Blender has many tools for splitting the edges and faces of mesh objects. Common Subdivide is often used. In simple cases, it divides rectangular and triangular faces into smaller ones of the same shape. Sometimes, in the case of complex shapes, it may not work.

A simple subdivision becomes available in edit mode by right-clicking.

If a face was selected, then each of its edges will be halved by a new vertex. New edges will extend from these vertices to the selected face. As a result, the original face will be subdivided into smaller faces.

Unit settings appear in the region of the last operation. If we change the number of cuts from one to two, then each edge will be divided not in half, but into three parts, that is, two additional vertices are formed on each, not one.

If the Create N-Gons checkbox is unchecked, then the edges of the new vertices will go out not only to the selected face, but also to adjacent ones. And since these faces have no other edges subdivided, the result will be triangular and quadrangular faces.

It generally makes sense to disable this checkbox when subdividing edges rather than faces.

Above, one edge was selected, a Subdivide was applied to it, and the Create N-Gons checkbox was unchecked. If the checkbox were unchecked, then one vertex would simply appear on the edge.

In addition to Subdivide, Blender has a number of other transformations that lead to the creation of new mesh elements. They are in the instrument region. Extruding and indentation discussed in the last lesson can also be considered a subdivision. But a unit that has specific characteristics. Let's note some others.

Loop Cut and Slide allows you to sort of cut an object with an imaginary plane. As a result, all its faces through which this plane will pass will be subdivided.

In the case of complex shapes, the plane may be curved, that is, it may not be a plane as such.

With a knife (knife), you can cut the edges arbitrarily. At the end of the process, you must press Enter.

In the process of cutting with a knife

The Bevel tool is useful. It can be called via Ctrl + B. They mow the edges and corners. If the transformation needs to be done only with the corners, then Ctrl + Shift + B.

We will also mention the unit using the Connect Vertex Path. It connects the selected vertices with a straight line or the shortest path. In this case, everything that this line passes through will be subdivided. To use the tool, select the vertices and press J. The tool is also available through the context menu.

Highlighting

Polygon modeling is the process of creating a 3D model using simple elements: vertices, edges, and faces. A vertex is just a point with three coordinates. An edge is a line between two vertices. Three edges form a triangular face, and four edges form a square face. Triangular and square faces are called polygons.

One of the main advantages of polygon modeling over other methods is the ability to easily add detail to specific areas without having to complicate the rest of the model. Other advantages are real-time rendering speed and relatively simple texturing.

Modeling tools

Working with vertices

Select / deselect

Before we start modeling, let's learn how to simply select and deselect the vertices. Start Blender, or if it is already running, simply delete the current scene with the shortcut Ctrl-X... We now have a cube in the center of the screen, it has a pink highlight, which means it is selected. If it is not selected, then select it with RMB. In the previous chapters, we worked with objects in Object mode and always pressed the button Tab to exit Edit mode after object creation. Now it's time to work in Edit mode. Let's press the button Tab... You can see four edges (straight lines) and four vertices (points at the corners), they form a polygon, which is highlighted in yellow.

Note: button TAB toggles Object modes ( Object) and Edit ( Edit).

If you press the button A, provided that the cursor is in the 3D viewport, you can select and deselect all vertices of the object, just like it works with objects in the Object mode. In general, much of what we have learned in Object mode works similarly in this mode. Make sure all vertices are deselected and press PKM on the top left vertex to select only it. See what will happen if you now select the lower left vertex - the new vertex is selected, while the previous vertex is deselected. To select or deselect multiple vertices, hold down Shift and press PKM on the desired vertices.

Note: in Edit mode, vertex selection works the same as in Object mode: PKM allocates, and when held Shift you can select or deselect multiple vertices.

Deleting

The next thing you should know is how to remove vertices. For a start, it would be good to inspect our entire model. From Chapter 2, we know that a button press NUM5 toggles the scene view between perspective and orthographic. Turn on perspective view, now select all vertices except the top left and click DEL or X... A menu with a list has appeared, note that the list is different from that in the Object mode. Select "Vertices" ( Vertices) to remove the selected vertices. You may notice that after deleting the vertices, the edges and faces were also removed. This is because the faces are made up of edges, and the edges are made up of the vertices you just deleted. If you select "Edges" ( Edges) or "Verge" ( Faces), you can remove edges or faces, leaving the vertices in place.

