The Ultimate Decorating Tool Back to Techniques
My chair has become my constant companion while on a decorating job. Before
I realized the usefullness of a chair I used to waste a great deal of time
making sure my character was lined up facing a certain direction by looking
at the pixelized edges of objects... if you know what I'm talking about I
feel for you and I hope you have a chair tool now.
Objects move forward and back in the direction your character is facing, so
for precise control over what direction you want to face, just sit in a chair.
You can rotate the chair to whatever angle you desire and align objects in
any direction.
I recommend using a chair that is short enough not to bump your view into
first person when you sit down. I use an upholstered chair (cuz it's short
but comfy looking ^^) or a cafe chair if I need to see small items that I'm
dropping under the chair. If you are very short an ottoman may be your only
option.
Uses:
Circles. Make perfect circles out of identical objects by dropping them all in a pile in the center of where you want the circle to go. A chair will help you to quickly turn yourself to each angle needed to move the items outward to the circle radius. If you aren't sure what angle to use just divide the number of items by 360. For example a circle of 12 items will require you to use 30 degree angles. It will take a little trial-and error to find the right /move forward distance, especially if you are trying to get corners to meet up on square objects. Also, if the items are not round, you will probably want to rotate them in incriments of 30 degrees as well so that they turn to fit the outside edge of the circle.
An Undo Button. Working in art programs gets you used to having an undo key. Many times I have wished for one while decorating. For instance I'm standing while moving items at a random angle and I accidently move one of the items over my character's head... bumping my view into first person and turning me to face some random direction. This can't happen while sitting in a chair and if you get in the habit of using one to move items you will always have the ability to /move back without having to worry about moving your feet from that spot or turning your camera view.