What is the best way to make a radial array of object?

[system]

Hello and thanks for your time. I have a flattened cylinder model, it looks like a flat disk with raised rim edges on both sides (so I guess it looks like a clothes button!) But I want to add serrations around the disk. I know I can just sculpt it in using radial symmetry but I want to sculpt something more precise in form then just a stroke. Is there a way where I can just model one unit of the serration and just duplicate it in a radial array and just place it on the side of the disk? After that I guess I would use dynamesh to unify the individual serration units to the disk. Thanks Lemon

[Spyndel]

There are at least a half a dozen ways to go about doing things like this. Most of them involve radial symmetry at some point. I’ll throw some out here to get you thinking about what might work best for your situation, but there are more:

1. In Shadowbox with radial symmetry activated, draw out the silhouette of the shape you want, generate the object, then clean it up with clipping brushes.

2. With radial symmetry activated, mask intervals along the edges of a disk, invert, and use the Transpose extrusion functions to extrude teeth or what have you from a disk, then scale the ends to taper them.

3. Insert a primitive into a disk object, and shape it using the clipping brushes into whatever sort of “tooth” you want. Split the tooth into it’s own subtool, Mirror and weld it to the other side so you have a mirror image across the axis. Duplicate the subtool and rotate either with Transpose constrained by shift or with deformation rotate with precise incriments to whatever angle you want. Repeat the process until you have full coverage then merge all the pieces together with the disk, and use clipping brush to flatten the profile. Dynamesh or remesh as desired. This has the benefit of giving you the most control over the shape/position of the teeth.

4. Fashion whatever tooth you want, turn it into an insert mesh brush, and draw it out across a disk with radial symmetry active. Again, flatten to clean up the profile.

[Doug_Jones]

You need to have enough points to mask properly. Following got pie shaped wedge ridges. Mask by Alpha 34 with DragDot stroke and then inflate on 1 axis in deformation panel. You could try Alpha 05.

[system]

There are at least a half a dozen ways to go about doing things like this. Most of them involve radial symmetry at some point. I’ll throw some out here to get you thinking about what might work best for your situation, but there are more:

1. In Shadowbox with radial symmetry activated, draw out the silhouette of the shape you want, generate the object, then clean it up with clipping brushes.

2. With radial symmetry activated, mask intervals along the edges of a disk, invert, and use the Transpose extrusion functions to extrude teeth or what have you from a disk, then scale the ends to taper them.

3. Insert a primitive into a disk object, and shape it using the clipping brushes into whatever sort of “tooth” you want. Split the tooth into it’s own subtool, Mirror and weld it to the other side so you have a mirror image across the axis. Duplicate the subtool and rotate either with Transpose constrained by shift or with deformation rotate with precise incriments to whatever angle you want. Repeat the process until you have full coverage then merge all the pieces together with the disk, and use clipping brush to flatten the profile. Dynamesh or remesh as desired. This has the benefit of giving you the most control over the shape/position of the teeth.

4. Fashion whatever tooth you want, turn it into an insert mesh brush, and draw it out across a disk with radial symmetry active. Again, flatten to clean up the profile.

excellent

[system]

You need to have enough points to mask properly. Following got pie shaped wedge ridges. Mask by Alpha 34 with DragDot stroke and then inflate on 1 axis in deformation panel. You could try Alpha 05.

great tip!