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3-D Reshaper tool -- only one object at a time?


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I am evaluating Vectorworks as a possible upgrade to AutoCAD in our theater. In particular, I am looking at how 3-d objects are edited. An example object is the side of a rocky hill. It is framed out with 2x2 square tubing. There is a portion of it that I want to make 12" taller. How should I do that? The objects that need to move up are 4 pieces that frame the top of the rock protrustion. The vertical supports need to stretch to be 12" longer.

When I try the regular editing with the grips, I draw a selecting box around all the objects that should be modified and stretch them using the dialog box to make the height 12" longer. But the horizontal members are stretched in their width and are no longer 2"x2" square tubes and become something like 2"x2.001" tubes. They shouldn't change shape at all, only translate up 12".

The 3-D reshaper was recommended to me. But this tool seems to only allow you to edit objects one at a time. This is OK for very simple objects, but in the past I have "stretched" objects with thousands of pieces of tubing. Obviously doing it one-by-one is out of the question.

I realize that my AutoCAD mentality wants to find an equivalent to the stretch command. So perhaps I am just not thinging the right way. Any suggestions about how to edit something like this?

I know that some illustration software allow you to "edit nodes" by first selecting the object (objects?) and then you select the nodes you are going to move as a group. So, I know this is not just an AutoCAD thing.

Joe Dunfee

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If you are talking about 4 tubes, you can just edit them individually. I don't know how you created them but if they are extrudes just change the extrude distance in the object info palette and then move them to the correct position. Or group the 4 tubes together and use the 2-d selection tool in one of the elevation views to drag the tops of the tubes into the correct position.

In my modeling I use many different layers and lots of groups and symbols to organize my drawings. I really don't have any trouble editing 3-D forms, but I also dont use VW objects when I create models, I create my own objects and my own textures. I've gotten to the point where working in 3-D in VW is a very transparent experience and I can create almost anything I need to. For me the 3-D power Pack is a God Send, and has opened many new possibilities.

Here's a sample of recient work

97_p1099.jpg

This is all done in VW w/ RW. Only the trees, people, and sky are added in photo shop.

Really for money VW and RW is very hard to beat. The only things I'd really like to have are radiosity, cameras, and environmental effects.

Good Luck

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With your post, I realized I can upload a picture. However, it took me a while to get everything setup to work...

Here is an image of one of our set designs. It is about medium complexity. It is a city gate with the following features;

-The top is slanted for a forced perspective. -The doors, which operate like normal doors, are also able to slid inside the wall like a pocket door. -There is a ladder to the top for a look-out. -There are flaps that allow us to change the appearance when the set is rotated and viewed from the other side.

DAN-I-55%20Jer%20Bab%20Gate.gif

One of the changes that I needed to make, was to make the doors shorter. In AutoCAD, I just stretched the necessary components in one step. However, in Vector works, it looks like I must select each component individually and resize or move them one by one. One a complex drawing, this certainly can get tedious, and prone to errors. How would you approach this kind of design so that it is easier to edit inside of Vectorworks?

Joe Dunfee

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Ok,If it was me, I would have drawn one door in elevation,

Using the polygon tool I would draw the outline of the door, then with the polygon tool I would draw the voids, then i would use the clip surface tool to subtract the voids so the elevation of the door is a single polyline. Then extrude the door the desired distance, make it into a symbol and mirror it to make the other door.

Now to edit.

Select one door, go into symbol edit (command front bracket) then select the extrude and use the group edit command ( also command front bracket) at this point you should be back to the source polyline for the extrude. Select the polyline and then select the 2-D Reshape tool, draw a marquee around the points you want to move and then use the move command (command M) and enter the cooridnates.

Then exit group edit (command back bracket) and then exit symbol edit (command back bracket again) and both door will be updated.

Remember to always use symbols for repetitive elements so you can globally edit them, then if you have an instance that need to be custom made you can alway convert that instance to a group.

I hope all this makes sense.

Good Luck

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Just my 3?...

