Bevel Deformer

Bevel Deformer

Even MoText objects can be beveled (albeit only slightly).

The Bevel Deformer’s settings are very similar to those of the Bevel tool. In fact, the functionality is the same (primarily the beveling of points, edges and polygons) but with this function this is done procedurally using a deformer, i.e., a Primitive can be beveled non-destructively. The deformer can use Selection tag and rotation information to decide which points, edges and polygons should be beveled.

Note in relation to this the Connect function (can, for example, be used to bevel the cylinder Primitive) and the function, which can help create closed objects with connected surfaces that the Bevel Deformer requires:

The columns are still cylinder Primitives. Custom edges (far right) can even be created with the help of splines.

Also take a look at the Phong settings for the Bevel object, Generators, etc., for removing visible Phong edges or optimizing Phong shading.

As useful as the Bevel Deformer is in many cases, it should be mentioned that it can and will reach its limits depending on the geometry used/created.

In this very complex setup, mesh errors can occur, depending on the sphere’s position.

Faulty bevels can result if the mesh is not fully optimized. This is particularly true for meshes imported from CAD applications (here it is often helpful to export the mesh as N-Gons, if possible) and Generators/modeling objects in Cinema 4D whose mesh algorithms cause problems (see image). When combined with Subdivision Surfaces, the Bevel Deformer can be used to create interesting functionality (see also Selection).