2
$\begingroup$

When creating a a model of something that will be assembled, in particular furniture blueprints, which is a better approach?

To do many extrusions of the object or the create the pieces separately and join them in parent child relationships?

$\endgroup$
3
  • $\begingroup$ I don't think this will have a definite answer. There is no 'better' way. It all depends what you are modeling or what the model will be used for etc.. Both have their pros and cons. You will tend to find assembly is used more often as it makes the model easier to manage. A blend of both might work equally as well also. $\endgroup$
    – iKlsR
    Commented Aug 10, 2013 at 23:14
  • $\begingroup$ Also note that if you model pieces as separate objects, you can join them together as one object with J $\endgroup$
    – gandalf3
    Commented Aug 10, 2013 at 23:16
  • $\begingroup$ Voted to close, I think we can't really give a good answer to your question... There are reasons you might do either and it depends on the project you work on, you can also join or split out objects as you work. $\endgroup$
    – ideasman42
    Commented Aug 11, 2013 at 8:42

1 Answer 1

4
$\begingroup$

I would create the pieces separately and then join them later. Here are some reasons why:

  • It allows you to preserve separation of concerns. This in itself has many benefits; for example, you could have different team members working on different parts.
  • It allows you to easily animate assembly instructions by simply moving the objects.
  • Logically, it makes more sense: the pieces are physically separate; in the real world, they are separate objects, so they should be in Blender as well.
  • You can join the pieces together at any time by selecting them and pressing CtrlJ or 3D ViewTool Shelf (T) → Join, and you can separate them again with Separate (P) → By Loose Parts while in edit mode.
$\endgroup$

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .