Crease polygonal edges and vertices

You can crease edges and vertices on a polygon mesh using the Crease Tool (Edit Mesh > Crease Tool). Applying creases to components modifies your polygonal meshes so you can create shapes that transition between hard and smooth, without unduly increasing the resolution of the base mesh.

The crease value indicates the amount that each level of a subdivision is creased. For example, a crease value of 2 means that the base level and first level edges are fully creased, but finer level edges are not creased at all. Decimals can be used to specify partial creases.

You can also create a Crease Set for any of the components you have creased using the Create Crease Set feature. Crease Sets allow you to easily select and manage your creased components. You can easily select your crease sets via the marking menu and use the Outliner or the Relationship Editor to manage them.

To crease edges or vertices on a polygon mesh

1. Select Edit Mesh > Crease Tool.

   You can also + -click in the scene view when you are in edge or vertex selection mode and select Crease Tool from the marking menu.

2. Select the edges or vertices on the mesh you want to crease.
   Note

   You can select more than one edge or vertex at a time on a mesh to crease. You can also select items on more than one polygon object and crease all of the items simultaneously. However, you may experience crease popping.

3. -drag in the scene view to adjust the creasing value.

   A heads-up display appears in the viewport to indicate the Crease Mode, the current crease value, and the maximum crease value visible for the current subdivision level.

   Edges that have creasing applied appear with heavier lines on the original mesh. Vertices with creasing applied are indicated by a small circle encompassing the vertex.

   
   Note

   The maximum crease value is the same as the number of levels of subdivision of the mesh.

To create a Crease Set

1. Select the creased components (edges or vertices) that you want included in the Crease Set.
2. Select Edit Mesh > Crease Sets > Create Crease Set.

   Alternately, you can Create a Crease Set by pressing + + in the scene and selecting the Create Crease Set item from the marking menu that appears.

   The Create Crease Set window appears.

3. Type the name for your new crease set, and then click Create.

   A list of the current crease sets in the scene appears below the Crease Sets menu item or in the marking menu.

   Tip

   When the Crease Tool is active you can select your existing crease sets from a marking menu by pressing + + in the scene. You can use the Outliner or the Relationship Editor to manage your crease sets.