Modeler

132Spline Guide ToolLightWave 10 - ModelerGenerally, the Spline Guide tool (Modify > Spline Guide)performs interactive deforming operations based on a guidecurve. Clicking in the window creates the initial guide curve andcenter axis. Initially, the guide curve will be aligned along thelongest distance of the selected geometry, extending from itsminimum to maximum point. The center axis is centerd within thegeometry.The Stretch operation scales the model in the planeperpendicular to the axis around the center like the Scaleoperation, but uses different amounts of scaling in the plane (callit X-Y) depending on the X and Y distance of the guide points fromtheir initial positions. Thus, the geometry can be expanded in onedirection and reduced or left unchanged in the other.The Twist operation rotates the geometry around the center axis.The Twist Angle parameter acts as an angle scaling factor.Initially, the guide curve points have no effect on the geometry—like bones in their rest position. However, moving the points willvary the strength of the effect. Moving the center axis will changethe influence of all the points on the curve.What effect is applied is determined by the Operation setting onthe numeric panel.The Bend operation bends the model to conform to the curve.The Weight Map operation works a little differently than the otheroperations in that it doesn’t deform the geometry, but affectsthe selected Weight Map instead. Essentially, it sets the valuesbased on the reshaped curve. Move them closer to the centeraxis for negative weights, farther for positive.The Scale operation scales the geometry in the planeperpendicular to the axis around the center axis. Moving theguide points closer to the center shrinks the geometry, movingthem farther away as it expands it.