a closed 3D polygon mesh object with eight sides.
1. Choose the Get -> Octahedron command.
The Create Octahedron dialogue box is displayed.
2. Set the Radius which defines the size of the octahedron in SOFTIMAGE units. The range is [0, ]. This is most easily seen in the Top window.
Icosahedron
The Get -> Icosahedron command creates an icosahedron polygons, which is a closed 3D polygon mesh object with 20 sides and has triangular polygons.
1. Choose the Get -> Icosahedron command.
The Create Icosahedron dialogue box is displayed.
2. Set the Radius which defines the size of the icosahedron in SOFTIMAGE units. The range is [0, ]. This is most easily seen in the Top window.
Dodecahedron
The Get -> Dodecahedron command creates a dodecahedron, which is a 3D polygon mesh object having 12 pentagonal planar polygons.
1. Choose the Get -> Dodecahedron command.
The Create Dodecahedron dialogue box is displayed.
2. Set the Radius which defines the size of the dodecahedron in SOFTIMAGE units. The range is [0, ].
Grid
The Get -> Grid command creates a grid, which is an open 3D object that is a flat polygon mesh, patch, or NURBS surface.
1. Choose the Get -> Grid command.
The Create Rectangular Grid dialogue box is displayed.
2. Select Polygon, Patch, or NURBS as the object type.
3. For patches, select the type of curve (Linear, Bezier, Cardinal,
or B-Spline) in X and Z.
4. For NURBS, select the degree of curve (Linear, Quadratic or Cubic) in X and Z.
5. For all grid types, set the X and Z Cell Size and Count.
Parameters
Object Type
- Polygon creates a polygon mesh object.
- Patch creates a patch surface using Linear, Bezier Cardinal, or
B-Spline curve types in x and z.
- NURBS creates a NURBS surface of the first degree (linear), second degree (quadratic) or third degree (cubic), in either the x or z direction, or both.
- Linear creates a NURBS surface of the first degree in the chosen direction. The resulting direction is of continuity zero (positional continuity). This is the default value.
- Quadratic creates a NURBS surface of the second degree. The resulting direction is of continuity 1 (positional and tangential continuity).
- Cubic creates a NURBS surface of the third degree in the chosen direction. The resulting direction is of continuity two (positional, tangential and curvature continuity).
X Cell Size
Size of the x-side of each polygon (ref grid). Range is [0, ].
Z Cell Size
Size of the z-side of each polygon (ref grid). Range is [0, ].
X Cell Count
Number of polygons in the x-axis (definition). Range is [1, ].
Z Cell Count
Number of polygons in the z-axis (definition). Range is [1, ].
Null
The Get -> Null command allows you to create a null object, which is an object with no geometrical definition (it is invisible in a rendered scene). When you choose this command, the null is immediately displayed on the screen as three lines intersecting at the origin (global centre).
Nebula
The Get -> Nebula command lets you create effects such as falling snow, moving dust, exploding text, particles moving from the floor, and composing a face or a text, etc. Each particle is a triangle and the resulting object is a polygon mesh. You can create several models with the same number of particles and then interpolate them with a shape interpolation creating effects like fireworks, swarms, snow, etc.
Procedure
1. Create a reference model to define the boundaries of the nebula.
2. Choose the Get -> Nebula command. The Nebula dialogue box is displayed:
3. Select the parameters as desired and click Ok.
4. Click on the Source model.
A new polygon mesh model is created with the specified number of triangles.
Parameters
Particles
The number of particles you want to create.
Seed
Determines how the random number generator is initialized. If you create two Nebula effects with the same seed, the simulations are always the same (that is, they use the same random numbers to calculate the effect). With different seeds, the random number changes, producing slightly different effects. You can use any number from 1 to 100 as a random seed.
Size
Describes the size of each particle in SOFTIMAGE units.
Particle Positioning
Describes where you want to place the particles.
- Bounding Sphere: the particles are dispersed from the surface of the Bounding Sphere of the selected model.
- Thickness describes the thickness of the Bounding Sphere.
- Bounding Box: the particles are dispersed from the surface of the bounding box of the selected model.
- Volume: the particles are dispersed into the volume of the selected polygon mesh. Raytracing is involved in this option, so this is the slowest mode.
- Vertices: the particles are dispersed on the vertices of the model if polygon mesh, on the control points if patch or curve, or on the null itself if a null.
- Edges: if the model is a polygon mesh, the particles lie along the edges of the selected model.
- Polygons: if the model is a polygon mesh, the particles lie over the polygons, which must be convex.
Jitter
The particles are randomly shifted (based on Seed) into a sphere of Radius.
Copy Model Rotations, Scaling, and Translations
The new polygon mesh inherits the selected transformation (rotation, scaling, or translation) of the selected model.
Compute Normals
Compute the normal values on the resulting polygon mesh.
Material
- Random: The number specified in the Materials text box is created randomly and each particle takes one.
- Copy from model: Each particle takes the same colour as its polygon; otherwise, the first colour of the model is assumed.
Zzot
The Get -> Zzot command allows you to create effects like sparkles and lightning.
Procedure
1. Create a source model and a destination model. Both models may be curves or polygon meshes.
- Note:
- The Zzot effect does not work with patch objects.
2. Choose the Get -> Zzot command. The Zzot dialogue box is displayed.
3. Set the parameters as desired.
4. Click Ok.
5. Select the source model.
6. Select the destination model.
A new model is created based on the parameters set, and on the source and destination models.
