Modifiers

Modifiers are a quick and parametric way to alter an object without changing it completely. The modifier stack will only affect the visualization (i.e. the render mesh) of an object. Modifiers can be applied on meshes, surfaces, polysurfaces and subd.

As mentioned modifiers can be stacked so that the result of one is fed into the next. This allows you to chain several effects to obtain good results without changing the original geometry. The evaluation order is top to bottom so the first modifier you create will be applied first.

Multiresolution

Generate an higher poly-count version of the given mesh. There are two strategies available, the simple will split the edges and add vertices while the star approach will re-use the existing vertices only adding faces.

Multires modifier

Subdivision surface

Applies the Catmull-Clark or Rhino SubD subdivision surface algorithm to generate a B-spline surface from the given mesh. The approach implemented is slightly different from Rhino's own SubDs, if you want or need to match other tools that uses Catmull-Clark subdivision surfaces this modifier can help you match your geometry.

Subd modifier

Mirror mesh

Mirror the object on the given axis. You can provide an option to merge the mirrored geometry with the original. This mirror modifier is particularly useful if you decide to model symmetric objects.

Mirror

Bevel edges

Adds a bevel on each edge that match the given criteria. The beveling is performed on all edges that are over a given angle. The option for welding the mesh will allow you to decide if you want to have normal continuity or not.

Bevel modifier

Weld edges

Weld the render mesh, this can be useful especially before a subdivision surface modifier.

Weld edges

Array geometry

Create copies of the object along the X, Y and Z axes. The number of copies along each axis can be specified, as well as the distance to apply between each copy.

Array geometry

Remesh

Perform a remeshing of the original object, using a target edge length or a target quads count.

Remesh

Reduce Mesh

Reduce the number of faces of the original object. The final number of faces can be either specified by absolute number or by a percentage. This is useful to simplify a mesh when accuracy is not a priority.

Reduce mesh

Solidify

Use an algorithm like "shrink-wrap" or "marching cubes" to close the original meshes' holes and make it "watertight".

This can be useful to improve a mesh when having a lot of small holes and missing faces (e.g. when the mesh is obtained by a 3D-scanner).

Solidify

Thicken

Use this modifier to get a thicker mesh than the original one. It is very useful when dealing with planar part that you want to make solid. There is the option to cap only on one side or on both sides. When used in conjunction with subdivision surface it is suggested to weld the parts before applying this modifier.

Modifiers on multiple objects

When you have many objects with a modifier stack associated to them, you may need to have a fast and easy way to handle them. To do that, you can select the objects, look at the modifier panel, and a new panel will allow you apply the following actions on them:

  • Apply all the modifiers on all the selected objects and automatically delete all the modifiers inside the stacks;
  • Copy result: Applies all the modifiers to a copy of the objects they are associated to, and keeping the original objects stack intact;
  • Remove all the modifiers from all the stacks;
  • Show, Hide the modifiers on each selected object.

An alternative way to do so is using B_ModifierMultiEdit command: select the action you want to apply and then the objects.