LoopTools - new version: July 18

[Crouch]

Update: July 18th 2012
New 4.2 release for Blender 2.6x BMesh. See this post.

General information
LoopTools is a script providing new modelling tools in Blender. Have a look at the video below for an introduction



This script originally started as just a Curve tool, inspired by this thread. What followed were several versions of LoopTools for Blender 2.4x. You can find the last one of them here.

The current script is written in the form of an add-on and is written for Blender 2.6.
You can download the script as well as read the extensive documentation (check the tool specific information) at the main LoopTools website.

I would like to thank all the people who have made a donation or taken the time to test the previous scripts and give feedback on it. I highly appreciate it.
Even though I've taken a lot of time to test the current release, it could be that there are still bugs in it. So all bug reports (whether it be crashes, or spelling mistakes), as well as suggestions for improvements, or any other comment in general, are very welcome.

[Tea_Monster]

This is really cool! Thank you!

[macouno]

That looks incredibly usefull! Will definitely download and check it out!

[terry_wallwork]

Wow that is going to make hulling and skinning profilings a breeze. Amazing

[Crouch]

I'm glad you're finding it useful.
If you come across any errors or weird behaviour, please tell me and I'll have a look at it.

[manitwo]

works great! thanks crouch

[Syziph]

This script is amaising!
Very simple to use and very powerful at the same time.
I can say it's one of the best modeling scripts made so far!
Keep the same spirit, Crotch!
And, thank you!

Edit:
It gives an error message when attempting to use it on partial edgeloop or edgeloop series too. So my question is - is it possible to make the script ignore hidden vertices so it will work on correct mesh structures?

[Crouch]

What exactly do you mean by a partial edgeloop or edgeloop series? And how does this relate to hidden vertices (do you mean hidden, as with the H-key or something different?). Perhaps you could provide an image?
If you could clarify to me what you want I'd be more than happy to have a look if I can incorporate the functionality.

(Sometimes I have a bit of trouble with English, as it isn't my first language, so I apologise if I'm sounding agressive or anything like that. I'm actually very happy with your comment, it's always nice to have people suggest improvements )

[Charlie]

Your English is much better than you think...your script is excellent too....! Thanks..

[Hellooo]

WOW

[Syziph]

partial edgeloop - that have start and end - for example (>---<) or a border edges.
edgeloop series - paralel edge loops for example.
Never mind, my english is not very good
Here are some images that explain it better:

[Crouch]

Syziph, thanks. These are some very useful images. I'll have a look into it after the weekend.

[Crouch]

Update on the situation

The first image in Syziph's post does indeed pose problems for the script. The error message isn't very clear, but that's because it's actually meant for a different situation. I'm working on a solution for this situation, but it's rather difficult and I'm going to need some more time to figure out a solution. Hopefully I have found something by the weekend.

I can't reproduce the problem in the second image. I've rebuilt the mesh, but when I run the script it works perfectly fine, see the image below:


Could it be possible that your mesh isn't clean (eg, it includes edges that directly connect the highlighted vertices to each other)? In order to find out what causes the problem in your second image, could you perhaps post the .blend file?

[Syziph]

Thanks for looking at those issues, Crouch.
I am posting my version of that mesh. It is 100% clean. Probably the problem is hidden in the way of building it. I start with a 8 sided Circle - extrude it out. Extrude and flatten the sides and create the corners of the "frame". Then I use the loop cut tool with value of 3 to add the extra detail.
The blend

Will it be possible to make the script working only on visible parts of the mesh?

[Crouch]

Thanks, now I can reproduce the error. I'm adding it to my to-do list as well as a possibility to work only on visible parts of the mesh.

[Syziph]

That's great news!
I was trying two slightly different methods of building the sample mesh.
It turned out they have different vertex normal orientation. After flipping the normals though it still doesn't work.

Is the script working with vertex normals?

[Crouch]

The script doesn't look at the normals, but I've found out what went wrong in your second image. It was actually a simple oversight by me (I forgot to check for a certain condition) and I've corrected it in the new script version.

The issue in your first image was a lot harder to solve, but I'll save you the technical talk: it should be working in the new version. Here's an example image:


The new version of the script (version 1.1) will also look at whether vertices are hidden or not. If a vertex is hidden (with the H-key), it won't be affected by the script. Moreover, the script will act as if the mesh doesn't containt the vertex at all, so you can also use it to break edge loops.

Download Curve Loop v1.1

[Syziph]

Wow, this thread is sinking so fast!
Not fair!
I have noticed an unexpected result. Here is the example:
Before applying the script


After


Is it normal?

[ideasman42]

awesome script, was thinking of doing something similar for "Skin Edge Loop" tool. Hopefully with BMesh we will add more tools like this.

[Crouch]

@ideasman42: Thanks for the compliment. So are we going to get BMesh? That's great to hear, I hadn't seen it in the 2.5 features yet.

@Syziph: Thanks for the report again, it's very useful if people do some testing. I do a lot of testing myself as well, but it's difficult to find all bugs.
The good news: I was already working on the next version of the script so I'll try to correct the issue in the new version.

Edit:
I found out what went wrong. The script automatically distributes the vertices evenly across the loop, while the selected vertices maintain their position. Originally I thought this was such a nice feature that you'd always like to have this turned on, but it turns out that it messes things up in examples like Syziph posted. The fix is pretty easy: uncomment line 703 of the script (remove the #), which starts with:

buttoninfo[1] = Draw.Toggle("Reg", 4, 85, 30, 25, 20, buttoninfo[1].val, [...]

Then when you run the script, untoggle the Reg button and things will work fine. In the next version I'll have the button visible by default.