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Editing Object Attributes
Every object in Bryce has several attributes that let you control the object's size, position, rotation, Boolean state, preview, and whether or not it's locked.
There are two ways of editing an object's attributes: the Object Attributes dialog and the Object Controls that appear next to the object's bounding box.
Object Attributes Dialog
The Object Attributes dialog contains three tabs which let you set various object properties:
- General contains options that let you set the object name, position, size, rotation, and display quality.
- Linking contains options that let you set up a link between two objects. You can also use this tab to set up a tracking link.
- Animation contains options for controlling the display of motion paths and setting the motion path type.
To display the Object Attributes dialog:
2 Choose Objects menu> Edit Attributes, or press Command-Option-E/Ctrl+Alt+E, or click the A button next to the object's bounding box.
Object Attribute Icons
The Object Attribute icons appear as a list of buttons along the right side of an object's bounding box. The icons that appear in this list vary depending on the type and number of objects selected.
- access the Object Attributes dialog, the Material Composer and any editors associated with the object
- group objects in a selection
- add objects to families
- land objects
- link objects
- set up object tracking
If your selection falls outside of your Working window, the icons appear in the rightmost area available on the screen.
To display Object Attribute icons:
Object Attributes Icon
This control displays the Object Attributes dialog. When the dialog opens, it shows the current name, position, orientation, and scale of the object.
To display the Object Attribute dialog:
1 Select an object or group of objects.
2 Click the A icon that appears next to the object's bounding box.
Families Icon
This control indicates the family to which the object belongs. It also displays the Family dialog. Refer to "Families" for more information.
To add selected objects to a family:
1 Select all the objects you want to add to the family.
2 Click the Family icon that appears next to the object's bounding box. The Family dialog appears.
3 Choose a color that represents an existing family, or enter a name to create a new family.
4 Click the OK icon. The color you select becomes the object's wireframe color.
Linking Icon
This control lets you set up a parent-child link between two objects. When the objects are linked, the transformations you apply to the parent object affect the child. Refer to "Linking Objects" for more information.
To link one selected object to another:
1 Select the object you want to be the child object within the link.
2 Click the Link icon and drag it to the object you want to be the parent object. Release the mouse button when the parent object turns blue.
A link line extending from the child object to the parent appears as you drag.
Tracking Icon
This control lets you set up a Tracking link between two objects. When an object tracks another, the selected object pivots as the target object changes position. As a result, the object always faces its target. Refer to "Tracking Objects" for more on tracking.
To set a selected object to track another:
1 Select the object you want to be the stationary object.
2 Click the Tracking icon and drag it to the object you want to be the target object. Release the mouse button when the target object turns blue.
A tracking line extending from the stationary object to the target appears as you drag.
Group Icon
This control appears only if your selection contains multiple objects. When you click this control all the objects in the selection are grouped. Refer to "Grouping Objects" for more on grouping.
If this icon does not appear when you have a multiple selection, it means that you can't group the selected objects because of an object hierarchy conflict. Refer to "Object Hierarchies" for more information.
To group selected objects:
1 Select all the objects you want grouped.
2 Click the G icon that appears next to the object's bounding box. A group bounding box appears around all the objects.
Ungroup Icon
This control only appears if you've selected a group or a number of objects contained in a group. When you click this control, any group in the selection is ungrouped. If the selection contains nested groups, you can continue clicking this control until all the groups are ungrouped, or until the control disappears.
To ungroup a selected group of objects:
1 Select all the objects you want ungrouped.
2 Click the U icon that appears next to the object's bounding box.
Material Icon
This control displays the Materials Lab. Refer to "Applying Materials" for more on Materials. When you use this control, the Materials Lab displays the material currently applied to the selected object, and the object appears in the Material Preview area of the lab.
To display the Materials Lab:
1 Select an object or group of objects.
2 Click the M icon that appears next the bounding box.
Edit Object Icon
This control only appears if the object you selected is a terrain, a symmetrical lattice, a torus, a stone, an imported polyhedron object or a light. When you click this control, the editor for the object type you have selected opens.
To display an object's editor:
1 Select an object or group of objects.
2 Click the E icon that appears next to the bounding box.
Land Object Icon
This control appears as either an arrow pointing up or down, depending on the position of the object selected.
When you click this control, the object snaps to the top of the object below it. This control works like the Land Selection option available in the Edit palette. Refer to "Landing Objects" for more information.
