Adobe atmosphere builder 1 User Manual
11
Building Worlds
About building worlds
There are two main aspects to building the structure of a world. The first is creating
objects; the second is laying out objects in relation to each other.
objects; the second is laying out objects in relation to each other.
Creating objects
Objects are the building blocks of a three-dimensional world—you use objects to define
space and give form to your vision. Atmosphere Builder provides tools for creating basic
geometric forms called
space and give form to your vision. Atmosphere Builder provides tools for creating basic
geometric forms called
primitives
. Primitives—such as boxes, floors, polygons, walls,
slabs, stairs, columns, and cones—let you quickly lay out the framework of a world.
When you build with structure in Atmosphere Builder, you are working with the
principles of constructive solid geometry. Because primitives are solid objects, they are
easy to combine and form a solid structure. (You don’t have to worry about wrapping
polygons around a structure as you do in some 3D applications.) You can use primitives
to create more complex objects by adding them together or subtracting them one from the
another. Take, for example, a box object and wall object that intersect each other. By
selecting the Connect Objects option in the Tool Inspector palette, Atmosphere Builder
combines the objects to create a solid that represents a wall with a protruding box.
However, you can choose to subtract the volume of the box from that of the wall, in which
case you create a solid that represents a wall with a hole in it. You can also choose to
intersect the volumes of the box and the wall, in which case you create a solid that has the
depth of the wall and the height and width of the box.
principles of constructive solid geometry. Because primitives are solid objects, they are
easy to combine and form a solid structure. (You don’t have to worry about wrapping
polygons around a structure as you do in some 3D applications.) You can use primitives
to create more complex objects by adding them together or subtracting them one from the
another. Take, for example, a box object and wall object that intersect each other. By
selecting the Connect Objects option in the Tool Inspector palette, Atmosphere Builder
combines the objects to create a solid that represents a wall with a protruding box.
However, you can choose to subtract the volume of the box from that of the wall, in which
case you create a solid that represents a wall with a hole in it. You can also choose to
intersect the volumes of the box and the wall, in which case you create a solid that has the
depth of the wall and the height and width of the box.
atmosphere.book Page 11 Wednesday, March 21, 2001 6:14 PM