Note: Button X (or DEL) shows the delete menu, allowing you to delete vertices, edges, and faces.

Moving

Now let's move the remaining vertex to the middle of the screen so that it is more convenient to work with it further. To do this, select the vertex and press the button G (Grab). Immediately after clicking, the vertex will begin to follow the mouse cursor, just like it happens with objects in the mode Object... Move the vertex to roughly the center of the screen and press Paintworkto confirm the move. Naturally limiting the movement along the axes you learned in the Objects chapter works the same here: pressing X, Y and Z restrict movement along the axes of the same name. Pressing these buttons twice enables alternate axes X Y Z, but what they are considered to be shown in the title of the 3D window.

Note: buttons G(Grab), S(Scale) and R(Rotate) in Edit mode ( Edit) work the same way as in Object mode ( Object). The same applies to constraints on the axes, the transform handle, and mouse gestures.

Precise positioning

Move using button G(Grab) is very convenient, however, until you need to do it to the exact amount. IN Blender there are tools for such tasks and they are on the panel Transform Properties... To open this panel, you need to select something (the vertex in our case) and press the button N... On the panel Transform Properties you see several options. In a text box "OB:" you can change the name of the object (now it says Cube). Also available fields X, Y and Z... To move our vertex exactly to the center, hold down Shift and click Paintwork on the slider "Vertex X:"... Now enter a number in the field 0 and press Enter... Repeat this for fields "Vertex Y:" and "Vertex Z:"... In order not to click on the fields every time, you can switch them with the button Tab, just like it is done in many other programs. Note: button N calls transform panel Transform Properties for numeric (precise) positioning.

Extrusion (Extrusion / Extrude)

The vertices themselves are not rendered. What are they for then? The vertices are combined into edges (by the way, the edges are also not displayed in the render), and the edges form faces. The edges are displayed in the render. There are several ways to make edges from vertices. The easiest way is to extrude (extrude) the vertex. Extrude a vertex creates another vertex connected to the first edge. To make an extrude select the vertex and press the button E... Now move the mouse and you will see that a new vertex is moving, connected to the first edge. Click Paintwork and fix the position of the vertex. If you want you can squeeze CTRL while moving, and then the vertex will "stick" to the mesh, this allows you to move the vertex more precisely. Naturally, you can do it on the panel Transform properties.

Note: Button E extrudes (extrudes) vertices, edges, and faces.

If you need to make a chain of extrudes, for example for a path, there is an easier method than pressing each time E... When the vertex is highlighted, press CTRL-LMB and the new vertex will be extruded and immediately positioned in the place where the mouse cursor is. Now you can repeat the procedure. This method allows you to quickly create a chain of connected edges.

Note: CTRL-LMB automatically extrudes the selection to the location where the mouse cursor is.

There is another way to create an edge - to duplicate the vertex with the combination SHIFT-D, move the new vertex, after c SHIFT select the first vertex and press the button F.

Note: button F creates an edge between two selected vertices.

Removing unnecessary vertices (duplicates)

There are cases when in the process of modeling or, say, after importing models from other programs, some vertices are in one place, on top of each other. This happens quite often when gluing two halves of a model. In such cases, you need to remove duplicate points, edges and faces.

To remove duplicate vertices and normal connection of edges and faces, select the desired vertices and pressing W, select item Remove Doubles (Remove Duplicates) from the pop-up menu that appears. Duplicate Removal works with distance threshold adjustable in tab Mesh Tools on the panel Edit buttons (F9) using the switch Limitso you can, for example, select all the vertices in the mesh and use the function without worrying that it will delete all but one of your vertices.

In the picture, you will see two halves of the cube, separated from each other, then, with the vertices scaled towards each other.

Although the vertices are in the same place, their edges and faces are not connected and the render may appear with irregular lines in between. As you can see in the following image, the vertices are still independent and can be selected and moved apart from each other.

After the vertices of the cube have been selected and the function has been used Remove Doubles the vertices merge into one, and their edges and faces are now really connected.

Note: Remove Doubles, from the special menu on the key W or on the tab Mesh Tools, combines vertices that are very close to each other.

The general method is also underlined in the following example. To move vertices close to each other for merging, it is often easier to use the Zoom command (key S), decreasing the distance between them by 0 using the key Ctrlthan moving them to each other (key G) and trying to get them close enough.

