The Meshtools /
csPolytools Installationguide and quick overview |
Important infomation for 3dsmax 8 users: There is a version 3.0
available for max 6/7, which works for 8 too. you can find it here: Meshtools 3.0 thisObj.editablePoly.chamferEdges 0.001 Save the script. Restart max. It should work
now.
How to Install the
Meshtools Ok, To guarantee a
good workflow, it's very important to implement the scriptfunctions into
the GUI in a useful way. |
Meshtools functions are in the pulldown, under category |
3. Rightclick in the Menue window > New Menue opens a
popup. (Meshtools are in general keeps two fuctiongroups: selection- and modification tools. I personally prefer, to seperate the functions into two menues, just to keep track.) So generate the menues "Meshtools SEL" and "Meshtools MOD". |
Creating two new Menues |
4. On the right side of the Customize window, you can see the
Quadbox. A click onto the downer left box makes the contextsensitve
Quadmenues accessible. Context sensitive means, the menue only appears if
the corresponding object is selected. 5. Click on the plus symbol infront of "Context Edit Poly Tools 2" and the functiontree becomes visible. In the box upper left, there is also a "Context Edit Poly Tools 1" you can use if you want. 6. Now drag & drop the just created Menues "Meshtools SEL" and "Meshtools MOD" into the tree. A blue line will guide you. If you have a Poly already in your scene, you can istantly test the Quad. Select the poly and rightclick to see the new Menues. |
Via drag & drop, we can place the menues into the Quadtree |
7. Now drag & drop the corresponding Fuctions from the Action window under the new Menues. To find out what function is SEL, and what is MOD, visit: http://www.s21net.com/meshtools/ |
Sorted Selectiontools... Sorted Modificationtools... |
Do the same with Cspolytools. The Category is named: "csPoly
Tools". I didn't generate an extra menue for them, just put them together with the Meshtools. Installation finished! Meshtools, a short look In the following I want to give a short overview over the features and workarounds with the tools we just installed. One of the strongest features of meshtools are definetly the selectiontools. Compared to meshmodelling, you will get the most time advantage in the selection issue. In fact, selecting is almost the first step before doing any operation. According to this, fast selecting means fast working! Selection Features The most important selection features are "Edgering" and "Edgeloop", that can even use with more than one selected edge. Edgeloop and -ring depend on a certain meshtopology. Some operation may change the topology so that a selection is only possible with some holes. Very cool is switching change the selection into another subobject selection. E.g. an Edgering is easily converted into a Polygonselection and extruded. |
Powerful Selectiontools enhance your workflow a lot! |
Another very useful selection function is definatly "Shrink" and
"Grow". Here is an implementaion as button clever. A finger of a fist
easily becomes selected, by selecting a face on the tip a just click on
the "Grow" button several times. Modification Features "Connect1" does an exact cut through Edgering selected edges. You can very easy controll the tesselation of special regions of your mesh. Connect 2 and 3 generating, according to its names 2 or 3 parallel Subdivisions. |
With "Connect" you can very fast subdivide geomerty |
Also interessting is "Solid Chamfer". With this function, you can chamfer an edge, but keep the original Edge. In combination with Meshsmooth you get very fine, but round edges. Unfortunatly Solid Chamfer works hardly i small dimensions. While you have only the mouse to adjust, and no spinner, the chamfer often jumps in to big steps. |
Solid Chamfer, great for fine detail with meshsmooth |
A short sentence to 3 featrures of the Cspolytools. First you have
a function, called Csslide. With this, you can shift an Edgeloop parallel toward its neighbour Edges, a very powerful function, that reminds a bit of NURBS modelling. |
Edge selection, via Edgering |
Selection will be divided via Connect... |
...and then positioned via CSslide. |
Cspush is nice to move a vertex selection along its normals. Very useful after a Connect oreration. |
After the connect operation, the edges are divided, but not arched. |
With CSpush we get a final shape into the eyes region. In this case it works better than just moving the verts. |
Csdissolve is a function to delete edges but keep the mesh. You can
e.g. use it as opposit to Connect, to very easy delete Edgeloop, you've
just created. There Are many other functions, you have to discover by yourself ;P |
Hope you understand the stuff greetz, and have fun with the best tool for max4! |
Michael "DerPapa"
Plaengsken www.ground-studios.com |