In this short tutorial, we will look at some simple methods to align vertices or project them onto an external edge, both orthogonally and non-orthogonally, in Blender 5.
Video Transcript
Hello everyone! In this short tutorial, we will look at some simple methods to align vertices or project them onto an external edge, both orthogonally and non-orthogonally, in Blender 5. We will cover three cases in total, starting with a simple alignment and ending with an orthogonal projection.
I am framing the scene in Top Orthographic view for simplicity. I prepared the scene by inserting a quadrilateral face, where one edge in particular is tilted, and then inserting an external vertex in Edit Mode. For convenience, I am also assigning names to the vertices I will use, so I can say edge AB instead of having to say the first edge or the second edge, and so on.
Let’s start with the simplest case, which is how to align the external vertex C vertically or horizontally with one of the vertices A or B of the quadrilateral face. First, enable Snap in Vertex mode and make sure the reference system is set to Global.
Now, with vertex C selected in Edit Mode, press G and move it toward the element you want to align it with, for example vertex B, but without clicking to confirm the movement. At this point, press the letter of the axis you want to lock, for example X if you want to align the two elements vertically, that is, along the Y axis, then press Enter to confirm.
This case is the simplest one, and here I showed it on the XY plane with an alignment based on one of the two global axes, but this is just the initial warm-up. Later in the tutorial we will also see how to define Custom orientations with the case of orthogonal projections, and with that technique you will also be able to extend this type of alignment to other orientations, as I will show you.
The second case covered in this tutorial concerns extruding vertex C, creating a new vertex D, and placing the new vertex D specifically where edge AB should be extended. First, I slightly extrude vertex C, creating a new edge CD.
I now change the Snap mode to Edge, because I want to snap the new vertex D to edge AB.
To slide the new vertex D along its original direction CD, while projecting it onto the extension of edge AB, press G twice, then press and hold the ALT key, position the mouse cursor over edge AB, and finally press Enter to confirm.
The third case covered in this tutorial is the orthogonal projection of point C onto edge AB. For this case, I am deleting vertex D, because we will create it again as an extrusion from C directly onto edge AB. However, we need to introduce a new concept, which is the custom reference system.
We can define a custom reference system where one of the axes matches the direction of edge AB. This can be done simply by selecting the two vertices of edge AB and clicking Create Orientation in the Transform Orientation menu. This reference system will automatically provide an axis perpendicular to the edge, which we can use with Snap to edges to position vertex D.
At this point, all we have to do is select vertex C and, with Snap to edges active, press E for extrusion, followed by the letter of the axis perpendicular to the edge, which in my case is X, then place the new vertex on the edge using Snap and finally press Enter to confirm.
Be careful, however, because the new vertex D is placed on edge AB but is not part of it. If you want to create an intersection at that point, you must enable the options Auto Merge Vertices and Split Edges And Faces in the top right of the 3D Viewport.
Creating a Custom reference system is a very powerful feature that allows you to perform projections or alignments in reference systems other than the Global one, and I encourage you to try several tests to explore its possibilities. For example, in the past I used it in another tutorial to show how to quickly align several points along a Custom direction.
That’s all for this video as well! As with my other videos, the text version of this tutorial and other resources are available on my website at the link you can find in the description. If this video was helpful, you can thank me with a Like and by subscribing to the channel. See you soon!