1-You can reshape more than one vertex by dragging the reshape tool in order to create a reshape-selection marquee, the vertices selected will then be reshaped together.

2-Meshes can be reshaped by the selection tool in the same way (the selection marquee will select the vertices to be moved). You can convert 3D objects into meshes.

3-If you have multiple similar objects you need to change/correct often, consider using symbols.

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Here's a whole nickel:

Modelling is WAY more intuitive in Rhino -- costs not a heck of a lot more than VW -- and it exports to POV-Ray (free badA$$ renderer).

Sure you can edit any solid, but imagine an extruded box. I want to take one of the top edges and snap them to something else. Not doable. Decomposing the extrude to polys means you have to use the unreliable, ambiguous 'Object' constraint.

I've created models more complex than Mike's, but I stand by my comments.

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TS-

When you reply, look under the message window at the "Instant UBB Code" The last option on the right is for image just hit it and inter the url of the image. You have to have them hosted somewhere on the web, I'm having mine hosted at

www.lilypix.com

60Mb with unlimited data transmission for $25 a year, seems to be a good deal. The woman that runs it also runs the Les Paul forum

www.lespaulforum.com

Here's another97_p1155.jpg

This was started in VW 8 and then reworked and retextured in VW 9.

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I just figured out how to post images so hopefully you all will indulge me, i guess I should start a new topic in the rendering board but, heres one more, its in the NNA Gallery as well.

97_p1156.jpg

Believe it or not this was done in VW 9.0. Despit the bugs I got this out. I imported a photo into VW and rotated the model until the perspective matched. Then I exported only my buildings, and recomposited them in photoshop, adjusting the color, contrast, and saturation until they matched pretty well.

What makes me an advocate of VW, is that I can do my drafting, modeling, rendering, layout, production and more all in one program. Although I still need Photoshop to do my people and trees, I find I'm doing much less postproduction work in Photoshop these days. I know other programs are much more powerful, but I've found lately that all these programs we all use daily are getting so complicated that the best I can really expect of myself is to understand one program really well, so I've picked VW. Other people in our office have done the same with Word, Excel, Photoshop, InDesign ect. to some degree or another. Collectively we have a pretty good understanding of how to get any given task completed.

I've been playing with the Cinema 4D demo lately, and I really love the rendering options and the texturing controll, But I really dont want to start over and have to relearn how to draw, again (ACAD convert 5 years ago). Hopefully RW will improve and I can stay where I am.

Anyway, If you look at the first image I posted of the church, look closely at the forground site, it slopes dramaticly, while the sidewalks, and curbe follow the slope. I used the 3-D power pack tools to do this. It created a convincing site quickly and with minimal impact on the files size given the complexty of the shape. I really dont think this was possible (for me) befor the 3-d power pack was released.

There's my 2 bits grin.gif" border="0

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Based on some of the recommendations here (thanks guys)I found out that I could edit multiple 3D objects, if they were meshes. Furthermore, solids can be converted to meshes. So, my question has been resolved.

The 3-D shaper, which was first suggested, will not do the job. So far, I have only used the 2-D marque selection box... I haven't tried the 3-D selector or other options. Any advice on what issues I could run into?

Joe Dunfee

[ 08-27-2002: Message edited by: JoeCAD ]

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My problem with converting Extrudes, Subtractions, and Additions into a Mesh is you lose the ability to edit the source objects that creat the shape. But if this isn't a concern then the Mesh sound like it works for you.

Good Luck

[ 08-27-2002: Message edited by: MikeB ]

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Well, most of my personal work is with square structural tubing that forms the frame of a theatrical set. So, for those objects, editing the original shapes is not a problem. However, I would still prefer to use solids, because I can extract weight and other information from the drawing.

But, the mesh seems to be the only way to edit multiple 3-D objects... please someone correct me if I am wrong!

Joe Dunfee

[ 08-27-2002: Message edited by: JoeCAD ]

[ 08-27-2002: Message edited by: JoeCAD ]

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