Hi, I'm new to softimage and have a few questions:
When I use symmetrize what's the best way to separate the two object?
What's the best way to combine two objects like using the combine tool in maya?
How do I get my rotoscope image to not show up when I render?
How do I get objects that are in hidden layers to not show up in my renders?
Why do objects that I've duplicated and then deleted show up in the render and not in the scene? I have poly's that show up in my renders but I don't see them in my scene.
I have a few scene that when I try to create a cube it will not show up in the scene.
Please help!
Thanks
Hello PEN1! First, I'd recommend that you go through the Introduction to XSI (http://www.digitaltutors.com/09/training.php?cid=54&pid=3533) as that'll really help give you a good understanding of how Softimage works.
When I use symmetrize what's the best way to separate the two object?
You can do this by selecting the object and going to Create > Poly. Mesh > Extract Polygons (delete). You'll get a pick arrow where you can LMB to pick the polygons you want to separate. When you're done selecting them, RMB click to end the operation. This will extract those polygons/faces, just like Maya's extract operation, and then delete the faces you extracted from the original object. If for some reason you wanted to keep those faces you extracted then you'd use the Extract Polygons (keep) operation.
What's the best way to combine two objects like using the combine tool in maya?
This is a little different than Maya because Softimage actually duplicates the two objects first and then merges by creating a new piece of merged geometry. So do this you'll select the two objects you want to combine and in the Model menu set go to Create > Poly. Mesh > Merge. You'll then get a box where you can adjust the merge tolerance. Unlike Maya, Softimage attempts to automatically weld together the points when the tolerance is set so you're better off to prepare your models for this by making sure you have the same number of edges at the area you'd like to merge. Or if you just want to get two completely different pieces of geometry (for example a chain link) that aren't actually merged but are combined into one mesh you can turn the tolerance all the way to 0. Once you have things set the way you'd like you can click the Delete button in the Merge box to delete the old pieces of geometry if you don't want them anymore.
How do I get my rotoscope image to not show up when I render?
The rotoscope doesn't show up in the render by default, but it will if you have the alpha-blended RGB turned on. So make sure this is turned off by going to Regions > Display > RGB Only. Alternatively, you can turn off the rotoscope image by unchecking Rotoscope under the Display Mode menu in the top righthand corner of your viewport panel.
How do I get objects that are in hidden layers to not show up in my renders?
In your Scene Layer Manager, found either in the Scene tab of the KP/L (Keying Panel/Layers) tab at the bottom of the main command panel or under View > General > Scene Layer Manager, there are four check boxes for each layer. These turn off visibility, rendering, selectablility and ghosting for these layers. It sounds like you're coming from Maya, so think of the display layers and render layers and how you can have them act independently of each other. This is similar in Softimage except there's just one layer manager for display and render. But you can turn off the visibility of a layer in your viewport but then have them show up in your renders and/or vice versa.
Why do objects that I've duplicated and then deleted show up in the render and not in the scene? I have poly's that show up in my renders but I don't see them in my scene.
I'd double-check all your layers and make sure you don't have visibility turned off on a layer but have rendering enabled. Visibility and rendering are different check marks in your Scene Layer Manager so you can have the visibility of a layer turned off and not see it in your scene but then have it show up in your render.
I have a few scene that when I try to create a cube it will not show up in the scene.
The most likely culprit to this is that you have multiple layers and the layer you have active has it's visibility turned off. All newly created objects are placed on the active layers, so if you have the active layer's visibility turned off then any newly created objects will not be seen. Softimage works differently than Maya in that you have active layers that are separate from the selected layer. The green layer in your Scene Layer Manager is the active layer and the layer with the black outline around the name is the selected layer. The active layer also has arrows pointing towards the layer name. Click in that button area on any of the other layers to change the active layer.
I hope that helps! The layer manager in Softimage is a little different than in Maya so it takes a while to get used to. I'd really recommend going through the Intro to XSI course as that'll really help your transition from Maya.
http://www.digitaltutors.com/09/training.php?cid=54&pid=3533
Good luck!