Sculpt
curves shape the curve network surface by pushing or pulling the
surface away from the network.
A sculpt curve is like
a handle on the surface which lets you push or pull the surface.
Sculpt curves allow you
to make complex or subtle changes to surfaces such as adding bumps,
indentations, twists, or cork-screw effects.
How sculpt curves work
- Alias projects the sculpt curve
onto the surface along the surface normals.
- Alias links the points along the
sculpt curve to the points on the projected curve.
- When a point on the sculpt curve moves,
the corresponding point on the surface moves also.
- The degree to which the point on the
surface follows the point on the sculpt curve depends on the weight
or weights along the sculpt curve.
- The area of the surfaces which is pulled
along is the region of influence of the sculpt curve.
Notes
- To speed up rebuilds, keep the sculpt
curves simple.
- Just as if you were editing the surface
manually, the sculpt curve can only reshape the surface if it has
enough CVs to control it.
For example, mapping a sculpt curve to a degree
3 surface with one span in each direction will not allow detailed
modifications of the surface. The four interior CVs in this example
are not enough to make the sculpting effort worthwhile.
- Sculpt curves can be applied only to
four-sided regions in a curve network. Surfaces fitted to triangular
or five-sided regions and regions with collapsible T-junctions remain
unchanged by sculpt curves.
- Once sculpt curves are mapped onto the
curve network, any changes to the topology of the network (such
as adding or removing curves) requires Alias to remap the sculpt
curves.
Because
this operation can potentially take a long time, a dialog box will
ask you if you really want to make the change.
