Select
Edit > LOD (Level of Detail) > Generate LOD Meshes >
to open and set the following options. See also
Generate LOD meshes.
- Copy Skin Weights
-
When on (default), any skin weights from the selected mesh (or meshes) transfer to the newly generated LOD meshes. Turn off if you don't want to transfer skin weights.
Reduction Method
- Reduction method
- Lets you reduce the number of polygons by specific values. Select from the following options:
Note: The Reduce feature attempts to reach the specified number entered in the Vertex limit or Triangle limit field; however, if Preserve quads or other Feature Preservation options are enabled, the number of vertices or triangles in the reduced mesh may differ from the specified count.
- Percentage
- Lets you reduce the number of polygons by a percentage of the original polygon count using the Percentage slider.
- Vertex limit
- Lets you set the number of vertices in the output mesh using the Vetex limit field.
- Triangle limit
- Lets you set the number of triangles in the output mesh using the Triangle limit field.
LOD Levels
- Number of LOD levels
- Select the number of meshes (levels) you want to generate, up to a maximum of nine.
For each level, a check box and a Percentage, Vertex limit, or Triangle limit slider display. (The slider updates to match the Reduction method you specify.)
Use the check boxes to enable and disable creation of meshes on that level.
The sliders give you control over how much each generated mesh is reduced for the level. Depending on the Reduction method, the sliders can control the percentage of vertices removed in generating the mesh (Percentage), or they can specify how many vertices or triangles to keep (Vertex limit or Triangle limit).
Shape
- Preserve quads
- Attempts to maintain any existing quad topology on the mesh as it reduces. The slider range is between 0 and 1. The higher the value, the more quads in the final result. A value of 0 is equivalent to turning this option off. Reduce the slider value if the reduction results in an undesirable shape change.
- Sharpness
- Controls the balance between preserving small, sharp details versus larger shapes. At low values, details that are small and relative to the general shape of the object are more likely to be collapsed. At high values, they are more likely to be kept.
- Symmetry type
-
Lets you select from the following options:
Note: Preserve quads must be set to < 1.0 to use the Symmetry type options.- None
- Turns symmetric reduction off. This is the default setting.
- Automatic
- Adds a symmetry plane to your output mesh so reduction is symmetric about the plane Maya Creative selects. With this option selected, Maya Creative decides which plane (XZ, XY, or YZ) is most symmetric. It also tries symmetry about the center of mass, which works well for regular shapes that aren't aligned to the X, Y, or Z axes.
- Plane
- Adds a symmetry plane to your output mesh so reduction is symmetric about the specified plane.
- Symmetry tolerance
- Controls the degree to which Maya Creative looks to see if two points are symmetric across the symmetry plane, as a value of 0 to 1.
- Symmetry plane
- Specifies the axes for the symmetry plane. Select XZ, XY, or YZ when Symmetry type is set to Planar.
Feature Preservation
The Feature Preservation options help to preserve specific features during the reduction process. Use the sliders to control the priority given to preserving different edges and borders.
- Mesh borders
-
Attempts to preserve the shape of polygon borders (edges that are not shared by other polygons) as it reduces.Tip: Set Mesh borders to 1 to preserve the boundary of your original selection.
- UV borders
-
Attempts to preserve the shape of UV borders as it reduces.
Turning this on can give unpredictable results if you have a lot of UV borders. Try sewing as many UV pieces together as possible before reducing.
Note: If a polygonal surface has numerous UV seams on it and if the Mesh > Reduce operation is performed with UV borders turned on, there is a good chance the object will not reduce at all, since the reduction algorithm is attempting to maintain the UV borders (seams) that are on the object.If you don’t mind losing your UV seams, turn off UV borders to successfully reduce your polygonal surface.
- Color borders
- Attempts to preserve the shape of color borders as it reduces.
- Material borders
- Attempts to preserve the shape of material borders as it reduces.
- Hard edges
-
Attempts to preserve the shape of edges marked “hard” as it reduces.
You can set edges on a mesh to be hard or soft using Mesh Display > Soften Edge or Mesh Display > Harden Edge. Marking edges as “hard” can result in more shape retention than painting reduction weights.
- Crease edges
- Attempts to preserve the shape of edges that have crease values set as it reduces.
You can crease edges on a mesh using the Crease Tool. See Crease polygonal edges and vertices.
Advanced options
- Vertex index map
- Lets you export a vertex index map. To make relationships between vertices of your original mesh and output mesh, enter a name in the field to create a new color set. With the color set applied, you can look at a vertex in your output mesh and determine the index in the original mesh based on color. See Polygon color sets.