Symmetry and some misc. notes

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pior
Posts: 83
Joined: Wed May 01, 2013 4:21 pm

Symmetry and some misc. notes

Post by pior »

Hello Simon -

I recently re-installed the Curvy demo after a long period of not using the program and was glad to see that it is still very nicely put together and well thought out features-wise.

I personally exclusively use it for the Lathe tool,which I find fantastic for quick shape generation (I then export out these shapes as OBJ for further detailing in other programs). That said there is one crucial feature currently missing : the ability to preview global symmetry. Clicking the "Symmetry" option in the panel on the right side of the UI does seem to enable symmetry across one of the component curves, but this behavior is different from what I would personally expect from a straightforward "global symmetry" toggle.

Here is a practical example. Here I am blocking in a "half head" using the Lathe tool, freely adjusting the curve components as needed. However in order to preview what the full head looks like, I have to export out an OBJ and symmetrize it in another application, which of course is less than ideal :

Image

Image

I hope this makes sense !

On a side note it would be nice if ctrl-s could be enabled for file>save. This sounds like a minor request but this is actually quite important for error prevention.
I'll add more misc. notes to this thread in the near future.

Thanks !
Simon
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Location: Kingston Upon Thames, U.K.
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Re: Symmetry and some misc. notes

Post by Simon »

Hi, you are right about symmetry, the checkbox means something quite different for lathes (Using 1st and 2nd curves as a mirror plane for the 3rd). Converting to mesh and using mesh symmetry will work, but is not dynamic. At best you could do "Mesh/Mirror" take a look, then "Ctrl-Z" to undo back to the lathe again.

There is a beta feature, currently disabled, that would let you make a mirrored clone of the shape that would update dynamically with edits to the main object but that didn't quite make the cut for 3.0, it might get into a new version.

Again, you are right about Ctrl-S, I am so used to using this in other apps that I am quite surprised it is not enabled in Curvy. I definately should add this.
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