CompuServe Messages

The detached object is now part of its own smoothing group. To get rid of the seam, you'll need to weld the object and possibly re-assign smoothing groups. Unfortunately, welding the object will remove mapping coordinates and defeat the purpose of working on detached faces. One approach is to detach the faces in a region where the seam will not be apparent, such as along the hairline of a head. Optionally, you can use a more complex solution I've developed that only works under certain circumstances: First, you detach the selected faces, copy them, then reattach _one_ of the detached objects. Weld the object and re-assign smoothing groops (so now its back to normal). Next, duplicate the master object in-place. Assign mapping and coordinates to the two master objects independently and then attach them together. The two objects are now elements which can be hidden/unhidded independently, yet still animate as a single object. You now have the following: 1) A single master object consisting of two elements which are identical except for their mapping coords and maps. 2) An object created by the first detachment step which identifies the region we want to work with. Finally, the approach is to render the master object with alternate elements visible. Then, composite the frames of element "B" over those of element "A" by using the detached object as a matte. BTW, make sure the materials for the two elements have idential shininess properties, else the effect fails. This approach is fairly technical and bulky, so it may not suit some applications. However, it's the only method I have developed which allows me to overcome the individual mapping coords limitation. Enjoy. — James — Choreo Motion —