ESCARGOT Visualwares | 3D Polygon Modeller
MarbleCLAY v0.2.16 beta5.2 | |

2.Reference

| Layout

This section is a brief overview of the main user interface of the application.
Click the link in the individual interface below for more detailed information.
Interface
(1)Perspective view
(2)XY view
(3)YZ view
(4)XZ view
(5)QuickArea
(6)Edit Toolbar
(7)View Toolbar
(8)Quick Toolbar
(9)Select Toolbar
(10)Select filter bar
(11)Preview setting bar
(12)Property Bar
(13)Undo bar
(14)image bar
(15)Drawing Split Bar
(16)Status bar
(17)Panel tray
(18)Window Menus
Views & Planes
WorkArea
Perspective view
3-Way view
(1)View/Work area
(2)QuickArea
(3)Toggle Full/Split view
(4)XY workplane
(5)YZ workplane
(6)XZ workplane
(7)Select polygon workplane
(8)Turn screen into work plane
(9)Automatically select work plane
(10)Vertex movement with correction (Gyakkou algorithm)
WorkPlanes 3D Perspective View)
WorkPlanes (Perspective View)
WorkPlanes 3D Perspective View)
Workplane Offset
XY workplane example
3D Perspective Workplane example
Move object on workplane
Move object vertically from workplane
Move object off workplane
Generate a surface using an object offset
Offset example
Workplane and Offset tips

| Interface |

The figure above is a screenshot of the 4-view display mode after starting MarbleCLAY and ready for use with a new, blank file open.
The 4 different views have many things in common:
1, All views are for Modeling and viewing, changing the view point is done by using the mouse or QuickArea.
2, Right clicking (without moving the mouse), will bring up the right click menu, to recenter view, group, show, hide objects etc.
3, While dragging an item, holding down Shift key will lock the movement to the item's original horizontal and vertical axis.
4, Holding down the left mouse button will move vertices while in any tool, ie face/UV weld(3).
Details of each User Interface are described below.

| (1)Perspective view

See Perspective view
Perspective projection of the object being edited.

| (2)XY view

See 3-Way view
Parallel projection of the object from the Z direction.

| (3)YZ view

See 3-Way view
Parallel projection of the object from the X direction.

| (4)XZ view

See 3-Way view
Parallel projection of the object from the Y direction.

| (5)QuickArea

A view point manipulation method using a special function area that exists around the boarders of each view display.
The QuickArea (boarder) is in red, but this area is not visible, it is used to manipulate the view, ie zooming, panning or rotating.
This opition is most helpful for laptop mouse and/or tablet users.

| (6)Edit Toolbar

See Edit Tools
The Tool bar contains commonly used tools for creating and editing models, such as creating faces, edges, and rotations.
Tool icons added by plug-in functions may be displayed on the toolbar.

| (7)View Toolbar

See Perspective Tools
The View bar contains functions which change the view.

| (8)Quick Toolbar

See QuickTool
This tool bar allows you to set common actions to shortcut keys and combinations for Shift, Ctrl, Alt and Space keys. If you set your frequently used tools to a short cut, work efficiency will increase.

| (9)Select Toolbar

See Selection Tools
The select toolbar gives you different ways of selecting faces, edges, vertices, etc.
By default, changing to any selection tool, automatically changes the modeling tool to the move tool when clicking on 3D objects in the view.

| (10)Select filter bar

See Select Filter
The select filter toolbar lets you enable or disable the selection of faces, edges or vertices.
Version 2.48 includes: back faces, relational(connected) elements, show selected or local manipulator.

| (11)Preview setting bar

See preview style
For the last used view display, change the view style.

| (12)Property Bar

See Property bar
Shortcut to open the Property window.

| (13)Undo bar

See UndoBar
Undo and redo buttons.

| (14)image bar

See Image bar
Load image files, import and export images via the copy and paste buffer.