Working with ribs

Edges use the same rules and techniques that you learned to apply to vertices, and more. You may be wondering why working with edges (or faces) is important, since you already know how to work with vertices. By being able to work with all three, you will be able to take full advantage of the toolbox Blender and learn to work as efficiently as possible.

Highlighting

Blender has tools to select only edges. To activate the edge selection mode, click the icon on the title of the 3D window, which looks like diagonal lines. It is located between the icons for selecting vertices (four points) and selecting faces (triangle). After enabling edge selection, you can click PKM everywhere along the edge to highlight it. To select multiple edges, you can hold down the key Shift at the time you press PKM along the other ribs.

Blender also has tools for selecting multiple edges at once. On the menu Select on the title of the 3D window, you can see the options Edge ring and Edge loop... They can be easily used to select complex groups of interconnected edges, and are especially useful when working with character models. In the case of this head model, Alt + RMB, highlights the loop of ribs around the mouth, giving the modeler easy access to this critical area. Besides, Ctrl + Alt + RMB will highlight the corresponding ring of ribs in case the modeler wants to cut a new loop of ribs through them to add, say, a crease on the face.

Note: Alt + RMB highlights a loop of edges Edge loop; Ctrl + Alt + RMB highlights a ring of edges Edge ring.

Working with faces

Creating faces

Faces are created using selection and the key F... To create a face, you must have three or four selected vertices (three will create a triangular face, four will create a quadrilateral face), or two faces.

Note: Key F creates a face from three or four selected vertices or two selected edges.

Highlighting

Like everything else in Blender, the fastest way to select faces is to switch to face selection mode and use PKM... The face selection mode button is located to the right of the edge selection button on the 3D window header and its icon looks like a triangle. Another way to change the selection mode is with keystrokes Ctrl + Tab... This brings up a menu that allows you to select a selection mode without using icons.

Adding details to the mesh

When building a model, you may find that you need more detail in a particular area, and one way to achieve this is to "subdivide" the face (or faces) you are working with. The subdivision divides a face into four new faces that take up the same space as a single face. To subdivide a face, make sure you select it and then click Subdivide in the tab Mesh Tools in the panel Edit buttons... The department can also be found in the menu Specials on key press W.

You can see there are other subdivision options in the menu Specials... Option Subdivide Multi (Multiple Subdivision) allows you to perform more than one subdivision at once on selected faces, and is faster than selecting Subdivide many times in a row. Subdivide Multi Fractal (Multiple subdivision with a fractal offset) does basically the same thing, but as a result, it randomly moves additional vertices. This works well for bumping, or on any surface that needs a rough, random mesh. Immediately below the menu Subdivide Smooth (Smooth Subdivision), which will not only subdivide the selected parts of the mesh, but at the same time try to smooth all the edges during creation.

Another way to add details is to use the tool Knife (Knife). This tool allows you to cut edges by drawing with the mouse. The best way to find out how this works is to select all the vertices in the subdivided area and press Shift + K to display the subdivision menu Knife... Select from the menu Midpoints and the cursor will change to a knife icon. Press and hold Paintwork, draw a line that crosses several edges that make up the area. When you're done press the key Enterand Blender will cut each edge that your line intersects, placing vertices at their centers and creating some new faces in the process. Function Exact instrument Knife cuts the edges exactly where the mouse crosses them, as opposed to their centers.

Note: Shift + K displays the tool menu Knife for cutting edges and edges into pieces.

Filling

So far, you've looked at fairly conventional shapes. Consider random shapes and see how Blender helps you organize them into a group of faces so you can work with tools Fill (Filling) and Beauty fill (Nice filling). Take a look at the picture below:

You could start by selecting sets of vertices or edges and using the key F to create faces one at a time. A faster (albeit dirtier) way, just select all vertices using the key A and press Shift + F for use Blender instrument Fill. Blender will fill the shape with the appropriate number of faces. This method does not always create models cleanly, although once the form is complete, Blender tool Beauty fill can help correct this.

With all vertices selected in the shape, press Alt + F to activate the function Beauty filland Blender will try to correct the model.

If you still need to adjust, you can even use Blender try to combine triangles into quads using the command "Convert Triangles to Quads" (Convert Triangles to Quadrangles) from the menu Mesh in section Faces or using the key Alt + J.

