working with construction planes
 

since i've started working with maya, i just modeled out of my mind... now i'd like to start with technical things and i don't know how to use construction planes for the blueprints (or is there anything else)

thx for the help

Ahh. This is easy to do. Create>Poly Primitives>Plane. Now, here's a little trick you're sure to like. Since you're only going to be using this plane as a blueprint, you really don't need all those faces, right? Select the plane, select polyplane1 (in the channel box), selectSubdivisions Width, shift-select Subdivisions Height, middle-mouse-drag your curser to the left or right in perspective view. As you can see, you immediately change the number of faces on the plane. This can greatly increase production time. AnYwAy, once you have your plane how you want it, right-click and hold, select materials>Assign New Materal>Lambert. Click the checkered box to the right of the colour slider. A window pops up. These are all the textures you can assign to the plane. Select File. Another window pops up. To the right of "Image Name" is a little button with a folder on it. Click it and find the blueprint image. Close everything out, then press 6 to display textures. Wala! You now have your blueprint on a plane.

thx a lot darkware!!! I just didn't know how to show textures in one of the non-render-views (i wondered sometimes when i red tuts)

Yeah, all you do is press 6 when you get in the side or front view.