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Group?..Glue? Newer than new User
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Group?..Glue? Newer than new User // New Users
Post by glhalleck // Apr 14, 2008, 10:19pm
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glhalleck
Total Posts: 12
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:oNew category needed for me...."Newer than New Users! (Idiots).
tS 5.2
Been trying to create some water for a scene that I am creating. (I think I've attached it here?). It's just a couple of cubes with some textures or materials (or whatever you call 'em), and now I can't figure out how to "group" the two objects to be able to "cut" a portion of it (them) out to use in my scene.
I know this sounds really stupid...and I've been looking though the tutes 'till I'm worn out...but I can't find what must be an obvious answer.
Everybody laugh now...I don't care...:( |
Post by brotherx // Apr 14, 2008, 10:37pm
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brotherx
Total Posts: 538
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I can't be 100% sure this is the same as 5.2 but in 6.6 there is an icon down at the bottom right with 2 cubes and a green line linking together labelled glue as subling. This might be what you're looking for. I just have the suspicion it's different in 5.2 and I don't have the license handy...
Again, I don't know if this is available but you could use the Icon helper and search for the word glue.
I hope this is helpful. |
Post by jamesmc // Apr 14, 2008, 10:40pm
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jamesmc
Total Posts: 2566
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I don't recall what version 5.2 has in it.
There should be a button called Glue as Sibling or Glue as child.
Either one should work.
I copied this part of the 5.2 interface from the Caligari Website. It should be where the white arrow is pointing.
Just select your main object, then click the glue icon, then click your second object. They should be grouped then. |
Post by Blue Bellyfluff // Apr 14, 2008, 10:53pm
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Blue Bellyfluff
Total Posts: 19
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First of all, you are no idiot for asking basic stuff...we have all been there!
A nice tip; in the bottom right there is an icon called 'icon finder' wich looks like 9 little square fading from yellow to red. Click on it and all truespace's icons are shown, just check the alt-tag and discover all kinds of tools!
Cheers and good luck with your project. |
Post by Ambrose // Apr 14, 2008, 11:55pm
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Ambrose
Total Posts: 261
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We're all idiots ;)
and happy ones, big family here ;)
Keep up the good work, nice start, water looks good.
SeYa/Ambrose... |
Post by Nez // Apr 15, 2008, 2:21am
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Nez
Total Posts: 1102
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Provided the interface hasn't really changed between 5.1 (which I have) and 5.2, where James has pointed is the fits place to look. Hopefully you've got the hang of the pop-up icon stacks, because if one of the glue tools isn't shown you may have to click-hold another icon (often the copy tool, as shown in James' screen grab) to get them to appear.
Assuming you're going to do a boolean subtract or similar to get your shape of water for your scene, beware that your cutting object (drill) could end of changing the material of the objects you cut due the way booleans work - there should be a bit on that in the manual...
NB - I don't think the tip on the 'icon finder' is correct for this version (unless that's a 5.2 change) - I can get all the icons to appear by clicking on the recycle bin icon in the botto mleft of the screen...
Finally, you could have put this under TS6.6 and older, rather than looking for a Newer than New Users area... ;) |
Post by spacekdet // Apr 15, 2008, 6:43am
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spacekdet
Total Posts: 1360
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Bool Rule Number One: Save your Scene Before Touching the Boolean Group.
Here is where the Glue Tools are:
12089
And the Booleans:
12090
<EDIT> Tip: Hold Shift or Control key while selecting multiple objects, then click 'Glue as Sibling'.
All objects selected are glued together in one step.
Once a group of objects is glued together, you can access the sub-objects by pressing first the 'Down' arrow key and then either the 'Right' or 'Left' arrow keys.
Joining objects with the Boolean tools is a more permanent method- Saving the scene and also the sub-objects into a Object Library beforehand is highly recommended. Right Click the Boolean icon for more options.
Performing a Boolean operation on a glued hierarchy will collapse the hierarchy into a single object- you will no longer be able to select the component objects individually. Be sure to texture/surface them first if the sub-components need to be textured differently, before doing a Boolean operation.
Textures: Usually refers to a bitmap based surface treatment using a .jpg, .tga, bmp file (or files if you are using multiple layers).
