Mesh Holes Smoothness

[Josh Usmani]

Hi, First of all, this course is really informative and helpful as I get to know Blender better. Everything has been going smoothly so far, but I’m having an issue trying to smooth the boolean holes created by the arrayed cylinders for the mesh.

The Smooth By Angle modifier is having no effect on the holes themselves. It looked simple enough, but when I change the value to 45 degrees like you did in the video the holes still have angles instead of smoothness. I tried higher values but no luck. Any advice I can try? Thanks!

[Adrian Bellworthy]

Are you adding the smooth by angle modifier to the main object or the cutter object to make the holes?

Can you share a screengrab of your Blender so we can better see the problem?

[Josh Usmani]

To answer your question, I’m trying to add a “Smooth by Angle” modifier to the main object, not the cutter object. This was advised by the instructor in the video. The exact moment I’m referring to is around the 17 min and 40 sec mark. Screenshot is attached. I did finish the tutorial, skipping the smoothing, so there’s a bit more on my screen than the instructors at this point. 

[Omar Domenech]

You have to smooth the cutter object as well, because the shape of the holes is coming from it. So if the cutter object is faceted, the holes will be as well. 

[Josh Usmani]

I totally understand what you’re saying, but in the video the instructor explains why he did it this way and it worked for him. While I agree with your reasoning, I think there’s something else I’m missing. 

[Adrian Bellworthy]

Hi Josh,

You’re right, however the order of the modifiers matters. The ‘Smooth By Angle’ modifier should be at the bottom of the stack.

In the order you have, you’re smoothing then adding the Boolean. With the Boolean first then smooth you’ll get the correct result.

[Josh Usmani]

Hi Adrian,

Thanks for this info. The second Boolean at the bottom of my modifier stack is actually for the plug on the back (made with a cube, no smoothing needed). I’m only trying to smooth the first Boolean in the stack for the holes/mesh. Is there anything else you think I should try?

[Omar Domenech]

Can you give us a timestamp where the teacher is doing this whole part? Also upload your file and post the link, so we can take a closer look at it and see why the holes are not smoothing as they should. 

[Josh Usmani]

Thanks, Omar. It starts at the 17 minute and 40 second mark in this video. How do I upload the file here? I only see options for images, videos, and links. 

[Omar Domenech]

You upload it to Google Drive or Dropbox and paste the link here. Be sure to make it available and not private. 

[Josh Usmani]

Got it, thanks so much! Here’s a LINK to the file on Google Drive. Please let me know if you have any trouble accessing it. 

[Omar Domenech]

Ok I see, you just need to increase your Angle value in the smooth by angle modifiers in the body and boolean objects. Something around 40 or 70 seems to do the trick. 

[Josh Usmani]

Thank you for all your efforts, Omar. I just tried adding a smooth by angle modifier to the boolean objects and set both smooth by angle modifiers (Base object and Boolean objects) to 70 degrees and nothing changed in the viewport. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. 

[Omar Domenech]

For sure it works, I did it myself with your file, so yeah you’re doing something wrong. Usually when you’re super confused, it is ideal for you to start from scratch. It sounds crazy, to abandon what you have done so far, but trust us, start over, it’ll clear all the mental fog and you’ll be glad you did. Also you’ll gain speed, you’ll get to where you left off super quicker and you’ll clearly see stuff you missed the first time around. 

[Author]

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