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Power Axis 1.0
Overview
When editing a polygon model in Cinema4D, you normally have no direct control over the modelling axes. They are
always placed at the centre of the current selection, with the same orientation as the object. The position
of the axes is important because they are the centre of rotation and scaling. The orientation is important
because scaling/rotation/translation can be constrained to certain axes.
powerAxis is a set of three
main plugins that provide complete and flexible control over the position
of the modelling axes, thus addressing this limitation, and significantly
increasing the flexibility of the Cinema4D modeller.
This solution makes use of a helper
NULL called 'Origin'. The first plugin provides flexible methods for placing/orientating
this 'Origin' object based on any piece of geometry in your scene. The second
plugin allows you to tell Cinema4D to use this 'Origin' object as the axes/origin
for subsequent selections. Using this two-stage approach allows a very high
degree of flexibility in controlling the modelling origin. The third plugin
is used to align entire objects by specifying where a selection from that
object should be (almost like allowing selections to be used as 'handles').
Each of the three main plugins
also has two variations. Normally only the main three plugins will be needed
(numbers 1,2,3 described below), but the other six (1a/b, 2a/b, 3a/b) are
provided to allow more flexibility, depending upon your preferred working
methods.
To allow rapid workflow, the plugins are all 'instant action' menu items/buttons.
There are no dialogs or configuration options. Instead a combination of context
sensitivity and repeat triggering is used to allow a large amount of control
whilst not slowing down the workflow.
It is recommended that the three main plugins be added to a toolbar as a group to provide easy access.
Installation
If
you haven't already, then install either the demo or the full version of
powerAxis, by unzipping it into the 'Plugins' directory of your Cinema4D R8
installation. Start Cinema4D R8 and you should find 'powerAxis' in the 'Plugins' menu. This contains nine plugins (three versions of each of the three
main plugins).
Although you can use the plugins directly from this menu, It is strongly
recommended that you add the three main plugins to a toolbar instead, as
this speeds up workflow significantly.
To do this:
- Go to Window -> Layout -> Edit Palette.
- Select 'Plugins' in the Drop down menu.
- Drag "Set 'Origin' Position/Rotation to selection" to a toolbar. We will call this 'Plugin 1'.
- Drag
"Use 'Origin' Position/Rotation for axis" to the toolbar and place it below
(or to the right) of the first one. This is 'Plugin 2'.
- Drag "Align selection to 'Origin' Position/Rotation" to the toolbar, and place it below or right of the second one. This is 'Plugin 3'.
- Close the 'command' window with the list of plugins.
Plugin 1. Set 'Origin' Position/Rotation to selection
Plugin 2. Use 'Origin' Position/Rotation for axis
Plugin 3. Align selection to 'Origin' Position/Rotation
If
you are using the demo version and later buy the full version, you can install
the full version directly over the top of the demo version and the shortcuts
will then immediately work with the full version without any changes being
required.
After installation, it is recommended that you use the read rest of this
document as a reference for what each plugin does, and what options are available.
For examples of use of the plugins, check the examples page at www.astrofish.com.
Plugin 1. Set 'Origin' Position/Rotation to Selection
When this plugin is triggered,
it sets the position and orientation of the object named 'Origin' to that
of the current selection. If no object named 'Origin' exists then one is
created using a NULL. A small set of axes are shown for the 'Origin' object at all times, so that it
is easy to see where it is, and what its orientation is, even when not selected.
The position is set to the geometric centre of the current selection (note: this is the true centre, not the bounding box centre).
The orientation is set from the current selection as descibed below. Repeated
triggering of this plugin cycles through the options.
Object selection - Orientation set to object orientation.
Vertex selection - Orientation options are: Y axis aligned with vertex normal, or X axis aligned with any edge connected to the vertex.
Edge selection - X axis parallel with edge,Y axis aligned with edge normal.
Polygon selection - Y axis parallel with polygon normal, X axis aligned with any edge of the polygon.
Modifiers
If 'shift' is held when this button is pressed then only the position is affected.
If 'ctrl' is held when this button is pressed then only the orientation is affected.
These modifiers make it possible to set the position from one selection,
and the orientation from another. Note that these selections need not even
be from the same object so, for example, you can position the 'Origin'
on an edge of one object, and orientate it to align with a vertex normal
from a different object...
Presets - (Advanced option)
This plugin also allows you to store a set of 'targets' for the 'Origin' object. This is
done on a per-object basis. To use this feature, place a NULL object called 'Axes' underneath
the object you are working on. You can now place as many target or reference NULLs as you want under the 'Axes' object.
A good way to set these up in the first place is by using this plugin with a selection to place the
'Origin' object somewhere useful. Then copy the origin object and paste it under the 'Axes' object.
Rename the object so it doesn't get confused with the main 'Origin' object.
You will notice that a small yellow axis marker will be displayed in the editor for each object under 'Axes'.
These let you quickly see where you have axis references set up.
To quickly set the 'Origin' object to one of them, repeated trigger this plugin with both 'shift' and 'ctrl' pressed, and the 'Origin' object will cycle around all of them.
If you want to hide the display of the yellow mini-axis markers whilst editing the object
then mark the 'Axes' object as hidden in the editor view and the axes will then not be drawn either.
Note that only axes listed for the current object will be shown.
