All images from Learning Maya 7 | Foundation by Marc-André Guindon and Cathy McGinnis. Reprinted with permission.

This is an excerpt in a series from Learning Maya 7 | Foundation by Marc-André Guindon and Cathy McGinnis from Alias|Learning Tool.

Adjusting Proportions
Sometimes when modeling, you sit back and look at your work thinking you could improve the proportions of the model. An easy way to change the proportions of a model is to create and modify a lattice box deformer. A lattice surrounds a deformable object with a structure of points that can be manipulated to change the object's shape. Once you are happy with the new proportions, you can simply delete the history, thus freezing the deformations on the models.

1. Create a lattice box
• Select all the orb's geometry and go to the Animation menu set.

• Select Deform > Create Lattice.

• In the Channel Box, change the ffd1LatticeShape to the following:
  S Divisions to 3;
  T Divisions to 3;
  U Divisions to 3.

Doing so will change the amount of subdivisions in the lattice deformer, which in turn adds more lattice points to deform the surface with. This will allow more control over the deformations.

The surrounding lattice deformer (left) and the lattice menu.

2. Deform the lattice box
• RMB on the lattice object in the viewport to bring up the lattice context menu and select Lattice Point.

• In the front view, select all the lattice points along the top and Shift-select all the ones along the bottom.

• In the top view, press Ctrl to deselect the lattice points in the middle of the orb.

• Using the Scale Tool, hold Ctrl and then LMB scale down on the Y-axis. This will proportionate scale on the X and Z-axes.

3. Lattice influence
Right now, the lattice box deforms the orb using only one section defined by the lattice points. This means that if a geometry vertex is in a section of the lattice, none of the surrounding sections will affect it. If you want a smoother deformation across the lattice, you need to increase the lattice influences.
• In the Channel Box, highlight the ffd1 output node.

• Change the following attributes:
  Local Influence S to 3;
  Local Influence T to 3;
  Local Influence U to 3;

• Continue tweaking the lattice until you are happy with the resulting proportions.