IC.Shape 1.1

click an image area to jump to description or browse the index Introduction The Brush Selection Poly Model Stack Status Poly Properties Display Troubleshooting

The Brush The brush is the master instrument of the IC.Shape script. It makes use of the The Painter Interface, a general API introduced in 3ds Max 5 which provides tools for painting on meshes. The script exploits its capabilities to manipulate elements and sculpt Editable Polys. Each tool has his own unique brush and keeps the properties set through different painting sessions.

The brush is made of three parts: Tip, Ring and Normal Vector, which could be set on the fly during the painting session.

Brush Tip (center of the cross) It is the center of the cross formed by the two perpendicular diameters of the external ring. It is the point of maximum influence in painting and determines the brush position. "Crossing an edge" is referred to the tip of the brush passing from one polygon to an adjacent one crossing the shared edge, while the brush ring AVOIDS any vertex.

Brush Ring (sphere of influence) It is a visual representation of brush dimension. It is the equator of a sphere of influence centered in the brush tip. "Starting on a vertex" is referred to the ring of the brush including a vertex at the start of a drag action. "Landing on a vertex" is referred to the ring of the brush touching a vertex at the end of a drag action. "Starting on a polygon" is referred to the tip of the brush on a polygon and the brush ring NOT including any vertex at the start of a drag action. "Landing on a polygon" is referred to the tip of the brush on a polygon and the brush ring NOT including any vertex at the end of a drag action. Increase brush size CTRL + SHIFT + LMB + Drag Up Decrease brush size CTRL + SHIFT + LMB + Drag Down

Brush Normal Vector It is a visual representation of brush strength. This value ranges from 0 to 1, where 0 means no effect at all and 1 is the maximum. When a pressure sensitive device is used, and Disable Pressure setting is disabled, the effective influence multiplier is got by: Influence = Brush Strength * Pressure Strength Increase brush strength ALT + SHIFT + LMB + Drag Up Decrease brush strength ALT + SHIFT + LMB + Drag Down

Selection

click an image area to jump to description

	Vertex Sub-Object level
		Enables/Disables vertex sub-object editing. If CTRL is pressed before switching to this level from another, the actual selection is converted to a vertex selection. Vertex sub-object selection toggle Click Convert selection to vertex selection CTRL + Click   Convert selection perimeter to vertex selection SHIFT + Click   Convert selection contents to vertex selection CTRL + SHIFT + Click

	Source Selection	Convert to Verts CTRL + Click	Convert To Outer Verts SHIFT + Click	Convert to Inner Verts CTRL + SHIFT + Click

	Edge Sub-Object level
		Enables/Disables edge sub-object editing. If CTRL is pressed before switching to this level from another, the actual selection is converted to an edge selection. Edge sub-object selection toggle Click Convert selection to edge selection CTRL + Click   Convert selection perimeter to edge selection SHIFT + Click   Convert selection contents to edge selection CTRL + SHIFT + Click

	Source Selection	Convert to Edges CTRL + Click	Convert To Outer Edges SHIFT + Click	Convert to Inner Edges CTRL + SHIFT + Click

	Border Sub-Object level
		Enables/Disables border sub-object editing. If CTRL is pressed before switching to this level from another, the actual selection is converted to a border selection. Border sub-object selection toggle Click Convert selection to border selection CTRL + Click

	Polygon Sub-Object level
		Enables/Disables polygon sub-object editing. If CTRL is pressed before switching to this level from another, the actual selection is converted to a polygon selection. Polygon sub-object selection toggle Click Convert selection to polygon selection CTRL + Click   Convert selection perimeter to polygon selection SHIFT + Click   Convert selection contents to polygon selection CTRL + SHIFT + Click

	Source Selection	Convert to Polys CTRL + Click	Convert To Outer Polys SHIFT + Click	Convert to Inner Polys CTRL + SHIFT + Click

	Element Sub-Object level
		Enables/Disables element sub-object editing. If CTRL is pressed before switching to this level from another, the actual selection is converted to an element selection. Element sub-object selection toggle Click Convertl selection to element selection CTRL + Click

Ignore Backfacing  When active, Selection tools and Poly Model tools ignore active sub-objects whose normals point away from active viewport direction. It operates the standard Ignore Backfacing too.

	Shrink Selection
		Reduces the sub-object selection area by unselecting the outermost sub-objects. If the selection size can no longer be reduced, the remaining sub-objects are unselected.

	Grow Selection
		Expands the selection area outward in all available directions. For this function, a border is considered to be an edge selection.