So, whenever you have an 'Origin'
position/rotation that is likely to be useful again, simply copy and paste
the origin object into the 'Axes' object below whichever object you want
it to be associated with, and you can then get that setting back again quickly
at any time by using the 'ctrl' and 'shift' modifiers. As a final helper, when an object with an 'Axes' subobject is selected, small
axes markers are drawn to show the position/orientation of each of the options
that the 'ctrl' and 'shift' modifiers would cycle through.
1a. Set 'Origin' Position to Selection
This is equivalent to the main plugin 'Set 'Origin' Position/Rotation to Selection' with the 'shift' modifier pressed, i.e. it only affects position. This is provided as an alternative option which you
may find useful if you frequently want to work with position and orientation
seperately - or if you would like to map a different shortcut key rather
than using the 'shift' modifier.
1b. Set 'Origin' Rotation to Selection
This is equivalent to the main plugin 'Set 'Origin' Position/Rotation to Selection' with the 'ctrl' modifier pressed, i.e. it only affects orientation. This is provided as an alternative option which you
may find useful if you frequently want to work with position and orientation
seperately - or if you would like to map a different shortcut key rather
than using the 'ctrl' modifier.
2. Use 'Origin' Position/Rotation for axis
This plugin activitest the main
functionality of the plugin. It operates as a toggle switch. Press once to
turn it on, and again to turn it off. When it is on, the position/rotation
of the 'Origin' object will be used as the origin/axes for any subsequent
vertex/edge/polygon selection. This also works in object mode for single
objects. When the plugin is pressed again to turn it off, Cinema4D will immediately
revert to it's standard behaviour in which the modelling origin/axes is centred
on the bounding box around the current selection.
The 'Set 'Origin' position/rotation to selection' plugin can be safely used whilst this plugin is active.
Again, there are several options available by pressing modifier keys when turning the plugin on.
Holding 'shift' when activating causes the position of the axes to be set to that of the 'Origin' object, but not the orientation.
Holding 'ctrl' when activating causes the orientation of the axes to be set to that of of the 'Origin' object, but not the position.
Holding 'ctrl' and 'shift' when de-activating switches the
plugin off, but it also sets the object axis permanently to the current position
of the 'Origin' object.
This plugin is a toggle control. Press once to activate it, then again to deactivate it.
When it is turned on, it sets the axis for the current selection to the current
position/rotation of the 'Origin' object. This works for both objects, vertices, edges
and polygon selections. This allows you to choose the position and orientation of your
axes independently of the current selection. The axes will remain in their new location
until the plugin is triggered again to switch it off. When switched off, the axes revert
to their original location.
Whilst this plugin is active, you can freely change the active selection and the axes will
remain where they were set.
This plugin can also be left actve whilst also using plugin 1, to allow for rapid changes
in axes location. Again 'shift' restricts the operation to position only, and 'ctrl' restricts it to
orientation only.
If this plugin is turned on, then deselecting it with both 'shift' and 'ctrl' pressed will make the current
axis position the new object centre, instead of reverting to the original object centre.
2a. Use 'Origin' Position for axis
This is equivalent to the main plugin 'Use 'Origin' Position/Rotation for axis' with the 'shift' modifier pressed, i.e. it
only affects position. This is provided as an alternative option which you
may find useful if you frequently want to work with position and orientation
seperately - or if you would like to map a different shortcut key rather
than using the 'shift' modifier.
2b. Use 'Origin' Rotation for axis
This is equivalent to the main plugin 'Use 'Origin' Position/Rotation for axis' with the 'ctrl' modifier pressed, i.e. it
only affects position. This is provided as an alternative option which you
may find useful if you frequently want to work with position and orientation
seperately - or if you would like to map a different shortcut key rather
than using the 'ctrl' modifier.
3. Align selection to 'Origin' Position/Rotation (not in demo)
This plugin is used to position/orientate
an object using a selection. When pressed it causes the active object to
be moved such that the current selection is aligned with the 'Origin' object.
This makes it easy to place one object accurately on the surface of another
for example.
E.g. Select a polygon of an object, and use plugin 1 - 'Set Origin Position/Rotation
to Selection'. The 'Origin' object will now be accarately placed on the polygon.
Now select a face on a second object, and use this plugin (3). The second
object will now have been positioned and orientated such that the two faces
are parallel and touching.
Again, the 'shift' and 'ctrl' modifiers can be used to affect position obly or orientation only, respectively.
Think of this as picking up the current object by the currently
selected part of it, and moving the whole object so that the selection is aligned with the
origin object.
For example, to accurately place one object such that one of its faces is lying flat on a face of
another object select the 'target' face and use plugin 1 to set the 'Origin' object to its position
and rotation. Then, switch to the object you want to move, select one of its faces, then use this
plugin. The faces will now be perfectly aligned.
Once again, 'shift' and 'ctrl' (or the powerAxis menu plugins) can be used to specify position only
or rotation only.
Other Notes
The plugins also work in object mode, but their main use is with point/edge/polygon
selections because they allow far more flexible control over rotation and scaling
operations.
If you can't seem to get anything to work, make sure that you are working with editable objects
(press 'C' to convert to editable), since only they can have their axes manipulated in C4D.
Also, note that you need an Origin object before most of the functionality becomes available.
This plugin should work properly in conjunction with the other standard Cinema4D tools. However,
to minimise the chances of any conflicts it is recommended that the "Use 'Origin' Position/Rotation
for axis" plugin is toggled off when it is not actually being used. Note that this is turned on/off
on a per-object basis for maximum flexibility.
Buy now!
Back to main powerAxis page.
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