The Capsule primitive provides a simple method for creating capsules or rounded edge tubes. There are many parameters available to create variations on the default 1-meter capsule. By dragging in the 3D Viewport with the tool active you can create the initial plane for the primitive. Once the initial plane is created, clicking away from one of the handles snaps that handle to the mouse position so that you can add dimension to the shape, or simply change the current values. If you wish to drag out a 3D capsule, hold the Ctrl key while dragging in the 3D view.
There are also alternate commands assigned to all of the primitive tool icons. The alternate commands allow you to Ctrl+click on the icon to quickly create a unit primitive without interacting with the tool, or allow you to Shift+click the icon to create a unit primitive inside a new Mesh Item.
The following Capsule options are available for editing the primitive created:
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Capsule |
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Position X, Y, Z |
These three values establish the 3D location for the center of the primitive. |
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Radius X, Y, Z |
These three values are used to establish the overall dimensions of the capsule. Set to 25cm, 75cm, 25cm (by default); being radius value, they produce a capsule that is .5 meters wide and 1.5 m long. |
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Sides |
The sides are the latitudinal edges of the capsule running from top to bottom. By default, the primitive capsule uses 24 sides. By increasing this value you can increase the number of "cuts" in the shape. This is useful if you plan to deform the capsule, as these segments act as hinges during deformation operations. This also increases the smoothness of the capsule by adding extra facets. |
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Segments |
The segments are the longitudinal edges of the capsule running from right to left. By default, the primitive uses 8 segments. By increasing this value you can increase the number of "cuts" in the capsule. This is useful if you plan to deform the shape, as these segments act as hinges during deformation operations. It also increases the smoothness of the shape by adding extra facets. |
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End Segments |
This value is used for creating the rounded end-caps on the capsule. This value sets the number of longitudinal edges on the end-cap. Increasing this number produces a more round cap. The default value is 5. |
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End Size |
Determines the height of the cap. The default value is 50cm. |
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Polygon Type |
You can use this option to determine the type of polygons created: • Face - creates standard, unsmoothed polygon faces. • Subdivs - creates Subdivision Surface smoothed polygons. • Catmull-Clark - creates Pixar Catmull-Clark smoothed polygons. |
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Axis |
This X, Y, Z choice allows you to quickly change the orientation of the primitive. |
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Make UV |
When this button is active, a UV map is automatically generated for the geometry created with the tool. This is a very useful option if you plan to UV map the model you are creating from the primitive, as it provides a baseline UV map that you can massage later in the modeling process. In many cases, this can reduce the amount of work required to map the model. |
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Min X, Y, Z/Max X, Y, Z |
You can also define the shape based on specific X, Y, and Z bounding box locations in 3D space, which can be specified here. This makes it easy to place a capsule on the ground plane, for instance, by making the Min Y value 0 and the Max Y value 1m. |
TIP: The Capsule primitive supports symmetrical creation. When Symmetry is activated, creating the primitive shape creates an identical version across the specified axis.