What's the fastest / least destructive and most scalable way to create a “proper” pyramid?

The name of the pictureThe name of the pictureThe name of the pictureClash Royale CLAN TAG#URR8PPP





.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty margin-bottom:0;







up vote
2
down vote

favorite












I want to create a pyramid. Not a smooth three dimensional triangle with five faces, but an actual pyramid with "steps", like this:



cool and accurate pyramid



Requirements:



  • Creating the pyramid should be fast!

  • You should be able to control how many "steps" there are

  • No matter how big, the pyramid needs to be consistent, meaning all the steps have the same height and the distance between the inner corner to the outer corner of a step is the same









share|improve this question



























    up vote
    2
    down vote

    favorite












    I want to create a pyramid. Not a smooth three dimensional triangle with five faces, but an actual pyramid with "steps", like this:



    cool and accurate pyramid



    Requirements:



    • Creating the pyramid should be fast!

    • You should be able to control how many "steps" there are

    • No matter how big, the pyramid needs to be consistent, meaning all the steps have the same height and the distance between the inner corner to the outer corner of a step is the same









    share|improve this question























      up vote
      2
      down vote

      favorite









      up vote
      2
      down vote

      favorite











      I want to create a pyramid. Not a smooth three dimensional triangle with five faces, but an actual pyramid with "steps", like this:



      cool and accurate pyramid



      Requirements:



      • Creating the pyramid should be fast!

      • You should be able to control how many "steps" there are

      • No matter how big, the pyramid needs to be consistent, meaning all the steps have the same height and the distance between the inner corner to the outer corner of a step is the same









      share|improve this question













      I want to create a pyramid. Not a smooth three dimensional triangle with five faces, but an actual pyramid with "steps", like this:



      cool and accurate pyramid



      Requirements:



      • Creating the pyramid should be fast!

      • You should be able to control how many "steps" there are

      • No matter how big, the pyramid needs to be consistent, meaning all the steps have the same height and the distance between the inner corner to the outer corner of a step is the same






      modeling workflow






      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question











      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question










      asked 1 hour ago









      noClue

      15018




      15018




















          2 Answers
          2






          active

          oldest

          votes

















          up vote
          1
          down vote













          You can do this by using an Array modifier and an Empty.



          1. Create a new cube, and scale it to the size of your step.


          2. Very important! Hit Ctrl > A (or the appropriate command on your operating system) and select Scale. This applies the scale so that the array modifier doesn't get confused.


          3. Switch over to the Modifiers tab in the Properties panel (looks like a wrench) and select Add Modifier. You should see one that says Array under Generate. Click that one.


          4. Create an Empty (Shift > A > Empty). It can be any one of the options you want, we will be able to delete it later. I selected a Cube.


          5. Move the empty object to where you want the offset of the step would be. I just set mine with an X and Y of 0, and then I set the Z to 1. That will be the offset each step will take.


          6. Scale the empty object to how you want the steps scaled. If you do not scale it, the array modifier will just place blocks upon blocks; you want steps. I scaled mine to 0.8 which looks pretty good in my opinion. Do NOT apply the scale! It is needed for the array modifier.


          7. Go back to the cube object and to the modifiers tab. Under Count uncheck Relative Offset and select Object Offset. Click the value box with the cube in it. It should show a list of objects. Select the Empty.


          8. Increase the count to the number of steps you want and you should see the pyramid! Adjust it to your liking.


          9. To permanently apply this to your object do this: Under the Array modifier click Apply. The modifier should disappear, but the object should seem unchanged. Now, you can delete the Empty.


          10. You are done! Following my own steps I got this:


          enter image description here



          Not exactly your picture but I'm sure by adjusting the values of the empty you can get something of equal likeness :)






          share|improve this answer




















          • This doesn't leave all steps with the same size...
            – John Dvorak
            1 hour ago










          • Oops...I'm trying to fix that right now. I'm a beginner myself, every time I set the empty Z scale to 1 it looks weird
            – Sam1370
            1 hour ago






          • 1




            @Sam1370 The reason it gets weird, is that it scales down from the most recent one. So if you set the X and Y scales of the empty to 0.9, the first (not counting the original, which stays the same) will be 0.9, the second will be 0.9*0.9 = 0.81, the third will be 0.9*0.9*0.9 = 0.729 and so on.
            – Duane Dibbley
            29 mins ago










          • This would have been my way... It works fine if your array is in say, Z, and you scale the Empty S-Shift-Z in object mode. All the steps have equal depth - The array elements pick up the XY scale. ,,Maybe the OP wanted a manifold mesh, though?
            – Robin Betts
            11 mins ago

















          up vote
          1
          down vote













          The simplest solution is probably the Remesh modifier:



          1. Create a simple pyramid out of five faces. You can do that by shrinking the top face of a cube to a single point and removing duplicate vertices.

