blender-hardsurface-modeling

Hard-Surface Modeling

The execution model is in blender-core. Run blender-asset-qa after every modeling pass.

Pick the workflow first

Workflow	When	Output
Mid-poly (bevel + weighted normals, no bake)	modern games, props seen up close, fast iteration	game mesh directly; tiling materials/trim sheets
High → low (high via booleans+bevel or subd, low baked)	hero assets, unique textures, tight tri budgets	_high + _low → blender-texture-baking
Subdivision (support loops/creases + Subsurf)	renders, product viz, film	smooth surfaces, edges held by loops/creases

Procedure

1. Blockout at real scale (ob.dimensions) from primitives. Settle the silhouette and proportions before any detail. Check against references.
2. Apply scale (transform_apply(scale=True)) before bevels, booleans or solidify, because modifier distances use object space.
3. Primary → secondary → tertiary forms. Booleans for cuts and panels, then bevels. Small tertiary details go in normal maps/decals, or into the high-poly as "floaters" for baking.
4. UV the base mesh now (mid-poly). Bevel/Boolean modifiers propagate UVs, but after bevels no edge is sharp enough to auto-seam. Then build the stack with scripts/apply_stack.py -- --objects Body --preset midpoly --cutters Cut1 Cut2. Order: Mirror → Booleans → Bevel → Weighted Normal → (Triangulate at export).
5. Shading check: smooth shading + Weighted Normal (keep sharp). There must be no gradients across flat faces. View with a matcap or look in solid shading.
6. QA with blender-asset-qa, then apply the stack only on an export copy (--apply), keeping the editable source.

Stack rules

• Booleans: put cutters in a Cutters collection with display WIRE and hide_render=True. Solver: EXACT (robust default), MANIFOLD (much faster, but inputs must be closed manifold), FLOAT (legacy fast, fragile with coplanar faces). With many cutters, use operand_type="COLLECTION".
• Avoid coplanar boolean faces: extend cutters slightly past the surface. They also cause z-fighting.
• Bevel: limit_method="ANGLE" (30°), or "WEIGHT" with a bevel_weight_edge attribute for hand-picked edges. Turn on use_clamp_overlap, harden_normals=True, miter_outer="MITER_ARC". Width ≈ 0.5–2% of the part's size, kept consistent across the asset.
• Weighted Normal after Bevel: mode="FACE_AREA", keep_sharp=True, weight 50. Needs smooth faces (remove the sharp_face attribute or call shade_smooth).
• Smooth by Angle (4.1+, replaces auto smooth): bpy.ops.object.shade_auto_smooth(angle=rad) adds a GN modifier, or shade_smooth_by_angle sets sharp_edge destructively.
• Mirror: use_clip=True, use_mirror_merge=True. Model one half only at x ≥ 0.
• Subdivision: hold edges with support loops (a loop 1–5% of the face width from the edge) or crease_edge (0–1). Turn on use_limit_surface. Don't use creases if the asset goes to an engine.
• Triangulate only for export/baking (keep_custom_normals=True, BEAUTY). Triangulating the bake mesh and the export mesh identically keeps normal maps synced.

Topology rules

• N-gons: fine on flat, non-deforming faces in mid-poly/game meshes. Never use them on curved surfaces or anything that subdivides or deforms.
• Poles (5+ edges) should sit on flat areas, never on a curvature peak or bevel.
• Cylinder segments by on-screen size: small (bolts) 6–8, medium (handles) 12–16, large (barrels) 24–32, hero/close-up 48+. Use multiples of 4 or 8 so booleans/mirrors line up with existing loops.
• No long, thin triangles across visible curved areas (shading and LOD artifacts).
• Panel lines: inset + extrude in (mid-poly) or a boolean groove on the high-poly, then bake.
• Spend density where the silhouette needs it, not on flat faces.

Edge/face attributes from Python (4.0+ names)

me = ob.data
bw = me.attributes.get("bevel_weight_edge") or me.attributes.new("bevel_weight_edge", "FLOAT", "EDGE")
cr = me.attributes.get("crease_edge") or me.attributes.new("crease_edge", "FLOAT", "EDGE")
sh = me.attributes.get("sharp_edge") or me.attributes.new("sharp_edge", "BOOLEAN", "EDGE")
bw.data[edge_index].value = 1.0; sh.data[edge_index].value = True
me.edges[edge_index].use_seam = True          # seams are still an edge property

Select sharp edges by angle in bmesh: e.calc_face_angle(0) > math.radians(30).

Gotchas

• A bevel that looks blobby or flips usually means unapplied/non-uniform scale or overlapping geometry (turn on clamp).
• A Boolean that returns nothing or garbage: the cutter isn't closed/manifold (Exact copes, Manifold fails), or its normals are inverted.
• Weighted Normal has no effect: faces are flat-shaded, or an earlier modifier destroyed the custom normals.
• 5.2: the GN Mesh Bevel node exists for procedural bevels inside node trees (blender-geometry-nodes).
• Trim-sheet/mid-poly assets: UVs go to the trim strips (blender-retopology-uv) and materials tile (blender-pbr-materials).