To land a selected object:
1 Select the object you want to land.
2 Click the Arrow icon that appears next to the object's bounding box. The object snaps to the top of the object directly below it.
If the selected object is below ground, it snaps to the bottom of the object directly above it.
Editing Object Names
The Object Name field in the General tab of the Object Attributes dialog lets you name a selected object. An object's name identifies it within the scene.
When you have many objects of the same type, object names are used to select a specific object. The name is also used to identify an object in a hierarchy. Object hierarchies appear in the Hierarchy List area of the Advanced Motion Lab. Refer to "Object Hierarchies" for more on hierarchies.
Editing Boolean Attributes
Boolean attributes, listed in the General tab of the Object Attributes dialog, control how an object acts in a Boolean operation. For example, if a boolean attribute is set to Negative, the object subtracts an area from a positive object.
Refer to "Boolean Operations" for a complete discussion of Boolean operations.
To set an object's Boolean attributes:
1 Display the Object Attributes dialog.
2 Make sure the General tab is displayed.
3 Enable one of the check boxes at the top of the dialog:
Neutral defines any selected object, objects, or group as non-Boolean. No Boolean operation can be performed on a neutral object. This is the default setting for all objects.
Positive defines any selected object, objects, or group as solid when grouped.
Negative defines any selected object, objects, or group as negative when grouped. Think of a negative object as a "cutting object."
Intersect defines any selected object, objects, or group as an intersecting object when grouped.
Editing Display Quality Attributes
The display options available in the General tab of the Object Attributes dialog let you control how the object appears in the Working window. Some of these options can speed up the redraw of your scene.
Hidden
When you apply this option to an object, it is not rendered when you render your scene. The object remains visible in the Working window, where you can still select and edit it, but it will not display in the final render.
To hide an object:
1 Display the Object Attributes dialog.
2 Make sure the General tab is displayed.
Locked
This option locks any selected object, objects, or group, preventing unintentional changes to size, position, rotation, or material assignment. Locked objects appear grayed out in your wireframe view.
To lock an object:
1 Display the Object Attributes dialog.
2 Make sure the General tab is displayed.
To select a locked object:
1 Click the Time Selection Palette toggle at the bottom of the Working window to display the Selection palette.
2 Click an object type button, and choose the desired object from the menu that appears.
If you want to unlock the object, disable the Locked button in the Object Attributes dialog.
Show as Box
This option displays any selected object, objects, or group as a box. This is useful when you just want to work with the object's position. It can speed up work in a complex scene because it displays simpler objects. You can still manipulate your object using the bounding box control points.
To display an object as a box:
1 Display the Object Attributes dialog.
2 Make sure the General tab is displayed.
3 Enable the Show as Box button.
Show Origin Point
This option displays the selected object's origin point. You can then edit the position of the point to change the object's center of rotation. Refer to "Object Origin Points" for more on origin points.
To display an object's origin point:
1 Display the Object Attributes dialog.
2 Make sure the General tab is displayed.
3 Enable the Show Origin Point button.
Editing Transformation Attributes
The numeric entry fields on the General tab of the Object Attributes dialog describe an object's position, orientation, and size in 3D space. You can adjust these attributes by entering values in one or all of the numeric fields.
The values in this dialog use either Absolute or Definition coordinates for transformations. Absolute coordinates use the World Space X, Y, and Z axes as a reference for transformations. Definition coordinates redefine how the object is created in Object Space. Refer to "Coordinate Systems" for more on these coordinate systems.
Using Definition coordinates can create some unpredictable results because you're redefining the entire object when you change the Offset, Rotate and Size values.
To set an object's origin point:
1 Display the Object Attributes dialog.
2 Make sure the General tab is displayed.
3 Enter values in the Origin X, Y and Z fields.
To set an object's position:
1 Display the Object Attributes dialog.
2 Make sure the General tab is displayed.
3 Enter a value in the Position X field to set the object's position on the X axis. This axis moves the object left or right.
4 Enter a value in the Position Y field to set the object's position on the Y axis. This axis moves the object up or down.
5 Enter a value in the Position Z field to set the object's position on the Z axis. This axis moves the object backward or forward.
When you select multiple objects and access this dialog, there are no values displayed in the Position fields. If you then enter a value in any field, the selected objects are moved to the new coordinate.
