The 3-Second Shading Fix
Shading is easy.
If you run into shading issues all the time or struggle with them in the first place, you simply don't know where to look.
The worst part is you're probably spending more time than needed obsessing over simple shading errors that can be fixed in 3 seconds.
Being able to identify shading issues at a moments notice simply comes down to experience and the amount of times you've encountered such an issue.
Here are some things to look out for:
- Make sure your auto smooth is at an appropriate value. If it isn't, certain edges won't "catch" and this could be the difference in your results:
- If you're using a bevel modifier, make sure the bevel angle is at an appropriate value. Generally with a bevel modifier, you won't need to worry about auto smooth. That is because the auto smooth edges will be overriden by bevel edges, like this:
- Check to make sure you don't have a weighted normal modifier added in the modifier stack without a bevel modifier. Otherwise, your shading will look like this:
- If all the above fails, you may have custom split normals enabled. Don't ask me why this happens - it just does. Simply click "Clear Custom Split Normals" and your shading problems will magically go away.
- Sometimes, you want to have more control over your bevels. You can do this by choosing which edges get beveled, rather than relying on an angle threshold to catch the edges for you. We do this by using the Bevel Weight setting. If you have it set to weight accidentally with no edges marked, this could cause problems as well.
The important part to remember is that shading issues aren't due to a lack of creativity - they're due to a lack of skill. If you run into shading problems and don't know at the blink of an eye how to fix them, it just means you haven't encountered those problems enough.
The more you run into issues and learn how to fix them, the more your knowledge bank will expand. This means you'll know immediately where to go to fix your problems, allowing you to focus more on what matters most: your modeling and creativity.
Stop getting frustrated over simple issues. The best thing for your success in Blender is to run into these issues. If you never run into issues, you'll never build your level of expertise.
Running into annoying problems means you are learning and venturing into unknown territory. Eventually, that territory will become known and you'll be able to conquer and expand even further.
I hope this short post was helpful and gave you a few "quick wins" that you can add to your knowledge bank for the future.
- Josh
P.S. - If you haven't snatched our free Topology Guide, I've linked it here.
