Getting Started Part 2: Basic Model Manipulation

So first I started with a new fresh scene in XSI for this tutorial. (if you have opened a new xsi window you will start with this, otherwise go File > New Scene or simply press ctrl+n).

Now as covered in part 1, create a cube (you can do this either via the Main Shelf by going to the “primitives” tab and clicking the Cube Icon, or by going Model > Primitives > Polygon Mesh > Cube)

Once a new Cube is created you should see your primitive properties window appear. (If at any point this is closed and you want it reopened simply select your object by clicking on it and hit the “enter” key).

Inside of this window you will see a few sliders Length: will determine the Cubes total dimensions, this is equal on each face (I believe 1 Unit = 1 Metre from XSI > SWBF2 but I could be mistaken it seems close to that) so if a cube has a length of 8 it will appear in game to be 8 cubic metres (8m long, 8m wide, 8m high).

Next we see subdivisions, this will add additional edges, points and faces to our model (basically it makes more parts for us to manipulate) The U subdivision will add additional polys to our cube Height Wise along our entire cube. The V subdivision will add extra polys along our cube Width wise across the middle of our cube. and the Base will add extras along our cube width wise and height wise along the top, bottom and side faces. Below are three images highlighting each of those subdivisions.

For now keep our subdivisions all at 1. (U:1, V:1, B:1) as I will be going through manipulation of Polygons and objects.

So first: a Basic run through of your transform tools. There are 3 Basic type of transforms we will always be Dealing with, you will find all 3 of these tools in the lower right corner of your screen.

Scale: (Blue Box in image below) this will allow your selection to be Scaled (sized up or down) along 3 different axes (or directions).

Rotation: (Green Box in image below) this will allow your selection to be Rotated along your X,Y or Z axis.

Translation: (Red box in image below) this will allow you to move your selection Up, Down, Left Right, Forward and Backwards.

You can input Values manually (example, I can move my cube UP by 4 meters by typing the number 4 into the Y value of the translation box (red Box)) or you can move it with your hands. if you click the letter, T, R, or S in that area it will open up the tools and display it in your view port. Below those letters you will see a grey box icon with 3 little sections, this is used to simultaneously select all 3 axis to manipulate your transforms. Or you can select a single axis by clicking on the X, Y or Z letters next to the transform you want to perform (example to move my cube UP i would click the Y in the red box in the image above, then click the green translation arrow that appears in my view port to drag my cube upwards).

That will conclude our section on Basic model manipulation. In the Next section I will show you how to manipulate individual sections of each model to deform the model to how we want it to look.