Hi folks,
I run into this problem a lot and finally decided to post. I often have two sets of adjacent faces both of which I want to set smooth. However, I do not want the two sets to blend into each other; i.e., I want a hard or sharp edge between them. Here’s an example:
I want the tall base part and the overhanging part to be smooth, but I want that selected edge between them to be sharp. How can I make that happen?
The same way you would with subsurf. You double up that edge by beveling it or adding an edge loop. The gradient between shades will span the entire polygon, make an imperceptible (or barely perceptible) row of polygons, the shading will have a hard edge. 3ds Max has things called smoothing groups to do this without extra geo but I’m not sure if it can be done in blender without a bevel.
i actually found a really nice way to do this!!! without adding any extra geometry, set smooth then add a edgesplit modifier
oh nice i didn’t know about that.
Adding another loop ups your triangle count, so it’s not always the best way of doing things. If you have a subsurf modifier on, go ahead and do that, but if you’re keeping it lowpoly - as with the screenshot - Edgesplit is the way to go.
Just add the Edgesplit modifier and turn off From Edge Angle. Then, select the edges you want sharp, press Ctrl+E and select Mark Sharp. Voila.
Oh wow — thanks everyone! EdgeSplit works great!