Crease polygonal edges and vertices

Applying creases to components modifies your polygonal meshes so you can create shapes that transition between hard and smooth, without increasing the resolution of the base mesh.

Creases are measured by a crease value, which indicates the amount that each level of a subdivision is creased. The higher the crease value, the sharper the crease. For example, a crease value of 2 means that the base level and first level edges are fully creased, but finer level edges are not creased at all.

Maya offers two methods to crease edges and vertices on a polygon mesh: the Crease Tool (Mesh Tools > Crease Tool) and the Crease Set Editor (Windows > Modeling Editors > Crease Sets).

The Crease Tool modifies the crease values directly on the mesh. The Crease Set Editor lets you work with all the crease sets in your scene from a single window, making it easy to create, select, and edit crease values and crease sets across multiple meshes.

Important: You must select one method to use throughout your workflow, as the methods cannot be used interchangeably on the same components.

Crease Tool

To crease edges or vertices on a polygon mesh

1. Select Mesh Tools > Crease Tool.

   You can also Shift + right-click in the scene view when you are in edge or vertex selection mode and select Crease Tool from the marking menu.

2. Select the edges or vertices on the mesh you want to crease.
   Note:

   You can select more than one edge or vertex at a time on a mesh to crease. You can also select items on more than one polygon object and crease all of the items simultaneously. However, you may experience crease popping.

3. Middle-drag in the scene view to adjust the creasing value.

   A heads-up display appears in the viewport to indicate the Crease Mode, the current crease value, and the maximum crease value visible for the current subdivision level.

   Edges that have creasing applied appear with heavier lines on the original mesh. Vertices with creasing applied are indicated by a small circle encompassing the vertex.

   
   Note: The maximum crease value is the same as the number of levels of subdivision of the mesh.

Crease Set Editor

To create a crease set using the Crease Set Editor

1. Select the components (polygonal edges or vertices) that you want to include in your crease set.
2. Select Windows > Modeling Editors > Crease Sets.

   The Crease Set Editor appears.

3. Do one of the following:
   • Click New in the Crease Set Editor action buttons.
   • Right-click anywhere in the editor and select Create Set from the context-sensitive menu.
     A new crease set appears in the Crease Set list.

     Tip: To change the default name, select Settings > Default Crease Set Name and enter a new name prior to creating a crease set.
4. (Optional) Adjust the crease hardness. See Adjust crease hardness.

Related topics

• Crease Tool Options
• Crease Set Editor
• Outliner