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4. In the Edit Polygons rollout, click the option dialog box button for the Bevel tool. Set the Height value to 2.0, the Outline Amount to -0.15, and click OK.

5. With the polygon still selected, move the beveled polygon outward away from the elk's head.

6. Disable the polygon subobject mode and click on the Symmetry modifier in the Modifier Stack to see the symmetrical antler.

Tip

If you toggle the Show End Result button in the Modifier Stack, then you can see the results of the Symmetry modifier in real time. •

Figure 26.12 shows the results of the Symmetry modifier.

FIGURE 26.12

When you use the Symmetry modifier, you have to model certain objects only once.

Tessellate modifier

You use the Tessellate modifier to subdivide the selected faces for higher-resolution models. You can apply tessellation to either Triangle or Polygonal faces. The Edge option creates new faces by dividing the face from the face center to the middle of the edges. The Face-Center option divides each face from the face center to the corners of the face. The Tension setting determines whether the faces are convex or concave. The Iterations setting is the number of times the modifier is applied.

Caution

Applying the Tessellate modifier to an object with a high Iterations value produces objects with many times the original number of faces. •

Vertex Weld modifier

The Vertex Weld modifier is a simple modifier that welds all vertices within a certain Threshold value. This is a convenient modifier for cleaning up mesh objects.

Miscellaneous Modifiers

Several of the Mesh Editing modifiers are unique, special-purpose modifiers. The Edit Normals modifier, for example, lets you change the direction of face normals, which doesn't really change the geometry, but it can have a big impact on how the object is smoothed and shaded.

Edit Normals

The Edit Normals modifier enables you to select and move normals. Normals appear as blue lines that extend from the vertex of each face. The Edit Normal modifier includes a Normals subobject that you can select and change its direction. To move (or rotate) a normal, you can use the transform tools on the main toolbar. If your viewport has shading enabled, you can see the effect of moving the normals.

Tip

The Edit Normals modifier can be used to create the illusion of surface geometry. For example, by selecting and flipping specific localized normals, you can create what look like dents in a metal plate. •

You can select normals by Normal, Edge, Vertex, or Face. Selecting normals by Face, for example, selects all normals attached to a face when you click on a face. Moving a normal then moves all selected normals together.

You also have options to Ignore Backfacing and to Show Handles. Handles appear as small squares at the top of the normal vector. The Display Length value defines the length of the normals displayed in the viewports. Figure 26.13 shows all the normals extending from a simple Sphere object.

FIGURE 26.13

The Edit Normals parameters let you work with normals.

The modifier also includes buttons to Unify and to Break selected normals. Unify causes all selected normals to be combined to a single normal, and Break splits unified normals into their separate components again. The direction of the unified normal is an average of the surface points when unified or an average of the normals if the Unify/Break to Average option is enabled.

The Selected button in the Average section averages all selected normals that are within the specified value if the Use Threshold value is enabled. If it is not enabled, then all selected normals are averaged. The Average Target button lets you interactively select a normal and then click on another normal to average. The Target normal must be within the specified Target value.

The direction of selected normals can be copied and pasted between normals. The Specify button marks a normal as a Specified normal. These normals appear