Parameters
Objects
The number of objects to create. If creating more than one, the first object is the parent of the others.
Points
The number of points of the first branch of the generated curve or object (the curve detail).
Depth
The depth of the lightning (a tree structure). If this number is 1, a single branch is created.
Fecundity
The probability for each branch to be created. A low value cuts many branches, while 1.0 outputs the entire tree.
Heritage
The percentage of magnitude and number of points that each child inherits from its parent. A value of 0.5 means that each branch is half the length of its parent.
Scale
Defines the amount of roughness on the object. A value of 1 creates a straight line.
Smoothness
This value describes the amount of local roughness of the curve (fractal dimension). A value of 0 means a high degree of roughness, and a value of 1 is a smooth line.
Children
The number of sparkles generated by each parent.
Min. Angle and Max. Angle
The solid angles where the branches can expand. For example, if Min. Angle is 89 and Max. Angle is 91, all the branches are normal to the parent's direction.
Seed
Determines how the random number generator is initialized. If you create two Zzot effects with the same source models and the same seed, the simulations are always the same (that is, they use the same random numbers to calculate the effect). With different seeds, the random number changes, producing slightly different effects. You can use any number from 1 to 100 as a random seed.
Seed Increment
This number sets the increment for the random number generator if you have more than one object.
Name
This text box lets you specify a name for the model that is created by the custom effect. You can modify the name of the model again later, using the Info -> Selection command.
Model Type
- Spline creates a curve (spline). You must select the desired curve type: Linear, Cardinal, B-Spline, or Bezier.
- Mesh creates a polygon mesh strip.
- Size is the thickness of the resulting strip.
- Size Heritage is the percentage of thickness that each parent inherits from its immediate parent.
- Single Mesh creates a single polygon mesh.
- Hierarchy creates a hierarchy of objects.
Notes
- You can tag points on the source and destination polygon mesh to define a path that the main branch of lightning or sparkles travel. By default, the main branch of lightning or sparkles travels from the source centre to the destination centre. The other branches travel according to the parameters set: otherwise, the tagged points attract all the branches.
- One-branch lightning with the same number of points and different Seed, Smoothness, and Scale values can be easily animated using Shape interpolation, which creates sparkling visual effects. More visual effects can be added by generating two sequences of sparkles created using the same parameters, but modifying the Size width of the sparkle to make one bigger than the other. You can then blur the width using tools like Painterly Effects and composite the thinner one over the blurred one.
AnimatedPatchFormula
The Get -> AnimatedPatchFormula command in the Motion module lets you include time as a variable in the system of equations, which allows precise control over the animation of a patch.
Procedure
1. Choose the Get -> AnimatedPatchFormula command in the Motion module. The AnimatedPatchFormula dialogue box is displayed.
2. Set the parameters as desired.
3. Click Ok.
Parameters
The parameters are the same as in the Get -> PatchFormula in the Model module.
The following parameters apply to this effect because it is animated:
Next, Previous, Delete, Key, and Frame
For the animated effects, Next advances to the next keyframe, Previous goes back to the previous keyframe, Delete removes a keyframe, and Key sets a keyframe at the frame you specify in the Frame text box. These controls can only be accessed after you have set the initial parameters in the dialogue box and clicked Ok. To return to the dialogue box and edit keyframes for the effect, select the effect icon and choose the Effects -> Edit Parameters command in the Motion module.
PatchFormula
The Get -> PatchFormula command in the Model module creates a patch according to precise, user-defined formulas. Enter a system of equations defining the x, y, and z coordinates of the patch's vertices as functions of their patch coordinates u and v. These equations are composed of normal mathematical symbols and functions such as +, -, *, SIN, COS, PI, TAN, SQRT, and RAND.
There is an example of PatchFormula's use in SOFTIMAGE Custom Effects Formulæ.
Procedure
1. Choose the Get -> PatchFormula command in the Model module. The PatchFormula dialogue box is displayed.
2. Set the parameters as desired.
3. Click Ok.
Parameters
Reserved Variables
These are available to you as variables for equations. For more information, see SOFTIMAGE Custom Effects Formulæ.
User Variables
If you need to use variables in your equation system which are not among the Reserved variables, you must "declare" them in this text box. If your equations use the variables radius, theta, and mu, for example, type radius, theta, mu here. For more information, see SOFTIMAGE Custom Effects Formulæ.
Equations 0 to 9
Any number of equations may be filled in here, but each equation must be less than 40 characters. The variables U and V refer to the patch coordinates of the patch's control points. These vary from 0 to U Num - 1 in U and 0 to V Num - 1 in V. The X, Y, and Z variables are the actual coordinates you set for the control point. When not explicitly set, the default for these variables is zero. For more information, see SOFTIMAGE Custom Effects Formulæ.
U Type, V Type
These options describe what type of curve to use in u and v. Each curve may be linear, Cardinal, or B-Spline, and each may be open or closed.
U Num, V Num
These determine how many points your patch should have in the u and v dimensions.
U Tension, V Tension
These describe the curve tension of the patch in u and v.
Random Number Seed
This is the seed value for the random number generator of your computer. It is only used if you use the functions RAND or GAUSS in your equations. Different seed values produce different results.
Program Variables
Can be keyframed and used in equations.
SOFTIMAGE 3D Reference - 19 APR 1996