ScriptSpot

Script

MousePlanter

By Roger Hyde · 2006-10-21

Version requirement
6; 5
Date updated
2002-10-06
Votes
10
Download
Download
Description

A tool for 'planting' objects over the surface of other objects - with interactive control of the scale and rotation of each object planted.

Additional Info

MousePlanter is one of my oldest and most cherished scripts. It started out in 3dsmax R4 as a project to get acquainted with a number of (at the time) unfamiliar MAXScript concepts. Based on the Planter plugin for Mirai - this script allows you to place objects on the surface of other objects in an intuitive manner; a manner unlike any other surface distribution tool available for Max. To get a better understanding of how it works - watch this little movie (sorry 'bout the download size!):

Visit Mouseplanter Webpage for detailed video demonstration

Okay - so it's not the most well-produced video around...but I hope it gets the idea across. You can choose any number of objects to plant - and either set MousePlanter to choose each new object at random - or take control and manually choose which one to plant next. Positioning - rotating - and scaling is all done by simply dragging the mouse around!

A more complete feature description - along with a mini-tutorial - can be found in the ReadMe.txt included in the Zip package. As with several of my other scripts - installation is easy - just drag the included mzp package onto a Max viewport and go! MousePlanter creates its own menu - so you don't need to explicitly add it to your UI (unless you want it on a quad or button).

Tags: modeling