	Select Ring
		Expands an edge selection by selecting all edges parallel to the selected edges. Select Ring applies to vertex, edge and polygon selections. In order to work in vertex and polygon sub-object editing mode, at least two contiguous elements must be selected.

	Select Loop
		Expands the selection as far as possible, in alignment with selected edges. Select Loop applies to vertex, edge and polygon selections. In order to work in vertex and polygon sub-object editing mode, at least two contiguous elements must be selected.

Select n-gon  Selects all polygons matching chosen search criteria. Automatically switches to Polygon sub-object if polygons are found. Exclamation mark (negation symbol) unchecked: selects all the polygons in the model with the number of vertices/edges specified in the spinner. Exclamation mark (negation symbol) checked: selects all the polygons in the model without the number of vertices/edges specified in the spinner.

Poly Model

click an image area to jump to description

	Draw Tool   Polygon drawing tool. When active, enables the drawing of new edges on the Editable Poly surface by connecting existent edges, or vertices. The Draw tool performs a wide number of different actions without any complex modifier keys combination. It recognizes the actual status and behaves accordingly. The use of a graphic tablet makes drawing more comfortable and accurate. Adjust the brush ring to meet each drawing task easily. Draw Edges LMB Draw Loop SHIFT + LMB Draw in the middle of edges CTRL + LMB Create polygons ALT + LMB
	Draw [Left Mouse Button]
		It is the basic use of the Draw tool, it feels like drawing lines on paper, with some additional precision and snapping features. Draw from an edge to an edge: cross the first edge and cross the second edge. Draw from an edge to a vertex: cross the first edge and land on a vertex. Draw from a vertex to an edge: start on a vertex and cross an edge. Draw from a vertex to a vertex: start on a vertex and land on a vertex. Draw a vertex in an edge: cross an edge.
	Draw Loop [SHIFT + Left Mouse Button]
		Create an Edge Loop by connecting all edges parallel to the one crossed by the brush tip. Draw an Edge Loop: press and keep SHIFT and cross an edge.
	Draw in the middle of edges [CTRL + Left Mouse Button]
		The brush behaves like in normal drawing, but creates vertices and edges snapping to the middle of edges crossed by the brush tip. Draw in the middle of edges: press and keep CTRL and perform normal drawing actions.
	Create Polygons [ALT + Left Mouse Button]
		It is a useful feature when starting from a very simple base Editable Poly want to extend it to obtain a more complex model. It works by dragging the brush out of the Editable Poly. If the last element crossed is an edge, creates a polygon from it, otherwise creates a polygon from the last vertex crossed and contiguous edges. When creating polygons by border edge, the "auto-bridge" and "auto-weld" functions are active. The first bridges the dragged edges, while the second welds dragged vertices. The newly created polygon share the smoothing groups of the source and target polygons. Create polygon by dragging a border edge: press and Keep ALT and drag out of the mesh perimeter by crossing an edge. Create polygon by dragging a border vertex: press and Keep ALT and drag out of the mesh perimeter by crossing a vertex.

	Erase Tool   Polygon erasing tool. When active enables the erasing of edges and vertices on the Editable Poly surface. The use of a graphic tablet makes erasing more comfortable and accurate. Adjust the brush ring to meet each erasing task easily. Erase Edges / Vertices LMB Erase Loop SHIFT + LMB Collapse edges / vertices CTRL + LMB Delete Polygons ALT + LMB
	Erase [Left Mouse Button]
		It is the basic use of the Erase Tool, it feels like erasing lines on paper, with some additional precision and snapping features. Erase an edge by crossing it: cross an edge. Erase an edge going from a vertex to a vertex: start on a vertex and land on a contiguous vertex. Erase all edges sharing a vertex: start on a polygon and land on the shared vertex. Erase a vertex shared by two edges only: start on a polygon and land on the shared vertex.
	Erase Loop [SHIFT + Left Mouse Button]
		Removes the Edge Loop which comprises the edge crossed by the brush tip. Erase an Edge Loop: press and keep SHIFT and cross an edge.
	Collapse [CTRL + Left Mouse Button]
		Collapses groups of contiguous sub-objects by welding their vertices to a vertex at the selection center. Collapse an edge by crossing it: press and keep CTRL and cross an edge. Collapse an edge going from a vertex to a vertex: press and keep CTRL, start on a vertex and land on a vertex.
	Delete Polygons [ALT + Left Mouse Button]
		Pressing and keeping down the ALT button during the erasing session, disables the normal edge erasing and forces the sole removal of polygons from the perimeter of the mesh. Remove a polygon from the perimeter by crossing an edge: press and keep ALT and cross a border edge. The polygon sharing the crossed edge will be removed. Remove a polygon from the perimeter by crossing a vertex: press and keep ALT and cross a border vertex. All the polygons sharing the crossed vertex will be removed.

