Material

Description

Material

The Material property determines what type of surface the lathe will use. To change the material, click the small image that displays the current material.

Material options

The appearance of the lathe can be modified by clicking the small button that appears to the right of the material image.

Size

The Size property determines the scale of the lathe material. For example, if the lathe has a brick material, then the Size slider will adjust the size of each brick.

Angle

The Angle property determines the rotation angle of the lathe material.  To change the material angle, move the Angle slider or type a value in the text field.

Offset X

The Offset X property determines the lathe material’s left and right orientation. To shift the material left or right, move the Offset X slider or enter a value in the text field.

Offset Y

The Offset Y property determines the lathe material’s forward and backward orientation. To shift the material forward or backward, move the Offset Y slider or enter a value in the text field.

Shininess

The Shininess property determines how glossy the material will appear. To change the appearance of the material, click the Shininess drop-down menu and select from the following options: Default, Off, Low, Medium, or High. The shininess property only affects the appearance of the material while in the 3D view.

Enable enhanced surface detail

The Enable enhanced surface detail property determines whether or not the lathe material will have increased detail when viewed up close.

Options

Description

Elevation

The Elevation property determines the distance of the lathe from the ground. To change the elevation, move the Elevation slider or type a value in the text field.

Sides

The Sides property determines the amount of polygons used to create the perimeter of the lathe. A higher number of sides will achieve a smoother look. It is recommended to use as few sides as needed when placing many lathes in your landscape design. To change the amount of sides, move the Sides slider or type a value in the text field.

Sweep angle

The Sweep angle property determines how far the lathe is revolved. If the sweep angle is set to 360 degrees, then the lathe will form a complete circle when viewed from above. To change the amount of revolution, move the Sweep angle property or type a value in the text field.

Axis offset

The Axis offset property determines the distance between the lathe’s shape and the center of the lathe. To change the offset, move the Axis offset slider or type a value in the text field.

Closed

The Closed property determines whether the lathe’s shape is open or closed. To change the state of the lathe’s shape, click the Closed checkbox.

Smooth

The Smooth property determines whether the sides of the lathe appear smooth or faceted. To change the apparent smoothness of the lathe, click the Smooth checkbox.

Add caps

The Add caps property determines whether the lathe is filled in at the top and bottom. To toggle the top and bottom of a lathe, click the Add caps checkbox.

Edit Points

Click the Edit points button to enable or disable point editing mode, which will allow you to modify the lathe’s shape. See Editing Points for details.

Shape Options

Click the Shape Options button to save the shape of the lathe, or to load an existing shape. For more details, see Saving and Loading Shapes.

Information

Description

Triangles

The Triangles property displays the total number of triangles used to compose the lathe. When creating many complex lathes, it is best to keep the number of triangles as low as possible on slower computers.