Create Menu

Use

Using this menu, you can do the following:

Create camera views
Add light sources
Zoom to a detailed area
Add thrustlines
Create primitives
Create modifiers

Camera Views

Camera views are based on the current view of the camera. They are activated using the 3D Objects list or the Views menu. After creating a camera, either the camera object or the camera object and associated target node are displayed in the Scene Components panel depending on the type of camera created. You can modify these objects as you would modify other 3D objects. For example, selecting, hiding, and deleting, and attaching camera objects to groups.

Primitives

The Primitives options are used to add primitives (preset 3D objects) to the scene. There are many types of primitives including lines, spheres, boxes, stairs, gears, and archways.

Modifiers

The Modifiers options are used to apply modifiers to any 3D object that you select in the scene. Modifiers provide many different ways to modify existing objects, while keeping file size to a minimum. You can also adjust the properties of the modifiers at any time. For example, normally you want the center of the Inflate modifier to be a point somewhere in the midst of the object, and radius to be the distance of the furthest vertex from center. However, you can change the center anchor of the Inflate modifier object to achieve different effects.

Features

The following options are available from the menu:

Menu Option	Functional Description
	A spotlight casts a focused beam of light like a flashlight, or a spot light in a theater, or a like a car headlight. Unlike a targeted spotlight, a free spot light has no target object. You can move and rotate the free spot to aim it in any direction.
	A targeted spotlight casts a focused beam of light like a flashlight. A target spotlight uses a target object to aim the camera. It creates a node (along with the light), and the direction of the light (Camera) is controlled by that node.
	A point light casts rays in all directions from a single source. Point lights can cast shadows and projections; a single shadow-casting point light is the equivalent of six shadow-casting spotlights, pointing outward from the center. When you set a map projected by a point light to be projected using the Spherical, Cylindrical, or Shrink Wrap Environment coordinates, the map is projected in the same way as it would be mapped to the environment. When you use the Screen Environment coordinates or Explicit Map Channel Texture coordinates, six copies of the map are projected radially. Recommendation Point lights can generate up to six quadtrees, so they generate ray-traced shadows more slowly than spotlights. Avoid using ray-traced shadows with point lights unless your scene requires this.
	Creates a light object in the Scene tree for each current scene light. To view the editable lights’ effect on the scene, you must select the Lights From File lighting mode; this uses the lights that are defined in the scene as the lighting source. Note Infinite lights can be rotated but not moved. Point lights can be moved but not rotated.
Camera	Creates a camera object of the scene using the current view’s camera position
Target Camera	Creates a camera object and associated target node, using the current view’s camera position
	Adds the selected primitive to the scene
	Applies the selected modifier to the selected object. Swap Axis: Swaps the selected 3D objects’ axis. For example, if an object points X values can be swapped with the points Z values. This modifier is useful when loading meshes from other sources. Bend: Bends the selected 3D objects by a specified amount. Ensure that the object has enough vertices to make a smooth bend. Inflate Modifies the selected 3D objects’ vertices using a given sphere to inflate or deflate the object’s appearance. Mirror: Mirrors the selected 3D objects. Objects are mirrored at their base location. Noise: Randomly moves the vertices of the selected 3D objects. Ripple: Ripples the selected sub-objects. Skew: Pushes one end of the selected 3D objects’ vertices in one direction while leaving the other end stationary. Spline: Converts the vertices of an object (in order) into a single spline wire. The Degree setting determines how close the spline follows the straight line between the vertices. A value of 3 is generally results in a soft curve. Stretch: Stretches or squashes the selected 3D objects. The modifier axis and direction define an axis line in space. The object is scaled along it (stretch) and transverse to it (squash). Taper: Tapers the selected 3D objects by making it smaller or larger on a specified axis. Twist: Twists the selected 3D objects a specified amount. Wave: Applies a wave to the selected 3D object’ vertices.
Volume	Applies a volume calculation to the selected object