by KushiroCG·Modeling
Images © KushiroCG. Used for product review; image policy.
Bend Face earns its place in the superhive library for combining face rotation, movement and rotate-extrude in one interactive viewport tool. Recent updates fixed a compatibility problem and moved the tool to Blender's new GPU functions.
Bend Face works on selected mesh faces in Blender, letting you rotate or move them by any edge or by the face normal. It highlights the closest edge with yellow lines. A left-mouse drag rotates the mesh, while a right-mouse drag moves the faces along it. Pressing F toggles Face Normal Mode, which shows yellow lines for the face normal so you can rotate or move along the normal instead.
You can enter an exact angle or distance in the Left-Bottom menu, which also lets you modify the last action performed with the mouse. In continuous mode the tool stays active until you press Q or Esc, and an Addon Preferences option switches between staying in the tool or exiting immediately. Quick rotation hotkeys on the number keys 1 to 4 set preset angles, and pressing the same key again flips to the negative value.
The Rotate Extrude option sets a number of copies to create edge-loops between the original and transformed face, for building bended meshes. Combined with Face Normal Mode and the Axis Offset, it produces bended face extrusions. An experimental Sliding Rotation mode, toggled with S, slides vertices while rotating a single selected face.
Bend Face is best for blender modelers building bended meshes and adjusting face orientation directly in the viewport.
Bend Face is completely free to download and use.
Bend Face has been updated for recent Blender releases. Version 4.7.0 updated the tool to work for Blender 4.0.0, and version 4.8.0 addressed a compatibility problem. Since Blender 3.5.0 deprecated OpenGL, an earlier update switched Bend Face to Blender's new GPU function, though that change noted a problem with line smoothing. For the exact Blender versions supported by the build you download, check the developer's page.
Bend Face uses the Q or Esc key to commit or exit an action. By default it runs in continuous mode, staying active so you can perform several rotations and moves before pressing Q or Esc. If you prefer the tool to close right after a single action, an option in the Addon Preferences switches between continuous mode and exiting immediately. While the tool is active, the Left-Bottom menu lets you modify the last rotation or move performed with the mouse.
Bend Face creates edge-loops through its Rotate Extrude option. Check the Rotate Extrude box in the Left-Bottom menu, then set the number of copies to generate edge-loops between the original face and the rotated or moved face, which builds a bended mesh. You can combine Rotate Extrude with Face Normal Mode and increase the Axis Offset (co-linear) to produce bended face extrusions. There is no limit on how the faces are selected.
Bend Face includes quick rotation hotkeys while you rotate a face in continuous mode. Pressing the number keys 1, 2, 3 and 4 sets the rotation to preset angle values such as 30, 45, 60 and 90 degrees, and pressing the same key again sets it to the negative value. This lets you snap to common angles quickly, though you can still enter an exact angle in the Left-Bottom menu when you need a specific value.
Bend Face is listed as free in this catalog. Pricing and licensing can change over time, so for current terms and any usage conditions, check the developer's page on superhive before downloading. The plugin is a Blender tool for rotating and moving faces, and its documentation covers setup and usage, including Face Normal Mode, Rotate Extrude and the quick rotation hotkeys.
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