The Toolbox: Transformation tools

You need to move the base slightly upwards in the Y direction so it is positioned on the X, Z plane. To do this you use the Move transformation tool located in the Toolbox.

The upper half of the Toolbox contains the tools for transforming objects (selection, move, rotate, scale) within Maya. When you move your mouse cursor over any transformation tool icon you see the name of the tool appear next to the mouse cursor.

The tool’s name also appears in the Help Line at the bottom of the Maya window. The Help Line has an additional purpose: it displays summary instructions as you use tools that require several steps.

Selection and de-selection of objects

Before you can transform an object, you must ensure it is selected. You can select objects by clicking them directly, or by dragging a rectangular bounding box around some portion of the object to indicate what you want selected. To deselect an object, you simply click somewhere off of the selected object.

To select the base primitive object in the scene view

Do one of the following:

With your left mouse button, click the object’s wireframe outline in the scene view.
With your left mouse button, drag a bounding box around one corner or edge of the object’s wireframe.
The object is selected when its wireframe outline color displays in a bright green color. If it is not selected, its display color is navy blue.

To use the Move Tool to adjust the position of the base

Select the Move Tool from the Toolbox.
A move manipulator icon appears over the primitive cylinder in the scene view.

The Move Tool Manipulator has handles that point in the direction of the three fundamental axis directions of 3D space: X, Y, Z. The handles are colored red, green, and blue based on their function related to the X, Y, Z axes and control the direction of the movement along an axis.

When you click a specific handle, it indicates that the move is constrained to that particular axis direction.
In the side view, drag the green Y manipulator handle to move the primitive cylinder upwards in the Y direction. Move it upwards enough so that the bottom of the base cylinder is aligned with the X axis (the thick dark line of the grid)

The base cylinder now needs to be rotated slightly so the front of the base is parallel to a grid line. Since each facet of the octagon represents 45 degrees of a circle, you need to rotate the object approximately half of that amount or 22.5 degrees.

To use the Rotate Tool to adjust the position of the base

Display all four views by positioning the mouse cursor in the view and tapping the spacebar of your keyboard.
The four view panel appears.
Position the mouse cursor in the top view and tap the spacebar once.
The top view appears in the workspace.
With the base cylinder selected, choose the Rotate tool from the Toolbox.
A rotate manipulator icon appears over the primitive cylinder in the scene view.

The Rotate Tool manipulator consists of three rings (handles), plus a virtual sphere enclosed by the rings. The colors of the handles correspond to the X, Y, and Z axes. The handles are colored red, green, and blue based on their function related to the X, Y, Z axes and control the direction of the rotation around an axis.
In the top view, drag the green Y manipulator ring to rotate the primitive cylinder so that one of the facets of the base cylinder is aligned with the grid as shown in the image below.
You are rotating the cylinder around its Y axis.

You may be asking yourself the question “How do I know if I’ve rotated the base exactly 22.5 degrees?” You can check the accuracy of the rotation by viewing the Channel Box. Rotate Y should be close to 22.5 degrees.

TipYou can undo and redo the last action you performed. Undo reverses the last action you performed on a selected object. It also reverses any action you performed from the Edit Menu.
To undo an action select, Edit > Undo, Redo, Repeat. Maya allows you to perform multiple undos.