| (15)Drawing Split Bar

See Drawing Split bar
Switch between view type, size and features.

| (16)Status bar

See Status bar
View mouse coordinates and number of selected items.

| (17)Panel tray

See Panel tray
Optional docking trays located at the top, left, right and bottom of the WorkArea.

| (18)Window Menus

See Window Menus
Application menu.

| Views & Planes |

WorkArea
WorkPlanes 3D Perspective View)
Perspective view
3-Way view
(1)View/Work area
(2)QuickArea
(3)Toggle Full/Split view
(4)XY workplane
(5)YZ workplane
(6)XZ workplane
(7)Select polygon workplane
(8)Turn screen into work plane
(9)Automatically select work plane
(10)Vertex movement with correction (Gyakkou algorithm)

| WorkArea |

In MarbleClay the workarea is the space where the 3D views are displayed, surrounded by QuickArea and dockable Panel tray of different features.
The workarea can toggle different views (perspective and 3way views) with different features (modelling and UV editing).
Work areas can be displayed using different rendering techniques by changing the preview style.
At the center of all views is the coordinate origin (X,Y,Z arrows), some coordinate arrows will not be shown if it's fully perpendicular (90 degrees) and facing towards the viewer.
The square in in the center of all the views indicates the mirroring plane, which is always down the center of the X plane, see SimpleMirror(F3), this is also hidden when fully perpendicular to the viewer.
They both can be used to ground you to the 3D scene.
MarbleClay operates in this 3D coordinate space:
+Z = Up (model's top)
+X = Forward (model's front)
+Y = Right (model's left)
For the reasons above, it's recommended to use MarbleClay in that way.
The keyboard shortcuts for changing views are:
F = Front
E = Top
D = Right
Holding shift will result in the opposite direction, ie Shift E will look from the bottom, up.
MarbleClay has two different workarea views with distinct modelling methods: 3-Way view or Perspective view, explained in now in detail.

| 3-Way view |

Note: The image above doesn't include the option to left click the word view, which allows you to change to a different view, see (15)Drawing Split Bar, ie XY, ZY, XZ, UVD(UV Display).
Often called the 4-Way view, because of the four areas, in MarbleClay it is referred to as 3-way because the perspective view has it's own unique modelling technique, while it does have a Zbrush or Sculptris tool called Clay tool where you pull and push face normals and rotate around the model, it is not this.
MarbleClay offers 2 main modelling approaches, the traditional 4-way view, where the perspective view's main purpose is viewing, MarbleClay takes the perspective and adds modelling functionality in a single view.
Watch: YouTube: MarbleCLAY v2 smart guideline function demo (modified version).
MarbleClay calls the 3-way view or split view, a view that has a perspective locked to a 2D view, where all movements are limited to it's 2D plane, this includes both 3D modelling and UV unwrapping.
In other word, the 3-way view, editing is performed from the perspective of viewing the object parallel to 2 axes only.
A locked or set view (a non perspective view) is often used when it is difficult to grasp the positional relationship between objects.
It can be used to remove detail not facing that view (ie culling back facing polygons) and to precisely move 3D objects along that view plane.
There are no buttons to set the workplane in any of the 3-way views because the view is always parallel to the screen so all movement is locked to that view plane, thus a single workplane.
These views operate strictly in a 2D view, where viewing and manipulation of 3D objects is performed in a 2D, fixed, flat plane, where the X,Y,Z coordinates are limited to horizontal (left or right) and vertical (up or down) movements. This is the traditional way of modeling, because of it's simplicity, it's easier to understand, but can also be slower and less intuitive with peripherals like drawing tablets. lay_3wayWorkArea lay_3wayQuickArea lay_3wayMaximize lay_3wayReverse Pers_layout

| (1)Work areas

As explained above, an area where you do your modeling or UV layout, 2D or 3D view.

| (2)QuickArea

A view point manipulation method using a special function area that exists around the boarders of each view display.
The QuickArea (boarder) is in red, but this area is not visible, it is used to manipulate the view, ie zooming, panning or rotating.

