Edit the vertex normals to affect polygon shading
 
 
 

You can modify the shading of individual polygons by manually editing the vertex normals associated with the polygon mesh.

To control vertex normal direction manually

To... Do this

Show vertex normals.

Select the mesh and select Display > Polygons > Vertex Normals.

Make edges appear sharp in shaded mode.

Select the edges and selectNormals > Harden Edge.

Make edges appear soft in shaded mode.

Select the edges and choose Normals > Soften Edge.

Lock or unlock vertex normals to their current direction.

Select the vertices and choose Normals > Lock Normals or Normals > Unlock Normals.

Force normals to point along a certain vector (by entering values numerically).

Select the locked vertices and select Normals > Set Vertex Normal > .

Turn off both Lock Normals and Unlock Normals.

Use the text boxes to enter the X, Y, and Z rotation values for the vector, then click Set Normal.

Force normals to point along a certain vector (by adjusting a manipulator)

Select the vertices and choose Normals > Vertex Normal Edit Tool.

Use the manipulator to adjust the direction of the normals.

NoteThe Normals features create history nodes that actually change the normals. The correct way to reverse one of these actions is to delete the node.

Do not try to reverse the effects of one of these actions by applying the action again with the opposite setting. Doing so will probably not have the effect you want, and will just add another node to the dependency graph.

To set vertex normals to the same direction as the face normals

  1. Select one or more vertices or vertex face components.
  2. Select Normals > Set to Face > .
  3. Set the options, then click Set to Face.

    This has the same effect as hardening the adjacent edge.

    Tip

    Using Vertex/Face selection lets you set normals on a per-vertex per-face basis.

To average vertex normals

  1. Select one or more vertices or vertex/face components.
  2. Select Normals > Average Normals > .
  3. Set the options, then click Average Normals.
    Tip

    Using Vertex/Face selection lets you set normals on a per-vertex per-face basis.

You can do any of the following:

Notes

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