Prompt: Shift-F tries to fill the area of \u200b\u200bselected vertices or edges with faces. Alt + F tries to make the alignment of the faces more convenient. Alt-J converts available triangles to quads.

Subsurf (Subdivision Surface)

Up to this point, you have only worked on models and objects with sharp edges. When rendered, the models look like they are in edit mode. It would be great if you were only modeling cars or other man-made objects. However, if you tried to model an organic shape, or something like a perfectly smooth circle, using the methods we've learned so far, it would take a lot of vertices, demanding placement and a lot of time. This would not be an efficient use of your time and would make your computer's job very difficult when it comes time to render. Fortunately, Blender has a tool specifically for this kind of modeling, which is called a modifier Subsurf. Subsurf this is shorthand for a process called Subdivision Surfacing (Subdivision of Surface). IN Subdivision Surfacing, a simple low poly model (like the default cube) can be used as a "control cage" for more complex organic models like a ball.

To add a modifier Subsurf to the mesh object, first make sure the object is selected in the 3D window. In the tab Modifiers in the panel Edit buttons, press the button Add Modifier (Add Modifier) \u200b\u200band then select Subsurf from the menu that appears.

The default is 1 level Subsurfing for editing and rendering. These values \u200b\u200bcan be changed in the modifier panel, but be careful: in fact subsurfing in Blender creates additional hidden geometry in the scene. Raising the level too high, especially on models that are initially complex, can quickly force the computer to perform calculations for millions of polygons, and can cause your system to slow down.

To improve performance while you are modeling, you can set the level subsurfing for the interface and rendering separately. Level setting subsurf a 2 will probably give you a good balance for most jobs. Try to render your sub-model with render levels set to 2. If the results are not smooth enough, increase the value by Render Levels one at a time until you are satisfied with the result.

Real value Subsurf instruments Blender becomes apparent when you are working on more complex organic models like the human head. The only difference between these two pictures is that the second one has a modifier applied to it Subsurf.

Adding a modifier Subsurf, this is a common practice in Blenderso there is a direct hotkey for it: Shift + O. Shift + O adds modifiers Subsurf for any selected objects that are currently in object mode. Also, using Ctrl-1, -2, -3, -4 levels will be set Subsurf for these objects, which allows you to manage your Subsurfing for the whole scene without touching the modifier edit buttons.

Note: Button Add Modifier in the tab Modifiers panels Edit buttons can turn a standard mesh into a subdivided mesh.

Working with normals

Normal concept

There is one last polygon element of the model in Blenderwhich you need to understand before you finish. This element is called Surface Normal, or Normal for short. Its function is to inform Blender (and to the user) which direction the face is pointing in and will help you calculate how the light behaves when it bounces off your model.

Sometimes, when working on a complex model, you may end up colliding with adjacent faces whose normals point in opposite directions. This can lead to unwanted results, so it's best to make sure they all point to where you want them to go.

The figure below displays the default cube with activated Draw Normals (Display Normals). Button Draw Normals located in the tab Mesh Tools 1 panels Edit buttons... (In configuration Blender by default, this group is actually hidden on the right side of the screen on most monitors. Drag and drop SCM mouse left, panel area Edit buttons to display this tab.) You can also change the length of the line that indicates the direction of the normal by changing the value NSize located just above the button Draw Normals.

Upon activation Draw Normals, small dots are displayed with lines extending from each face in your model. These lines represent the Normal direction for the faces. Keystroke W and choice Flip Normals from the menu Specials changes the direction of the normals of any selected faces. If you have a model with "problem normals", that is, there are strange black seams in the Solid and render, you can force Blender recalculate all normals to the outer faces of the model by selecting all faces in edit mode and pressing Ctrl + N... When you press Ctrl + Shift + N all normals will be set towards a point within the model.

Note: Ctrl + N recalculates the normals of the entire model.

Now you know the basics how Blender handles various tasks related to polygon modeling. Let me end this introduction with some tips that will give you more options.

Vertex Groups

Vertex Groups will allow you to keep the selection of vertices so that you can easily select them later. This can be useful when creating complex models that may need subsequent adjustments. For example: when working on a face, if you find that you are constantly selecting the same group of vertices around the nose, it might make sense to keep that selection for easy access. It is important to understand that the selected vertices have not actually been "placed" in a group yet. Vertex groups only contain lists of vertices. Likewise, there is no reason that a vertex should not be listed in several different vertex groups.