| (3)Maximize/split toggle

Maximize the work area and toggle between split 4-way views and full screen, single view.

| (4)Reverse view

The current view is rotated by 180 degrees which allows for quick views reversal of left/right, top/bottom, front/back, ie: it turns XZ front view, to XZ back view.
This can help by removing back facing polygons from the view.

| Perspective view |

Note: The image above doesn't include the option to left click the words of the current view (ie Perspective) which allows you to change to a different view, see (15)Drawing Split Bar ie XY, ZY, XZ, UVD(UV Display).
An alternative to the traditional modelling in the 4-way (flat 2D) views, is to model solely in the perspective view.
In a perspective view, you can edit while looking at the object from any direction using different WorkPlanes 3D Perspective View), which tells the program how to interpret user input in the 3D space.
In the image above, buttons (4) to (10) are used to select how the workplane is to function.
Because the perspective view's workplane is a relatively novel idea and important feature in MarbleClay, it will be further explained in more detail in WorkPlanes 3D Perspective View).

| (1)View/Work area

As described in WorkArea, this is the viewing area. Above, displayed in perspective view, from an arbitrary view angle.

| (2)QuickArea

A view point manipulation method using a special function area that exists around the boarders of each view display.
The QuickArea (boarder) is in red, but this area is not visible, it is used to manipulate the view, ie zooming, panning or rotating.

| (3)Toggle Full/Split view

Toggles the view from Maximized (full screen) and the previous split view.

| (4)XY workplane

Set the XY plane.
See Set XY plane as WorkPlane

| (5)YZ workplane

Set the YZ plane.
See Set YZ plane as WorkPlane

| (6)XZ workplane

Set the XZ plane.
See Set XZ plane as WorkPlane

| (7)Select polygon workplane

Uses the selected polygon face as the plane parallel to work on.
See Set WorkPlane to selected polygons

| (8)Turn screen into work plane

Sets the workplane parallel to the current screen.
See also.Set screen as WorkPlane, WorkPlanes 3D Perspective View)

| (9)Automatically select work plane

Set workplane to the most suitable plane from your point of view.
See also. Set XY,YZ or XZ WorkPlane automaticaly

| (10)Vertex movement with correction (Gyakkou algorithm)

Use the past viewpoint to move vertices, displaying a dotted line as a guide.
See Set WorkPlane to Perspected Depth Mode

| WorkPlanes 3D Perspective View) |

Workplane Offset
XY workplane example
3D Perspective Workplane example
Move object on workplane
Move object vertically from workplane
Move object off workplane
Generate a surface using an object offset
Offset example
Workplane and Offset tips
Notes:
(1) Workplanes only applies when editing models in the 3D perspective view, it has no affect when only viewing in the 3D perspective view, or modeling in the 2D flat views from the 4-way views.
(2) Workplanes are sometimes translated as: Drawing plane or reference surface.
(3) Grid snapping, adjacent (along the offset) and axis object movements (Alt & Shift while holding the left mouse button) requires a selected workplane based on XY, YZ, XZ or automatically selecting between them. These do not work in the other workplane types, ie 3D (Gyakkou) perspective, screen or selected polygon parallel perspective workplanes. TODO: This maybe a bug?
(4) The last WorkPlane option on the view port bar is Set WorkPlane to Perspected Depth Mode or perspective depth mode. It uses the workplane information from the previous selected item and it automatically calculates mouse movements in the 3D space.
(5) This is probably the most complex part of this application, and it took me a while to understand, so I will be extra verbose, to help you understand it, because it really is a fundamental feature to understand. So here goes!
(6) Please understand that the basic principles explained in 3-Way view.
On the surface, MarbleClay looks like any other traditional 3D modeller with the 4 traditional view panels - front, side, top and 3D perspective views.
MarbleClay calls the 3 locked views (front, side, top) the 3 way views to differentiate them from the 3D perspective view.
As expected and explained above, the typical 3-way views (front, side, top) are locked to their respective 2D planes, and this is traditionally done to make 3D editing, simpler to work on, or in other words, we can say that the front, side and top views represent a 2D workplane to create and edit 3D models.
However, what makes Marbleclay unique (at least to me) in this regard is that, it extends these 2D workplanes from the front, side and top views and projects them over the 3D perspective view!
In short, Marbleclay lets you model in the 3D perspective view as if you were still editing in the traditional front, side and top view, it does this by using the WorkPlanes 3D Perspective View).
It can be thought of has a flatness plane or a strict 2D plane, because all operation in 3D perspective view (just like 3-way view) results are flat and without any depth, and this is what makes it confusing, looking at a 3D image in any view angle (perspective), but thinking in flat planes (and it's offset from the origin) can be very challenging at first.
But it is the manipulation of the 3D perspective view angle and the flat workplanes simultaneously that results in a 3D object, and while this can be harder at first, it can also be a lot faster when learnt, then using the traditional 4-way views.

