Creating a Net Surface

You can create a subdivision surface, based on an existing set of curves.

Before you begin: Create a shape containing several curves. They can be any kind of curves.
See Also
About the Slider
  1. From the Shape Sculpt section of the action bar, click Net Surface .
    Tip: You can also access this command by pressing ALT+SHIFT+N.
  2. From the Tools Palette, click one of the following:
    OptionDescription
    Guides Selection Selects the guides (it is selected by default).
    Profiles Selection Selects the profiles.
    Net Feature Creates the surface with links to the input curves. Click the icon to switch to Subdivision Feature and create the surface without any link to the input curves.
    Apply (Enter) Validates the command.
  3. Select the guide curves.
    They appear in red in the work area. The net surface is dynamically previewed:

    New icons appear in the Tools Palette.

    OptionDescription
    Swap CurvesSwaps guide curves with profile curves and vice-versa.
    Best SolutionGives the best solution in both guide and profile directions. This capability is only available when Subdivision Feature is activated.
    Face Number for GuideDefines the number of faces for each guide using a slider. The minimum number of faces in the guide direction corresponds to the number of profile curves - 1.
    Face Number for ProfileDefines the number of faces for each profile using a slider. The minimum number of faces in the profile direction corresponds to the number of guide curves - 1.
  4. Click Profiles Selection and the select the profile curves.
    They appear in blue in the work area. The net surface is dynamically modified:

    Note: The value shown in the work area corresponds to the maximum deviation between the generated surface and the selected profile and guide curves. It is displayed at the point where this deviation has been computed.
  5. Click Apply (Enter) .
    In the tree, the created surface appears as Subdivision Net.x if Net Feature is activated or Subdivision Surface.x if Subdivision Feature is activated.

    Warning:
    • Profile and guide curves must not intersect each other.
    • The created shape may not exactly follow the guide and profile curves.
    • If you have selected the border of a surface as the curve input, the resulting subdivision surface will not be continuous in point with the neighboring surfaces.