Blender Notes

Best Practices

• Cylinders
  • Vertices multiple of 4 to keep round
  • Start with fewer if planning to subdivide or subsurface later
  • End cap - replace with quads (variety of methods)
• Modifiers
  • Processed from the top down
  • Applying it "moves it to the top" - so apply in the right order

Selecting Stuff Faster While Editing

• Ctrl-click: select everything between previous and current selection
• Alt-click: select all connected
  • If then use Alt when adjusting mods, will also apply to all?
• Alt-Ctrl-click: select all in same direction that are same length?
• Ctrl-+ (-): expand (contract) selection
• Shift-G: select in same collection as active object
• Other options: select sharp edges; select by trait (e.g., # of sides)....
• Mark seams - then can select all in that area with L when in Face mode
• Vertex group - within mesh, can created numbered groups to reselect easily

Linking

• Linked objects - within a file
  • Alt-D when in Edit mode
  • Updating transforms: after selecting, Shift-L to select linked data, then apply transform (NOT "all transforms"?)
• Linked collection - to pull in non-editable asset from another file
  • Can be transformed but not edited
  • Can be instanced as above (Alt-D)

Miscellaneous Notes

• Inset
  • Tap twice to inset faces individually
  • Can change the shape of the inset (e.g. circle instead of square) - loop tools?
• Mark Seams - makes it easier to use L to select linked geometry for key areas
• Extrude
  • May need to duplicate the faces first, or else it will just move them
  • Alt-E: extrude along normal
• Poke - can change "tris to quads"
• Sliding
  • Slide vertices - Shift-V
  • Slide edges - GG (plus C if want to extend past current end)
• Loop cut - press E or E then F to match profile of one of the two current edges
• Align vertices - select, scale on desired alignment axis, hit 0
• Align camera
  • Align active camera to view - Ctrl-Alt-Numpad 0
  • Align active camera to selected - choose from pie menu?
• UV auto updates - settings in Tool panel
  • Correct face attribution
  • Live unwrap

Booleans

• Every bool must have 2 connection points to the object
  • Can create non-manifold topology
  • Use Exact option to avoid cutting with Z-fighting
• When joining
  • Connection points as perpendicular as possible
  • Connect points with J; dissolve any bad ones
• Mirror booleans
  • Mirror all by modifying object
  • Mirror individual by modifying the cutter
  • Can reorder the modifiers so some of the cutters are after the mirror
• Deleting booleans properly
  • Delete the modifier AND the cutter
  • If slicing and only delete the cutter mesh, may leave duplicate object behind
• Solidify the cutter for interesting effects?

Bool Tool

• Choose cutter first; shift-click object to be cut
• Shortcuts
  • Ctrl-numpad -: difference
  • Ctrl-numpad +: union
  • Ctrl-numpad *: intersect
  • Ctrl-numpad /: slice
• Parent cutters to the object
  • Select cutters; shift-click object
  • Ctrl-P - Object; Keep transform

Bevels

Direct bevel

• Don't forget to apply scale before beveling
• Shift key while scaling it allows for more precise movement
• C key to clamp bevel so they don't overlap
  • If they butt up to each other - will have two edges on top of each other
  • Remove the duplicate by dissolving it or merging the vertices by distance
• P key can adjust the profile of the bevel (how the curve is shaped) when adding
  • Default is 0.5 (Shape setting on panel)
• Optimal number of segments depends on size of the bevel and size of the object

Bevel modifier

• Generally only used to get edge highlight?
• Often either 1 or 3 segments is fine
• Keep the amount small
• Add Weighted Normal modifier to clean up the shading
  • Or set Hard Normals in the Bevel mod
• NEVER apply it (according to Blender Bros)
  • Keep Bevel and Weighted Normal mods at the bottom of the stack
• If get weird overlaps when beveling (poss due to acute angles on connectors), can turn off Loop Slide in the mod