| Workplane Offset

A Workplane in marbleclay's 3D perspective view has two elements: The flat, 2D plane (as explained above) and an offset, which is the distance away from the origin from the adjacent selected workplane. This is explained below using marbleclay's default orientation (see WorkArea):
The XY workplane (horizontal plane) has a Z offset (height) from the origin.
The YZ workplane (vertical plane) has an offset distance in X (horizontal distance).
And the XZ workplane (typically parallel to screen plane) has the offset counted on the Y plane (towards or away, the screen in standard view).
There is only one single 3D offset point at all times. It is set or updated to the same offset of an existing 3D item by left or right clicking it.
All 3D dimensions (and therefor workplanes) will have their offset updated. This means that if you are working on a single plane, ie XY (horizontal plane) every click on a 3D item changes the offset for the other workplanes, ie YZ and XZ.
Right click menu Mouse right click menu->Move WorkPlane to mouse pointer on a 3D object will move workplane offset, will update the offset, without braking the current tool's work flow.
If the item is a line or a face the offset will be calculated to be in the middle.
Original documentation suggest resetting the workplane offset back to the coordinate origin by Un Select and right clicking in an empty space in the view and selecting Move WorkPlane to mouse pointer, however in (9)Automatically select work plane it puts the offset there. TODO!
Below is a quick explanation of workplanes and offset being used in the 3D perspective view.

| XY workplane example

The figure below shows the state where the perspective view is set to XY workplane by clicking the workplane selection button ((4)XY workplane button - see "Perspective view") or by the menu option: Edit->Set XY plane as WorkPlane.
A dotted white grid is optionally visible to show the orientation of the workplane.
Because XY was selected it is horizontal or landscape (remember +Z is up and -Z is down in Marbleclay).

| 3D Perspective Workplane example

Below we use face/UV weld(3) to create a polygon object (see "Create a single face") in the perspective view using the XY workplane as stated above.
Five clicks are placed around the 3D origin (the last one joins them), giving us a quad face.
Please note, that the face was not created using perspected depth, so it is NOT angled up like a ramp with the +Z origin axis line in the middle.
Remember that you are only looking through the 3D perspective view, you are not editing with any perspective depth.
Instead, you are editing using the Top down view (the XY workplane) and because there is no Z offset, the offset is flat on the origin (a Z height of zero).
However, when switching to different workplane, these vertices (having valid X & Y values) will affect their workplane's offsets.
Another way to understand this, is knowing that the grid shows the workplane (horizontal XY) so the created polygon is actually lying flat on the dotted line grid - this can be confusing to see and understand, see above (WorkPlanes 3D Perspective View)).
Notice the square (SimpleMirror(F3)) around the origin clips out on the bottom of the square but not the top, implying the created face is in the middle, flat on the grid and not fully obscuring it, like an angled up ramp would, being in front.

