8

1058 Chapter 9: Sur face Modeling
Note:
Bridge a lways creates a straight-line
connection between polygon pairs. To make
thebridgeconnectionfollowacontour,apply
modelingtoolsasappropriate
after creating the
bridge. For example, bridge two polygons, and
then use
Bend (page 1–541) .
B ridge S ettings—Opens the Bridge dialog (page
1–1068)
, which lets you connect pairs of polygon
selections via interactive manipulation.
Flip—Reversesthedirectionsofthenormalsof
selected polygons, hence their facing.
Hinge From Edge—Lets you per form a manual
hingeoperationviadirectmanipulationinthe
view port. Make a polygon selection, click this
button, and then drag vertically on any edge to
hinge t he select ion. The mouse cursor changes to
a cross w hen over an edge.
The hinge edge needn’t be pa rt of the selection. It can
be any edge of the mesh. Also, the selection needn’t be
contiguous.
Hinging polygons rotates them about an edge
and creates new polygons that form the sides of
the hinge, connecting the selection to the object.
It’s essentially an ext rusion with rotation, with
theexceptionthat,ifthehingeedgebelongstoa
selected polygon, that side is not extruded. The
manual version of Hinge Fro m Edge works only
with an existing polygon s election.
Tip: Turn on I gnore Backfacing to avoid
inadvertently hinging about a backfacing edge.
Hinge S ettings—Opens the Hinge From Edge
dialog (page 1–1075)
,whichletsyouhinge
polygons via interactive manipulation.
If you click this button after performing a manual
hinge, the dialog opens with Angle set to the extent
of the last manual hinge.
Ex trude Along Spline—Extrudes the current
selection along a spline.
You can extrude a single face (1) or a selection of contiguous
(2) or non-contiguous faces (3). Extrusion 2 uses Taper Cur ve
and Twist. Extrusion 3 uses Taper Amount; each extrusion
has a different curve rotation.
Make a selection, click this button, and the select a
spline in the scene. The selection is extruded along
the spline, using the spline’s current orientation,
but as though the spline’s start point were moved
to the center of each polygon or group .
Extr ude Along Spline S ettings—Opens the
Extrude Polygons Along Spline dialog (page
1–1072)
,whichletsyouextrudealongsplinesvia
interactive manipulation.
Edit Triangulation—Lets you modif y how polygons
are subdivided into triangles by drawing internal
edges.