| Each object in Maya has a pivot point. When you rotate an object, it rotates around its pivot point, and when you scale an object, it scales to and from the pivot point. By default, the object's pivot point is at the center of the object, but Maya lets you move the pivot point according to your needs. That can be very useful when you want to create certain kinds of animations and movements. For example, if you want to have the camera rotate around a sphere while keeping the sphere in the center of the camera's view, you can move the camera's pivot point to the center of the sphere. When you then rotate the camera, the sphere stays in the center of the camera's view. If the camera's pivot point were in the default position at the center of the camera, it would spin in place instead of rotating around the object. To change an object's pivot point position: 1. | Select the object whose pivot point you would like to move. | 2. | Click / to go into pivot point mode. The pivot point manipulator is now visible (Figure 3.88). Figure 3.88. The pivot point manipulator can be moved to adjust the rotation axis. | 3. | Click one of the pivot point manipulator handles and move the pivot point to a new position (Figure 3.89). Figure 3.89. The pivot point is moved to a new position. The new position will be the new rotation point for the object. | 4. | Click / to disable pivot point mode. | 5. | Rotate the object to view the pivot point changes (Figure 3.90). Figure 3.90. The object rotates around the new pivot point position. |
Tip To position the pivot point in the center of an object: 1. | Select the object whose pivot point you would like to center (Figure 3.91). Figure 3.91. The selected object's pivot point is currently next to the object. | 2. | From the Modify menu select Center Pivot. The selected object's pivot point is now at the center of the object (Figure 3.92). Figure 3.92. The selected object's pivot point is now at the center of the object. |
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