Determines whether your object's surface looks angular or smooth:
- Shade Flat: Every face is distinct and angular (Ideal for low-poly styles).
- Shade Smooth: Connects faces and gives a smooth appearance (Essential for oval pipes).
- How to do it? Right-click the object in Object Mode and select one of the top options.
When you use Shade Smooth, sometimes everything (including corners) can look too mushy or strange. We use this setting to keep rounded areas smooth and flat areas sharp:
- Green Triangle Menu: Click the Green Triangle icon in the properties column on the right (**Object Data Properties**).
- Normals Tab: Click to expand where it says Normals in the list.
- Auto Smooth Box: Check the Auto Smooth option here.
- Degree Setting (30°): You can determine which corners stay sharp by changing the degree. Leaving it at 30 degrees usually gives the best result.
If one side of your model is invisible in other software or game engines, it's because of "flipped surfaces" (Flipped Normals):
- Check: Click the arrow next to the two circles (Overlays) at the top right and check the Face Orientation box.
- Blue: Outer surface (Correct).
- Red: Inner surface (Incorrect appearance!).
- Fix: Select all surfaces (
A), then pressAlt + Nand select Recalculate Outside. Everything should be blue!
Game engines usually show only one side of surfaces. To see this in Blender beforehand:
- Click the arrow next to Viewport Shading (spheres at the top right).
- Check the Backface Culling option.
- Now back surfaces will appear transparent in Blender too, allowing you to see the final result in game engines.