| Move object on workplane

Change the tool to Move(1), next left click and drag the object to move it parallel to the workplane.
In other words, basically objects can only move parallel (up and down, left and right) to the workplane.
Remember, we are operating on a 2D flat, workplane and all operations are locked to that plane, no different to operating using the corresponding 3-way view. In the example below, the movement is lock to the XY workplane, which means its exactly the same as moving using the Top view.
The created polygon is flat on the grid (it is not above it, and no Z height offset has been changed or set), and the movement is along (or parallel to) the workplane grid.

| Move object vertically from workplane

When using the Move(1) (after you have clicked an object, and holding down the left mouse button), pressing the Alt key, while dragging the object left or right will move the object adjacent from the workplane, changing the offset value.
Also, holding Shift after an item has been selected and being dragged limits the mouse movement to movement along the axis of the workplane.
In the example below, the polygon is moved up and down the Z axis as shown.
The Alt and Shift keys while dragging, only operates in 3D perspective view.

| Move object off workplane

As shown in the figure below, objects that are far from the workplane also move parallel while maintaining a constant offset from the workplane.
In other words, dragging the same object, after it has been moved up from the workplane, still travels along the same workplane.

| Generate a surface using an object offset

If you use the vertices of the object that are away from the workplane to create a face with the "faces" method, a new face will be created at the same offset from the workplane as the last vertices you used.
After that, when you create a face or line at another position, it will be generated at a position away from the workplane by the same offset.
Below, another polygon is created on the same workplane and offset away from the origin.
You can also change the workplane offset (offset from the origin) via Mouse right click menu->Move WorkPlane to mouse pointer on the appropriate vertex, line or face. Or reset the workplane offset back to the coordinate origin by right clicking in an empty space in the view and selecting Move WorkPlane to mouse pointer at the origin, however in (9)Automatically select work plane it will use the click point.

| Offset example

Quick example to see the offset.
Firstly, endable the visible workplane via View menu -> Toggle visible workplane, this will show the actual workplane and the offset, displayed as a green transparent rectangle.
Next, hit the F key to change to the Front viewport, looking straight down the Y axis.
Create a cube in the center origin, via Menu -> Mesh Modeling -> Make primitive object -> Cube....
Enter 5 levels up:
Resulting stack of levels:
Make sure the XY Workplane (Set XY plane as WorkPlane) is on.
Now, rotating the view we can see the levels better:
Left mouse click one of the top vertices, it will move the offset from zero (ie the grid) to the top, and therefor also the workplane:

| Workplane and Offset tips

If the combination of 3D perspective view and workplanes is hard to understand, here are a few tips to try:
(+) Be aware of the coordinate origin and mirroring square to help you get your bearing of the 3D view, also look at the Status bar to track 3D mouse movement (Model in X:forward Y:right Z:up);
(+) Enable the (9)Automatically select work plane this will automatically change the workplane, depending on your view angle.
(+) Using (9)Automatically select work plane or (7)Select polygon workplane, enable the visible workplane via View menu -> Toggle visible workplane, as explained above in Offset example;
(+) Turn on the 3D crosshairs via Option menu-> Configuration... -> DisplayOption1, tick the 2 Draw crosshair options, this will draw lines to the corresponding XYZ origin axis coordinates and show how the mouse pointer relates to the 3D view.
(+) When modelling, avoid seeing incorrect 3D perspective, remember to think workplanes in terms of the 3-Way view (front, side and top locked views) and Workplane Offset.
(+) Use your existing model points or vertices to set the workplane offset, or by using Mouse right click menu->Move WorkPlane to mouse pointer.
For more information on perspective and workplane, see: Japanese documentation.
See 04 MarbleClay 3D Following a Blender tutorial poorly.
Next, Window Menus

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Copyright(C)1998-2003 TakeshiMaeda / ESCARGOT Visualwares