Loop select? (a plugin maybe?)

pdwyer · 12 Dec 2010, 10:57

Is there a way to select a loop in SU 8 (edge or face loop) ? I heard something about "select tools" which while useful, can't do this. Something like the "Alt-Select" in Blender.

mitcorb · 12 Dec 2010, 11:35

Check again on ThomThom's collection of scripts. I thought he had done this in one of his latest tools. Find any posting by him and click on a link under his dialogue, or look in the Plugins Index by the red quicklink at top of Board Index page.

pdwyer · 12 Dec 2010, 12:30

It only handles the most basic of loops, ie with no intersections.

If I wanted to select the loop in the image below in some other modelling packages I would alt-click any of the selected edges in this image and it would select the loop. In this simple example, sure I could drag select but in more complex ones I would be selecting all sorts of irrelevent stuff in the middle too. Also, they loop is not necessarily co-planar so a drag select can be difficult from that too

Any thoughts?

Rich O Brien · 12 Dec 2010, 12:36

Tgi3D has a cross section creation feature

http://www.tgi3d.com

All you need now is 999 bucks

pdwyer · 12 Dec 2010, 12:45

Wow,

Time to go buy a ruby book, I can see a chance to make some real money here

mitcorb · 12 Dec 2010, 12:46

What I do is:
Make a group of a logical portion of the model. This will help isolate.
Navigate/orbit around the intended target such that the horizon is directly behind. Do a left to right box select of the loop. Shift+Arrow(remove items from selection set)click on unwanted selections. Orbit about to verify if you have a clean selection, then do your thing.

By the way, if you use Control+Orbit you can tilt the horizon(actually pitching the camera)to align the target for closer selection precision.
I have attached an image in which I used this technique to grab loops on the fingers.

pdwyer · 12 Dec 2010, 14:22

Thanks you for the ctrl-orbit tip! I didn't know that and I had been looking for this. It doesn't quite solve this loop select thing but it solves a different problem I've been wondering about!!!

THANKS !!!

Rich O Brien · 12 Dec 2010, 14:36

Blender and SU are different animals. The loop select/create feature in Blender is definitely a great option but in SU it would create a lot of geometry. SU isn't something geared around topology and quads. If you trial the tgi plugin you'll see the impact these cross cut sections have when you adopt a Blender like workflow. Models file size grow rapidly as you increase the vertices.

A small price to pay when you consider how intuitive SU is. Blender is truly an amazing app but it's got a big learning curve. There is a member here who absolutely rocks at Blender and his output has encouraged me to learn it. Currently dissecting the 'For Dummies' book and tutorials. But I wouldn't wish for SU to change anyway!