This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
About Subdiv Primitives
Subdiv primitives come in the six basic primitive shapes: sphere, cube, cylinder, cone, plane, and torus ( Figure 3.49 ). Like polygon primitives, you can use these six basic shapes as a starting point for more detailed subdiv models. And like NURBS primitives, it's very easy to adjust the overall shape of a subdiv primitive.
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Figure 3.49 The six subdiv primitives (clockwise from top left): sphere, cube, cylinder, torus, plane, and cone.
However, unlike NURBS and polygon primitives, subdiv primitives have no attributes to adjust. To learn how to adjust the smoothness and level of detail of subdiv surfaces, see Chapter 9.
Creating subdiv primitives
Subdiv primitives are found in the Create menu within the Subdiv Primitives submenu. You can also access this menu via the Hotbox, as described in this section. Alternately, you can quickly create any of the six subdiv primitives by clicking their icons in the Subdivs Shelf.
When you create a subdiv primitive, Maya places the center point of the object at the origin of the scene, just as it does when you create a NURBS or polygon primitive.
To create a subdiv primitive using the main menu:
- Choose Create > Subdiv Primitives, and select the primitive you want to create (
Figure 3.50
).
A subdiv primitive is created at the origin of the scene.
Figure 3.50 You can create a subdiv primitive by selecting it from the Create > Subdiv Primitives menu.
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To create a subdiv primitive using the Hotbox:
- Press the
anywhere in the scene to display the Hotbox.
- From the Create menu in the Hotbox, select the Subdiv Primitives submenu, and select the name of the primitive you want to create (
Figure 3.51
).
A subdiv primitive is created at the origin of the scene.
Figure 3.51 You can also use the Hotbox to create a subdiv primitive.
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To create a subdiv primitive using the Shelf:
- From the Subdivs Shelf, select the icon of the subdiv primitive you would like to create—for example, the cylinder (
Figure 3.52
).
The primitive is created at the world origin of the scene ( Figure 3.53 ).
Figure 3.52 Using the Shelf to create a subdiv primitive can save you time.
Figure 3.53 Newly created subdiv primitives are positioned at the origin.
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