To Work with Normals

Identify Normal Orientations

Face and Vertex Normals can point toward or away from the camera. They might both point the same way ("consistent"), or they might point opposite ways ("inconsistent"). Use Vertex/Face Normal Rendering Mode to identify the orientations that exist in your scene.
  • Click Visualization > Vertex/Face Normal Rendering.
Orientations are identified by color:

  • Green: Face and Vertex Normals are consistent and point toward the camera.

  • Blue: Face and Vertex Normals are consistent and point away from the camera.

  • Gold: Face and Vertex Normals are inconsistent. The Face Normals point away from the camera, while the Vertex Normals point toward the camera.

  • Magenta: Face and Vertex Normals are inconsistent. The Face Normals point toward the camera, while the Vertex Normals point away from the camera.

Flip Normals

Use the following mouse shortcuts to turn (flip) the normals of a selected object inward or outward.

Mouse Action Result
ALT-left button Flip whole shell
ALT-middle button Flip selected patches only
ALT-right button Flip connected patches

Make Normals Consistent

  1. Select Edit > Selection > Make Normals Consistent.
  2. Use the appropriate mouse shortcut to flip the normals. When you do this, the normals are turned in the same direction.

Related Tasks