Vertex Groups created in the tab Links and Materials on the panel Edit buttons, in the buttons section Vertex Groups... Highlight the vertices you need, press the button New in area Vertex Groups... This will bring up new controls, including a name field and a pop-up menu button for selecting other already created vertex groups.

By default, the name for the first vertex group created is called simply Group, but it can be replaced to help you remember its purpose better. After you have entered the name, press the button Assign (Assign) to assign the selected vertices to the named group. Remember that a simple button press New only creates an empty vertex group - your selection won't persist until you click the button Assign.

The other controls in this part of the panel do the following:

• Delete (Delete): Deletes the named vertex group. Note that this does not delete the vertices, it just deletes the saved selections.
• Remove (Remove): Removes the selected vertices from the currently active vertex group.
• Select (Selection): Examines the named vertex group and selects its vertices in the 3D window. This adds a selection, so whatever was already selected in the 3D window remains selected.
• Desel (Deselect): Opposite Select... The selection is deselected from any vertices that are selected in the 3D window, but are in the named group of vertices.

Reflection

Another opportunity Blender saving time is the modifier Mirror... It allows you to model only half of the model and see that it is duplicated in a mirrored shape, creating the other half. It's useful for modeling symmetrical things like this head shown in the picture below.

Adding a modifier Mirror in Blenderlike adding a modifier Subsurf: press the button Add Modifier in the tab Modifiers panels Edit buttons and select Mirror... The reflected half will appear as ghost lines in Wireframe, however, will be completely solid in the mode Solid.

Button activation Do Clipping in the tab Modifiers will prevent any of the vertices you move from crossing the center line of the mirror effect.

When you are done with symmetrical modeling, pressing the Apply (Apply) tab Modifiers will turn the mirrored half of the model into real geometry that can be selected and modified independently of the other.

Loop Cut

In addition to the other subdivision controls you have learned, the loop subdivision tool allows you to quickly and evenly subdivide all edges that are within the same "loop". In the image below, you can see the cut line around the eyes, which will allow the modeler to add fold lines. To start looping, press Ctrl + R and move the cursor over the model. As you move the cursor, you will notice that when Blender detects groups of edges that it can cut, a magenta line appears to indicate the location of a possible loop cut. When the magenta line indicates the buttonhole you want to cut, press Paintwork once to start cutting. Then, Blender will allow you to move the cut back and forth between the outer edges by moving the mouse. You can even increase or decrease the number of cuts made in a loop using the scroll wheel. When you place the cutting line where you want it, press Paintwork, will make Blender make a cut. Pressing PKM cancels cutting at any stage of the procedure.

Edge Slide

After you start using the tool Loop CutTo add detail to your model, you may find that the hinge edges become even more useful. For example: what if the cut that was made around the eyes in the previous illustration is along the center of the ribs, and you really wanted to position them closer to the outer loop? Instead of moving each edge individually, you can simply use Alt + RMB select the edges of the loop, and then select Edge slide from the menu Specials (Ctrl + E) in the 3D window. This allows the edge to slide back and forth between the two bounding loops. Paintwork confirms the slip, while PKM cancels. This tool will actually allow you to move any selected loop edge, no matter what tools were used to create it.

Edge Loop Delete

One of the items in the menu is delete by key Xwhich we have not mentioned yet this option Edge loop... When selecting the edges of the loop using this option in the delete by key menu X, will remove the edges but attach the faces on both sides. The effect will be as if the edges of the loop had never been cut here. This is a great tool for cleanly reducing the polygon count of your mesh so that it looks the way you want it.

Conclusion

In this introduction, you have already seen the basic polygon modeling tools in Blender and learned a little about how you can get started with them. If you haven't worked through the Practice section of this chapter yet, this is a good way to see this theory in practice and also to learn a little more tricks.

Good Luck Kevin Brown

After you have created a mesh object, you can enter Edit Mode (Tab key) with it and change its shape. In edit mode, you can work with individual mesh object vertices (sections of the mesh object) to create the desired shape. You know that when you are in Edit Mode, you see pink or yellow dots on the selected object. Pink dots represent unselected vertices, and yellow dots indicate selected vertices.