Material: Refers to the combination of color, bump, and reflectance shaders/textures used to surface an object. |
Post by glhalleck // Apr 15, 2008, 7:35pm
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glhalleck
Total Posts: 12
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Wow Spacekadet!.....Thx so much. How cool! How professional!! Thanks again! |
Post by glhalleck // Apr 15, 2008, 9:55pm
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glhalleck
Total Posts: 12
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I'll probably be back in a few days, after hittin' the tutes again to figure out how to cut a specific area from my water to put in my scene. I know I've done it before but I think it was just "by accident". Thx again....to all of ya. |
Post by spacekdet // Apr 16, 2008, 6:13am
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spacekdet
Total Posts: 1360
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Well, to be fair, Jamesmc first pointed out the tool locations, I just did the usual caliForum Treatment and piled on some extra!
And in that spirit:
Are you trying to cut a 'hole' in the water?: Boolean Subtraction.
Subtraction also works on objects that are not physically touching.
Are you trying to take a 'bucket' of water and use it elsewhere?: Boolean Intersection. Objects must be touching, what remains after the operation is what overlapped.
Are you trying to permanently weld the bucket to the water?: Boolean Addition. Addition also works on objects that are not physically touching.
Some other Boolean tips:
Given the situation of a large group of Glued objects or a group that's been Booleaned together, tS prefers (and runs/renders faster) with the Boolean group. It treats the group as a single object, rather than the deep, nested hierarchy that results from gluing a bunch of objects together.
Sometimes a very small change can make a big difference. If the operation keeps failing, moving one or the other of the objects a small amount can help. Especially if the lines of geometry of the two objects are in the exact same place, it can cause failure. Zoom in and move one object slightly and try again.
The 'Delete Edges' option (accessed via right-click): Tick the checkbox if you want tS to delete what it considers 'extra' geometry during the Boolean operation. Sometimes this is handy for cleaning up 'bad' geometry. (This is the old "Boolean Subtract a non-touching cube with 'Delete Edges' ticked" trick -this will sometimes 'fix' floating vertexes and stuff like that) Un-tick the box if you want to keep all the geometry intact aside from the immediate area of the Boolean. -Perhaps you've added some edges that will be important later- tS doesn't always 'know' what you want to keep and what to discard.
Identity Distance Spinner: Adjust this up or down if you have a balky Boolean. Some people have better luck with this than others.
Undo: You only have one of these per action, so act carefully and thoughtfully. You can usually (sometimes, but not always) undo a Boolean, but only if you haven't done any other action in the meantime. Again, saving the objects/scene first is important so that you can back up and try again in the event of unwanted results. |
Post by glhalleck // Apr 16, 2008, 3:21pm
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glhalleck
Total Posts: 12
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By no means did I mean to leave anyone out in my thanks for the help. Thanks to Jamesmc and all that responded.:)
I decided that I'd better look up "boolean" (and other terms), to get some idea of what the heck I'm doing here. Guess I should have taken math and geometry a little more seriously...way back when.
In any event:
I've attached my little "scene" here so I might try to describe what I'm trying to accomplish.
I want to take a portion (kind of a meandering cut-out) of my "water" and place it in my "landscape" scene. I'm not sure if this is what you're referring to as "cutting a hole" in the water (Boolean Subtraction) or what. But I want to keep the lighting and everything intact and try to figure out how to manipulate it into my scene. I was thinking of putting it mostly in the foreground and maybe having it kind of (again) meandering off into the background.
I know this all sounds pretty silly and my scene looks rather primitive but I (the class idiot) seem to comprehend the help I get here, better than from the 'tutes' (too technical or somethin').
Thanks again for all of your help and I'll completely understand if you tell me to take a flyin' leap into my "water".:( |
Post by v3rd3 // Apr 16, 2008, 7:34pm
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v3rd3
Total Posts: 388
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Don't expect ppl to trash your stuff here. You may get critiques to help you but none of the folks here get there jollies trashing anyone that is learning or trying to contribute.
The strength of this forum is the sense of community and working toward bettering ourselves. |
Post by glhalleck // Apr 16, 2008, 9:42pm
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glhalleck
Total Posts: 12
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Thanks...I appreciate that...but ya know, I think I need to just kind of "buckle down" a bit and muddle my way through these tutorials and try and learn a little b-4 I keep comin' back here all the time and asking for someone to hold my hand. (This could get riduculous...I know me). What the heck...it's kinda fun when ya really want to learn something.
I just don't know 'jack'. Need to "pay the dues" a little b-4 (ya know) "singin' the blues". |
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