Skip to content

💻 Transformations

Tip

  • You can clear an object's translation to all zero with Alt-G
  • You can clear an object's rotation to all zero with Alt-R
  • You can clear an object's scale to all zero with Alt-S
  • You can undo a transformation with Ctrl-Z (or reload the file to reset completely)
  • See section Object Actions of the cheat sheet for more shortcut keys

Basic transformations

  1. Load axes.blend

  2. The Axes object in the scene is a 3D object just like any other. Note that the axes object shows the local axes of the object.

  3. Try translating, rotating and scaling the axes object with the different methods shown:

    • The transform widgets (accessible from the toolbox on the upper-left)
    • Using the G, R or S keys
    • Entering values in the properties region in the upper-right of the view, under Transform

  4. Activate one of the transform modes (e.g. G for translation) and experiment with limiting a transformation to an axis with X, Y or Z keys,

  5. Activate one of the transform modes (e.g. G for translation) and experiment with limiting a transformation to a plane with Shift-X, Shift-Y or Shift-Z.

  6. Reload the axes.blend file to get back the original scene.

  7. Rotate the axes 30 degrees around (global) X.
  8. Now rotate the axes 45 degrees around the local Z axis.

Pivot point modes

  1. Load transformations.blend

  2. Select the cone, monkey, torus and sphere

  3. Set pivot mode to Median Point (using the Pivot Point pie menu, which opens with the . key, i.e. period), if it isn't already.

  4. Press S to start scaling, then move the mouse to scale the objects apart

  5. Notice that as you scale up the objects increase in size and move apart, but only the torus' center point (the orange dot) moves below the plane. Why?

  6. Cancel the scale operation with Esc or a RMB click

  7. Enable the Only Locations option in the Pivot Point pie menu. When this is enabled it will cause any transformation to be applied to the locations of the objects (shown as orange circles), instead of to the objects themselves.

  8. Repeat the scaling of the four objects. Do you notice how the objects now transform differently?

  9. Change the pivot mode to Individual Origins and disable the Only Locations option. Do the scaling again, notice the difference.

  10. Enable the Only Locations setting. When you try to rotate the objects around Z nothing happens. Why not?

  11. Change the pivot mode to Median Point, leave Only Locations enabled.

  12. Rotate the objects around the Z axis.

  13. Now disable the Only Locations option and rotate the objects once again around the Z axis. Do you notice the subtle difference in transformation?

  14. Experiment some more with different selections of objects and the different Pivot Point modes, until you feel you get the hang of it.

Rubik's cube

Tip

  • You can add a cube object with Shift-A > Mesh > Cube
  • You can duplicate selected objects with Shift-D. This will also activate grab mode after the duplication.

  1. Start with an empty scene (File > New > General)

  2. Model a Rubik's cube: 3x3x3 Cube objects (minus the center cube) on a rectangular grid. Try to get the spacing between the Cube objects the same in all directions.

  3. Now select one face of the Rubik's cube (i.e. 3x3 cubes) and rotate it 30 degrees just like the real thing.

Bonus: 2001 - A Space Odyssey

  1. Start with an empty scene (File > New > General)

  2. Remember the scene from Space Odyssey 2001, with our primate ancestors looking up at the monolith? Recreate that scene :)

  • Add 4 or more monkey heads, surrounding a thin narrow box for the monolith
  • Make the monkeys look up at the monolith
  • If you want to go crazy add bodies to the monkeys using some scaled spheres
  • Add a sun object + corresponding light somewhere in the sky.
Last update: 27 November 2023 10:44:40 •