Highlighting Vertices:

While in the Edit Mode, you can select each vertex individually, for this click on the vertex with the Right Mouse Button. To select multiple vertices, hold down Shift and click on the vertices with the right key. To select the vertices with a rectangle - click the " B"and select the vertices with the box that appears. Pressing the" B"will bring up the circle selection tool, you can adjust the radius of this circle using the" + or "-" buttons on your Numpad. Mouse wheel scrolling works the same as buttons " + "and" - ". Pressing" Esc"if you decide to finish working with this selection tool. In order to select all the vertices (or deselect the existing vertices) - press the button" A"(to select all vertices) and re-" A"(to deselect vertices).

Selection Options:

Blender has additional tools for vertex selection. You can find these tools at the bottom of the 3D window while in Edit Mode.

Basic Modifiers:

After you have selected some of the vertices, you can use the basic modifiers that we talked about in the last chapter (" G"- moving," S"- scaling," R"- rotation).

Creation of Additional Vertices:

Sometimes you need to add additional vertices, in the entire mesh object or in a specific part of it, in order to further detail your mesh object. To do this, you must first select all the vertices that you want to subdivide, and then find and click the button at the top of the Buttons Window (the icon of this button is similar to a plane in Edit Mode):

Now find in one of the panels the button Subdivide, press this button several times until the desired result is obtained.

Special Menu:

In Edit Mode, press the " W", this command will bring up an additional menu containing editing options. You can learn more about these options a little later.

Center Points:

Every object you create in Blender has a small point in the object area (by default, this point is in the center of the object). This point is the center of the object or the pivot point. Newbies in Blender often don't understand why their objects rotate, scale not as they should? This is because when you move the entire object in "Edit Mode", the center point is fixed, so the center of the object shifts. If you want to move the entire mesh object, first exit Edit Mode ( Tab). Now when you move the object with " G", the center point will move with it.

If you ever need to move the center of an object, place the 3D cursor where you want the new center to be, then find the " Center Cursor"in the Buttons Window. This button, as well as two more adjacent ones, change the position of the center of the object. By clicking on the" Center", the vertices and faces of the object surface move to the area of \u200b\u200bthe new center. If you activate the button" Center New", The program will calculate the mathematical center of the object and position the vertices and faces around this center.

Dimming Modes

Usually, by default, the view mode is set to render objects solid (darkened). In many cases, you will need to work with objects in Wireframe display mode. These modes affect how the object will be displayed. Fade modes greatly affect the selection of vertices in Edit Mode. In Solid Display Mode, only visible vertices are selected. And in Wireframe mode, you can select all vertices (even the expected ones).

Switch between Wireframe and Solid Display Modes by pressing the " Z"or by selecting the required mode in the toolbar (see figure).

As you can see in the tool menu, there are some more shading modes. Experiment with these modes.

Smoothing options "Set Smooth" and "Set Solid", as well as "Auto Smooth".

As you can see, rounded mesh objects do not appear smooth in Solid Display Mode. In the Edit buttons you can see two buttons with the words " Set Smooth"and" Set Solid".

These two buttons control the smoothness or relief of the object, which will be displayed in the View Mode, and will also be taken into account when rendering the image. There are also anti-aliasing options, but more on that later. Automatic anti-aliasing option " Auto Smooth"is used to smooth the edges of an object by a certain number of steps.

To use automatic anti-aliasing, enter the Edit mode (the button Tab), select all the vertices (or part of the vertices you want to smooth) and click the " Auto Smooth". Exit Edit Mode and press the" Set Smooth". Adjust the anti-aliasing value as needed.

Extruding (Extruding) an Object Shape

You can extrude (extrude) the vertices of a mesh object by clicking the " E"and choosing the type of extrusion from the menu that appears, copies of these vertices will be created, which you can move in any direction using" G", change scale from" S", as well as rotate these vertices with" R"There are several types of extrusions in Blender. Try experimenting with each of these types. It is generally accepted to use the extrusion type." Region".

If you choose this type, the vertices will be extruded strictly along a specific axis. To freely move the vertices, press the Middle Mouse Button (without scrolling). Below is an example of a cube whose vertices have been extruded to the right several times using rotation.

Extruding is a great command for creating long tunnels. It is also great if you don't want to subdivide the object in order to add new details.

