3D animation tutorials

Merging edges in a single piece of geometry

Fixing a mailbox.

In one of the 3dbybuzz videos, we made a mailbox out of a single polygon object.  We created a lid by selecting a ring of vertices and separating the object into two pieces.  Note that it remained one object:

mailboxopen-2013-02-8-21-52-1.jpg

The problem is that the bottom edge is separated from the rest of the mailbox:

mailboxbottom-2013-02-8-21-52-1.jpg

Perhaps we should have left that edge connected so that we could more naturally animate the mailbox.


The Merge Edges tool.
So, we put the Main Menu Selector on Polygons, then we go to Edit Mesh and select the Merge Edges tool.

 

mailboxlinedup-2013-02-8-21-52-1.jpg mergeedgetool-2013-02-8-21-52-1.jpg

We then select the two edges along the bottom that connect the lid to the body of the mailbox.  Then hit Enter.

firstedge-2013-02-8-21-52.jpg

Before and after.

before-2013-02-8-21-52-1.jpg

Above is the before hitting Enter…  Below is after hitting Enter.

after-2013-02-8-21-52-1.jpg