Null Objects

[misterpatrick]

Hello all,

just a quick question. I've gotten in the nasty habit (from using 3DS) of using null objects for both organizational and animation stuff. There doesn't appear to be an equivilent in Maya. What can I use instead? Thanks!

[drblacksnake]

ctrl+g makes an empty group named null*.. is this You have meant?
otherwise, if You have meant dummy, then You can use any geometry/curve/locator, for visual representation in viewport. put them in separate display/render layers and make non-renderable.

[misterpatrick]

Thanks. I meant both those things. The ctrl-g thing is what I have been doing, I was just wondering what others are doing.

As far as linking etc, in 3DS you have a shape called nullObject which is basically just a crosshairs. What I have been doing in Maya is what you suggest and just use whatever geometry and make it non-renderable. I was just wondering if there is a better way of doing it. But now that I look I see there is something called Empty Group that does exactly what I am looking for. Silly me. Thanks!

[joojaa]

its called a locator!