Lesson from the Series: "Creating 3D Graphics in Blender"

Changing the position, size and angle of rotation of an object we have considered in previous lessons. They were carried out using the modification commands Ttanslate (G), Rotate (R), Scale (S).

In this lesson, you will learn how to change the shape of individual objects. Such changes are possible only in edit mode.

To switch to editing mode, press the Tab key or select Edit Mode in the header of the 3D view window.

In edit mode, you can work with individual vertices. You can tell if you are in edit mode by looking at the yellow or black dots and lines on the surface of the selected object.

Black denotes unselected vertices and edges, yellow denotes selected ones.

After creating an object and switching to the editing mode, all parts are selected (in this state they are highlighted in yellow).

If you deselect the selection, the component parts of the object are shown in black.

Selection options in edit mode

In edit mode, you can select either only vertices, or edges, or faces, depending on which mode is on at the moment. Buttons for switching these modes are located in the header of the 3D window.

After selecting the required element, you can move it, and in the case of edges and faces, also resize and rotate.

To do this, use the same basic modification commands that we talked about earlier ("G" - move, "S" - scale, "R" - rotation).

Ways to select items

It remains to learn how to select elements for editing. The most common cases when selecting vertices are described in the table below.

When selecting edges and faces, do the same.

What to do	How to make
Select an individual vertex	Click on it with the Right Mouse Button (RMB).
Select multiple vertices	Hold down the Shift key and right-click on them
Select a group of vertices with a rectangle	Press the "B" key, the rectangle selection tool will turn on. Select a rectangular area by dragging with the LMB pressed. All vertices under the rectangle will be selected.
Select a group of vertices with a circle.	Press the "C" key, the circle selection tool will turn on; Set the desired size of the circle with the "+" and "-" keys on the numeric keypad (scrolling the mouse wheel works in the same way as "+" and "-"); Click LMB. All vertices within the circle will be selected.
Select all vertices.	Press the "A" key once
Unselect all vertices	Press again the "A" key once

Proportional Editing Mode

Proportional editing mode is used to create smooth object shapes when editing vertices.

To turn on the Proportional Editing mode, use the "O" key, or the small button with a circle in the title of the 3D view. After clicking it, to the right of it, an additional button will appear that allows you to select proportional editing options.

We'll mainly use the "Sharp" or "Smooth" options, but you can experiment with either one.

You can control the number of vertices that are affected by proportional editing with the "+" and "-" keys on the numeric keypad or by scrolling the mouse wheel. A circle will be visible on the screen, changing its size.

The changes will be applied to those vertices that are limited by this circle.

Practical work

The task. Using a sphere as the Mesh object, create a 3D mockup of the water drop. Use proportional editing mode to change the shape.

Work progress

1. Start Blender. Create a new scene and save it to a file called "Blob" in your personal folder.

2. Remove the cube. Press the X key, then Enter or Delete, then Enter.

3. Add a sphere to the scene (Fig. 3-1, a) (Add -\u003e Mesh -\u003e UVSphere).

4. Switch to front view (Num 1).

5. Zoom in on the sphere by hovering the mouse over the sphere and rolling the mouse wheel.

6. Switch to edit mode. Press the TAb key on the keyboard or select Edit Mode in the 3D view header (Fig. 3-1, b).

7. Reset the selection by pressing the A key (Figure 3-1, c).

8. Select the topmost vertex of the sphere by right-clicking on the topmost point of the sphere (Fig. 3-1, d).

9. Enable Proportional Transition Editing by pressing the "O" key on your keyboard or by pressing the button in the 3D view header.

10. Move the vertex up and slightly to the side, having previously adjusted the number of the moved vertices (Fig. 3-2, a).

For this:

• Press the G key (enable move mode).
• Rotate the mouse wheel to determine the number of vertices to move (the size of the bounding circle changes).
• Moving the mouse (without clicking LMB), achieve the desired shape of the object.

11. Switch to Object Mode by pressing the Tab key. (Fig. 3-2, b).

12. Give the resulting object smoothness by clicking the "Smooth" button (Left toolbar, Tools tab, Edit group). (Figure 3-2, c).

13. Switch to camera view (Num 0).

Questions that baffled me when I started to master Blender.