To rotate an object:
1 Display the Object Attributes dialog.
2 Make sure the General tab is displayed.
3 Enter a value in the Rotate X field to set the object's rotation around the X axis.
You can enter negative values, values greater than 360 or values less than -360. Bryce reduces the value to an absolute value within a range of 0 - 360.
4 Enter a value in the Rotate Y field to set the object's position on the Y axis.
5 Enter a value in the Rotate Z field to set the object's position on the Z axis.
To set an object's size:
1 Display the Object Attributes dialog.
2 Make sure the General tab is displayed.
3 Enter a value in the Size X field to set the object's size in the X axis.
You can enter negative values here if you need to.
4 Enter a value in the Size Y field to set the object's size in the Y axis.
5 Enter a value in the Size Z field to set the object's size in the Z axis.
When you select multiple objects and access this dialog, there are no values displayed in the Size fields. If you then enter a value in any Size field, the selected objects are scaled to the new coordinate.
Editing Link Attributes
Link attributes control how an object is linked to another. The controls on the Linking tab of the Object Attributes dialog let you set parent-child link attributes and tracking attributes.
Linking
When you link an object to another, you create a parent-child relationship. Transformations applied to the parent object affect the child, but transformations applied to the child object do not affect the parent. Refer to "Linking Objects" for more on linking.
The Link options let you set the parent object for the selected object and choose which parent object transformations will affect the child.
To link objects:
1 Display the Object Attributes dialog.
3 Click the Object Parent Name field and choose a name from the menu that appears.
4 Enable a Propagate option. These options control which Parent object transformations affect the child.
Tracking
When you set up a tracking link, the stationary object tracks the target object as it moves or rotates. Whenever the target object moves, the stationary object pivots so that it's always facing the target.
The Tracking options let you set the target object for the selected object and define which axis of the stationary object will face the target.
To set an object to track another:
1 Display the Object Attributes dialog.
3 Click the Track Object Name field and choose a name from the menu that appears.
Choose None to break a tracking link.
4 Enable one of the Orientation options. These options set which object axis will track the target.
Editing Animation Attributes
Animation attributes control the display of an object's motion path. A motion path is a graphical representation of an object's trajectory over the course of the animation. Refer to "Motion Paths" for more on motion paths.
The options on the Animation tab of the Object Attributes dialog let you control how an object's motion path is displayed in the Working window and how that path is drawn.
Motion Path Display Options
Normally, a motion path is displayed as it is being drawn and when the object is selected. The motion path display options on the Animation tab of the Object Attributes dialog let you control when the motion path is displayed.
To set motion path display options:
1 Display the Object Attributes dialog.
3 Enable one or all of the display options:
Hide Trajectory enables or disables the display of the motion path. When it is disabled, no motion path is drawn.
Show When Selected displays the motion path only when the object is selected.
Show Always displays the motion path at all times, even when the object is not selected.
Motion Path Attributes
When a motion path is created, it looks like a curve that extends out from an object. The motion path attributes let you display additional information on a motion path.
To set motion path attributes:
1 Display the Object Attributes dialog.
3 Enable one or all of the attributes:
Show Handles displays or hides the path's control handles. The handles represent key frames.
Show Tangents hides or displays lines extending from each control handle. Tangents help you see the slope of the curve.
Show as Ribbon displays the motion path as a flat ribbon in the working window. This makes the path easier to see when you move the camera.
Align Options
Normally, unless you apply a rotation, an object's orientation remains constant as it moves along a motion path. The align options let you force the object's orientation to match the slope of the motion path so that as the path curves up, the object tilts up.
To set align options:
1 Display the Object Attributes dialog.
3 Enable one of the following options:
Do Not Align disables aligning. The shape of the curve has no effect on the object's orientation. This is the default setting.
Align adjusts the object so that its orientation matches the shape of the path.
Motion Path Geometry Options
The shape of a motion path is determined by the position of the object as it moves through the animation. The motion path geometry options let you change the shape of the path to create different effects.
To set motion path geometry options:
1 Display the Object Attributes dialog.
3 Enable one or all of the options:
Make One Shot performs the motion once and does not repeat the motion.
Make Repeat creates a loop in the action. The motion on the path will continuously repeat.
Make Pendulum creates a repeating cycle in the action along a path. The object will move forward on the path and then back.
Make Circular closes the path to create a circular path. The object will move along the path until it reaches the end. It then swings around to the front of the path and starts over. You must have at least four position key frame points for this feature to work.
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