	Keep Quads on Draw
		When active, prevents the formation of three- and five-sided polygon when cutting four-sided polygons (quads) by adding automatically the edge needed to create three quads. This feature is a bit less robust than the normal drawing mode, please use it with care (slower), and when needed only.

	Inflate / Deflate
		Deforms the Editable Poly surface in the direction of the normal vector of each vertex. Inflate Tool applies the shift in the positive direction of surface normal vectors, whereas Deflate Tool applies the shift in the negative direction of surface normal vectors. The calculation takes in account the deformation derived by the painting stroke in progress, therefore the practical effect is that of inflating / deflating the mesh. Inflate LMB Deflate ALT + LMB Relax SHIFT + LMB

	Raise / Lower
		Deforms the Editable Poly surface in the direction of the normal vector of each vertex. Raise Tool applies the shift in the positive direction of surface normal vectors, whereas Lower Tool applies the shift in the negative direction of surface normal vectors. The calculation doesn't take in account the deformation derived by the painting stroke in progress, therefore the practical effect is that of raising / lowering the mesh. Raise LMB Lower ALT + LMB Relax SHIFT + LMB

	Relax / Stress
		Smooths the Editable Poly surface. Each vertex is shifted in the direction of the average position of the contiguous ones. Relax Tool applies the shift in the positive direction, whereas Stress Tool applies the shift in the negative direction. Relax LMB Stress ALT + LMB

	Pinch / Stretch
		Deforms the surface to gather or push away vertices from the tip of the brush. Each vertex is shifted in the direction of the position of the brush tip. Pinch Tool applies the shift in the positive direction, whereas Stretch Tool applies the shift in the negative direction. Pinch LMB Stretch ALT + LMB Relax SHIFT + LMB

	Drag / Smudge
		Deforms the mesh by shifting the vertex in the direction of the brush stroke. Drag Tool behaves like a move vertex action of a soft selection, without the need of selecting anything, just point and drag. Brush dimension determines the outer limit of influence. Smudge Tool behaves like a magnet whose force is driven by brush strength. At maximum strength it is like the drag tool, while at lower values it allows softer mesh shifts. Drag LMB Smudge ALT + LMB Relax SHIFT + LMB

	Ruffle / Flatten
		Ruffle Tool deforms the mesh applying to each vertex a shift in a random direction from its original position. Flatten Tool shifts each vertex to a plane perpendicular to the normal vector of the surface in the point of the brush stroke. It causes the surface to average to a plane. It is more useful in combination with Affect Selected only, to limit its influence to the area to flatten. Ruffle LMB Flatten ALT + LMB Relax SHIFT + LMB

	Edge Distance Limit
		When active, restricts the area of influence of the active tool. It represents the maximum distance from the brush tip to the brush ring measured in edges to travel before brush strength is cut down to zero.

	Affect Selected only
		When active, restricts the area of influence of the active tool to the actual sub-object selection. When active, clicking out of the mesh with the brush tip of modeling polygons tools, doesn't deselect elements. When is activated, turns off Mark Last Hit Point, and vice versa. The tools affected by this setting are: Inflate / Deflate Raise / Lower Relax / Stress Pinch / Stretch Drag / Smudge Ruffle / Flatten

	Disable Input Device Pressure Effects
		When active, disables the input device pressure effects, like a graphic tablet whose pressure is considered to be always at maximum value, therefore the brush is influenced by its strength value only. This setting has no influence if no pressure sensitive device is used, like a standard mouse. The tools affected by this setting are: Inflate / Deflate Raise / Lower Relax / Stress Pinch / Stretch Ruffle / Flatten For the Smudge brush the pressure sensitivity is always considered to be enabled. If the input device has no pressure sensitivity, it behaves like the Drag brush.

	Z-Projection on a Template Geometry   Z-Projection allows to use a scene Geometry Object as template for shaping the actual Editable Polygon. Every transformed sub-object element is instantly projected along the viewport Z-Axis on the active template geometry and remains stuck to it. Brushes that support this feature, like Drag Brush, project all their transformations on the template surface positive side, while all the others, like Inflate Brush, behave in the standard mode. A positive offset from the tempate geometry object can be set to prevent the loss of volume while rebuilding a low-poly surface from a high-poly template. Notes Z-Projection works along the Z-Axis of current viewport. This implies that the view point position is quite important, try to stay perpendicular to the Template Geometry surface for better results. Relax Brush works in a slightly different way, along the surface of Template Geometry nomals. It therefore needs the Editable Polygon to shape and the Template to be quite close. Z-Projection is a heavy calculation fo 3ds Max, and error-prone in complex situations. If the Editable Polygon surface intertwines, please develop it with Relax Brush in standard mode, then project it again with Drag Brush in Z-Projection mode.
		The tools affected by this setting are: Draw - Vertex / Edge Draw - Polygon Creation Erase - Collapse Edges Relax / Stress Pinch / Stretch Drag / Smudge Inset

