Hi,
See the image as reference: The model will be used to make a mold, so I want to taper ALL edges outward in a 4 degree angle.
If I taper using deformation, the outer edges will be fine, but all the inside edges will have a negative taper
So far I have not found a way to do this, so any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
You can try the Taper function in the Gizmo 3D deformers. However, it doesn’t show the increments in degrees, only decimal value between 0 and 1. You could set up another subtool and rotate that to 4 degrees then eyeball the taper (see image).
Thank you ZEBR2 for this suggestion.
I’m a bit stuck at ‘eyeball the taper’, how does that happen exactly?
Also, I’ve tried working with the taper function, but it still tapers a lot of areas negatively.
Maybe I should try enlarging the bottom plane separately, and then bridge the smaller top plane and the larger bottom plane. (although that would still leave me with the problem of not being able to specify taper angle)
You can try use Zmodeler and scale the bottom edge loop. in this case, I recommend good topology.
Hiya @jvanaken
This is a bit tricky. Any solution that involves scaling the top or bottom as a whole will fail. You’ve got to expand or contract the edge of the top or bottom surface for this to work. The lower poly your mesh is , the easier it will be to work with.
There are a number of ways to do this. I’ve chosen the following two alternatives for the minimum explanation required, and the low chance of weird stuff happening. For instance if your topology is low and clean enough, you might be able to slide the top edge loop with Zmodeler, but there’s a high chance that a shape that complex may not perform as expected.
For the following two methods to work, your mesh must be in the following form: 3 polygroups, cleanly divided–top, bottom, sides, creases between all 3. There should be no horizontal edge loops on the side–just a straight extrusion from the bottom to the top. Your mesh is probably already in this form, as most of the ways you would create this shape will tend to create it in this manner.
See the illustration below:
First Method: Quick and dirty
Second Method: Zmodeler.
If your mesh is low poly enough, you can use Zmodeler to do this easily.
Extrude the sides with ZModeler- Polygon > QMesh> Polygroup Island. Extrude far enough out to establish the farthest point of your angled surface.
With Edge > Insert > Single Edge loop, ALT-click on the TOP edge loop of the newly created surface. This will collapse the top loop, creating an angled surface from the original point, to the newly extruded bottom.
Hi Spyndel and Willerson,
Thanks for helping!
Almost there! The only problem now is the jagged bottom at the edge.
I’m sure that the topology of the bottom is to blame, but I don’t know how to simplify it? (same for the top plane). This shape is created from SVG, so this is the topology it automatically generates.
Thanks again for being so helpful!
Can’t say for certain without getting a look at the bottom of your mesh, but this is probably caused by the poor quality topology. Try to create your mesh so it looks closer to mine, using as few points as possible, and avoid triangular topology wherever possible–it will affect how your mesh deforms.
Your mesh is a little dense for Zmodeler, but you might try the second method I provided. The sides have no tris so they should extrude more evenly, and then you just have to collapse the top loop. This should result in a cleaner edge at the bottom.
Hi Spyndel,
Look at this!
Ah yes, that is a nice clean mesh. You’re welcome, and good job!
