Figure 1
STEP 2: Each viewport has its own titlebar. The leftmost titlebar button controls a viewport's point-of-view (such as Top, Back, and Right). Make sure that the lower-left viewport is set to Back (XY) and that the lower-right viewport is set to Right (ZY)
Note: To change the point-of-view of a viewport, left-click on the leftmost button in that viewport's toolbar and drag the cursor up or down the selections on that button's drop-down list.
STEP 3: Type d to activate the Display Options panel (Display > Viewports > View Options).
STEP 4: In the Display Options panel, left-click on the Units tab. Set the Grid Snap to "None" (otherwise, it'll annoy you when you attempt to fine-tune the curves of a spline or subdivision surfaces cage). Also set the Unit System to "SI."
STEP 5: While still in the Display Options panel, left-click on the Backdrop tab.
STEP 6: You'll see a row of four numbered buttons next to the word "Viewport." The lower-left viewport is the "third" viewport, so left-click on the button labeled "3."
STEP 7: Next to the word "Image" is a drop-down list button. Left-click on this button and drag the cursor down until it reaches the phrase "(load image)." Let go of the mouse button and the Load Backdrop Image panel will appear. Load kara_xy.iff from the CD-ROM.
STEP 8: For Image Resolution, select the button labeled 1024 (so that the image will have more resolution to work with and look less blocky).
Note: This setting looks so much like the Display settings for OpenGL textues in Layout that it's a good chance that Modeler now uses OpenGL to display its Backdrops.
STEP 9: I'd like to make this elf 5'6" in height, so it'll help to have the model sheet 5'6" in height as well. Make sure that the Fixed Aspect Ratio box in the lower-left hand corner is checked. When Fixed Aspect Ratio is checked, the second input field for Size (the Width) will be greyed out.
The first input field for Size is the Height, and it has a default setting of 1 meter. Type in 5'6" (I'm serious - type 5, then the single-quote key, then 6, then the double-quote key. LightWave understands these measurement symbols for feet and inches). Before you press the Tab key, the value should look like Figure 1.
Figure 1
Press the Tab key (the Enter key would also enter the setting, but it would then close the window). Since the Unit System has been set to SI, LightWave will convert the English measurements to their equivalent in meters - 1.6764 meters, as shown in Figure 1.
Note: Having grown up in a country that still uses English measurements, I find it easier to visualize a person's height in feet and inches. However, when modeling in 3D, I prefer to have the Units set to the math-friendly metric system. Besides, as Step 9 demonstrates, we can still input measurements in any system we like.
STEP 10: Check the box for Pixel Blending - this will smooth out the appearance of the pixels.
Note: If you have a slower computer, you may notice a pause when changing settings like Image Resolution and Pixel Blending. Modeler processes the image every time you change those settings.
STEP 11: While still in the Backdrop section of Display Options, click on the button next to Viewport that is labeled "4."
STEP 12: For Image, load kara_zy.iff.
STEP 13: Turn on Pixel Blending and set the Image Resolution to 1024. Make sure the Fixed Aspect Ratio box is checked, and set the Size to 5'6" (it, too, will be converted to 1.6764m if the Units have been set to a metric system). It should look like Figure 2.
Figure 2
STEP 14: So far, so good...but these backdrop images are centered on the XZ plane instead of "standing" on it. Easily fixed. While still in Viewport 4's settings, left-click on the input field immediately to the right of Center. Replace its default setting of 0m with this mathematical formula:
5'6"/2
Hit the Tab key. The mathmatical formula will have been replaced with 838.2mm which (just as the mathematical formula described) is half of the figure's "height" (the number you had entered into the Size field). The setting for Viewport 4 should now look like Figure 3. It might take a few seconds for Modeler to update the viewport, but when it does you will see the side view of the figure standing on the ground.
Figure 3
Note: In the past, one might have hesitated to model the character standing on the XZ plane, when the center of gravity (and thus, the pivot point of the character model) naturally falls somewhere about the hips. To rotate the model itself in Layout (instead of relying solely on bones or the model's parent objects), one would have had to set the pivot point in Layout. Starting with LightWave 6, however, we can convieniently set the pivot point of the object in Modeler by using the Pivot Tool (found in the Tools section).In the past, one might also have hesitated to align the spine of the model with the Y axis instead of the Z axis. After setting up bones, the bone at the base of the model's spine would have been rotated 90 degrees on its Pitch...and would have suffered from "gimbal lock" (where Bank starts to act like Heading, causing a loss of one rotation channel). Though one could have skirted the issue by making that gimbal-locked bone ultra-tiny with 0% Strength (so that it would have no effect on the model), relying instead on bones parented to it to deform the model, it still might have been considered "wasting" a bone. However, LightWave's bones now behave much faster than before, and weight maps let you use far fewer of them to get the results that you want, so modern animators do not have to feel too guilty about "spending" one or two bones on anti-gimbal-lock measures.
STEP 15: Now, we can use the same formula for Viewport 3, but let's try something different. While still in Viewport 4's settings, move your mouse pointer to the right of the 838.2mm value in the Center input field. Left-click on this and drag it to the left to select the entire value. Type Ctrl-c to copy this value. Now left-click on the button labeled "3" next to Viewport to enter the settings for Viewport 3. Select the value ("0m") that already exists in the input field immediately to the right of Center. Type Ctrl-v. The value 838.2mm will be pasted into the input field, replacing the value that had been selected. Press the Tab key to enter the value. The settings for Viewport 3 should now look like Figure 3.
Note: Copying and pasting values can be a useful trick when you want to be precise, but you don't want to memorize and retype an existing value.
STEP 16: Go to the Presets drop-down menu and select Save All Backdrops. Save these settings as kara.cfg. Now, every time you start Modeler to work on this project, all you have to do is type d to enter the Display Options, left-click on the Backdrop tab, select Load Backdrop from the Presets menu, and choose kara.cfg to restore your Backdrops to the settings you entered in Steps 1-15.