		Shows the status of Z-Projection feature. The toggle on the right indicates whether or not the Z-Projection has to be used if available, it is freely checkable. The label on the left shows the availability status of the Z-Projection feature depending on various factors, like the selected Template Geometry, the selected Editable Poly to shape, the Brush actually active. The spinner sets the offset value to keep from the Template Geometry surface.
		The Pickbutton on the left selects the Template Geometry, while the button on the right removes it.
		The checkbuttons manage the visibility and selectability status of the Template Geometry.

	Transform
		Manages move and roto-scale transforms in screen coordinate space. This tools works in every sub-object level. If nothing is selected, the first stroke selects elements, the second stroke, if started over the selection or outside the object, leads to the shift, otherwise deselects elements and star a new selection process. Like in standard 3ds Max workflow, CRTL adds painted elements to selection and ALT removes painted elements from actual selection. SHIFT activates the roto-scale transform with center in the middle of selection. Select / Move LMB Add to selection CTRL + LMB Remove from selection ALT + LMB Roto-Scale SHIFT + LMB  Select Element CTRL + ALT + LMB Over Object  Clear Selection CTRL + ALT + LMB Out of Object

	Spin Edge
		Makes the edge shared by two polygons to spin, connecting next vertices of the polygon pair. It is not limited by the number vertices/edges of the adjacent polygons. Its use is alike the action of a finger pushing the edge. The half and the side where the edge is touched determines the spin direction. Spin LMB

	Extrude
		Performs an extrusion of polygons by dragging them from the original position in screen coordinate space. If nothing is selected, the first stroke selects elements, the second stroke, if started over the selection or outside the object, leads to the extrusion, otherwise deselects elements and star a new selection process. Like in standard 3ds Max workflow, CRTL adds painted elements to selection and ALT removes painted elements from actual selection. SHIFT constraints the direction of the extrusion to the average of selection normals. Polygons created from Extrude share Smoothing Groups of their sources. Unlike 3ds Max standard extrusion tool, borders do not contribute to extruded mesh. Select / Extrude LMB Add to selection CTRL + LMB Remove from selection ALT + LMB Extrude normal to selection SHIFT + LMB  Select Element CTRL + ALT + LMB Over Object  Clear Selection CTRL + ALT + LMB Out of Object

	Inset
		Performs an inset of polygons. If nothing is selected, the first stroke selects elements, the second stroke, if started over the selection or outside the object, leads to the inset, otherwise deselects elements and star a new selection process. Like in standard 3ds Max workflow, CRTL adds painted elements to selection and ALT removes painted elements from actual selection. Polygons created from inset share Smoothing Groups of their sources. Select / Inset LMB Add to selection CTRL + LMB Remove from selection ALT + LMB  Select Element CTRL + ALT + LMB Over Object  Clear Selection CTRL + ALT + LMB Out of Object

	Axis Lock
		Axis Lock setting preserves the mesh border laying on a cartesian plane passing through the worldspace origin. It can be activated for planes X = 0, Y = 0 and Z=0. If a border vertex position is within the threshold expressed by the spinner, cannot move along the axis locked, thus limiting its shift on the perpendicular cartesian plane. All the tools in the Poly Model section submit to these settings. More than one axis lock can be active at the same time.
	Shut Border
		Causes the border vertices laying on the cartesian plane selected by the Axis Lock, whose position is within the threshold expressed by the spinner, to move along that axis up to zero. Its practical effect is well expressed in conjunction with a Symmetry Modifier, to fix any mesh imprecision on the mirror plane that may arise during the modeling process.
	Swap Side
		Mirrors the model relative to the plane selected by the Axis Lock. Its practical effect is well expressed in conjunction with a Symmetry Modifier, being able to select which side of the mesh is more comfortable to model along the process.

	Mark Last Hit Point
	Arc Rotate SubObject	When active, creates a very small three-sided polygon in the position of the last point where the brush touched the mesh, and selects it. This feature is useful for viewport navigation: if standard 3ds Max "Arc Rotate SubObject" mode is active, the perspective as well as parallel view will orbit around the last touched point, avoiding the loose of focus on the modeling position. When is activated, turns off Affect Selected only, and vice versa. The accessory three-sided polygon is automatically deleted: At the start of every painting stroke and is replaced by a new one at the end of the stroke, at last mesh point touched. Every time the Mark Last Hit Point feature is deactivated or the Affect Selected only setting is activated. When a Save File action is performed, to leave the Editable Poly clean. When the IC.Shape Rollout is closed.

