Hi Brian, I wouldn't mind eventually adding in a universal manipulator method in MoI as an additional / alternative way.

The one really big problem with it is that it goes right on top of your objects, partially obscuring your view of them, instead of going around them leaving your object fully viewable.

In the 2D view, MoI's new editing frame solves that problem and just generally has a lower impact on distracting you from the objects. There are 5 individual translucent grips, no lines connecting them, there is just less stuff on the screen there. That will make it easier to keep it on all the time without it getting in the way as much.

In the 3D view it becomes more difficult to come up with a frame like this that goes around the outside of everything. That's when a design that has a center axis point like the Carrara style manipulator is a good solution. It is a good solution for 3D but not the best solution for 2D.


There are actually some other issues with the manipulator-based approach though - a lot of times they tend to operate in a less precise way by doing things like applying a scale factor just by some arbitrary amount of pixels that you moved the mouse by, instead of being more focused on snapping on to different spots.

For example, MoI's new frame allows for taking this box:



And grabbing the corner of a frame and dragging it up to snap on to the other box above, scaling the inner box by the exact amount needed to make it fit between those areas:




Is it possible to do that with Carrara's manipulator?

- Michael