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Manual - Blender 2.4x

[edit] Bevel Modifier

[edit] Description

The Bevel Modifier adds the ability to bevel the edges of mesh that the Bevel Modifier is applied to, allowing control of how and where the bevel is applied to the mesh.

[edit] What is a Bevel?

The definition of a Bevel according to wikipedia.org is:

• A bevelled edge refers to an edge of a structure that is not perpendicular (but instead often at 45 degrees) to the faces of the piece. The words bevel and chamfer overlap in usage; in general usage they are often interchanged, while in technical usage they may sometimes be differentiated....

Unbevleled square

Bevelled square

The picture titled "Unbevelled square" shows a square which has unbevelled edges as the angles between the corners of the square are 90°/perpendicular. The picture titled "Bevelled square" shows a square which has bevelled corners.

Although the 2 pictures above show 2D squares the Blender Bevel Modifier can work on both 2D and 3D meshes of almost any shape, not just Squares and Cubes.

Default Bevel

The picture titled "Default Bevel" shows a Blender 3D cube which a bevel applied using just the default Bevel Modifier settings.

[edit] Setting Bevel Weight

When certain bevel options (such as BevWeight in the Bevel Modifier) are set the mesh will need to have Bevel Weights assigned to it; otherwise the bevel will not be applied.

Bevel Weight can be applied to selected edges of a mesh by:

• Switching to Edit Mode.
• Selecting the edge or edges of the mesh that you wish to apply a Bevel Weight to.
• Pressing Ctrl⇧ ShiftE or going to menu entry Mesh → Edges → Adjust Bevel Weight.
• Then by moving the mouse around or entering a value directly at the keyboard between -1 to +1 you should be able to change the default Bevel Weight. You will be able to see the current value of the Bevel Weight change at the Bottom status area of the 3D Viewport.
• If the Particular mesh already has a Bevel Modifier with the BevWeight button applied to it; as you alter the Bevel Weight you should be able to see that the bevel amount changes as the Bevel Weight is altered.

[edit] Options

The Bevel Modifier Panel is reasonably uncluttered panel and for the most part is intuitive. That said here is a description of some of the Buttons and Numeric Sliders contained within the panel:

Bevel Modifier Panel

• Width

The Width numeric slider entry field controls the width of the bevel applied to the base mesh. The Width can range from 0 (no bevel applied) to .5 (half a Blender Unit).

The picture titled "Bevel Width" shows 3 cube meshes each with a Bevel Modifier applied but having different Width values on each cube of .10, .30 and .50.

3 Cubes with .10, .30 & .50 Bevel Widths

• Vertices Only

The Vertices Only button in the Bevel Modifier panel alters the way in which a bevel is applied to the mesh. When the Vertices Only button is active only the areas near vertices are bevelled the rest of the face/edge is left unbevelled.

Below is a picture of 3 bevelled cubes but this time the Vertices Only button has been activated:

3 Cubes with .10, .30 & .50 Bevel Widths with Vertices Only option Button selected

• Limit Using:

This section of the Bevel Modifier is used to control where and when a Bevel is applied to the underlying mesh.

• Limit Using: None

The None button in the Limit Using section controls if the Bevel Modifier applies a bevel to an entire mesh or not. If the None button is selected then no limits are put on where a bevel is applied and the entire underlying mesh will be bevelled.

• Limit Using: Angle

The Angle button in the Limit Using section when selected displays a numeric slider called Angle. This Angle slider is used to set the angle above which an edge will be bevelled. When the angle between meeting edges is less than the angle in the slider box the bevel on those specific edges will not be applied; however a bevel will be applied on other edges which are greater than the specified Angle.

Bevel Modifier with Angle limit displayed

• Limit Using: BevWeight

The BevWeight button in the Limit Using section when selected makes the Bevel Modifier take into account any Bevel Weights that may or may not be assigned to edges of the underlying mesh. When the BevWeight button is active and the edges of the underlying mesh actually have Bevel Weights assigned, the Bevel Modifier will use the values of the Bevel Weights to influence how much affect the Bevel Modifier will have on an edge (how much bevel that edge will get).

Bevel Modifier with BevWeight button active

When the BevelWeight button is active, 3 extra buttons appear underneath it named Min, Average and Max. These buttons control how the Bevel Weighted influences are calculated and assigned at places where 2 Bevel Weighted Edges meet that have different weights. Obviously when there are 2 Bevel Weighted edges which are directly linked/connected to each other, there needs to be a way to determine which particular Bevel Weight gets assigned at the point of contact between the 2 Bevel Weighted edges (Interpolation vertex point in the diagrams of the 3 cubes).

Here is an example screenshot showing the effect of different BevWeight Interpolation modes (Min, Avg & Max buttons):

Bevel Modifier with BevWeight Limit Using Min, Avg and Max interpolation mode buttons

• Limit Using: Min

When 2 Bevel Weighted edges with different Bevel Weights meet; the Interpolation/ Contact point between the 2 Bevel Weighted edges will use the smaller of the 2 Bevel Weights as the Bevel Weight for the Interpolation/Contact point (See Cube 1).

• Limit Using: Average

When 2 Bevel Weighted edges meet; the Interpolation/Contact point between the 2 Bevel Weighted edges will use the Average weight of the 2 Bevel Weights as the Bevel Weight for the Interpolation/Contact point (See Cube 2).

• Limit Using: Max

When 2 Bevel Weighted edges meet; the Interpolation/Contact point between the 2 Bevel Weighted edges will use the Larger weight of the 2 Bevel Weights as the Bevel Weight for the Interpolation/Contact point (See Cube 3).

[edit] Examples

Tutorials and examples of how to use the modifier here.

[edit] See Also

Links to other related or useful places for further information here.

Manual