Stack Status

click an image area to jump to description

Stack controls Stack controls section provides an easy interface to manage the Modifier Stack by activating and deactivating fundamental modifiers and changing some of their parameters on the fly without the needing for the full Modify Panel. Its buttons represent the Base Object (Editable Poly), the Symmetry Modifier(s) for symmetrical models, and the TurboSmooth Modifier(s). The left indicator tells what's the actual object in the Modifier Stack: Active Modifier Stack object. Not active Modifier Stack object. The state (enabled or disabled) "power" button on the right of modifiers buttons tells whether there are such objects in the active selection Modifiers Stack. One or more modifiers are present in the Modifier Stack. No modifiers are present in the Modifier Stack. By clicking the buttons with modifier names, activates the corresponding object in the stack. If there is more than one object of the same kind, like two Symmetry modifiers, or two TurboSmooth modifiers, the first found from the actual position will become active, going from bottom to top of the stack. Every subsequent click will activate next modifier of the same kind. If the top of the stack is reached, the first object of the selected type found after the base object will be activated. If there's not a modifier of the selected kind in the stack, a popup will prompt asking if it should be added in the actual selected object Modifier Stack. Symmetry will be added after the base object, while TurboSmooth will be added on top of the Stack. By clicking the "power" button on the right of modifiers activators, all the object of that kind present in the actual Modifier Stack will be turned off if on, and on if off. TurboSmooth Tells if the active object in the actual Modifier Stack is a TurboSmooth. Activates the first TurboSmooth object found going from bottom to top of the Stack starting from the actual active object. If there are not such objects, a popup will prompt asking if it should be added on top of the Stack. Changes iterations value of all TurboSmooth modifiers in the Modifiers Stack. Inverts the turned on/off status of all TurboSmooth modifiers in the Modifiers Stack. Symmetry Tells if the active object in the actual Modifier Stack is a Symmetry. Activates the first Symmetry object found going from bottom to top of the Stack starting from the actual active object. If there are not such objects, a popup will prompt asking if it should be added after the base object. Changes mirror threshold value of all Symmetry modifiers in the Modifiers Stack. Inverts the turned on/off status of all Symmetry modifiers in the Modifiers Stack. Editable Poly Tells if the active object in the actual Modifier Stack is the base object Editable Poly. Activates the base object Editable Poly.

Show End Result Toggles the state of Modify Panel "Show End Result" button. It shows the selected object as it will appear after all modifications in the stack have taken place, regardless of current position in the stack. When this toggle is turned off, the object appears as modified up to the current modifier in the stack.

Poly Properties

click an image area to jump to description

Smoothing Groups Smoothing Groups section provides a compact interface for basic functions. Clears selected polygons Smoothing Groups. At object level clears all the polygons. Sets selected polygons Smoothing Groups to the spinner value. The specified value replaces all previous smoothing groups. At object level sets all the polygons. Gets polygons Smoothing Groups from actual selection and displays it in the spinner. If selected polygons or full object share more than one Smoothing Group value, the spinner becomes indeterminate.

Material ID Material ID section provides a compact interface for basic functions. Selects polygons with the Material ID equal to the number specified in the spinner. The new selection is converted into edges and vertices too. Sets selected polygons Material ID to the spinner value. At object level sets all the polygons. Gets polygons Material ID from actual selection and displays it in the spinner. If selected polygons or full object share more than one Material ID value, the spinner becomes indeterminate.

Display

click an image area to jump to description

	Hide / Unhide / Invert
		Hides, unhides or inverts visibility of selected sub-objects.

Troubleshooting

• The program seems to hang and activating tools has no effect. 3ds Max Painter Inteface hasn't ended a painting session and cannot start a new one. You need to do it by script:
  
  1. Go to MAXScript Mini Listener, the white textfield bottom left.
  2. Type: thePainterInterface.endPaintSession();
  3. Press Enter and try to use the tools again.

• The 3ds Max undo system doesn't work anymore. Sometimes it happens that the undo stack doesn't record actions performed. This doesn't appear to be connected with the script. There isn't solution other than closing and starting again 3ds Max. Please remember to save often.
  

Known Issues

• IC.Shape is based on the same 3ds Max API employed in example by the Skin Modifier. Please never use IC.Shape with such modifiers active in the Editable Poly Modifier Stack.