Colimata
VertexFlow is a spin-off product of aircraft development for flight simulation. When drawing the complex shapes of aircraft in 3D it takes very long to bring every vertex into the right ‘flow’. Since this applies to many shapes the question was: ‘Isn’t there a more efficient way to draw these objects in blender in 3D?’ The answer resulted in the development of VertexFlow.
VertexFlow is a handy tool for many aspects of 3D drawing in blender that has to do with curved loops and surfaces. VertexFlow contains a set of tools that significantly improve the workflow. Let’s have a look:
EDIT Bezier
Many curved loops and surfaces can be represented well with a good combination of Bezier curves. With VertxFlow it is possible to combine the advantages of a bezier curve but at the same time stay in blender's Edit mode and work directly with the vertices.
More complex shapes are possible with Edit Spline. While the complex outline of the shape is defined by the spline, you can still control the position of every single vertex on the spline shape if you like.
Re-Build
Autoupdates surfaces as soon as a border vertex is changed. Re-Build uses the gridfill command and is limited to circumstances where gridfill can be applied. Re-Build can be combined with Edit Bezier / Spline enabling it to shape complex surfaces quickly and with good precision.
Project
Is capable of combining aspects of two different vertex loops into a new one. This can be useful in the creation process of a complex shape, for closing gaps or for achieving better transition between to separate surfaces.
Create loop
is a handy little function that makes it easier to select the perfect number of vertices on a loop, for example to exactly match a desired subdivision. If you like, Create loop will automatically switch to EDIT Bezier / Spline immediately after the creation.
The VertexFlow panel
Package content
+ VertexFlow extension (add-on)
+ Quickstart File
+ PDF Manual
+ Video tutorials on YouTube
Quickstart File: A handy quickstart file is included that leads you through the commands step by step. There is also a video on how to master this file. Simply click on ‘YouTube tutorials’ in the Help area of VertexFlow.
Manual: An extensive pdf manual describes all command and sub-functions of VertexFlow
Video tutorials: On YouTube: youtube.com/colimatavideos
More video tutorials are in the making.