That ol' Rotate Tool

# 1 13-07-2005 , 09:15 PM

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Join Date: Sep 2004

Location: Queens, New York City

Posts: 367

Hi all, first time actually posting (been registered a while, lurked, bought points, &c &c but first post! :-) )

Anyway, I have a question about the rotate tool and whether or not I can orient it to fit a particular object.

Here's the situation: I have an airplane wing with an aileron (flap). All well and good if the wing is "paralell to the deck" (ie paralell to the X axis. Z is fore and aft, Y is up, X is side to side). But if I tilt the wing/aileron (as would be the case where a plane's wings are not perpendicular to the fuselage), I can no longer rotate the aileron properly. The rotate tool is oriented to the axes and not to the object.

I tried using a single skeleton joint, first orienting the joint and then binding the aileron to the joint. This works fine, but the color map is all over the place when I try rotating it.

My question is as follows:

1) is there any way to orient the rotate tool (or an object) locally, apart from the rest of the objects present,

OR

2) is there a way to fix the problem with the color map.

Any and all help is appreciated. I'll wager the answer is right under my nose, but we've ALL been there, right? :-) Thanks in advance, and I am looking forward to posting a lot more in the future (and perhaps returning the favor! :-) )

Carry on...

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# 2 13-07-2005 , 09:17 PM

The Maya Mountain
Join Date: Aug 2002

Location: Seattle, WA

Posts: 8,245

Hold the E key and left click and hold. You should get the rotate tool options. Turn on Local if it's not.

-Mike
The Maya Toolbelt

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# 3 13-07-2005 , 09:34 PM

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Join Date: Sep 2004

Location: Queens, New York City

Posts: 367

Thanks, Mike! (Boy that was quick...!)

I did that. Yes, the setting should be local, but it wasn't quite right. I think I figured it out, however. With the setting on "local", I played around with a combination of re-rotating the aileron and using "Freeze Transformations". I now have the rotate tool exactly where I want it for the aileron, and I can get rid of the joint and rotate it normally.

Funny the things you figure out yourself AFTER crying out for help! :-)

Thanks again! This is a GREAT forum!

Carry on...

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# 4 13-07-2005 , 09:58 PM

The Maya Mountain
Join Date: Aug 2002

Location: Seattle, WA

Posts: 8,245

One thing you can do is rotate the local rotation axis of objects.

With the object selected, go into component mode. Select the componenet mask labeled Miscellaneous, designated by a ? symbol. You should see a small axis symbol appear at the object's pivot. You can select it and rotate it. When you go back to object mode, the rotation tool should now be oriented to the changes you made.

-Mike
The Maya Toolbelt

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# 5 14-07-2005 , 11:20 AM

Subscriber
Join Date: Sep 2004

Location: Queens, New York City

Posts: 367

YEP! That's IT!

Duly noted, acknolwedged and logged! The method you just gave me is precisely what I was looking for! And MUCH quicker (and more precise) than mucking around with freeze transformations!

Once again, thanks!

Carry on.

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That ol' Rotate Tool

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