Editing mode - editing the vertices of the mesh object. Mesh objects Moving the transformation center
After you have created a mesh object, you can enter Edit Mode with it (Tab key) 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 indicate 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 - press 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 the 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 do not 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's surface move to the area of the 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 the 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.
In order 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) the shape of an object
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"and also 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 type of extrusion." Region".
If you choose this type, the vertices will be extruded strictly along a specific axis. To move the vertices freely, 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's also great if you don't want to subdivide the object in order to add new details.
Lesson in the Series: "Creating 3D Graphics in Blender"
Changing the position, size and angle of rotation of an object we have considered in the 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 the editing mode, press the Tab key or select the Edit Mode 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 its 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, you can also resize and rotate it.
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 LMB pressed. All vertices that fall 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 using 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 |
| Deselect 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, an additional button will appear to the right of it, which allows you to select proportional editing options.
We will 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 by using 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 -> Mesh -> 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 header of the 3D view.
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 their 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).
In these tutorials, I explain how to properly work with vertices, faces and polygons... There are as many as 3 lessons here because this stage is one of the most important in modeling complex objects with an uneven shape.
Very often, when modeling, one has to deal with surfaces that cannot be attributed to one or another primitive. Objects only vaguely resemble primitives, but you still need to spend some time to make, for example, a helmet from a BALL primitive, or make a battery, a marker or a pen from a cylinder.
In this case, editing the position helps us out. vertices or faces or polygons... The vertex is the smallest possible object in blender and a lone vertex will not be rendered. Next comes the face - it consists of two connected vertices, which also cannot be displayed during rendering. And finally, a polygon is 4 points connected by faces. The empty space between these points is filled with a plane - which is rendered on the outside and inside. Or face and inside out. A polygon can also consist of 3 vertices, but it is not recommended to use such polygons, as they significantly complicate further work with the model.
In the first video, we will create a felt-tip pen and learn how to work with the Extrude operation. Despite the fact that polygons are actually extruded, the process can be controlled not only by editing polygons but also by vertices or faces. It is only necessary to select, respectively, 4 vertices or faces for this.
In the next video, unlike the previous one, we will press polygons into the object to consolidate the skill and understand the essence of the extrusion of polygons.
And finally, to finalize the skill, create a hairdressing scissors using 2 new modifiers. This will be the first work in which the most commonly used modifiers are used: Anti-aliasing - to increase polygons and model quality. And mirroring - in order to create symmetrical objects.
Hotkeys to remember:
Tab - switch to edit mode
A - select all (or deselect all)
Z - wireframe / solid view
B - selection by rectangle
C - selection with a circle
Alt + RMB - axis selection
E - extrusion
Ctrl + N - Flip Polygons Out
P - separation of the selected fragment from the original object
W - context menu in edit mode
Ctrl + Z - undo the last action
Alt + M - merge vertices
Alt + Tab - change the mode of operation of vertices / faces / polygons
H (Alt + H) - hide (open) the object in the projection windows
Ctrl + R - cut an object with an additional face
Meshes are a type of Blender object. They are also called meshes, meshes. These are three-dimensional geometric primitives, changing which with the help of basic transformations and other modifiers, create other, usually more complex, shapes.
By default, Blender contains ten meshes, which can be added via the title bar of the 3D Viewport editor. The same menu is invoked by the Shift + A key combination.
Although Plane, Circle, and Grid are two-dimensional, they can be made three-dimensional in edit mode. A plane differs from a mesh in that the first consists of one face, and the second consists of many.
Plane and grid in edit mode The difference between a UV sphere and an Ico sphere is the shape of their constituent faces. In the first case, these are quadrangles decreasing from the equator to the poles, in the second - identical triangles.
UV Sphere and Ico Sphere in edit mode The monkey's head can hardly be called a geometric primitive. It is often used to check materials, textures and more, when your own objects are not yet ready or you do not want to spoil them.
Objects are added at the position of the 3D cursor. It is convenient for the mesh to appear in the center of the scene. To precisely place the cursor there, press Shift + S and select Cursor to World Origin in the snap menu that appears.
When you just added an object, its settings appear in the region of the last operation, which can be changed. The panel of this region can be collapsed, located at the bottom left. The settings it contains depend on the action used before, in this case, on the mesh being added.
For some meshes, the settings can be made such that the original shape of the object will be changed beyond recognition. Two tori are shown below. One of them has a greatly reduced number of segments.
The more segments an object has, the smoother it looks. This is most clearly seen on the balls.
However, there is one big "but" in favor of increasing the number of segments. Their drawing leads to an increase in resource costs. As a result, the computer starts to slow down. Therefore, there are other ways to smooth meshes in Blender. For example, you can choose Shade Smooth from the context menu.
You can add a new mesh while in edit mode for another. Then, when switching to object mode, both meshes form one more complex one. Remember to pay attention to where the center of the object is.
Another way to combine meshes together is to select them together in Object Mode and press Ctrl + J. Thus, by combining and transforming various meshes, you can get quite complex shapes.
In addition, you can enable additional mesh objects through the Preferences editor, Add-ons tab, Add Mesh panel. The enabled meshes will appear in the Add menu, in the same place as all the others.
In the last lesson, considering basic transformations, we omitted the so-called proportional editing, since it does not make much sense in relation to the cube. However, in the case of meshes with a lot of vertices and faces, proportional editing can play a key role.
Its essence is that when you change one element, those next to it change after it. How they change depends on the settings. In the picture below, the top of the left ball is lifted up when proportional editing is off, and on the right is when it is on.
Turning on is done with a special button in the 3D Viewport header or by pressing the letter O.
Although proportional editing is also available in object mode, it is more commonly used in edit mode.
If proportional editing is enabled, then a white circle will be visible when transforming an element. Its size can be changed using the mouse wheel. All mesh elements that fall within this circle will proportionally change following the selected element.
The image shows the result of applying the Random option.
