Trouble with silo 2.0

Bummer6

I'm just getting started with 3D actually, so some of you might find these questions really stupid and the answers really obvious. Anyway, I'm going to model a base mesh, nothing fancy, just a very low poly man.

First question! How do I turn symmetry on? If at all possible.
Second question! What is the easiest way to model a human body in silo? Any tutorial vids would be helpful.
Third and final question! How do I devide one face into two or four?

Thanks in advance.

kary

1) Select an edge in the middle and press N

2) Look on Nevercenter's site, and look at Southern's minotaur series, it is perfectly portable to humans.

3) Cut it (x).

Take a look at the wiki, it's got a lot of good info in it.

James Edwards

I would recommend using instance mirror instead (select object, hit shift+i). Symmetry can easily become corrupted when you make changes to your mesh, like bevels, extrudes, cuts etc - anything that changes the order/number of points in the mesh can cause it to degrade. This actually happens in other programs as well that use true symmetry (no instancing).

Instance mirror never gets corrupted because it's not actually mirroring the mesh (you can't edit one side because it's just a ghost of the original).

What I usually do is add a cube, (or any object really). Split it down the middle, delete the left side, then hit shift+i to toggle the instance mirror, and start modeling. When you are done and want to mirror the object for real just hit shift+m again to turn off the instance mirror and do a regular mirror operation on the mesh.

Ged

Im just learning silo too. Agree with gwot about instance mirror and cube workflow

I just use a cube with 2 width segments and cut one segment off then hit shift-i

kary

True instance mirroring is more stable, and wiser when building from the ground up. I do use both regularly, but went with the 9 word answer .

If you're just editing an existing asset, or something that is nearly but not completely symmetrical, it's nice to have the "N" based one available.

Snowfly

So with the instance mirror workflow, at what point do you merge both instances into a single mesh, and how do you align the seam? I'm a longtime Silo user, just want to hear how others work.

Also, has anyone encountered verts lying along the seam that only snap to the mirror axis after massaging them a little, or nudging the manipulator a little?

hobodactyl

I pretty much only use instance mirroring, and when I've got the overall form is when I commit the mirror. Usually for smaller tweaks I don't have a problem just grabbing opposing verts and making the changes using the scale and manipulate tools if I need to make changes after I've mirrored.

If you're not sure about the seam being totally correct, just use Flatten on the World axis.

I've had that where the verts don't snap properly at first, but hasn't been too much of an issue

Gwot's workflow is pretty much what I do

kary

Yep I select the seam, flatten and that just about does it. Bit of a pain on a complex shape, but the select path is reasonably robust.

If I bother to set up an instance mirror I will stick with it for quite a long time, might as well keep it till tweaking more or less. Usually the 'true symmetry' holds up well at that point, it has a lot more trouble when you're fleshing out an idea than when you're refining one.

Definitely seen verts that have trouble snapping definitely a pain... to the point it is sometimes easier to do all the rough work in Silo with the instance modifier then use a symmetry modifier in max, then refine in Silo

James Edwards

If the seam isn't on center, flatten then enter zero in the x axis of the numeric edit panel (if it isn't already). If the object isn't on center, use manipulator edit mode ('m') and the numeric panel to center and reorient the object first, then make sure the seam is also centered. I'll do this usually if I was editing an object somewhere in world space and then want to edit it as a symmetrical piece - like for a piece of gear on an arm or something, which doesn't always have a center seam and just needs to be centered as an object before instancing.

ScoobyDoofus

I never knew that was the difference between instance mirroring & symmetry. I always assumed instance mirror would be just as buggy...hrm.
I learn something every day!