Asset Manipulation Gizmo

The Asset Manipulation Gizmo consists of three triangles and four cubes of different colors. The triangles control rotation, and the cubes control movement. The Gizmo moves, rotates, resizes, and reshapes various assets within a scenario.

 

The Asset Manipulation Gizmo.

 

Rotate

You can rotate an asset with the Gizmo along three different axes. Each rotation handle (a yellow, purple, or cyan triangle) controls a different axis. To rotate an object, drag the desired rotation handle until the asset reaches the desired rotation.

Note: For rotating a light source, press and hold SHIFT to access the rotation handles while rotating the light source.

·        <<yellow_triangle.jpg>> The yellow rotation handle rotates the asset around its y axis (y = yaw).

·        <<magenta_triangle.jpg>> The purple rotation handle rotates the asset along its r axis (r = roll).

·        <<turquoise_triangle.jpg>> The cyan rotation handle rotates the asset along its p axis (p = pitch).

Move (or Translation)

Assets can be moved along their x, y, and z axes or in free move mode, which allows the asset to be placed along any axis. Each movement handle (a green, orange, purple, or gray square) controls a different axis. To move an object, drag the desired movement handle into position.

·        <<green_cube.jpg>> The green movement handle moves the asset along the y axis.

·        <<orange_cube.jpg>>The orange movement handle moves the asset along the x axis.

·        <<purple_cube.jpg>>The purple movement handle moves the asset along the z axis.

·         <<grey_cube.jpg>>The gray movement handle in the center of the Gizmo moves the asset along all axes at once. This is also called free move mode.

 

 

The scale function of the Gizmo with a box scenery object selected.

 

 

The scale function of the Gizmo on a custom light object.

Scale (or Resize)

To activate the scale function of the Gizmo, press and hold ALT, and then drag the asset to adjust its scale. The scale function on some assets, such as custom lights, may have more than one scalable component. To activate the additional scale function on a light, press and hold CTRL. This allows for the scaling of the light plane itself. For an example of the scale function on a custom light object, see Figure 3.

The Gizmo provides a visual reference for making precise changes to assets by using the rotation, position, and scale attributes in the Properties palette.