Taper
Taper introduces imbalance by making one side of the shape thinner than the opposite side.
Available with: Cuboid, Cylinder, Prism, Polygon, Capsule, Ovoid
Last updated on
Oct 31, 2024
- Substance 3D home
- Home
- Getting started
- Interface
- Create with Clay
- Create with Primitives
- Get started with primitives
- Primitive parameters
- Organize primitives
- Organize your scene
- Scope and scene structure
- Layers
- Groups
- Advanced scene assembly
- Import meshes
- Export Mode
- Render mode
- Technical support
- Release notes
- V1.22 (Current release)
- V1.21
- V1.19
- V1.18
- V1.17
- Public Beta V1.21.50 (Current release)
- Public Beta Archive
- V1 Archive
- V0 Archive
A primitive's shape parameters determine the geometry and appearance of the primitive. You can change how a primitive interacts with other primitives with the Combine parameters.
When you create a primitive, you are prompted to select a shape for the new primitive object. The available shape parameters for a primitive are based on which shape is selected.
You can change a primitive's shape by selecting the primitive and using the Choose shape button to select a different shape.
When you change to a different shape, parameters are remembered. For example, if you have a cuboid selected and set the Taper value to 50%, when you switch to a cylinder, the cylinder still has a Taper value of 50%. If you switch to an object that doesn't have a Taper parameter, the Taper value will still be remembered in case you switch to another shape, but it will only affect the appearance of a shape if that shape has the parameter available.
Note:
You can reset the shape parameters for the current primitive with the Revert button. The Revert button only affects shape parameters, it does not modify combine parameters.
Shape parameter list
While each shape has its own set of parameters, many parameters are shared between shapes. A list of all parameters is included below:
Round
Round smooths the edges of a shape. Round only affects edges parallel to the Z axis, but can be used together with Fillet to smooth all edges.
Available with: Cuboid, Cylinder, Prism, Polygon
Fillet
Fillet smooths the edges of a shape. Fillet only affects edges that are not parallel to the Z axis, but can be used together with Round to smooth all edges.
Available with: Cuboid, Cylinder, Prism, Polygon, Gouge
Chamfer
Chamfer divides an edge in two to create a softer transition from one plane to another while still using hard angles. Chamfer only affects edges that are not parallel to the Z axis.
Available with: Cuboid, Cylinder, Prism, Polygon
Fill
Fill creates a hole inside a shape.
Available with: Cuboid, Cylinder, Prism, Polygon
Sides
Sides changes the number of faces of the Polygon shape.
Available with: Polygon
Color
Color is the last shape parameter, and is available for all shapes. Color allows you to change the color of a shape.
Note:
If changing the Color parameter is not having a visible effect on your primitive, it may be because a material is overriding the color. To fix this:
- Open the material panel.
- Navigate to the material properties for the material applied to your primitives.
- Change Show painted color as... to None.
The Color parameter is a little different from other shape parameters because it can be affected by other shapes and by the Blending slider. A non-zero Blending value allows the color of nearby primitives to blend with each other, just like the geometry is blended. Similarly if you have two overlapping primitives with different colors and your combine mode is not set to Add, the area where one primitive cuts away from the other will be colored differently.
