Subdiv
Proxy smooths the selected polygon mesh by adding polygons
and keeps the original non-smoothed mesh as a proxy. A node connection
is made between the proxy and smoothed version of the mesh so that
changes to the proxy's shape or topology update the smoothed version
of the mesh.
Subdiv
Proxy is useful for reshaping and/or animating a coarser
version of a polygonal model (with fewer components to worry about)
while seeing what the smoothed version will look like.
Hotkeys for Sudiv
Proxy
+ `
(left single quote beside the 1 key)
|
Turns on/off the display
of the proxy mesh or the smooth mesh.
|
+ `
|
Displays both the proxy
mesh and the smooth mesh.
|
+ `
|
Proxy > Subdiv Proxy
|
+ + `
|
Proxy > Subdiv Proxy >
|
Page Up
|
Increases the denseness
of the smooth mesh.
|
Page Down
|
Decreases the denseness
of the smooth mesh.
|
Proxy > Subdiv Proxy >
- Inherit Smooth Mesh Preview
-
Turn this setting on when you want to
convert a mesh from Smooth Mesh Preview display
mode to a Subdiv Proxy and retain the current Smooth Mesh
Preview settings. For example, if you want to render
or animate a smoothed version of the object.
- Exponential Smoothing Controls
-
For information on the Exponential
Smoothing Controls, see
Mesh > Smooth.
- Linear Smoothing Controls
-
For information on the Linear
Smoothing Controls, see
Mesh > Smooth.
Setup
Mirror Behavior
Controls how the smooth mesh and proxy mesh are
mirrored and/or located relative to each other.
- None
-
The smooth mesh is created
within the proxy mesh.
- Full
-
The smooth mesh is created
within the proxy mesh, and both the proxy mesh and the smooth mesh
are mirrored about the Mirror Direction.
Adjustments that you
make to one half of the proxy mesh are automatically mirrored onto
the other half, making symmetrical modeling much easier.
- Half
-
The smooth mesh is created
adjacent to the proxy mesh (based on the Mirror Direction). This
allows you to modify the proxy mesh and clearly see the result on
the smooth mesh.
NoteYou would usually
use mirroring for
modeling an object, not animating
it. Otherwise, the object’s animation would be symmetrical.
After you have finished
modeling an object with mirroring, use
Proxy > Remove Subdiv Proxy Mirror to
remove the smooth mesh. Then create a new subdiv proxy (with Mirror
Behavior set to None) for
animating the object.
NoteIf you modify the
mirrored half
of the subdiv proxy in
object space mode, dragging a manipulator
in one direction will modify the proxy in the
opposite direction.
If you modify the mirrored half
of the subdiv proxy in world space mode, dragging a manipulator
in one direction will modify the proxy in the same direction.
If you modify the original half
of the subdiv proxy, in object space or world space mode, dragging
a manipulator in one direction will modify the proxy in the same direction.
NoteMirroring only works
across the world axes. Mirroring an object that has been arbitrarily rotated
may produce unexpected results; some geometry may be overlapping.
- Mirror Direction
-
The direction that the
selected mesh will be mirrored. That is, positive or negative X,
Y, or Z.
Subdiv
Proxy will mirror the proxy mesh at the extent of its
bounding box in the Mirror Direction.
- Merge Vertex Tolerance
-
When a vertex on the
original mesh and its corresponding mirrored vertex are closer than the Merge
Vertex Tolerance, then they will be merged into a single
vertex.
Share Transform Node
Controls whether the
smooth mesh is transformed when you transform the proxy mesh.
For example, you may
prefer to move the proxy mesh away from the smooth mesh in order
to adjust the proxy mesh and clearly see the effect on the smooth
mesh. In this case, turn off Share Transform Node.
Or you may prefer to
keep the proxy mesh and smooth mesh together. In this case, turn
on Share Transform Node.
- On
-
If you transform the
proxy mesh, the smooth mesh will also be transformed.
- Off
-
If you transform the
proxy mesh, the smooth mesh will not be transformed.
TipWhen working with
Subdiv Proxy, you can save the low resolution mesh and use it for
fast interactive playback provided you have not performed additional
modifications to the node that would affect its history.
Use
Proxy > Subdiv Proxy with Share
Transform Node turned off. Bind the proxy mesh to a skeleton,
and hide the smooth mesh using the hotkey ` (left open quote beside
the 1 key). The low resolution mesh will provide fast interactive
playback.
To display the smooth
mesh (for example, for rendering), press the ` hotkey again. (Or
turn off the Subdiv Proxy Renderable option
so the proxy mesh is not rendered.)
NoteIf you create a subdiv
proxy with
Share Transform Node turned
on, and then delete history on the proxy mesh, the proxy mesh and smooth
mesh will appear to become a single object. This is because they
share a transform node. To select either the proxy mesh or the smooth
mesh (for example, in order to delete one of them), press the
arrow
key and then press either the
or
key.
Display Settings
- Subdiv Proxy Shader
-
Controls
the appearance of the proxy mesh’s material to best suit the way
you like to work.
- Transparent:
Assigns a new Lambert material with partial transparency to the
proxy mesh. This lets you view the smooth mesh beneath the proxy.
- Remove: Eliminates
the connection between the proxy mesh and its material.
- Keep: Maintains
the original connection between the proxy mesh and its material.
If you choose Keep, you’ll need to move the proxy and smooth mesh
side-by-side.
- Subdiv Proxy Transparency
-
Sets the Transparency
attribute of the proxy mesh material. This material is created by
the Subdiv Proxy operation.
- Subdiv Proxy Renderable
-
Controls whether the
proxy mesh is rendered (on) or not (off).
- Subdiv Proxy In Layer
-
When on, Maya adds the
proxy mesh to a new layer so you can control the visibility of the proxy
mesh. When off, no layer is created. For example, if the object
is already in another layer, you might want to turn off this option
so that the proxy mesh only belongs to one layer and not two.
- Smooth Mesh In Layer
-
Turns on the ability to add the
smooth mesh to a layer in the Layer Editor.
Smooth Layer Display
Sets the default state for the
smooth mesh layer. These options are only available when the Smooth
Mesh in Layer option is turned on
- Normal
-
The smooth mesh is fully
visible and selectable in this display state.
- Template
-
The smooth mesh is visible
as a template only and is not selectable as an object.
- Reference
-
The Reference display
state restricts you from editing the smooth mesh directly. This
is the default setting.
Note
Mesh > Smooth and
Proxy > Subdiv Proxy each
output the polygon vertex order differently. If you need to perform
operations that require identical topologies, for example, using
Blend Shape,
you may wish to use the same smoothing tool for smoothing the polygon
meshes to avoid unexpected results.