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As the titles says, I want two objects to LOOK like they are actually just one. I dont plan to actually combine anything, for flexibility purposes.

Here's an example scene for what I've got going:

enter image description here

Simple enough. But I'd like to make it so the sphere and cone seem to be one with their respective clipping objects.

I've tried such a thing with the Boolean modifier(with subdivision for smoothness) and it does achieve fake connection between objects:

enter image description here

But not to the degree I want. I'd like them to look like they are combined more smoothly, with wider angles and not such a tight wedge together.

I heard rumor of someone using a depth layer compared to other passes in some way to make things look blended together.

enter image description here

I see how that might make sense, as things within the same distance have nearly the same shade.

...shader which samples the depth texture in the transparent render queue, compares this depth with itself and sets its opacity based on the distance. (In order to sample the depth texture, the object has to be rendered in the transparent queue.)

I think this was something being done in Unity. But I can't understand what's being mentioned here. They even mentioned rendering this over only specific vertex groups in order to not end up blending ALL objects together.

Might anyone have any other suggestions? Or understand how to execute what's mentioned?

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  • $\begingroup$ Please post images in your questions using text formatting tools - it saves time for people who are trying to answer your question. It might also be a useful to mention the source you are quoting something from. $\endgroup$
    – Martynas Žiemys
    Oct 2 '19 at 6:43
  • $\begingroup$ Thankyou, can do! $\endgroup$
    – LethalDumpster
    Oct 2 '19 at 7:00
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You can use the Bevel node that you can find under Input category in the nodes Add menu.

enter image description here

This will however require joining the objects, but it will give you a bit more control than booleans. If you need to move the objects, you can use Hooks:

enter image description here

If you run into other issues in your workflow because the objects are combined they might be possible to solve too.

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  • $\begingroup$ Having the Boolean allows me to gain nearly the exact same appearance as joining them. This is a decent step. And possibly what I might have to do for now. I would very much like the smoothing between objects to appear more broad. But changing values doesn't seem to grant me that. $\endgroup$
    – LethalDumpster
    Oct 2 '19 at 7:30
  • $\begingroup$ I had also just realized, if the two objects happen to be separate materials they may not be able to connect. I know, I know. That sounds like a very weird situation. But trust me, i'm already finding it to effect its intended purpose. I'm sorry. $\endgroup$
    – LethalDumpster
    Oct 2 '19 at 7:46
  • $\begingroup$ Have a look at Bevel after Boolean add-on, might be useful for you. $\endgroup$
    – Martynas Žiemys
    Oct 2 '19 at 11:10

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