User:Ritjesman/sandbox/Sandbox2 Abridged - Will this create a new page?

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Stabilizer Brackets and Braces

Creating the Brackets

Fig. 23: Reusing the Lens Casing

The Front Bracket

The brackets need to reflect the size and shape of the object they will be attached to. We could start with a new cylinder and the manipulate it to achieve the desired size and shape. An easier, faster and more accurate approach is to start with the facet of the lens casing the bracket will be attached to.

• Select the lens casing, switch to Right Ortho view  Num3  and enter Edit  Tab  mode ensuring “Limit Selection to Visible” is toggled off
• Select the 8 horizontal faces directly in front of the handle stem; the easiest way is using Border Select  B 
• Duplicate  Shift + D  and move to clear area (Fig. 23)
• Separate selection as above  P  and exit Edit mode  Tab .

Fig. 24: Completing Creasing

Resetting the Origin

The lens casing is now the active object with the new object selected but not active (Fig. 23.b-A). Deselect all  A  then select the newly created object  LMB  taking note of where its origin is as indicated by the small yellow square at the center of the Manipulator circle (Fig. 23.b-B). That is because the object “extracted” from the lens casing object carries with it the characteristics of the source at the point of Separation.

To change the Origin characteristic click  LMB  on Set Origin→Origin to Center of Mass on the Tool Shelf. Now the Origin more accurately reflects the object it is attached to (Fig. 23.b-C).

This is also a good time to rename the object (using the Outliner Window) to something unique and easily identifiable like Big Game Camera Front Bracket.

Select the object just created and enter Edit mode Tab ; rotate the view vertically towards you  num8  until you can easily see the top and select the one vertical edge which has not been creased; crease it ( SHIFT + E ) at a factor of 1 (Fig. 24).

Fig. 25: Bracket Creation

The following steps will transform the eight unremarkable faces into a rugged bracket Fig. 25):

1. Orbit until you can easily see both the interior and exterior. Deselect all  A  and switch to Vertex Select mode ; select all  A  and Scale 20% on the Y axis  S  Y  Num.  Num2  Enter .
2. Scale 120% on the X and Z axis  S  SHIFT + Y  Num1   Num.  Num2   Enter .
3. Extrude and escape  E  Esc ; Scale 70% on the X and Z axis  S  Shift + Y  Num.  Num7  Enter .
4. Exit Edit mode  Tab  to view results. Whoops, not quite what was expected but no worries. Re-enter Edit mode  Tab  and switch to face select mode .
5. Select all  A  and click  LMB  on Mesh→Normals→Recalculate Normals (or simply press  Ctrl + N ). You will immediately see a change in face orientation.

Upon exiting Edit mode  Tab  the problem is solved; now results equal expectations.

The Rear Bracket

Rear bracket creation is identical to front bracket creation with the following changes:

• Select the 8 horizontal horizontal faces directly to the rear of the handle stem
• Scale 30% on the Y axis
• Scale 130% on the X and Z axis

Positioning the Brackets

Front Bracket

We’ll start by positioning the 3D Cursor at the center of where we want to place the bracket. Obviously, the bracket needs to be positioned relative to the lens casing. Therefore, start by selecting the lens casing object and entering Edit mode  Tab .

Fig. 26: Positioning 3D Cursor

Ensure you are still in Face Select mode with “Limit Selection to Visible” is toggled off

Select the 8 horizontal faces directly in front of the handle stem exactly as was done to create the front bracket

Click  LMB  on Mesh→Snap→Cursor to Selected; the 3D Cursor is now centered on all three axes within the selected faces (Fig. 26). It’s a bit difficult to see but the Cursor’s red and white circle is superimposed over the manipulator’s central white circle.

That takes care of the X and Z axes positioning but it’s not really where I want with respect to the Y axis. To move the Cursor along the Y axis whilst retaining the X and Z positions:

1. exit Edit mode  Tab  and
2. access the 3D Cursor Panel of the Properties Shelf and type the appropriate Y position (Fig. 27). Note that the value you use is dependent on where your lens casing object is located exactly within the 3D space; the values in the figure are for illustrative purposes only.

To position the front bracket based on the 3D Cursor you can:

Fig. 28: Positioning Bracket

Click LMB  on Object→Transform→Align Objects; using the Align Object section that appears at the bottom of the Tool Shelf change Active to 3D Cursor then click  SHIFT + LMB  on X, Y and Z under Align. The tool is interactive so you will see the Bracket change position as you click (Fig. 28).

OR

Click  LMB  on Object→Snap→Selection to Cursor.

The Front Bracket is now exactly where we need it to be.

Rear Bracket

Repeat the same process as used for the Front Bracket.

Retaining Positioning

Once the brackets are where we want them we need to keep them in place. In fact, we want the brackets to retain their current relationship with the lens casing. We will use Parenting to keep the brackets–lens casing relationship stable. Select the two brackets and lastly the lens casing using  SHIFT + LMB .

The order of selection is irrelevant with the exception of the last one selected; last selected is active and will be the Parent (master). Click  LMB  on Object→Parent→Object→Object (Keep Transform). Now whatever we do with the lens casing the brackets will “tag along”.