Best way to divide a face of a cube into several specific faces

Question

So I want to subdivide the top face of a 8x8x1 cube into this specific pattern:

I tried fumbling around with the subdivision tool, but wasn't able to arrange it correctly. I also have some other more complex patterns, so I wonder if there is an easier way of doing this kind of operation.

score 4 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:57

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Press CtrlR, then use the scroll wheel to bring the number of cuts up to two. Enter out of it, and then press S to to scale, and constrain it to a specific axis. This insures that the loop cuts are evenly spaced, and not one further away from the edge than the other.

You might notice that the middle edges go through the top and bottom sections. While you might now like to see this, it is necessary. You could technically do with out it by using N-Gons, but this is generally a bad idea.

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:57

Community

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answered Jun 05 '16 at 20:53

TARDIS Maker

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I only use perfectly flat rectangular faces in my models. Are there any issues with for example selecting all the faces on the bottom of the cube that are created by your method and pressing F to merge them into a single face? I am making these models for a game and I'd like to use the least amount of edges/faces possible. – Hex7CD Jun 06 '16 at 14:32
@Hex7CD Well, you're model will probably be triangulated before it goes into the game engine, so it won't really make a difference. But also keep in mind that when anything gets rendered, all faces are converted into triangles anyway. So using N-Gons won't really cut down on your face count. I haven't personally experienced this (I don't really have a reason to export models), but I've heard that you can run into trouble when you export models with N-Gons, so you might want to be wary of that. – TARDIS Maker Jun 06 '16 at 20:52

score -1 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 05 '16 at 20:46

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After turning away from the problem and coming back to it later, I suddenly had the answer:

Mark 2 opposite edges and subdivide the face with 2 cuts.
Mark the 2 edges going through the original face and subdivide with 2 cuts again, then arrange the edges as necessary.

My other question still persists, though: Is there a generally easier way of dividing plain faces into specific patterns?

answered Jun 05 '16 at 20:46

Hex7CD

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The first answer is the way to do it. – Anthony Forwood Jun 06 '16 at 01:14

Best way to divide a face of a cube into several specific faces

2 Answers2