Instance Painter

Create copies of objects with a parent-child relationship. When you modify the source objects, all of the instances are updated automatically in the construction history. This is a scene creation tool that is used mainly for rendering.

Note: Instance Painter can only be used with objects that don't have any construction history. In order to use this tool, you must first collapse the construction history of the object. However, the objects created by the tool are linked to the source subject, and any changes made to the size or shape of the source subject are propagated to the instances.
  1. On the ribbon, click the Modify tab.
  2. Click the Instance Painter icon.
  3. Select one or more objects. Right-click to confirm.
  4. Do one of the following:
    To Do this Note
    Create each instance individually Left-click. An instance is a new object in the Model Browser.
    Create multiple instances by dragging the mouse
    1. In the Control Panel, select Paint mode.
    2. Edit the instance. See a list of options below.
    3. Drag the mouse.
    		  
    The instances are created.
  5. Right-click and mouse through the check mark to exit, or double-right-click.

Edit Instance Options

Option Description
Density Change the spacing between each instance.

Enter a value from 1 to 10, where 1 spaces the instances the farthest apart and 10 spaces the instances the closest together.
Normal to ground Make the instances normal to the ground (the object under the mouse cursor when you click).
Min. distance (%) Painting instances are time dependent. If you drag the mouse very slowly, instances are created very close to each other. If you drag the mouse over the same area repeatedly, new instances may be created very close to existing ones. By specifying the minimum distance, you can avoid creating instances that are too close to each other.

Enter a value, specified by the percentage of the instance's width. For example: enter 100 to create instances that are almost touching, 50 to create instances that intersect, or 200 to create instances that are spaced quite a bit apart.
Randomness Randomize the rotation and size of the instances to make each instance slightly different so your scene looks more realistic. For example, if you build a forest by painting instances of a tree, by default all of the trees will be the same size and oriented in the same direction, which would make the forest look unrealistic.
  • Rotation +/-: Randomize the rotation of the instances somewhere in the range of the negative input value and the positive input value around the X, Y, and Z axes. In the example of the forest, if you enter a Z value of 180, the rotation of each instance will be rotated somewhere in the range -180° to +180° around the z-axis, effectively the full 360 degrees of rotation. As a result, each tree will appear to be oriented differently.
  • Size +/-: Randomize the size of each instance somewhere in the range of reducing its size by the input value and increasing its size by the input value along the X, Y, and Z axes. In the example of the forest, if you enter a Z value of 40, each instance will be scaled somewhere in the range of 60% and 140% along the z-axis. As a result, each tree will appear to be a different size.