What Are the Elements in Softimage?
There are many different types of objects in Softimage, but the most common type you will use is a 3D object. Basically, these are objects that have geometry and can be modeled and rendered. The two types of 3D objects are polygons and NURBS surfaces. See 3D Objects.
All 3D objects have components that create them. Components are elements that define the shape of 3D objects, such as points, edges, and polygons. Clusters are named groups of components. You can select and manipulate different types of components to change the shape of objects. See Components and Clusters.
As you work, you constantly select and manipulate objects and their components. There are a number of tools you can use to select these elements, as well as a number of views in which your selections can be made.
In Softimage, you can select any object, component, property, group, cluster, operator, pass, partition, source, clip, and so on; in short, just about anything that appears in the explorer. See Selecting.
Organizing Objects into Structures
There are four different ways in which you can organize the objects in your scene, depending on what you need the grouping to do:
• A hierarchy describes the relationship between objects, usually using a parent-child or tree analogy. The main reason to organize elements into a hierarchy is to allow for different properties to propagate from parent to child. See Hierarchies.
• Models are a very important way of organizing objects in Softimage. You can think of them as containers for objects, acting like “mini scenes.” Models allow you to easily work with hierarchies and other features in Softimage, such as the animation mixer. And importantly, they let you copy objects between scenes in Softimage. See Models.
• Grouping objects simply puts objects into groups for easy selection and manipulation. Again, there is no hierarchical relationship involved for propagation—grouping simply lets you organize your objects however you like. See Grouping Objects.
• Layers allow you create groupings for objects as well, usually for the purpose of viewing, selecting, and rendering different objects. See Scene Layers.
Every element in your scene has properties. Properties are the characteristics of an element that distinguish it from other elements. They are often grouped together by their similarities and defined by a series of parameter values.
Properties can also be applied to elements directly, or they can be applied at a higher level and passed down (propagated) to the children elements in a hierarchy.
Properties like to live in property editors: this is where you can set their parameters’ values. See Properties.
Parameter Maps for Modulating Values
Parameter maps let you modulate the values of certain parameters across the geometry of an object. For example, you can apply a weight map and paint weight strokes on an object to vary the strength of a deformation across its surface. See Parameter Maps.
Autodesk Softimage v.7.5