Understanding Solid Objects - Adobe ATMOSPHERE User Manual

Chapter 9: Assembling Solid Objects
Atmosphere environments commonly contain "solid" objects – everything from tables to rooms and buildings to
mountain ranges and more. In Atmosphere, these are called, appropriately enough, Solid Objects.
This chapter covers using Atmosphere's Solid Object Editor to create and assemble solid objects; constructs that are
normally assembled from simple shapes – like a box or a cone – called primitives. The Solid Object Editor uses the
Solid Object Tools toolbar to select from among eight primitives and add them to Solid Objects.

Understanding Solid Objects

Solid Objects start with an Empty Solid Object. One Empty Solid Object is added to new Scenes by default, and
additional Empty Solid Objects can be added using the Scene Editor (see Chapter 8 for details). Each Solid Object will
represent a group of primitives that can be moved as if they were one piece.
While an entire environment can be built as a single Solid Object, it is a much better practice to break environments
into many Solid Objects for easier handling and better performance.
Once an Empty Solid Object is added to the scene, you can switch to the Solid Object editor using the Object > Edit
Selected Object menu command (or by double-clicking on the Solid Object icon in the Scene).
Adding Primitives
To place a primitive object in the Solid Object Editor, click an icon in the Solid Object toolbar, then click in the Solid
Object Editor window at the location where you wish to place the object. If you hold down the mouse button when
placing an object, you can drag the object around to a new position.
The Solid Objects toolbar holds all the primitive objects.
To create another identical object, either select the icon in the toolbar again or use the Edit > Duplicate (Ctrl+D)
menu command. Once an object is created, the Selection Tool (V) is automatically selected again.
By holding down the Shift key while creating a primitive, you can create multiple copies of the selected primitive
without having to click in the Solid Object Tools toolbar again.
When you have fi nished adding primitives to the Solid Object, double-click anywhere in the background to re-enter
the Scene Editor in which the entire Solid Object can be moved, scaled, and rotated together as a single unit. Double-
clicking in the Solid Object will return to the Solid Object Editor.
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User Guide