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Merge vertices, edges, or faces into one vertex
Merge polygons
Combine and separate polygon meshes
Bridge between border edges
You can construct faces between pairs of
border edges using the Bridge feature. The resulting bridged faces
are merged into the original mesh.
Bridge is useful when you need to connect two
sets of edges together with a piece of mesh. For example, connecting
and merging the wrist on a character’s arm to its hand.
You can select border edges by two methods:
- Select
two regions of border edges using an edge selection method.
- Select
two regions of faces that are associated with the border edges you want
to bridge using a face selection method.
To bridge between border edges you must ensure
that:
- the
selected edges reside in the same polygonal mesh. Separate meshes
can be combined into one using
Mesh > Combine.
- the
number of border edges in each selection is identical. While you
can have non-border edges in the selection, the number of border
edges to be bridged must match.
- the
normals on the faces associated with the selected edges are oriented consistently.
Otherwise the resulting bridge mesh may be constructed with an unexpected
shape.
To bridge between two or more selected polygon
edges
- Select
the border edges you want to bridge as follows:
- Select
two separate regions of border edges on the combined mesh using any
edge selection method.
It’s not critical that you select only border
edges when selecting edges because the Bridge feature
will automatically filter out non-border edges. However, the resulting
number of border edges in both the origin and target regions you
select, must match.
- Select
two separate regions of faces on the combined mesh using any face selection
technique from which the border edges will be used for the bridging
mesh.
The Bridge feature
automatically determines the valid border edges from the face selection
and then deletes the faces after the bridging mesh is constructed.
NoteIf the border edges reside in separate meshes
you must first combine the meshes into one using
Mesh > Combine.
- Select Edit
Mesh > Bridge >
.
The Bridge Options window
appears.
- In
the Bridge Options window set any
of the following options as required:
- Select
the Bridge type to define the shape
of the bridging mesh between the selected edges.
- Enter
a number for the Divisions in bridge to specify
the number of equally spaced segments you want between the selected
border edges.
- Click
the Bridge button to create the
bridging faces and close the option window.
NoteIf faces were originally selected to determine
the origin and target regions, those faces will be deleted once
the bridging mesh is constructed.
- You
can edit the attributes for the bridging mesh by selecting the mesh and
editing the polyBridgeEdge node in the Attribute
Editor.
For more information on the Bridge options
and attributes see
Edit Mesh > Bridge.
UV texture coordinates and the Bridge feature
UV
texture information is taken into account when the bridging mesh
is created. UV texture coordinates are created based on the selected
edges and the UV texture or color information is interpolated based
on the divisions of the new bridging mesh.
Troubleshooting the Bridge feature
- The Bridge feature failed
to bridge a mesh between the selected border edges.
-
- the
meshes being bridged are combined into one mesh.
- the
number of selected border edges is the same for both the origin
and target regions of the mesh.
- The
selected faces were not along an outside border of the mesh.
- The bridged mesh flips between the two sets
of border edges in a “bow tie” shape.
-
If the selected edges do not form a closed loop, the
normals on the faces associated with the selected edges may be oriented
inconsistently. The Bridge feature determines the
orientation of each connection using the normals associated with
the faces of the selected edges. You can check the orientation of
the normals using
Display > Polygons > Face
Normals. If the normal orientation is inconsistent, try
reversing the normals on the faces on one side of the bridge using
Normals > Reverse,
and then create the bridged mesh again.
- The bridged mesh twists between the two sets
of closed loop border edges in a spiral.
-
When the selected edges form a closed loop (for example,
a ring or cylindrical shape) the Bridge feature may
connect between edges in an unexpected way. You can correct this
using the Bridge offset attribute in
the Attribute Editor. Simply increase
the Bridge offset value by one to
change the start or end location of the bridged loop of edges to
the next vertex in the loop.
- Will the Bridge
feature construction history let me switch the Bridge type after
I’ve created a bridge mesh?
-
If you created a bridge mesh using the Linear path or Smooth
path + curve options, you can change the Bridge
type to Smooth path. If you created
a bridge mesh using the Linear path or Smooth
path options, you cannot change the Bridge
type to Smooth path + curve.
- How do I edit the explicit curve to modify the
shape of the bridging mesh?
-
It is recommended you select and modify only the
interior CVs on the explicit curve to modify the shape of the bridging
mesh.