Vue 5 Helpful Hints

I decided as I worked in Vue 5 infinite that I would jot down some procedures that were easy and that I found were helpful. I will be writing a series of these on my web site under the above title and will be adding new ones on a regular basis, I hope. Most of these will apply to all versions of Vue 5. If they are specific to one, I will mention it.

Using Color and Position in the World Browser to Place Objects

We all know how hard it is to see small objects in the Main Camera window and how often we think they are placed correctly only to do a quick render and find they are not. Well, there is a solution. If you choose a bright color for the object, like red in Basic Materials, even a tiny rock is visible. Once it is placed, you can choose the proper texture and color. Notice the small red dot. It was more visible on my monitor.

However, just moving it up and down or sideways can lead to frustration. But all the tools are in the Object Properties Panel, Numerics under Position.

Also, if you look in the lower left corner of the Main Window, you will see the X,Y,Z, axes. To get a feel for how they work, start by placing a few objects in a scene. Then choose a rock, for example, and make it red (as in the first illustration). Now place it so it sits between these objects and is visible. The screen capture on the left shows two terrains with water between. The objective was to situate the rock in the water. Initially, make sure the object is above the ground line. Move it so you see it in the preview window. It doesn't matter where it ends up. Then, starting moving it in increments of one as you change the X,Y,Z positions. As you do it, you will see how this red rock moves in the small preview window. This will give you a feel for changing these numbers. Then, try to move it to a given location.

I do a lot of placement this way, and find it very useful.