Zoom Function...

[Seliah (Childe of Fyre)]

This is a common problem I have with Blender, when working on Poser scale models. I'm currently working on something for Diva, and frankly, I can't get zoomed in far enough to see what I'm doing. If I can't get zoomed in enough for Diva, how the heck am I going to work with Luna? LOL

I took a screen shot here :
Blender01

It just seems like the zoom function in Blender only goes in just so far, and then the mesh completely disappears. Is there an add-on or some function somewhere that I should be using to help with this? It makes it REALLY hard to lay out small details such as seams on a mesh when this happens. I am constantly having the mesh disappear on me, and it's severely impeding my ability to do the smaller scale work.

I know I'm still pretty new with Blender, so maybe there's something I'm just not finding or not aware of to help with this? I'm using the mouse scroll wheel zoom function to zoom in and out as I need to currently. That's the only way I know of to zoom in/out in Blender...

 

[Miss B]

On occasion, I have the same problem. Give me a few minutes to do a screenshot and some setup steps that should allow you to get in close to whatever you want to tweak.

 

[Seliah (Childe of Fyre)]

Thank you!

 

[Miss B]

OK, first thing I did when I imported a copy of Baby Luna is to zoom in so I can see her clearly, but not too up close and personal.

Then using keyboard controls, I hit 3 (left) and ctrl+4 a few times to get Luna back in the center of my workspace. I try to line her up at about the same point she was when I first zoomed in, and facing front. You can check by hitting 1 (front), 3 (left), Ctrl+1 (back) and Ctrl+3 (right).

Then I zoom in as close as I want to get, and use the number 4 (around to the right) or 6 (around to the left) to rotate her in place.

What you probably will see when you click either 4 or 6 the first time is what you're talking about. If you click the number 5 immediately, it will bring Luna back in focus, and you can then continue to click either 4 or 6 to the desired view. See this screenshot of the back of Luna's head --> Baby Luna Up Close

Just remember to hit the number 5 when you're rotating things around and they get out of focus, and that should correct the problem you're having.

 

[Seliah (Childe of Fyre)]

Thanks. I will give it a try tonight when I'm back at the pc and have time to work on 3D stuff. That zoom thing has been driving me insane from the start.

 

[Miss B]

I know, I think for me it's just a matter of my being so used to it now, I don't think twice about it.

 

[seachnasaigh]

This is a common problem I have with Blender, when working on Poser scale models. ... I can't get zoomed in far enough to see what I'm doing.

It just seems like the zoom function in Blender only goes in just so far, and then the mesh completely disappears.

I've never even tried Blender, but in Poser and Silo, the camera has a hither property, or it may be labeled as near clipping plane.
Reduce that value to 1/100 of what it is now.

In Poser, the hither is on the parameters palette of the camera. In Silo, you would use the main command menu Editors/options -> display settings -> near clipping plane ratio.

Look for something like that.

 

[Miss B]

Oh I have Silo as well, so I'm going to have to check that out. Thanks Seach.

Edited to Add: OK in Silo I see a Near Clippng Plane Ratio, and it's already set to 0.001

I can't find anything like that in Blender, so if it's there, it's not obviously handy.

 

[seachnasaigh]

Another adjustment you'll want for working with small things in Silo is Editors/Options -> display settings -> Normals Length. Make it smaller when building a lightsabre sized for Poser folk, make it larger when making buildings or terrains. When you make an object's normals visible, they need to be long enough that you can see them, but not so long that you can't tell if those are reversed normals from the backside poking through. The normals should look like beard stubble, but not like a bamboo forest, right?

Seliah will also want to find the adjustment for normals length in Blender when working at Poser scale.

 

[seachnasaigh]

...in Silo I see a Near Clipping Plane Ratio, and it's already set to 0.001

Then you may need to set it to 0.00001, or or 1e-5 if it uses exponential notation.
edit: My Silo is set up for Poser scale work; I have the near clipping plane ratio set to 1e-6.

In Blender, it may be in display settings (as in Silo), or it may be a property of the camera (as in Poser).

 

[3WC]

Looks like you are in perspective view. Pressing 5 on the numpad changes from perspective to orthographic, and in ortho mode you should be able to zoom to infinity.

 

[Miss B]

Yes sir, that's true, but every time I start rotating the figure around, it switches to User/Persp view rather than User/Ortho view. How to get Blender to NOT do that, I don't know.

 

[Miss B]

Then you may need to set it to 0.00001, or or 1e-5 if it uses exponential notation.
edit: My Silo is set up for Poser scale work; I have the near clipping plane ratio set to 1e-6.

In Blender, it may be in display settings (as in Silo), or it may be a property of the camera (as in Poser).

OK, I was wondering if that's what I needed to do, since it already seemed small. Thanks for the additional info Seach.

 

[3WC]

Yes sir, that's true, but every time I start rotating the figure around, it switches to User/Persp view rather than User/Ortho view. How to get Blender to NOT do that, I don't know.

Hmmm, never had that happen. How exactly are you rotating within the program?

 

[Miss B]

I'm into keyboard shortcuts, so "4" and "6" rotate around right or left, and "2" and "8" rotate up and over or down and under. Add the Ctrl key to each of those and they "move" the mesh right, left, up or down.

Of course, if I want to see the Right side straight on, it's Ctrl+3, and Left side straight on is "3". Front is "1", back is Ctrl+1. Top is 7, and Bottom is Ctrl+7.

Sometimes you just need to nudge it around a little at a time, so the "4" and "6" work best.

 

[3WC]

Well im not near my computer, I use the keyboard too and have never noticed a problem, but if I get a chance to play with it and notice something that can help, I will chime in again.

 

[Miss B]

Thanks, that would be greatly appreciated, as we have quite a few Blender users here.

 

[Seliah (Childe of Fyre)]

Just remember to hit the number 5 when you're rotating things around and they get out of focus, and that should correct the problem you're having.

This is working beautifully. Thank you, thank you!! I have been fighting with that issue since I started playing with this software. LOL I just knew it had to be something I simply didn't know about or wasn't finding on my own...

 

[Miss B]

You're quite welcome. As 3wComics mentioned, for some reason it's moving from User/Ortho to User/Persp, and hitting the "5" key brings it back where it should be. To tell the truth, I discovered that quite by accident, and now I'm so used to doing it, I don't think twice about it.