Step 5: Extruding
Using a virtual "Cookie Cutter"
1. Create a "Cookie Cutter"
View your saucer from the side, and turn on SNAP TO GRID (top toolbar)
Use the straight "Spline" Tool (side toolbar) and draw a CLOSED object roughly the size & shape for a Saucer fin profile.
2. Select the spline and use BUILD - EXTRUDE
The command will bring up the following "dialogue"
X-AXIS is the direction you'd like to "push" your cookie cutter in (ie - towards the screen
LENGTH is the thickness of your "cookie" - you only want a "wafer thin" fin, so change it to 2
SEGS is how many "layers" your cookie will be sliced into. Set it to 1 to keep the polycount low. You don't need a "multilayered" cookie.. or fin
CAP the Start and End to create a top and bottom to your cookie - otherwise it'll just be walls
SOMETIMES your spline shape is too complex to create a start and end "cap" - in these cases you can SOMETIMES get the desired result by selecting "Don't Tesselate Caps"
3. Use QUAD VIEW to position your new fin.
Hit the period button "." on your numeric keypad to split the screen into four panels. This gives you a view from each major angle. You can toggle back by tapping the period key a second time.
Pay close attention to the FRONT view - you want the fin to be be split EXACTLY along the y-Axis!
