Move Tool

Merge Geometry

If there is some unnecessary geometry, usually erasing the unnecessary bits and redrawing is easy enough. But adjacent edge end nodes can be merged together with the Move Tool.

First make certain no geometry is still selected (if you are so close there's no empty space to click on to deselect geometry, use Edit > Select None, or Ctrl+T to deselect.) Then select the Move Tool. Position the tool over the end of an edge until the node appears. Press and hold the the left mouse button while dragging the node to merge with an adjacent end node.

Tip: If Moving a node does not result in a node merger - rather the edge protrudes out in space...

    • Watch/wait for inference tool tips.

    • Try orbiting to a better camera position in front of the model.

    • Using Autofold, Move+Alt (PC), may help. Especially when a face is not triangulated.

    • Sometimes a seemingly straight, single edge may be divided into several segments. Drag the cursor over the edge to search for green, end node. Alternatively, toggle on edge Endpoints in the Styles Edge, Edit menu.

The Circle, Polygon and Arc entities have some built-in editing nodes called cardinal points. The Circle and Polygon has four cardinal points. The Arc tool has three.

To find the cardinal points, first have nothing selected. Then move the Move tool along the entity edge until the edge perimeter does not appear to be selected. That location is the cardinal point. The cardinal points do not necessarily fall at edge ends. Check out more tutorials for ideas on what all can be done with this feature.

Tapered Leg

Tapering something simple, like this leg, is easy to do with just the Move tool.

Lock the Move tool movement along the axes by pressing one of the arrow keys after movement has begun. The Up/Down Arrow is the blue (z) axis. The Left Arrow is the green (y) axis. And the Right Arrow is the red (x) axis.

Pushing this simple tapering method a bit more helps to create the sculpture shown below.

Moving Tiki

The Move tool played a prominent role in forming the details of this tiki. As this tiki is a symmetrical model, the tiki started as a half-circle face and made into a component. A mirror-image of the component (make a component copy, select it and do a -1 Scale to mirror) was positioned next the first component. To manipulate the individual edges of the arc geometry, select the arc > right-click > Explode. Push/pull the face to extrude the face. Manipulate the profile of the extruded face and Push/Pull again. Repeat...

Some modeling techniques with the Move tool are shown below (start at the bottom to better follow how the tiki was modeled by progressively Push/Pulling a face and manipulating the resulting edges and faces with the Move tool):

Autofold cursor

Face profile edges may not move as expected unless side faces were triangulated.

Try Autofold, Move + Alt (Move + Command on a Mac) to force the movement.

Scale a face (or edge(s)) to triangulate the sides.

The Move tool can fine-tuned the face profile before each Push/Pull operation.

Movement was axis-locked along the blue axis to move the edges between the teeth.

Selected bits of the upper teeth are moved into a new position. As shown here, it is not necessary to select all geometry as adjacent edges and face will move along with the selected bits.Note: To move the teeth along the same plane, perpendicular to the back of the mouth, the Move tool was placed on one of the plane's edges and slid along the edge.

Lock the Move tool movement along the axes by pressing one of the arrow keys after movement has begun. The Up Arrow is the blue axis (Z). The Left Arrow is the green axis (Y). And the Right Arrow is the red axis (X).

Relevant Plugins

Note: To download plugins from SketchUcation, join the forum and logon.

    • AutoSmooth ThomThom - Automatically softens and smooths autofolded edges created by the native tools.

    • HoverSelect Fredo - Alternative selection tool (join SketchUcation forum and logon to download.)

    • Nudge Nudges, moves, selected geometry with the keyboard arrow keys.

    • Point Merger Tools BTM - Tools to merge multiple edges.

    • RpTools Render Plus Systems - Suite of tools including a move wizard which nudges geometry. Windows

    • TriangulateFaces TIG - Triangulates surface faces.