Formation Settings

The Formation settings apply when you pattern a model.

To access this dialog box, click Project > Models > New Pattern.

Formation Specifies the model to pattern. The selected model is hidden in the 3D Viewport.

You can drag different models into the pattern to form a customized pattern. In this case, Formation is not available.
Type Specifies the pattern type: Vee, Circle, Grid, Scatter.

Vee

Vee formations use an angle to specify the opening angle of the vee.

Number of Objects Specifies the number of objects in the pattern.
Angle Specifies the opening angle of the vee.
Distance XYZ Specifies a vector whose length defines the distance between instances and whose direction affects the pattern orientation.
Rotation XYZ Specifies the rotation of the instances in the pattern in Euler angles (degrees).
Scale XYZ Specifies the scale of the instances in the pattern in X,Y, and Z dimensions.
Relative Accumulates the distance, rotation, or scale over the sequence of instances. When cleared, the distance, rotation, or scale is absolute (constant).
Scale All Specifies an overall scale multiplier to the X, Y, and Z dimensions of the scale for all instances.

Circle

You can use the Circle formation to arrange instances in a circle or arc. The Circle is the only formation where several parameters are linked such that changing one affects the others. For example, if you increase the Number of Objects, the Distance XYZ value decreases so the Radius stays the same.

Number of Objects Specifies the number of objects in the pattern.
Radius Specifies the radius of the circular pattern.
Angle Specifies a circle or an arc by specifying a value less than 360°.
Distance XYZ Specifies a vector whose length defines the distance between instances and whose direction affects the pattern orientation.
Rotation XYZ Specifies the rotation of the instances in the pattern in Euler angles (degrees).
Scale XYZ Specifies the scale of the instances in the pattern in X,Y, and Z dimensions.
Relative Accumulates the rotation or scale over the sequence of instances. When cleared, the rotation or scale is absolute (constant).
Scale All Specifies an overall scale multiplier to the X, Y, and Z dimensions of the scale for all instances.

Grid

Depending on the value of Number of Objects X, Y, and Z, the Grid formation can be a line (a value greater than 1 in a single dimension and a value of 1 in the other two dimensions), a plane (a value greater than 1 in two dimensions and a value of 1 in the third dimension), or a cube (a value greater than one in all three dimensions). The total number of instances is equal to the product of the Number of Objects X, Y, and Z.

The total number of objects is the product of the values of Number of Objects X, Number of Objects Y, and Number of Objects Z.

Number of Objects X Specifies the number of objects in the X dimension.
Number of Objects Y Specifies the number of objects in the Y dimension.
Number of Objects Z Specifies the number of objects in the Z dimension.
Distance XYZ Specifies a vector whose length defines the distance between instances and whose direction affects the pattern orientation.
Rotation XYZ Specifies the rotation of the instances in the pattern in Euler angles (degrees).
Scale XYZ Specifies the scale of the instances in the pattern in X,Y, and Z dimensions.
Relative Accumulates the distance, rotation, or scale over the sequence of instances. When cleared, the distance, rotation, or scale is absolute (constant).
Scale All Specifies an overall scale multiplier to the X, Y, and Z dimensions of the scale for all instances.

Scatter

The Scatter formation allows completely random arrangements of objects within a specific range. Equal values for Minimum and Maximum create a deterministic transformation value for that degree of freedom.

Number of Objects Specifies the number of objects in the pattern.
Position Range XYZ Specifies the Minimum and Maximum limits for the random computation of translations (position) of each instance.
Rotation Range XYZ Specifies the Minimum and Maximum limits for the Euler angles X, Y, Z for the random computation of the rotations of each instance.
Scale Range XYZ Specifies the Minimum and Maximum limits for the random computation of scale of each instance.

Uniform specifies a random scale in the X, Y, and Z dimension.
Scale All Specifies an overall scale multiplier to the X, Y, and Z dimensions of the minimum and maximum scales for all instances.