Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Keeping your meshes simple and organized is important to maintaining a clean and
efficient workflow. You'll notice fewer errors and issues with clean models when you ani-
mate, light, and render them. Combining meshes makes them easier to deal with, and
Merge cuts down on unwanted vertices and makes working with the mesh cleaner and
the surface easier. You'll find that the more you model with polys, the more useful Merge
becomes for creating great models.
If the Merge function isn't working on vertices in your model, make sure the model is a single
mesh; merging vertices with this tool doesn't work on separate meshes. You must combine
them into one poly mesh first.
The Cut Faces Tool
Known as a
poly knife
in other 3D applications, the Cut Faces tool lets you cut across a
poly surface to create a series of edges for subdivisions, pull off a section of the poly, or
delete a section. (See Figure 4.41.) Select the poly object, and choose Edit Mesh
➔
Cut
Faces Tool. Click the option box if you want to extract or delete the section.
You can use the Cut Faces tool to create extra surface detail, to slice portions off the
surface, or to create a straight edge on the model by trimming off the excess.
Figure 4.41
You can use the Cut
Faces tool to cre-
ate the edges, to
pull apart the poly
object, or to cut off
a whole section.
The Duplicate Face Tool
Select one or more faces, and choose Edit Mesh
➔
Duplicate Face to create a copy of the
selected face(s). You can use the manipulator that appears to move, scale, or rotate your
copied face(s).
The Extract Tool
The Extract tool is similar to the Extrude tool, but it doesn't create the extra faces. Select
the face(s), and choose Mesh
➔
Extract to pull the faces off the surface (see Figure 4.42).
