Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[jgraham]

This question no doubt IDs me as a newbie...it's true...I am.

I am having all kinds of trouble getting objects to line up correctly in Anim8or.
I've tried using one view, using the "All" view, with lots of different variations in
what each window shows (usually Left or Right, Top, Ortho, and Perspective).

I can get things to appear to line up PERFECTLY in each view, until I rotate the
grouped image (I did learn quickly that if you only select all of them, and don't
group them, it'll never work).

Once I try to rotate the grouped object, what was lined up in all four views is
suddenly a bunch of disconnected pieces....

I'm sure I'm missing something amazingly obvious to everyone else, but whatever
it is, I've completely missed it in the docs, everywhere.  And, due to some post-cancer
effects on my brain/vision, it is VERY possible that I've looked right at it, and not seen
it (long story...short version, damage to the part of the brain, due to a cancer tumor and
the surgery to remove it, that processes visual data from the optic nerve; plus chemo and
radiation to the brain).  Basically, my brain likes to play visual tricks on me on a regular
basis (even reading words backwards, typing them backwards, having words shifted
around (e.g., from near the end of one sentence to near the beginning of the next, replacing
the word that should have been there).  I have tried to find the answer, in other words.....

However, at least I can say this much:  Me:  2, Cancer:  0.

If anyone can clue me in on what I'm missing, please do.

Thanks,
   --jim (aka "Spooky")

Edit:  PS:  Is there a trick to rotating an object in 3D (using the button next to the one that's
                just left-right/up-down)?

[ENSONIQ5]

First of all, congratulations on your recovery and I am astonished at the after effects!  Good on you for having a sense of humour about it all... much respect.

Re the problem at hand, I am not sure I understand the problem.  I assume you are working in Object mode.  If a series of objects are grouped then they should retain their relative position, scale and orientation to each other when the group is transformed by moving, scaling or rotating.  There is a known bug that can affect the scale of objects that have been created at a distance from the screen centre, but this does not sound like your issue.  The best I can suggest is to post a before and after screenshot with a precise list of the steps that you took, with that information we should be able to diagnose the problem.

Regarding the rotate tool, first ensure that the X,Yand Z buttons are correctly set.  Rotation will only occur in axes that are selected, so these buttons are used to constrain rotation as required.  For the moment, ensure they are all selected as this will allow motion in all axes.  The left mouse button, when clicked and held, will allow rotation of the object in the X and Y axes, as if you are pushing the nearest face around.  Clicking and holding the right mouse button will allow rotation in the Z axis, which is the axis sticking out of the screen towards you.  The above is true no matter what view you are in, in Object mode (note that everything changes in Figure and Sequence modes, just to be annoying!).

My best advice is to experiment with the above using a simple cube, and note that if you duplicate the cube and group it with the original both cubes maintain their relative location, scale and orientation.

[jgraham]

Ok, I was preparing to post a screenshot of where it's failing....  But after you gave me the
information about what I was doing wrong when moving and rotating objects (always had x, y, and z
selected), I've just tried two of the tasks that have given me the most trouble, and I can't get them
to fail.  So it seems, that solved everything.  If it fails again later, I'll post back here again.  But I
think that one bit of info fixed it all.   :-)

Thanks!
   --jim

[jgraham]

First of all, congratulations on your recovery and I am astonished at the after effects!  Good on you for having a sense of humour about it all... much respect.

With this tiny reply screen, I missed that bit that I wanted to respond to....

First, thanks.  Really.  As for the sense of "humour", I call it attitude.  As in,
the same attitude that I maintained when fighting the war against my cancer:  "I WILL
NOT BE BEATEN BY THIS.  Cancer will *NOT* win.  Period."

Sun Tzu wrote:   "Therefore the clever combatant imposes his will on the
enemy, but does not allow the enemy's will to be imposed on him."
(Lionel Giles translation)

Later,
   --jim

PS:  When I worked in 16th Special Operations Wing Intelligence, Sun Tzu was quoted in our
       internal training quite often....  I now have about a dozen or more copies, printed, PDF,
       paperback (both normal and pocket size), e-book, and even and Android app.  :-)
       I also worked (as a civilian----and there's a story behind that word...for another time) at
       HQ AFSOC Intel.  There's a lot of Sun Tzu that I can,  even with a serious case of
       chemobrain, etc., still quote verbatim, even in my sleep......  :-)