PolyDraw Panel Expansion Tools

Note: When the ribbon is maximized or the PolyDraw panel floats, the following controls appear on the PolyDraw panel expansion.
Branch Taper

The amount by which branches taper as you draw them. A negative value makes the branch dwindle in size; a positive value makes it get thicker, and 0 keeps it the same size as the starting polygon.

A value of –1.0 makes the end of the branch as small as possible, while values lower than –1.0 cause the branch to shrink to the minimum partway through and then enlarge the rest of the way.

New Object

Creates a new, “empty” editable poly object and accesses the Vertex sub-object level while keeping the current PolyDraw tool active.

Immediately after clicking New Obj you can use the PolyDraw tools to add geometry to the new object.

Solve Surface

Takes a polygon shape such as one painted with the Shapes tool and tries to create a workable mesh, adding edges so that the result is a clean shape composed mainly of quadrilateral polygons. Or, if Solve To Quads (see following) is off, the result is mostly triangles.

Tip: Solve Surface works best when the starting shape is mostly in the form of "strips," where the two sides of the polygon are fairly close together.
Angle

Affects the way Solve Surface connects vertices. With flat shapes, the default value of 35 works best. With curved surfaces, however, Solve Surface might produce better results at higher values.

Solve to Quads

When on, using Solve Surface (see preceding) results in mostly four-sided polygons. When off, Solve Surface produces mainly triangles.

Minimum Distance

The shortest distance you need to drag the mouse before the next step in the tool is taken.

For example, when using the Shapes tool, this value determines the minimum distance, in pixels or world units, between the vertices the software creates as you draw.

To determine how to measure Minimum Distance, choose one of the following:

  • in Pixels Uses pixels to specify the minimum distance you need to drag the mouse before the next step in the tool is taken.
  • in Units Uses world units to specify the minimum distance you need to drag the mouse before the next step in the tool is taken.