Autodesk 663B1-05A111-1001 User Guide - Page 53

4 Transforming objects About Transformations Transformations change an object's position, size, and orientation without changing its shape. "Transform" is basically a fancy way of saying "Move, Scale, and/or Rotate". Transformations are relative to an object's (or component's) pivot point, and take place along/around either the world axes, object axes, or local axes. In Maya, the transformations you make to an object are saved in a transform node. That is, Maya remembers that the object is rotated 32,0,5 degrees and moved -3,6.2,7 cm from its original position. When you group objects together, each group remembers its own transformations. This lets you create hierarchical animations easily. Related topics ™ "The pivot point" on page 53 ™ "World space, object space, and local space" on page 54 ™ "Nodes and attributes" on page 85 ™ "Move, rotate, or scale objects and components" on page 59 ™ "Set transformation values to zero" on page 71 ™ "Group objects together" on page 138 The pivot point Pivot points control how objects rotate and scale, and also represent the exact locations of objects in space. All transformations to an object are relative to the pivot point: You can change the pivot point of an object or the selected components by pressing Insert or Home and using the pivot point manipulator. Transformation Move Scale Relationship to Pivot Moves the pivot point (and the object travels along with it). Scales object out from or in toward the pivot point. Basics 53