Moving the center of transformation

You want the door to rotate around the hinges, not around the center of the door. The hinges are now conditionally on the edge. Move the 3D cursor exactly to the center of the edge: Shift + S (Snap)\u003e Cursor to Selected... Then we give the command to move the transformation center to the 3D cursor.

Non-proportional results of fillets and modifiers

You need to round off the edges of the table top. In object editing mode (Tab key) select all the necessary edges at once and press Ctrl + B (Bevel)... Problem - rounding is not the same on all edges:

This is how rounding works because the percentage of the object is not 100%:

Now, from the blender's point of view, the table top is a stretched cube, and all deformations are calculated as stretched as well. It makes sense. Objects may not resize proportionally during animation, and all modifiers must resize as well. Solution: You need to tell the blender that the current dimensions are 100%. In normal mode, we press Ctrl + A (Apply)... Choose here Scale:

Ctrl + B (Bevel), it should look like this:

This also affects the results of modifiers. Personally, I already reflexively press Ctrl + A (Apply) → Scale.

Resetting coordinates of position, rotation, size

You created an object, but it was created far away, where the 3D cursor was, and it is not visible and it is not clear where it is.

• Alt + G - reset position
• Alt + R - rotation reset
• Alt + S - reset size

Press Alt + G, and the object jumps to the origin. After we press «. » on the numeric keypad to get closer to it.

Navigation buttons

Remember: it is important which window the mouse is over. Take your time.

• G (Grab) - traffic
• R (Rotate) - rotation (second press - second rotation mode)
• S (Scale) - the size
• Buttons X, Y, Z restricts manipulation to only one axis
• Shift + X, Shift + Y, Shift + Z exclude the selected axis from manipulations
• "/" (View Local) (numeric keypad) - a mode when all objects disappear except for the selected one
• ". »(View Selected) (numeric keypad) - get closer to the selected
• Home (View all) - zoom to fit everything into the screen
• C (Circle Select) - selection by circle
• B (Border Select) - selection by frame
• F (Face) (Tab mode) - create a polygon based on points, or combine already selected polygons into one
• K (Knife) (Tab mode) - cut polygon
• J (Join) - combine objects
• P (seParate) (Tab mode) - split object
• Ctrl + R (Loop cut and slide) (Tab mode) - cutting a chain of square polygons along
• Del or X\u003e Dissolve edges / faces (Tab mode) - removal of cutting a chain of square polygons along
• E (Extrude) (Tab mode) - extrusion
• Ctrl + B (Bevel) - chamfer or rounding
• W (Specials) (Tab mode) - a useful menu with items that are nowhere else. I often need "Bridge edge loops" - a bridge between two chains of faces.
• Ctrl + "+" and Ctrl + "-" (Tab mode) - add polygons adjacent to the already selected ones to the selection or unselect the extreme polygons
• Shift-F (Fly) - view flight mode, control as in the game, W, S, A, D, E, Q

How do I align a face?

Specifically, we are talking about a similar operation:

It is necessary to reduce the size of the group of points to zero along some axis. Commands can be entered by pressing the buttons sequentially. In this case, we press consistently S, Z, 0 (zero) The following inscription will appear in the lower left corner of the working 3D window:

And in the window itself it will be like this:

"Forward" is the Y-axis

Try to do the frontal direction of the object along the global and local axes Y... In some modifiers and the game engine, this direction is taken as the "forward" direction and not everywhere it can be changed to a different axis.

Subdivision Surface and Multiresolution Modifiers - What's the Difference?

Subdivision Surface are smoothed surfaces. Multiresolution are smooth surfaces that can be sculpted on top. Via Subdivision Surface it is convenient to make the basic shape of the sofa. Then change it to Multiresolution and sculpt the folds of the fabric with a brush.

Linked objects

Interior. You don't have to do all the items in one file. Not convenient. Create an iron in a separate file, a chair in another file, a room in a third file - the main one.

• The iron needs to be driven into a group Ctrl + G (Create New Group)
• Give a name to the group - "Iron"
• Save file "Iron"
• Open file "Room"
• Give the command " File → Link»
• Find the file "Iron"
• Go to folder "Group" and select the group "Iron"

This way you will have order in the scene. Duplicate items do not consume memory. You can easily load the iron separately and turn off the visibility for the viewport of all modifiers so that the scene does not slow down. It will be of high quality on render, but fast in operation.