Working in Symmetry Mode

to Add Detail to the Helmet

RHOGINALD E. PESIGAN, MIT, Lpt

 Set up the lesson:
Continue from the previous lesson or browse to the
folder \scenes\modeling\helmet\ and
open helmet_01.max.
Note: If a dialog asks whether you want to use the
scene’s Gamma And LUT settings, accept the scene
Gamma settings, and click OK. If a dialog asks whether
to use the scene’s units, accept the scene units, and
click OK.
 If you open the new file, then select the
helmet object. If the Modify panel isn't active,
on the ribbon Polygon Modeling panel, click
Modify Mode.

When active, Modify Mode makes the entire array of Graphite Modeling Tools available.
Add the Symmetry modifier:
1.On the Polygon Modeling panel, activate (Polygon) to go to the
Polygon sub-object level.
2. Click the ribbon’s Selection tab.
3. On the By Half panel, click , then click (Select).
This selects half of
the polygons based
on the object's Y-
axis orientation.
4. On the By Half panel, click Invert Axis.

The polygon selection is inverted. The new selection comprises the

polygons you'll remove.
5. Press Delete.
You will now add a Symmetry modifier to the remaining
polygons so that their geometry can be mirrored.

6. On the ribbon, click the Modeling tab. With the helmet object still selected,
go to the Modify panel and from the drop-down Modifier List choose
Symmetry.
7. On the Parameters rollout Mirror Axis group, choose the Y option
and turn on Flip.

This properly orients the mirrored half of the helmet.

Notice how the ribbon displays a limited set of modeling tools. This is because the
Symmetry modifier is active.
8. On the ribbon, go to the Modeling tab and on the Polygon Modeling panel,
click (Previous Modifier).

Now the editable poly object is active again, and the ribbon displays an expanded set
of tools for polygon editing.
The mirrored half of the helmet is hidden in the viewport because with the polygon-
editing controls displayed, you are editing the source polygons only.
9. On the Polygon Modeling panel, click (Show End Result) to see the
mirrored side of the helmet controlled by the Symmetry modifier.

10. Click (Show End Result) again to turn it off.

Subdivide the seam and rim faces to extrude:
1.On the Polygon Modeling panel, activate (Edge)
to go to the Edge sub-object level.
2. In the viewport, select a polygon edge as shown in the next illustration,
then on the Modify Selection panel, click .
• 3ds Max selects
all edges parallel
to the first one, in
a ring around the
object.
On the Loops panel, Shift+click (Connect).
• 3ds Max draws a single loop
of edges around the selected
edges. It also displays the
“caddy” controls for the
Connect tool.
• (When you Shift+click certain
tools on the ribbon, 3ds
Max displays the caddy
controls for that tool.)

By default, the loop is placed in the center of the selected edges, but
the negative Slide value you will specify in the next step will position it
to the left of center.
4. On the third control of the caddy, Slide, drag until the value equals –50, and then
click (OK).

Edge slides to the left

5. In the viewport, click to select a vertical edge on any polygon at the
bottom row of the helmet, then on the ribbon Modify Selection panel,
Click,

The Ring tool automatically selects all the vertical edges.

6. On the Loops panel, Shift+click (Connect).
Once again, 3ds Max displays the caddy controls for the Connect tool.
7. Change the value of the Slide control to –25, then click (OK).
8. On the Polygon Modeling panel, turn on (Show End Result)
to see how the Symmetry modifier has added a mirrored portion to the helmet.

9. Again convert the object to editable poly format by opening the Polygon Modeling
panel expansion (click the Polygon Modeling label) and choosing Convert To Poly. The
Symmetry modifier is removed, and all the mirrored polygons are integrated into the
model.
Select the helmet seam and rim:
1.On the ribbon Polygon Modeling panel, activate (Edge).
2. On the Modify Selection panel, click Loop Mode to turn it on.
3. Click to select one of the edges along the center edge of the helmet.
Because Loop Mode is
on, 3ds Max selects the
entire loop of edges along
the helmet ridge.

Tip: Another way to select

an edge loop is simply to
double-click one of its
edges.
4. With Loop Mode still
active, hold down
the Ctrl key, then click an
edge along the rim of the
helmet.
• 3ds Max adds the rim
edges to the ridgeline
selection.
5. Hold down the Ctrl key again, and on the ribbon Polygon Modeling panel,
activate Polygon.

3ds Max selects all the polygons adjacent to the edge selection.
Extrude the helmet seam and rim:
1.On the Polygons panel, Shift+click (Extrude).
3ds Max displays
the caddy
controls for the
Extrude tool.
 On the first
control, Group,
choose Local
Normal from
the drop-down list.
• On the second control,
Height, change the value
to 1.0 , then
click (OK).
 On the ribbon Polygon Modeling panel, click (Polygon) selection
to exit the sub-object level.
Next you'll smooth the object. While the Editable Poly object has smoothing
tools such as NURMS subdivision, you'll use the new OpenSubdiv modifier
instead. OpenSubdiv has options, such as creasing, unavailable with other tools.
On the Modify panel, open the Modifier List and choose OpenSubdiv.
The model is subdivided and smoothed using the default Iterations value of 1.
On the General Controls rollout, set Iterations to 2 to further
smooth out the helmet.
As long as Edged Faces is on, you'll still see the underlying geometric structure; that of the
original editable poly object. To see the actual subdivision resulting from OpenSubdiv, turn
off Isoline Display, also on the General Controls rollout.

Helmet with middle seam and rim extrusions

 On the Modify panel, click (Remove Modifier From the
Stack) to delete the OpenSubdiv modifier. You'll add it again later
on.
Save your scene as my_helmet_02.max.
Select edges and set Crease values:
On the Polygon Modeling panel, activate (Edge) to go to the Edge sub-object level.
On the Modify Selection panel of the
ribbon, click Loop Mode to turn it on.
• In the Perspective
viewport, click one of the
inside-corner edges of the
extruded rim.
• This selects all edges on
the loop.