wacko normals

[Koper]

ok, just got a huge model to texture but there are sooo many faces that needs to be flipped that its just insane. now, i think i saw a tool that made all normals face the same direction but Am not sure where, anybody got an idea

 

ps. I'm not talking about the 'normal' modifier as that just flip faces

 

thanx

[Nils Norgren]

As far as I know the best bet for this is the "Unify" command within Edtiable Mesh (it is not in edit poly), the main problem with using this is that if there are faces that are coplanar, the unify command gets confused. If your objects have welded vertices and the faces are all adjcent, it should get close. If not try selecting a group of faces at a time.

 

Good luck

 

-Nils

[Ernest Burden III]

If you turn off 'backfacing' in most 3D programs any poly that is not facing you won't display, and won't be selected. That helps you find and flip polys. Its not a one-button solution, but it will help.

 

Lightscape had a function where you defined a point in 3D space and told it to make polys face it, or face away. Why has that not mad its way into other programs? It was so easy to use and understand. There are various 'align normals' commands in programs, but they often fail as Nils said. Its best to build properly in the first place, something we old Lightscapers had beatted into us.

 

EDIT: To make clear about the backfacing--you end up seeing only polys facing you, so you select them and flip them. You do this until all of them disappear, then go back to normal and flip them all to be front-facing again.

[Koper]

Yup, tried all of that, but i think then i then saw it in Lightscape. The model came directly from the architect (dwg), a couple story's high with a curve in the building, so when i tried to select the visible faces and turn it, i would actually also select the ones that are turned and turn them again, and and and.

 

I decide to break up the building through its groups down to its bare building blocks, make one editable mesh modifier that turns the correct faces and then copy past it to all the other simular blocks (all window frames)

after i created the one editable mesh modifier i realized that all the blocks was instanced ,shoooe , (smart architect i tell ya)

 

but thanx fo the replies

 

 

i think we should put a feature like the one in Lightscape in a whish list for autodesk

 

cool

[Vince Paske]

Hi Koper,

 

Have you tried using a 2-sided material? The other option is the "brute-force" method of checking the "Force 2-Sided" in the rendering roll-out. Hope that helps.