Some tips and tricks from out of the Box

Box · 30 Nov 2018, 14:20

I thought it might be worthwhile posting some of my short gif tutorials here.
They are all varied and random, not meant as a progression to learn by, just answers to questions and random doodles that address many different situations.
Some will be over your head and others too easy to bother with, a mixture for all to wander through. Most of them will be watermarked with my facebook page.

So a very short one to start with.

Radial Bend and Thrupaint
This is an option for bending something while retaining a complex texture. Both of these are Fredo6 plugins available from the extension store. Both are single tools contained within a package of tools. FredoScale and FredoTools. An example of the gems hidden in Fredo's tools.

ntxdave · 30 Nov 2018, 15:29

Thanks for starting this thread and sharing your wisdom with us. I am sure we will all learn a lot from it and will use it as a quick reference many times.

Box · 1 Dec 2018, 02:36

Click Drag Orientate.
Here's a little trick that people often miss, you can use click and drag to set the axis of rotation for the rotate tool therefore allowing you to effectively mirror things by rotating them 180 degs. Particularly useful when the shape is off axis. I've used it here to make a drone frame and Fredo's Round Corner to smooth it off.

pilou · 1 Dec 2018, 09:26

Marvelous thread!

If you mix it with this one you have all the power of SU under hands!

rv1974 · 1 Dec 2018, 09:27

Never thought of rotating as mirroring (always use tig's mirror for this), nice to know!
Please keep posting

HornOxx · 1 Dec 2018, 10:08

Dave hit it above - yes, it's great to have this thread as a Collecting Place for your really really good and desired Wisdoms - Box, thanks a lot for this thread and to make and share that at all!

Box · 2 Dec 2018, 02:11

Here's an oddball one, make an elephants trunk using Thomthom's Truebend.

Box · 2 Dec 2018, 12:28

I'll throw this one in as one of the fundamentals.
So many people have trouble rotating to a specific axis.
Try adding a plane on the axis you want to guide your rotations.
Done correctly 3 rotations should be the maximum needed from any position.

rv1974 · 2 Dec 2018, 15:33

you are the hero of rotating!
Always nice to see alternative ways of doing things
What I'd instead:

align UCS to face
copy face
align UCS to world
paste

Box · 2 Dec 2018, 15:55

You lost me just before 1.
but I caught up at 4.

In other words, what on earth are you talking about.

cotty · 2 Dec 2018, 16:21

The mentioned 4 steps in moving pictures...
("Copy" and "Paste" with shortcuts...)

Box · 2 Dec 2018, 16:51

That makes perfect sense Cotty, what ucs is is still beyond my limited language skills.

rv1974 · 2 Dec 2018, 17:59

ucs=axes
(Acad heritage)

Box · 8 Dec 2018, 15:11

Here's a simple one, no plugins, no fancy tricks, just vanilla follow me. This shows why it is useful that follow me on a face removes the face. If it didn't there would be an internal face after the second follow me and it wouldn't form a solid.

baz · 8 Dec 2018, 23:02

Keep going Box, great stuff...

Box · 10 Dec 2018, 11:17

Another simple no plugin one.

pilou · 10 Dec 2018, 13:27

Great suspense till the end!

Box · 15 Dec 2018, 04:42

Here's a very short one, straight to the point.
To create a radius corner of a specific size, start with the two point arc at any size, move along the edge till you get the magenta inference, click once, move back along that edge until you get the magenta a second time, don't click, let go of the mouse and type the radius you want and hit enter.

HornOxx · 15 Dec 2018, 10:40

always I have derived the desired radius with parallel guide lines - ok, it doesn't hurt to have a certain repertoir of geometry skills but hey, what would I/you have saved on time - so thanks to show this "hidden" secret !!!!!

Box · 15 Dec 2018, 10:48

I'm pretty sure Cotty taught me that one.