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3D Studio Max Lesson 1.1: A Basic Overview of 3DSMax's Main Tool Bar

By Adrien-Luc Sanders, About.com

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Mirroring, Array, Snapshot, Spacing, and Alignment Tools

3D Studio Max Intro 1.1 img 7
  • Mirror Selected Objects: Opens a separate dialogue that lets you “mirror” the selected object(s) along the X, Y, or Z axes, or along the XY, XZ, or YZ coordinate planes. They can be mirrored as originals, copies, instances (copies that reflect changes to the original) or references of the original. You can also mirror the IK (inverse-kinematics animation specifics) or bones (objects used to add structure to models for animation).
  • Array, Snapshot, and Spacing: Array lets you create an array of objects based on the current selection, with as many objects as you want with various settings for offsets, etc (available in a dialogue that opens when you select the tool.) Snapshot lets you create a clone of an object over time, taking “snapshots” or captures of an image at either a single frame or along an animated motion path. Spacing lets you distribute objects (based on settings in the Spacing dialogue) as clones, instances, or references along a path or just at set intervals, guaranteeing perfectly even spacing.
  • Alignment Tools: Breaks down into Align, Normal Align, Place Highlights, Align Camera, or Align to View (the latter opens a separate dialogue box to select a coordinate axis to align the View to.) These tools let you align your objects to your scene or other objects, align your highlights to your scene, align your camera to your scene, or align your scene to the viewports.
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