Lesson V - Creating Basic Shapes In The 2D Shaper (Part I)
In this lesson you will learn how to create basic shapes in the 2D Shaper - finally, after all the introductory lessons, you will now actually start making use of your navigation skills learned in the previous lessons. We shall explore the Create menu in this lesson. First access the 2D Shaper by hitting the "F1" key on your keyboard. Then click on the shapes function Create menu. This will bring up a list of commands and submenus. You will see the following commands : Line, Freehand..., Arc, Quad, Circle, Ellipse, N-gon..., Text..., Copy, Open, Close, Connect, PolyConnect, Outline and Boolean. In this lesson we shall discuss the first eight commands which deal with creation in an interactive tutorial.

The Line Command
This basically creates vertices (points which define a shape) and links them to create lines. To use this command. Click Line and move your mouse cursor over to the viewport (the large grey square area on the screen). Then, click once. The first vertex will be placed and your cursor will act as a guide for the second vertex. A line will extend from the first vertex to the cursor. Move your cursor around. Click at a desired spot and the second vertex will be placed. The cursor will now act as the guide for the third vertex. There is now a permanent line between the first and second vertices. A line will now extend from the second vertex to the mouse cursor. You can keep adding vertices until you are satisfied. To end the line creation either close the polygon by clicking on the first vertex or just right click. If you right click before the second vertex is placed no line will be formed. Give it a try.

The Freehand Menu
This command is used to draw freehand objects. However, to maximize this command you will need some sort of input device like a graphic tablet or a digitizer. You can also use your mouse but this doesn't work very well because the mouse is very hard to control (ie. how easy is it to sign your name using a mouse?). Anyway the Freehand menu contains two commands - Draw and Settings. The Draw command basically just does that - draw. To draw something click the Draw command. Then, click a starting point on the viewport and drag your mouse around. You will notice that a line is created in the cursor's path. When you let go, vertices are automatically created. After trying out this command you will see why I previously recommended the use of an input device other than the mouse for this command (unless you are unusually skilled with the handling of a mouse). If you don't drag the cursor this tool will act like the Line command. The second command, Settings, determines the smoothness of the lines you draw - the higher the smoothness the more vertices are placed.

The Arc Command
This command is used to draw arcs or curves with a constant radius. To use it, first select the Arc command. Then click in the veiwport. A temporary vertex will be placed. A line will extend the cursor. This line defines the radius of the arc. Move the mouse to define a length then click. Move your mouse around. You will notice that an arc is formed from the second point which you clicked. Move your mouse around to define the extent of the arc. Once you are happy with it's shape, click once and the end vertex will be placed. . The first vertex and the radius line will disappear. Your arc will now be permenant. You will notice that you can also move the cursor to a point where a complete circle is formed. This is not advisable if you wish to draw circles. For that purpose use the Circle command. The angle and radius of your arc can be seen during the creation process at the blue bar at the top of the screen.

The Quad Command
This command is used to create quads. A quad is basicall a shape consisting of four vertices - a square or a rectangle. The creation of quads is relatively simple. Just select the Quad command. Then, click on the viewport. A vertex will be placed. From this vertex you can define a box by moving the mouse. When you are satisfied, click once and the box will solidify with the placement of the other three vertices. Note : You can see the dimensions of the quad during the creation process at the top blue bar.

The Circle Command
This command is used to create circles (of course). This is a simple way of creating circles, however it should not be used for creating big circles because of the limited number of faces and vertices used. To create highly defined large circle or a circle which will be veiwed at close range, use the N-gon command which is more detailed. To use this command, first select the command. Then, click in viewport. Move your mouse around. A circle will expand from the first point which you clicked. The circle is drawn from the center. You can see the radius of the circle in the blue bar above. Click once when you are satisfied. As with any command you can cancel it by right clicking.

The Ellipse Command
This command is used to create ellipses. It's usage is more complex then the the Circle command. To use it, first select the Ellipse command. Then, click anywhere in the viewport. A temporary first vertex will be placed. A line will extend from it to the cursor. This line will define the length of the ellipse's axis. Then click once. Move your mouse around. You will notice that various ellipses are formed around the axis created (now invisible). Once you are satisfied, click once and the ellipse will take form.

The N-gon Menu
The N-gon command is used to create even polygons with N sides. These polygons can be either flat or circular. The N-gon menu contains three commands - Flat, Circular and #Sides. To create a polygon, first click #Sides. A sliding bar will appear and you can choose the number of sides, the minimum being three (a triangle). Once chosen you must now decide whether to create a flat or a circular polygon. Flat polygons have flat sides whereas circular ones have curved sides. To create a flat polygon, click the Flat command. Then, click in the veiwport and move the mouse around. You will notice that a flat polygon is formed. It is drawn from the center as in the Circle command. To control the orientation of the polygon move the cursor in a circle around it - you will notice the polygon will rotate. Once the desired size and position has been achieved, click once and the polygon will be formed. To create a cirucular polygon just select the Circular command and follow the same steps as the creation of a flat polygon.

The Text Menu
The text menu is used to create 2D text which can be later used to make 3D text. The menu contains three commands - Font, Enter and Place. Before you create any text you have to select a font. To do this click the Font command. A dialog box will appear and you can select the font of your choice. Next you have to enter the text you want. To do this, click the Enter command. You will see a dialog box. Enter the text of your choice here. Once you've done that you are ready to place the text (on to the veiwport). To do this, select the Place commmand. Then, drag and draw an outline of a quad in the viewport. When you release the mouse button, the entered text will appear in the selected font within the box. Try this a few times with boxes of various shapes.

This ends the first part of the creating and editing basic shapes series. The second part will discuss the commands not covered in the first part.

Back to Learning 3D Studio menu.

If you have any comments or questions please write to CrydoVax (Varian Qua)
All graphics, html and text on this page is copyright of Varian Qua 1997

© 1997 [email protected]

Find out how you can contribute. Vote for this page here. Back to 3D Guru. Back to 3D Studio. Back to 3D Basix Back to SiliconValley/Horizon.

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page