Associating Elements

You can associate a subdivision surface to a point, a curve or another subdivision surface.

This task shows you how to:

Before you begin: Create a 3D shape containing a subdivision surface and a geometric element (point, line or curve) or another subdivision surface.
See Also
Propagating

Create the Association

You can first create the association.

  1. From the Shape Sculpt section of the action bar, click Link .

    You can also access this command by pressing ALT+SHIFT+L.

  2. Select the surface.
  3. From the Tools Palette, click one of the following:
    OptionDescription
    Curve Selection Adds a new curve to the selection.
    All Association Removal Resets all the curve associations.
    Auto Association Points/Vertices Creates points associated to the selected vertices in a new geometrical set.
  4. Select a geometric element or another subdivision surface.
  5. From the Tools Palette, click one of the following:
    OptionDescription
    Association Removal Resets the current curve association.
    Automatic Selection Selects any kind of element (faces, edges and vertices).
    Face Selection Selects faces only.
    Edge Selection Selects edges only.
    Vertex Selection Selects vertices only.
    All Elements Selection Selects all elements.
  6. Select the elements of the base mesh to associate to the surface.

    A vector, displayed as a blue dotted line, appears to show the association. If you move the element, the surface is moved accordingly.



When two elements are linked, they are shown with a symbol in the tree changes. When the pointer is moved over the feature, a tooltip appears showing the element by which it is handled.

Modify the Association

You can modify the subdivision surface or geometric element that was used to create the association.

  1. Select the curve and click Shape Sculpt .
  2. Sketch the curve to deform it.


    The selected elements are automatically moved and the surface is computed.



    Notes:
    • When editing or modifying the subdivision surface, the link appears as a blue full line:

    • If you deform the reference surface, the target surface is moved accordingly. The vector between the two vertices is re-applied but the linked vertices are still the same.

    • You can deform the associated subdivision surface. The linked points are free and can be modified.