Basic Follow Me
This exercise will show you the several ways you can use Follow Me.
1. Start with a form like this - a box with an arc form
- Follow Me, in a few different ways.
3. The first way to use this tool is the "real-time" way. First, activate Follow Me (Tools / Follow Me).
4. Then select (click and release) the cutout face as the face to drive along the path.
5. Move the cursor to the back endpoint shown. . .
- 6. . . then move it along the back of the box and the opposite edge . . .
. . and back to the point from which you started. It might be a little tough to get this point since the cutout shape starts before this point. If you miss it, try zooming in and approaching more slowly, or try approaching from a different angle.
- 8. Click at this point, and the section is removed.
Tip: You can also hold and drag the section all the way around. Activate Follow Me and click on the section, without releasing the mouse button. Keep the button pressed and move along the path. When you release the mouse, the cutout is made.
Tip: You can also hold and drag the section all the way around. Activate Follow Me and click on the section, without releasing the mouse button. Keep the button pressed and move along the path. When you release the mouse, the cutout is made.
9. Undo (hotkey: Ctrl/Cmd + Z) to restore the top edge of the box. Try the real-time Follow Me again, using the edges shown. Don't leave out Edge 11, which takes you back to the start point.
This may be tough to do - you may end up with incorrect edges selected. If you have trouble, try approaching endpoints slowly, zooming in, or changing the view.
- Here is the result - the cutout is made along the entire path.
Note: You don't always have to select a closed path; just stop wherever you need.
The real-time, dragging method is great in some cases, but as you've seen, it's not always so easy to pick the path. Also, the driven section must be connected to the path and must meet it at the path endpoint.
10. Undo again. The next method shows how to set the path ahead of time. Activate Select and select all edges along the top (five edges total).
- 11. With the edges selected, activate Follow Me. Then select the cutout section.
- This drives the section around in one step.
12. Undo, and pre-select the edges you used before.
13. Activate Follow Me and use the same cutout section - the same results as before. But with an unusual path like this, it's an easier way to make sure you get a clean, closed result.
14. Undo. If you plan to drive a section around a face, you don't have to select each edge in advance. Use Select to select just the top face.
- 15. Then activate Follow Me and select the section - the cutout goes all along the face.
16. Undo and use the face-select method with a side face. . .
with this result.
17. Undo again. If you want to drive around a face, you don't have to pre-select it. With nothing selected, activate Follow Me. Select the section, press Alt/Cmd, and select the top face. Do not click yet.
18. With Alt/Cmd still pressed, move the mouse to the side face and click.
This is the result - the section is removed from both faces (with a little cleanup needed).
21. Now erase or hide one of the side faces. Because the circle section was partially inside the building, you can see the quarter-circle section sticking into the room.
This is the result - the section is removed from both faces (with a little cleanup needed).
The Alt/Cmd-face method is convenient, but only works on sections immediately adjacent to the driven section.
Now we will see how driven sections affect the forms on which they are created. Undo to erase the arc section and draw a small circle at the corner shown.
- 20. Use Follow Me to drive it around the top.
- Undo and create a section like this, all outside the building.
- 23. Drive this section along the top. Now the section has dragged the walls out with it.
One way to use Follow Me so that the driven section does not affect the form on which it sits is to use groups. Undo the last action and select the section face. Make it a group by selecting Edit / Make Group.
25. When using Follow Me on a group, you need to pre-select the path. So, select the top face or select its edges.
- 26. Activate Follow Me. The section to drive is within the group, so right-click the section and select Edit Group.
- Within the group, the section is driven around the top.
- 28. Right-click outside the group and select Close Group. The top looks like it did before . . .
. . . but if you look inside, you'll see that the vertical walls of the room remain unchanged, though you can see the outline of the group.
If you pre-select the path, the path does not have to touch the section. As an example, we'll create a moat around the building (a very useful thing no doubt). Create a rectangular section with an arc cutout.
30. Use the bottom face for the path. If you select this face (as opposed to the edges), be sure to first heal it into one face.
31. Select the moat section. It remains the same distance from the path, all the way around. However, the intersections between the straight and curved portions are not clean.
33. Extend the lines to meet the arc segments, and heal the face.
31. Select the moat section. It remains the same distance from the path, all the way around. However, the intersections between the straight and curved portions are not clean.
- 32. To find out why, undo the last action. Use Offset on the bottom face to create the surrounding edges. Stop at the moat section's far endpoint.
Here's the problem - the intersections here are not clean either.
33. Extend the lines to meet the arc segments, and heal the face.
34. Now use the edges of this face for the moat section. Much better.
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