Lesson 5 - Recap

In this section we will look back at all the tools we have discussed so far. It will feature cheatsheets with the most used commands for each area.

We will also look at the Curve Object type and at the end of the section you can find two little “tutorials” on how to make tank treads and how to shrinkwrap geometry onto other objects.

Camera

Hotkey Function
/ Isolate the currently selected Object/s (pressing again returns to normal mode
Numpad 0 Look through the Scene Camera (pressing it again returns to viewport)
Ctrl + Numpad 0 Sets the current object as Scene Camera
Ctrl + Alt + Numpad 0 Aligns the selected camera to the viewport

Modeling

Selection

Hotkey Action
LMouse Select vertex, edge, face
Shift + LMouse Add or remove vertex, edge, face from selection
Ctrl + LMouse Point to Point selection
Alt + LMouse Edge/Face Loop Selection
Ctrl + Alt + LMouse Edge/Face Ring Selection
A Select All
Alt + A Deselect All
Ctrl + I Invert current selection
Ctrl + Numpad+ Grow current selection outwards (Select More)
Ctrl + Numpad- Shrink current selection inwards (Select Less)
L Select connected Geometry
Alt + Z X-Ray-Mode (lets you select occluded geometry)

Modeling Tools

Hotkey Action
Ctrl + R Loop Cut and Slide Tool
K Knife/Cut Tool
E Extrude Tool
Alt + E Extrude Menu
I Inset Tool
Ctrl + B Bevel Tool
X Delete Element Menu
Ctrl + X Dissolve Element Tool
M Merge/Weld Menu
F Create Face Tool
J Connect Vertex Path Tool
Alt + S Shrink/Fatten Tool
Alt + N Normals Menu (Flip, Recalculate Inside/Outside, etc)
P Spearate Geometry Menu (Separate selected faces into new object)

Object Tools

Hotkey Action
Ctrl + J Join Objects Tool (Join selected objects to active object)
Ctrl + A Apply Menu (Apply Scale, Rotation, Location, etc)
Ctrl + L Make Links Menu (Apply modifiers, material, etc from active to selection)
Shift + L Select Linked Menu (Select Instances, Objects with same Material, etc)

BoolTool Hotkeys

Hotkey Action
Ctrl + Shift + B BoolTool Context Menu
Shift + Ctrl + Numpad- Destructive/Auto Boolean Difference
Shift + Ctrl + Numpad+ Destructive/Auto Boolean Union
Shift + Ctrl + Numpad* Destructive/Auto Boolean Intersect
Shift + Ctrl + Numpad/ Destructive/Auto Boolean Slice
Ctrl + Numpad- Procedural/Brush Boolean Difference
Ctrl + Numpad+ Procedural/Brush Boolean Union
Ctrl + Numpad* Procedural/Brush Boolean Intersect
Ctrl + Numpad/ Procedural/Brush Boolean Slice

Curves

Hotkey: Shift + A >> Curve

Curves are a different type of base object in blender. They are an implementation of a Bezier Curve in 3D-Space.

A Bezier curve consists of the following subobjects:

  • The Vector path itself
  • Control Points the path has pass through
  • Handles that control how the path passes through the control points (Handles are always tangential to the curve path)
../_images/bl_3dview_curve_object.png

Tools you can use on the Curve object in Edit Mode:

Hotkey Selection Action
G Control Point/Handle Move Control Point/Handle
R Control Point Rotate Control Point and its Handles
S Control Point Scale the Control Points Handles
Alt + C Doesn’t matter Close/Open the Curve by connecting/separating its first and last point (Toggle Cyclic)
E Control Point Add/Extrude another Point
RMouse >> Subdivide 2 adjacent Control Points Adds a Control Point in between the two seleted ones
V Control Point/Handle Lets you toggle the Control Point/Handle type

Workflow tips

How to make tank treads

To make tank treads for our robot concept we need a guide path that our treads can follow along. For this we will use a Curve Object.

Use the Circle Curve Primitive as a starting point for you tank treads and adjust its shape with the tools mentioned above until you are happy with it.

../_images/bl_gui_3dview_tanktreads_curve.png

Array Modifier

The Array modifier will copy our mesh at fixed distance along a chosen axis. We will use it to create copies of our single piece of tanktread.

  • Add an Array modifier to your single tank tread object

  • Set its fit Type to Fit Curve and pick your Tank Tread Guide Curve in the Curve Slot

    The Array modifier will automatically create enough copies of your single tank tread to fit the entire length of the Tank Tread Guide Curve.

  • Use the X, Y, Z Values in the Relative Offset/Constant Offset Section to change the width of the gaps between your tank treads.

../_images/bl_gui_props_modifier_array_fit_curve.png ../_images/bl_gui_3dview_array_fitcurve_tanktreads.png
Blender Manual Link:

Curve Modifier

We will use the curve modifier to deform our arrayed geometry. The modifier will take care of wrapping our treads around the supplied curve.

To do this:

  • apply the curve modifier to your arrayed tank tread and and pick your TankTreads_Path Curve in the Object Slot.
  • Choose the right Axis with the buttons in the Deformation Axis Area
../_images/bl_gui_props_modifier_curve.png ../_images/bl_gui_3dview_tanktreads.png
Blender Manual Link:

Shrinkwrap modifier | How to wrap geometry onto other geometry

The Shrinkwrap modifier is a rather simple but nonetheless very powerful modifier. It can project and deform geometry onto other geometry and make it follow the targets surface.

../_images/bl_gui_3dview_shrinkwrap.gif

How to use:

  • Add the Shrinkwrap modifier to the object you want to conform to another geometry
  • Add the GuideMesh/Object you want your geometry shrinkwrapped to in the Target Slot
  • Adjust the Offset parameter to push the object off the GuideMesh’s surface
../_images/bl_gui_props_modifier_shrinkwrap.png
Blender Manual Link: