Bevel Tool – Blender 2.80 Fundamentals

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This tutorial is part of the Blender Fundamentals series, produced by Dillon Gu.

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Bevel Tool in Blender #

The Bevel tool in Blender is used to create smooth or rounded transitions between edges, which can significantly improve the appearance and realism of your 3D models. This guide will cover how to use the Bevel tool and its various options for achieving different bevel effects.

Using the Bevel Tool #

To use the Bevel tool in Blender, follow these steps:

1. Select a mesh object.
2. Press ‘Tab’ on your keyboard or choose ‘Edit Mode’ from the interaction mode dropdown menu in the 3D viewport’s top-left corner.
3. Press ‘1’, ‘2’, or ‘3’ on your keyboard to switch between vertex, edge, and face selection modes, respectively.
4. Select the components (vertices, edges, or faces) you want to bevel.
5. Press ‘Ctrl’ + ‘B’ on your keyboard to activate the Bevel tool.
6. Move the mouse cursor to adjust the bevel width.
7. Scroll the mouse wheel or use the ‘Plus’ and ‘Minus’ keys to increase or decrease the number of bevel segments.
8. Left-click to confirm the bevel operation, or press ‘Esc’ to cancel.

Bevel Tool Options #

Once you have activated the Bevel tool, you can access its options in the Adjust Last Operation panel at the bottom left of the 3D viewport or by pressing ‘F9’:

• Width: Controls the size of the bevel.
• Segments: Determines the number of segments in the bevel, which affects the smoothness of the transition.
• Profile: Adjusts the shape of the bevel profile, with 0.5 being a standard linear bevel and values closer to 0 or 1 producing a more convex or concave profile.
• Material: Specifies the material index for the beveled faces.
• Loop Slide: Slides beveled vertices along their adjacent edges to maintain the shape of the original geometry.
• Clamp Overlap: Prevents beveling from creating overlapping geometry.
• Harden Normals: Maintains the original appearance of the shading normals across the beveled edges.

Bevel Tool Tips #

1. Bevel Vertices: You can bevel individual vertices by selecting them in Vertex selection mode and using the Bevel tool. Press ‘Ctrl’ + ‘Shift’ + ‘B’ to activate the Vertex Bevel tool.
2. Bevel with Custom Profile: To create a custom bevel profile, open the Bevel tool options, and click the ‘Custom Profile’ checkbox. Use the curve widget to draw the desired profile, which will be applied to the beveled edges.
3. Weighted Bevels: You can control the bevel weight of individual edges by adjusting their Bevel Weight property in the ‘Item’ tab of the ‘N’ panel. Activate ‘Weight’ under the Bevel tool options to use the weights in the bevel operation.

Understanding the Bevel tool and its various options will help you create more realistic and visually appealing 3D models in Blender, while also enhancing your modeling workflow efficiency.