Surfacing Basics
x1=0&x2=5&x3=2&x4=0&x5=1&x6=5
Surfacing Basics
Rob Lang
http://www.maison-de-stuff.net/rob
1
2005/07/22
This tutorial covers making the surfaces of the objects different colours and introduces the basics of surfacing. Surfacing is actually a very complicated subject and producing the effect that you want can be a process of trial and error. For complex surfacing tasks, more than one application may be required - the Modeler, Layout and a graphics program.
Start a new object file (SHIFT n) and do not forget to save often (s).
surfacingbasics
Setup Object
surfacing1.gif
A simple box, our object to be surfaced
To practise the basics of surfacing, we're going to use a simple box.
Do...
- Select Layer 1 (1)
- In the menu, under 'primitives', click Box (SHIFT x)
- In the top view of the modeler, drag the cursor diagonally from top left to bottom right.
- You should now have a flat square in the top view.
Note:
- The blue lines on the corners are drag handles. Click and drag this to change the shape of the box.
- The blue cross in the middle indicates the middle of the object.
- While the blue handles are still visible the object can be edited easily by clicking in any of the views and dragging. We will call this edit mode.
- In the Back view part of the window drag the mouse in a downwards dimension and the flat line will become a Box.
Introducing the Surface Editor
surfacing2.gif
surfacing2.gif
Introducing the Surface Dialog
In this Step, we're just going to look at the various parts of the surface editor. The other tutorials will refer to these parts, so it is good to be acquainted with them.
Do...
- Deselect any polgons you might have selected (/)
- Open the Surface Editor by clicking the button on the top of the menu (visible from all tabs) (F5)
- Layer Organisation Allows you to load, save and rename surfaces.
- Selection Information Some general information about what you have selected.
- Surface Preview A very useful tool for showing how your surface will look.
- Tabs There are many more options for any given surface, they can be found using this tabs. Initially, we will only be dealing with the Basic tab.
- Settings Are the main settings for the surface, controlling colour, luminosity, difuse, specularity, reflection, transparency and bump.
- Object Name Shows what object you're currently working on. You can cut and paste surfaces between different objects loaded into layout by right clicking and selecting the relevant menu item.
- Surface Name To make life easier, every surface has its own name. It's best to name surfaces meaningfully.
Creating a new Surface
surfacing3.gif
surfacing3.gif
Selecting a polygon and making a new surface.
Surfaces are created by first selecting a polygon and then creating a surface based on that. You can leave the Surface Editor open for this step but I closed it to make the screen less cluttered.
Do...
- Make sure you're in polygon selection mode (CTRL h)
- Make sure no polygons are selected (/)
- In the polygon selection view, click on one of the polygons facing you.
- Click on the surface button at the bottom of the window (q). The Change Surface dialog will appear.
- We only have one surface here at the moment, so there are no further surfaces to select. Normally, all the surfaces you've created will appear in the dropdown.
- To make a new surface, writing a new Name in the Name box.
- Set an initial colour different to that of the default grey. This will allow you to better distinguish between surfaces.
- Leave the other options as default
- Click ok. The side of the box will change colour.
You should now have something similar to my picture (right). You can select any number of polygons when setting the surface.
Using Surface Presets
surfacing4.gif
surfacing4.gif
The preset toolbox allows common surfaces to be set quickly.
Within Lightwave, there are a number of predefined surfaces for you to use. These range from common surfaces (metal, wood, rock) and the more bizarre (lizard skin). You can set these presets in the modeler but you will not get an accurate view of how the surface will look without rendering and for that, you need to use the Layout. The Surface Editor and Preset box are both available in Layout, so these steps can be repeated there.
The picture (left) has had unimportant areas artificially darkened so to highlight the areas of interest. Lightwave does not automatically do this.
Do...
- From the menu, open the Surface Editor (F5)
- From the Windows dropdown menu, select Presets (F9). The Preset window will appear.
- Click on the surface button at the bottom of the window (q). The Change Surface dialog will appear.
- We only have one surface here at the moment, so there are no further surfaces to select. Normally, all the surfaces you've created will appear in the dropdown.
- To make a new surface, writing a new Name in the Name box.
- Set an initial colour different to that of the default grey. This will allow you to better distinguish between surfaces.
- Leave the other options as default
- Click ok. The side of the box will change colour.
You should now have something similar to my picture (right). You can select any number of polygons when setting the surface.
Using Surface Presets
surfacing4.gif
surfacing4.gif
The preset toolbox allows common surfaces to be set quickly.
Within Lightwave, there are a number of predefined surfaces for you to use. These range from common surfaces (metal, wood, rock) and the more bizarre (lizard skin). You can set these presets in the modeler but you will not get an accurate view of how the surface will look without rendering and for that, you need to use the Layout. The Surface Editor and Preset box are both available in Layout, so these steps can be repeated there.
The picture (left) has had unimportant areas artificially darkened so to highlight the areas of interest. Lightwave does not automatically do this.
Do...
- From the menu, open the Surface Editor (F5)
- From the Windows dropdown menu, select Presets (F9). The Preset window will appear.
- Click on the surface button at the bottom of the window (q). The Change Surface dialog will appear.
- We only have one surface here at the moment, so there are no further surfaces to select. Normally, all the surfaces you've created will appear in the dropdown.
- To make a new surface, writing a new Name in the Name box.
- Set an initial colour different to that of the default grey. This will allow you to better distinguish between surfaces.
- Leave the other options as default
- Click ok. The side of the box will change colour.
You should now have something similar to my picture (right). You can select any number of polygons when setting the surface.