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Creating NURBS curves
Creating NURBS curves
Create a curve from a surface edge, isoparm, or curve-on-surface
Draw curves
To draw
a NURBS curve by placing CVs
- Select
Create > CV Curve Tool.
- Click
to place the CVs.
- The
first CV looks like a hollow box. The second CV looks like a letter
U. Maya draws hulls between the CVs as you place them.
- For
each CV after the third one you place, Maya draws the shape of the curve.
- To
remove the last CV you placed, press .
- To
switch to editing CVs, press Home or Insert. A manipulator appears
on the previous CV. Use the manipulator to move the CV, press to delete
a segment, or click another CV to edit it. Press Home or Insert again
to return to adding CVs.
- Press to finish
the curve.
Alternatively, you can use edit points if you
want the curve to pass through certain points. It calculates the
positions of CVs based on where you want the edit points.
To draw
a NURBS curve by placing edit points
- Select
Create > EP Curve Tool.
- Click
to place the edit points.
- For
each edit point after the first one you place, Maya draws the shape
of the curve.
- To
switch to editing edit points, press Home or Insert. A manipulator appears
on the previous point. Use the manipulator to move the point, press
Delete to delete a segment, or click another point to edit it. Press Home
or Insert again to return to adding point.
- Press to finish
the curve.
Draw a NURBS curve freehand
- Select
Create > Pencil Curve Tool.
- Drag
to sketch a curve. When you release the mouse button Maya creates the
curve.
- The Pencil
Curve tool creates a curve with a large number of data
points. Use
Edit Curves > Rebuild Curve to
simplify the curve.
- As
you draw the curve, Maya puts points in the view if they are at
least five screen pixels from the previous point.
- If
you sketch in an orthographic view (front, top, or side), Maya creates the
curve on the view plane at the origin. If you sketch in the perspective view,
Maya creates the curve on the grid plane.