[Bf-modeling] Custom Normal GSOC feedback

[Alberto Velázquez]

Hi

I want to thank Rohan by the work in the gsoc about custom normals tools,
he heard all the feedback from users in Blender Artist and made a great
Job. I would also send a last feedback for devs about the tools of gsoc,
that feedback have been writed with the tips of other artist and all that
are a personal opinion thinking in a in-depth feedback. Like I tell in the
email the work from Rohan Rathni is great and we are really happy with the
tools.

I don’t respond to the original mail form rohan because I sign up in the
mail list later. Sorry for my english.

*UI*
Actually the UI have some problems.
    - The old tool “Set from faces” from Shading panel should be inside
Normal Tools.
    - Normal Tools panel would be named to “Custom Normal Tools” to not
confuse with shading panel.
    - The Average references would be “weight” and “Weight by” to make
clear the tool, average sound more like “shade smooth”. The modifier is
more logic in this topic.
    - The Average tools are hard to understand, custom normals? are not all
custom normals?
    - People ask why weight go from 1 to 20 value, instead of 1-100 or 0-1,
that sound with more logic from a UX vision.

*The Binary Weights*
Binary weights has limitations and problems that in a first moment was hard
to see. I didn’t see it when I talked with Rohan, mainly that people have a
lot of problems to understand this mode and workflow.

The first problem is the solution of binary weights, it don’t make smooth
faces “weak”, only erase completely of the solution the selected faces.
Giving them a shade smooth solution, instead of give to that faces a
weighted solution but with no effect over the rest of faces. This will give
problems with some situations because you needs adjacent faces with “weak”
solution but with weighted solution, not only smooth.

The binary solution workflow is good in the modifier, but in the edit mode
is hard to use. You must clean the custom normal data, select smooth faces
and then use average tool and activate binary weights. It’s really hard to
use in this mode.

The good solution is a three weights solutions like YAVNE (yes, I know, we
talk a lot of this addon, sorry). These groups are all weighted, only that
the Strong group is not affected by weight of medium group and this is not
affected by the weak group. The problem with this is the implementation,
specially in the modifier, of the way to make faces strong, normal or weak.
Rohan talked about vertex groups way to implement but imo it won’t work and
it is not the best way to implement this function. To see the problem for
example, if you have three loops of faces and the center loop is strong and
the lateral loops weak with vertex groups the three loops are weak, or
viceversa if the exterior loops are strong and center loop weak. And the
user won’t know how to make faces. From an artist pov face data is the
solution.

*Edit mode tools and missing tools*
- The split normal still working in a bad way, It must use the edges to
split, not split all vertex. From a user point of view it don’t have sense.
If he want split all edges he will select all of them. Also actually cut by
vertex or edge depending of situation (bug).

- Rotate each normal of a vertex separately: Actually the tool to rotate
normals is really good, with snap, axis,… but we don’t have a way to rotate
only one of the normals. A way to implement this would be with the mouse
wheel to change the normal that you edit or the + or - keys. I think that
it’s a important feature actually.

- Would be perfect put in directly the normal direction that you want in a
text-box of XYZ. Actually we have this controls with the “copy/paste” tool.
If you paste a normal and then you changes the values in the Tool Panel you
have this feature. Could be better add this directly to the Normal Tools
Panel directly? Also a Add and multply normal could be good to implement in
the same panel. Some users ask for this feature.

- Merged tool, a tool that merged normals of vertex near. Like a “remove
doubles” but without merge vertex, only making same normals for near
vertex. I have used in some projects and help in some situations.

- Full weighted mode. Actually the modifier works so good that it hard to
find a situation where it’s necessary, but is a option that could be good.

- Also, other things could be good to see in some future, like triangulate
tool and modifier or LoopCut don’t break the custom normal solution.

Warm regards
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