Creating an even divot in a sphere

Support Modeling
1

I currently have a sphere cut in two but with a mirror modifier. I want to create an effect similar to this http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?start=350&biw=1920&bih=1047&tbm=isch&tbnid=ljhinn8sJJOuGM%3A&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.artwallpaperhi.com%2FPaintings%2FD_Wallpaper%2Flight_abstract_spiral_idea_spheres_3d_orbs_3d_wallpaper_3d_sphere_color_2560x1440_wallpaper_9482%2Fdownload_2560x1600&docid=AZqwy9nGvK_VOM&imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.artwallpaperhi.com%2Fdownload%2Fview%3Fresolution%3D2560x1600%26file%3DMjU2MHgxNDQwLzIwMTIxMDE4L2xpZ2h0IGFic3RyYWN0IHNwaXJhbCBpZGVhIHNwaGVyZXMgM2Qgb3JicyAzZCB3YWxscGFwZXIgM2Qgc3BoZXJlIGNvbG9yIDI1NjB4MTQ0MCB3YWxscGFwZXJfd3d3LmFydHdhbGxwYXBlcmhpLmNvbV83MS5qcGc%3D%26name%3DbGlnaHRfYWJzdHJhY3Rfc3BpcmFsX2lkZWFfc3BoZXJlc18zZF9vcmJzXzNkX3dhbGxwYXBlcl8zZF9zcGhlcmVfY29sb3JfMjU2MHgxNDQwX3dhbGxwYXBlcg%3D%3D&w=2560&h=1600&ei=G-wYU_GWHqPB7Ab25IHYCQ&zoom=1&ved=0CKACEIQcMF04rAI&iact=rc&dur=414&page=8&ndsp=50

That being the “divot” right through the center of the sphere. Unfortunately extruding or scaling a line of faces in the middle results in an uneven divot. It sort of bevels in correctly at one point but as it goes away from that point it gets thinner rather than stays consistent. Is there an easy way to do this?

Many thanks.

2

If you’re scaling down the extrusion, but don’t want to scale in the z direction for example, press S to scale and then Shift+Z to lock the z axis.

3

The spheres in that image look like they consist of two spheres each…
One inside, glowing.
One outside, black shiny plastic.

If that is the case, what I would do is this…

  • One sphere with ‘glow’ material.
  • Add another slightly larger sphere placed around it.
  • Remove the segments of the outer sphere that you don’t need.
  • Add a Solidify modifier.
  • Smooth both the spheres.
  • Add a Subsurf modifier to BOTH spheres.
  • Add edges to the outer sphere, so that you have a nice sharp rim where the glow comes out.
  • Tinker with the spheres until your happy.
  • Apply modifiers.

I would also suggest parenting both the spheres to an Empty so that they stay synchronised together.

There may well be an easier way to do it, but that’s the way I’d go

4

Thank you for the replies. Scaling it does appear to do the job. The problem i was having was its uneven all the way around but this way seems to work fairly well for me. Thank you.
davidh7426 - Also thanks for the reply, however it was not the ‘effect’ itself i was looking for; although that shiny glossy effect is really cool, i was merely attempting to replicate the shape for now. I might try messing around with spheres within spheres though to see what kind of effects i can replicate, thanks for the inspiration.