Fred is Bevelling

Baby Fred gets Bevelling in Blender!

Just when I thought the object was complete, “mentor guru guy” reminds me that it is, in fact, incomplete. “Really?” I ask. “What else is there to do?” As usual, “mentor, guru guy” makes me think. “Look at your object carefully. “Tell me what the difference between the physical object and your Blender object is”, he says in his teaching voice.

Baby Fred scratches her head and pulls up her diaper. She needs to look at this carefully, so she puts her large inspection goggles on. She looks at the physical object and then at the Blender object she created. Back and forth for a few minutes. Her little baby brain is working hard. She must impress “mentor, guru guy”.

“Mmmmm. Yes. Aaaah.” She mumbles to herself. “If my brain were a fishbowl, I could stick my hand in and fish out the answer”. Then, like a miracle, the lights go on, and she figures it out. Her face lights up, and she exclaims with joy, “My object has all sharp edges. The physical object has round edges. Is that a Bevel? She asks “mentor guru guy”.

“Aaaah, yes”, he says, rubbing his chubby chin. “That is indeed a bevel. Now go and apply it to your Blender object.”

Baby asks is this a bevel

Where do I start? I wonder if I can remember my theory. I have learned all the shortcuts, and I know a little more vocabulary, so I should understand how bevelling works. Now I need to apply it practically.”

In object mode, I select the object. Then I go to edit mode, select the edge, and click on the edge to bevel. I can either go to the menu and click on the Bevel Tool or use the shortcut, Ctrl B, which “mentor, guru guy” insists I use. Left-click, hold and drag Left-Click and Drag to create the Bevel. One single face is made.

If I scroll the mouse wheel, more segments are added. That makes the edge smooth and round.

The operator panel pops up if I release my mouse, and I can modify the bevel. I can change the number of segments or change the profile (the bevel goes inwards or outwards). I can even change the width of the bevel. The width is the distance from the new edge to the original edge or the size of the bevel in Baby Fred terms.

the bevelling process
The process of Bevelling

This is fun. Wheeeee!!! Scroll in, Scroll out. More segments, fewer segments. Wait!! Baby Fred gets a great idea. Let me try to make this wider. Oops!! The bevel goes wonky and looks ridiculous. I accidentally press enter. I try desperately to get it back, but I have applied too many commands. My bevel is stuck there. I must start over, right from the beginning.

This is called destructive modelling. It means I cannot go back later and change it unless I use Ctrl Z and go back to where I was before I started bevelling. That would mean losing all the work I have done in between. I had better learn quickly about non-destructive modelling.

Oooh!! This could cause Baby Fred to throw her toys out of the baby crib again, which would not make for a pretty baby girl.

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