The Shade Interface
From ShadeCamp
In this chapter we’ll look at the basic user interface you will use in Shade to model an object.
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The Figure Window
The Figure window is the main window in Shade, used to create and edit objects. The Figure window provides up to four views of the workspace, giving you greater control over your scene. The Figure window is used to model objects, change the camera angle and adjust the lighting in a scene. Here we will introduce each area of the interface in Shade.
The Menu Bar
The Menu Bar contains most of the commands used in Shade and provides access to all the windows and plug-ins available in Shade. For descriptions of all the menu options in the Menu Bar see the Reference Manual.
The Control Bar
The Control Bar provides easy access to settings that affect the Figure window view and display. The Control Bar also displays the X, Y and Z coordinates of the cursor.
The Toolbox
The Toolbox contains most of the tools and commands used for modeling objects. Buttons in the Toolbox with a small downward-facing black triangle have multiple options that will display in a pull-down menu when clicked.
Viewport Separator Lines
By default the Figure window is divided into four different views: the Top view, Front view, Side view and Perspective view. You can adjust the size of each of these views by clicking and dragging the viewport separator lines dividing the views.
Top View
The Top view shows the workspace from directly above, looking down. The Top view is located in the top left corner of the Figure window.
Front View
The Front view shows the workspace from the positive Z axis, i.e. the “front” of the workspace. The Front view is located in the bottom left corner of the Figure window.
Side View
The Side view shows the workspace from the positive X axis. The Side view is located in the bottom right corner of the Figure window.
Perspective View
The Perspective view shows the workspace through the lens of the camera. The Perspective view is located in the top right corner of the Figure window.
Control Windows
The other windows in Shade are generally referred to collectively as control windows. Each of the control windows can be shown or hidden by selecting its name from the View menu.
The Toolbox
As mentioned previously, the Toolbox is the main window for selecting modeling tools and related commands. The tools and commands found in the Toolbox are also available from the Tools menu.
The Polygon Mesh
Toolbox The Polygon Mesh Toolbox (“Mesh Toolbox” for short) is an extension of the standard Toolbox which contains the tools and commands used when editing polygon meshes. The Mesh Toolbox can be displayed by clicking the Mesh button located at the bottom of the standard Toolbox.
The Browser
The Browser displays information about all the objects in the scene and shows the hierarchial relationship between them. The row of checkboxes displayed to the right of each object allow you to apply specials settings to individual objects, including hiding the object, locking the object to prevent accidental changes and more.
The Aggregate Palette
The Aggregate Palette is actually a combination of many windows in one, making it easy to switch rapidly between control windows without cluttering the workspace. The Aggregate palette provides access to the following windows: The Camera window, the Distant Light window, the Background window, the Surface window and the Object Info window. Each of these control windows can be detached from the Aggregate palette by first switching to the desired window or “tab” in the Aggregate palette and then clicking the button on the far left.
The Camera Window
The Camera window provides a virtual joystick for moving the camera around the scene and zooming in or out. The view from the camera is displayed in the Perspective view and is used when rendering an image of the scene.
The Distant Light Window
A distant light is a source of light that illuminates everything in the scene equally, like natural sunlight. The Distant Light window gives you control over the direction, intensity, color and other settings for distant lights in the scene.
Background Window
The Background window contains all the options available for controlling the appearance of the background used when rendering. Images can also be used as backgrounds.
Surface Window
The Surface window gives you complete control over the appearance and texture of the objects in your scene. By adjusting the many surface attributes appropriately you can create the look of metal, plastic, glass or countless other materials.
Object Info Window
The Object Info window provides detailed information about the currently selected object. For more information about the Object Info window, please see the User Guide.
The Image Window
The Image window is where Shade scenes are rendered to create images. Rendered images can then be saved as any of several standard image file formats. The Image window also contains the Rendering Options, which give you complete control over the rendering engine used and many other settings.
