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I am trying to extrude faces of a cylinder along local normals. 3dsmax can do it easy, couldn't find how to do it in blender.

The extrude region option extrudes it as shown in the first example. I want it done like the 2nd example.

Extrude

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    $\begingroup$ Are you actually running that version of Windows in 2014? $\endgroup$
    – markasoftware
    Feb 25 '16 at 3:48
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    $\begingroup$ @Markasoftware Maybe it's that Windows theme that can be used in the Customize menu. $\endgroup$
    – Gustavo6046
    May 15 '16 at 20:32
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It looks like you want the Extrude menu (AltE).

For example 1:

There are several ways to activate the Extrude region operator:

  • Press E
  • Press AltE for the Extrude menu and select it
  • Press the button in 3D view > Tool shelf (N) > Tools > Mesh tools > Add > Extrude Region

enter image description here

For example 2:

There are two ways to get this result:

  • Press AltE and select Region (Vertex normals)

  • Select Extrude region (Vertex Normals) from the extrude drop down at the top of the Add section in the Tool Shelf

You can also two operators to get the same result:

  • Press E (Extrude), Esc (confirm extrude, cancel transform) and then Alt+S (Scale along normals).

enter image description here

For example 3:

There are a couple ways to activate the Extrude Individual operator:

  • Press Alt+E > Extrude individual faces.

  • Press the button in 3D view > Tool shelf (N) > Tools > Mesh tools > Add > Extrude Individual

enter image description here

Local orientation

Note that in blender, the Local orientation is based on the rotation of the object. The above methods use the normals of the extruded geometry, however if you want to extrude along the objects' local orientation you must do something slightly different:

  1. Set the transform orientation to Local in 3D view > Header:

    enter image description here

  2. With the geometry you want to extrude selected, press E and then Esc to cancel the transform. If you are in face select mode you will notice you can see the indicators for faces where the new faces have been created:

    enter image description here

  3. Press SShiftZShiftZ and move the mouse:

    Shift locks the axis that is specified, so if the other key pressed is Z, it will scale only on the X and Y axes.

    Pressing ShiftZ twice ensures that the objects' local orientation is being used. Global orientation is always used by default (first keypress), and then the orientation specified in the header is used after the same axis constraints are specified again (second keypress).

Note that you can also use this technique for extruding along the Normals the same as the first methods, just select Normal as the orientation in the header instead of Local.

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  • $\begingroup$ It extrudes only individual faces as shown in example 3. I want them to be extruded as shown in example 2. $\endgroup$
    – SyedImran
    Feb 27 '14 at 7:09
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    $\begingroup$ Cant get the second option to work. Pressing E after I pressed Alt-E /Region doesn't do anything, moreso, pressing Esc cancels the operation, and subsequently, Alt+S just scales my selected faces. $\endgroup$
    – SyedImran
    Feb 27 '14 at 7:23
  • $\begingroup$ @SyedImran Alt+E > Region (Vertex Normals) starts the transform right away (pressing E again therefore does nothing). Esc cancels the transform part of the operation, but the new faces will be there. Alt+S should then scale the new faces, not sure why that part didn't work for you. I have updated my answer with more detail. $\endgroup$
    – gandalf3 ♦
    Feb 27 '14 at 7:31
  • $\begingroup$ Dont know why its not working, and you seem to have Region (Vertex Normals) in your dropdown menu, and I don't :/ I only have Region E and Individual Faces. Are you using a different version of blender? I am at 2.69 $\endgroup$
    – SyedImran
    Feb 27 '14 at 7:36
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    $\begingroup$ @Mauricio Glad it was useful :) Just to make sure you're aware, 2.64 is several years old at this point. The current version is 2.79, though 2.8 has been in development for about a year (with many large changes including a complete UI overhaul) and is nearing release. If you're just looking to learn blender and don't have any special reason to use 2.64, I'd highly recommend learning 2.8. You can find the beta release here. $\endgroup$
    – gandalf3 ♦
    Jun 2 '19 at 20:36
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This is an answer to MrFlamey's question since I don't have 50 reputation to post a comment.

To extrude faces along face normals, as opposed to vertex normals, extrude the polygons with Mesh -> Extrude -> Region, move them with Mesh -> Transform -> Shrink Fatten and hit S key to make offset even.

Blender: how to extrude faces evenly along face normals

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Easy way: Select the ring of faces, goto Mesh > Extrude Individual Face (as shown in other answer) then press ESC then use ALT S to scale the out.

If you don't press ESC you will scale faces, if you press ESC you will only scale along normal i.e. extrude out.

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  • $\begingroup$ What's the point of cancelling the transform? AFAIK Extrude Individual gives you the same transform as Alt+S.. $\endgroup$
    – gandalf3 ♦
    Feb 27 '14 at 8:48
  • $\begingroup$ This is quicker than your drawn out example and I think I explained it already. Does it work does it and answer the OP question? Honestly I am becoming reluctant to post on here. $\endgroup$
    – MarkBTomlinson
    Feb 27 '14 at 10:00
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    $\begingroup$ Sorry, I did sound too harsh.. I was merely wondering what your reasoning was, because I didn't understand completely. For me just pressing Alt+E > Individual and then moving the mouse gives the same result as pressing Alt+E > Individual, confirming the extrusion and then pressing Alt+S (which is how I understand your answer). I think I must be missing something.. $\endgroup$
    – gandalf3 ♦
    Feb 27 '14 at 18:05
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An alternative is to use the 'Solidify' modifier. This will also do the same as extrude region (vertex normals), although you will get more control, and will be able to change the parameters later.

However, I'm still unsure if there was a way to extrude faces along face normals, as opposed to vertex normals, as Solidify uses vertex normals. This means that if you Solidify a box with a thickness of 1.0, the sides of the box will not actually be 1.0 unit thick, however, if you do the same to a sphere, the sides will be almost exactly 1.0 unit. This is because the displacement is calculated from the original vertex position to the new vertex position along the normal of the vertex, not the face. Using extrude individual faces will use the face normal, but the extruded parts will not be continuous. I would LOVE to see a way to extrude objects along face normals that avoids odd deformation and gives a continuous surface with consistent thickness on all kind of object shapes, regardless of how angular the corners are.

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The best answer I've seen yet on this topic is to press space and enter "Extrude And Move On Individual Normals", as seen here:

https://blender.stackexchange.com/a/63865/

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Thanks eobet!!!! Problem solved...I literally have no idea why you're not the number 1 solution

This is the top Google result on this question, but I don't see the best answer I've seen yet on this topic, which is to press space and enter "Extrude And Move On Individual Normals", as seen here:

https://blender.stackexchange.com/a/63865/38603

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