2011

Table Of Contents
Mesh, with its enhanced modeling capabilities, offers a way to create more
fluid, free-form designs. Keep these tips in mind as you work.
Model mesh before you smooth it.
Mesh modeling is a powerful way to design, but higher levels of smoothness
increase complexity and can affect performance. You can work more efficiently
if you complete editing operations such as gizmo editing, extrusion, and face
splitting, on mesh objects that have not been smoothed. (That is, their level
of smoothness is 0.)
mesh sphere modeled by grip editing and
extrusion, then smoothed
You can quickly switch between the levels of smoothness in the Properties
Inspector palette to get a preview of how your activities affect the smoothed
object.
Refine or split a face instead of refining the entire object.
Refinement is a powerful way to subdivide faces. However, by increasing the
number of faces, you add to the overall complexity of the model. In addition,
refining an entire mesh object resets the base level of smoothness to 0. This
change can result in a dense grid that can no longer be simplified. For best
results, avoid refining the object, and refine or split only the individual faces
that require more detailed modeling.
628 | Chapter 23 Modify 3D Models