Hello.
This is my first post.
Does anyone know how to drop selected vertices onto another object along only Y axis?
In Softimage3D, it was called Drop Points.
I tried xyShrinkWrap and Fit Morph. But they move vertices X and Z axes also.
Thanks in advance
whilst in world translate mode, you can constrain any of the snapping functions to just one world axis by selecting that handle and MMousing about your target.
Thank you for your immediate reply.
Move Tool translates vertices uniformly.
Suppose there is a terrain object and call it a target.
I need to drop selected vertices of another object onto that target. The vertices must follow the target's surface exactly.
Sorry for my terrible English.
Do you script at all? This would be a very simple script to write using closestPointOnMesh.
--JeffD
ahh, i see, the analogy is making a surface Live (big magnet in snapping sectn). but the problem is that its an interactive snap, and doesnt constrain to one axis (as the other snappers do when moving in World).
you might use the approach jeff suggests, but i reckon it might give unexpected results, esp for the scenario of snapping to the surface along one axis ...cause itd go to closest pnt, and not cast down your desired axis. unless jeff has got a trick up his sleeve? i think the best way to do this is using particles, and collision surfaces - tho it wont be completely accurate (up to 100th of a unit off, dependign on the angle of the surface/triangle being hit -ill post on this in the dynamics forum). i'm going to integrate this 'Drop Points' kinda functionality into the modelling tool im developing at the moment.
perhaps a more precise soln if your target surface is nurbs is to dump a curve on the pnts you want to move, and project that onto the surface down the axis you want, then harvest the values of the crv CVs and dump them back to the snappie geom.... i feel like i might have already written this script, but i dont see it in my directories, perhaps its in the body of a post?
mmm, what we really need is a caster utility node you can prod to sample your scene w/o render (but i guess render environment needs to be set up anyway? might as well just use samplerInfo, skinny on the elements). i think a fella at my mate's work may well have implemented something along these lines already, have to get a look at it some point.
all in all, its a pitty it aint just there (at the very least axis constrain support for Live surface snapping).
Thank you for your advice.
That nurb project thing might work.
I will try when I find a time.
Untill then, I am gonna use Softimage3D.
It's a lot easier.
To my shame, I can't write scripts.
Is it imperative that the dropped ponts work on the history tree is it enough that you drop them onece and then let them stick to the surface on that dropped location or do they need to essentialy drop again after transform as if their drop point was unchanged.
Or is it just to drop once and then folloew the surface on that point. The later is pretty trivial.
Hi.
What I am trying to do is simple.
No animation.
Once those points snap to that surface, it would be perfect.
I modeled a race course.
Then a course path was provided. So that I can make a rail along this path.
Problem is the path is flat in Y axis.
So, I want to drop the CVs of the path onto the course geometry.
Its just that your posts sent the scripters waaay out there. because you implied that you wanted the points to stick with the surface.
Sorry. Maybe I mislead everybody?
I just wanted to drop those points.
It was not necessary to stick with the surface permanently.