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Editable Mesh (Face/Polygon/Element) 1003
new face. (The cursor changes to a cross when it is
over a vertex that can legally be part of t he face.)
You can also create new faces at the Polygon and
Element sub-object levels. At the Face and Element
sub-object levels, a new face is created after every
thirdclick. AtthePolygonsub-objectlevel,you
can continue clicking as many times as you like to
add vertices to the new polygon. To finish drawing
a new polygon, click twice, or click again on any
existing vertex in the current polygon.
Youcanaddverticesinthismodeby
SHIFT+clicking in an empty space; these vertices
are incorporated into the face or polygon you’re
creating.
You can start creating faces or polygons in any
viewport, but all subsequent clicks must take place
in the same viewport.
Tip: For best results, click vertices in
counterclockwise (preferred) or clockw ise
order . If you use clockwise order, the new polygon
will be facing away from you, and you won’t be
able to see it unless you’ve turned on Force 2-Sided
or are using a two-sided material.
Delete—Deletes selected sub-objects.
Attach—Attaches another object in the scene to the
selected mesh. You can attach any type of object,
including splines, p atch objects, and NURBS
surfaces. Att aching a non-mesh objec t converts it
to a mesh. Click the object you want to attach to
the currently selected mesh object.
For f ur ther details, see
Attach .
Detach—Detaches the selected faces as a separate
object (the default) or as an elem ent of the current
object. The Detach as Clone option copies the
faces rather than moving them.
You’re prompted to enter a name for the new
object. Detached faces leave a hole in the original
object when you move them to a new position,
unless you use the Detach as Clone option.
Divi de—Subdivides faces into three smaller faces.
This function applies to faces even if you’re in
Polygon or Element sub-object level. Click Divide,
and then select a face to be divided. Each face is
subdivided where you click it. You can click as
many faces as you want divided, in sequence. To
stop dividing, click D ivide again or right-click.
Extrude & Bevel group
These controls let you extrude and bevel faces and
polygons, as well as some elements. The latter are
typically made up of several faces and do not fully
enclose a volume. Extruding an element that fully
encloses a volume, such as an attached sphere,
simply translates the element.
Extrudingfacesmovesthemalonganormal
and creates new faces that form the s ides of the
extrusion, connect ing the selection to the object.
Beveling adds a second step that lets you scale the
extruded faces.
Tip: Asimilaroperationis Inset ,whichEditable
Poly has but Editable Mesh doesn ’t. When you
inset a polygon, you create another, smaller
polygon of the same proportions inside the
bordersofanoriginalpolygon,intheplaneofthe
original. E ssentially, it’s a b evel with no heig ht.
YoucanachievethisinEditableMeshwiththe
following procedure:
1. Select the polygon to inset.
2. Right-click the spinner all the way to the right
of the Extrude button. This performs an
extru sion with no height, thus creating a new
polygonplusconnectingpolygonsinthesame
position as the original.