A quad sphere has several advantages compared to an icosphere or UV sphere, particularly in terms of modeling, texturing, and animation. Unlike icospheres, which consist of triangular faces, or UV spheres, which have problematic poles (where many edges converge at a single point), a quad sphere offers superior topology. This results in smoother subdivisions, easier texturing, and better deformation during animation.
While Blender doesn’t have a direct option to create a quad sphere by default, there are a couple of techniques to create one using a cube:
Method 1: Open Blender, select the default cube, press Ctrl+2 to subdivide, go to modifiers, add a Cast modifier with Factor 1, and then apply the Subdivision Surface modifier.
Method 2: Open Blender, select the default cube, and switch to Edit Mode by pressing Tab. Right-click, choose Subdivide, increase the number of cuts in the Operator panel (usually at the bottom left of the screen), and set Smoothness to 1.
That’s it! But for beginners, follow the detailed steps:
Detailed Steps to Create Quad Sphere for Beginners
Here is the detailed steps to create a perfect quad sphere using Subdivision and Cast modifiers in Blender:
1. Start with a cube:
- Open Blender and ensure you’re in Object Mode.
- Select the default cube if it’s present. If you do not have one, add a new cube: Press Shift + A, then navigate to Mesh > Cube.
- The cube will appear at the 3D cursor’s location.
2. Add a Subdivision Surface modifier:
- In the Properties panel, find the Modifiers tab (wrench icon).
- Click “Add Modifier” and choose “Subdivision Surface” from the list.
- In the modifier settings:
- Set Viewport to 3 or 4 (this affects what you see in the 3D viewport).
- Set Render to 3 or 4 (this affects the final render).
- You’ll notice your object becoming smoother and more spherical.
3. Add a Cast modifier:
- Still in the Modifiers tab, click “Add Modifier” again.
- Choose “Cast” from the list.
- In the Cast modifier settings:
- Set Cast Type to “Sphere”
- Set Factor to 1.0 (this determines how much the cast effect is applied)
- Enable “Radius” if you want to control the size of the sphere
- Your object should now look like a perfect sphere.
4. Adjust and apply modifiers:
- You can adjust the order of the modifiers by dragging them. Having Subdivision Surface first and Cast second works well.
- If you’re satisfied with the result, you can apply the modifiers:
- Click the dropdown arrow next to each modifier.
- Select “Apply” for each one, starting with the topmost modifier.
- Be aware that applying the modifiers will make the changes permanent and increase your object’s polygon count significantly.
5. UV Unwrapping (if needed):
- If you plan to texture your sphere, you’ll need to UV unwrap it:
- In Edit Mode, select all faces (A)
- Press U and choose an unwrapping method (Sphere Projection often works well for this shape)
6. Shading:
- In Object Mode, right-click on the sphere and choose Shade Smooth for a smoother appearance.
Method 2: Quad Sphere Using Subdivide
1. Start with a cube:
- Open Blender and ensure you’re in Object Mode.
- Select the default cube if it’s present. If you do not have one, add a new cube: Press Shift + A, then navigate to Mesh > Cube.
- The cube will appear at the 3D cursor’s location.
2. Subdivide the cube:
- Switch to Edit Mode by pressing Tab or selecting it from the mode dropdown menu.
- Select all faces of the cube by pressing A. All faces should turn orange.
- Access the Subdivide tool:
- a) Right-click and choose Subdivide from the context menu, or b) Press W and select Subdivide, or c) Go to Edge menu > Subdivide
- In the operator panel (bottom left), increase the number of cuts. A value between 3 and 6 usually works well. The higher the number, the smoother your final sphere will be, but it will also increase the polygon count.
- You’ll see that each face of the cube is now divided into a grid of smaller faces, all still quads.
- Set Smoothness to 1 to make a perfect sphere.
3. Smooth shading:
- Switch back to Object Mode by pressing Tab.
- Right-click on the sphere and select “Shade Smooth”. This will smooth out the appearance of the sphere and remove the faceted look.
Also read: Bevel and Bevel Modifier in Blender: A Comprehensive Guide
Conclusion
This method results in a clean, quad-based sphere that is ideal for further modeling, texturing, and animation work. The use of quads helps manage poles (vertices where more or fewer than four edges meet) effectively and provides a solid base for subdivision modeling techniques.
While this technique does not produce a mathematically perfect sphere, it provides an excellent approximation that is well-suited for most 3D graphics applications, offering great topology for further development.