This is once again just another quick post on Nicholas Bishop's Skin Modifier added into Blender 2.64 recently. The post is basic for beginner. If you are PRO Blender user, you can quickly skip through and got the idea. I touch this idea so many times in previous post.
But for beginner Blender users, this should be your first fun experience. Guaranteed.
So, the Skin Modifier is so awesome that there are unlimited usages you may want to use this feature. Let see an example of what you may want to do with Skin Modifier.
GREASE PENCIL x SKIN MODIFIER
Remember my old post when I first discover Grease Pencil inside Blender? Such a "simple" feature, yet so powerful and it usage is beyond what people think.
Anyway, let's just do something really easy.
1. Set Camera to Ortographic Front
Go to Blender camera Ortographic View, maybe tap 1 on your keyboard NumPad or View-Front on 3D View. If you don't know already, this is basically Blender Front Side (negative Y axis), where Suzanne would be facing if you are creating a Monkey Primitive.
Tap 5 to switch from Perspective to Ortographic View. Now the 3D view should be front facing.
2. Draw anything using Grease Pencil
This should be a fun exercise for beginner Blender user. This is still fun to do for long time Blender user.
In this Front view, hold D on the keyboard and start drawing some strokes using LMB (Left Mouse Button) drag. Draw anything. You can draw multiple strokes. If you make mistake just undo (CTRL+Z). If you want to erase, just simple RMB (Right Mouse Button) drag.
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| I draw those random Spirals just for fun. |
3. Convert Grease Pencil to Curve.
Click here and select any Curve option you like to convert Grease Pencil into. Path or Bezier does not really matter for this.
4. Convert Curve into Mesh (edge)
Select the newly converted Curve object from Grease Pencil strokes, then Alt+C is the shortcut to turn this Curve into a Mesh (Edge).
You probably will not see much different on 3D view, except that your strokes have turned into Mesh now and you can apply Skin Modifier.
5. Apply Skin Modifier!
I apply Skin Modifier into this Mesh edges and this is what I get:
For a single stroke Edge, you should be getting something already. For multiple Edges like above, you need to connect them together. Go to Edit Mode of this Mesh and connect any vertice into other vertice by selecting 2 vertices and press F.
The limitation is that you cannot really have too many branching connections (few loops are actually ok, it will branch). One connection only, per stroke. Maybe in the future, you can connect any edges to anything and it will "remesh" itself.
The result is something like below:
If I smooth the mesh:
TIPS: If the mesh is too dense, this is because we did not refine the Curve to make it more efficient. You can use Blender add on "Simplify Curve" to simplify the Curve stroke, before converting it into Mesh.
PRINT IT OUT
You can create pretty cool 3D sculptor just using this idea. Some kind of intricate bowl for example? Nice iPhone case? Where is the nearest 3D printer shop, give this a try, why not?
So that is all, you see how easy and fun to create 3D mesh like above? Thanks to Nicholas Bishop's Skin Modifier!
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