          2. Add a Remesh modifier. Set Mode to Blocks.

          3. Increase Octree Depth until sufficient number of pyramid steps has been achieved or surpassed.

          4. Decrease Scale to reduce the number of steps.

          5. Apply the modifier, optionally tweak the object scale.

          At this point, you already have a pyramid shape but its mesh is rather dense. To clean up the mesh:



          1. Switch to edit mode (TAB).

          2. space -> Limited Dissolve. This fixes vertical faces but it leaves horizontal faces with the wrong edges.

          3. Mesh -> Clean Up -> Split Concave Faces. This splits the horizontal surfaces in the way we want. Be sure to select all of the faces.

          4. Num 7 -> Num 5 -> 3x Num 4 to switch to top-down view rotated 45 degrees.

          5. Box select the north and south slopes and press space -> enter to Limited Dissolve again to remove unwanted edges.

          6. Repeat once again for the west and south slopes.

          Now you can efficiently tweak the mesh. To remove the bottom step, select the bottom face, then press CTRL + Num + -> X -> Dissolve Vertices. Similarly for the top step.






          share|improve this answer




















            Your Answer




            StackExchange.ifUsing("editor", function ()
            return StackExchange.using("mathjaxEditing", function ()
            StackExchange.MarkdownEditor.creationCallbacks.add(function (editor, postfix)
            StackExchange.mathjaxEditing.prepareWmdForMathJax(editor, postfix, [["$", "$"], ["\\(","\\)"]]);
            );
            );
            , "mathjax-editing");

            StackExchange.ready(function()
            var channelOptions =
            tags: "".split(" "),
            id: "502"
            ;
            initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

            StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
            // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
            if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
            StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
            createEditor();
            );

            else
            createEditor();

            );

            function createEditor()
            StackExchange.prepareEditor(
            heartbeatType: 'answer',
            convertImagesToLinks: false,
            noModals: false,
            showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
            reputationToPostImages: null,
            bindNavPrevention: true,
            postfix: "",
            onDemand: true,
            discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
            ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
            );



            );













             

            draft saved


            draft discarded


















            StackExchange.ready(
            function ()
            StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fblender.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f118460%2fwhats-the-fastest-least-destructive-and-most-scalable-way-to-create-a-proper%23new-answer', 'question_page');

            );

            Post as a guest






























            2 Answers
            2






            active

            oldest

            votes








            2 Answers
            2






            active

            oldest

            votes









            active

            oldest

            votes






            active

            oldest

            votes








            up vote
            1
            down vote













            You can do this by using an Array modifier and an Empty.



            1. Create a new cube, and scale it to the size of your step.


            2. Very important! Hit Ctrl > A (or the appropriate command on your operating system) and select Scale. This applies the scale so that the array modifier doesn't get confused.


            3. Switch over to the Modifiers tab in the Properties panel (looks like a wrench) and select Add Modifier. You should see one that says Array under Generate. Click that one.


            4. Create an Empty (Shift > A > Empty). It can be any one of the options you want, we will be able to delete it later. I selected a Cube.


            5. Move the empty object to where you want the offset of the step would be. I just set mine with an X and Y of 0, and then I set the Z to 1. That will be the offset each step will take.


            6. Scale the empty object to how you want the steps scaled. If you do not scale it, the array modifier will just place blocks upon blocks; you want steps. I scaled mine to 0.8 which looks pretty good in my opinion. Do NOT apply the scale! It is needed for the array modifier.


            7. Go back to the cube object and to the modifiers tab. Under Count uncheck Relative Offset and select Object Offset. Click the value box with the cube in it. It should show a list of objects. Select the Empty.


            8. Increase the count to the number of steps you want and you should see the pyramid! Adjust it to your liking.


            9. To permanently apply this to your object do this: Under the Array modifier click Apply. The modifier should disappear, but the object should seem unchanged. Now, you can delete the Empty.


            10. You are done! Following my own steps I got this:


            enter image description here



            Not exactly your picture but I'm sure by adjusting the values of the empty you can get something of equal likeness :)






            share|improve this answer




















            • This doesn't leave all steps with the same size...
              – John Dvorak
              1 hour ago










            • Oops...I'm trying to fix that right now. I'm a beginner myself, every time I set the empty Z scale to 1 it looks weird
              – Sam1370
              1 hour ago






            • 1




              @Sam1370 The reason it gets weird, is that it scales down from the most recent one. So if you set the X and Y scales of the empty to 0.9, the first (not counting the original, which stays the same) will be 0.9, the second will be 0.9*0.9 = 0.81, the third will be 0.9*0.9*0.9 = 0.729 and so on.
              – Duane Dibbley
              29 mins ago










            • This would have been my way... It works fine if your array is in say, Z, and you scale the Empty S-Shift-Z in object mode. All the steps have equal depth - The array elements pick up the XY scale. ,,Maybe the OP wanted a manifold mesh, though?
              – Robin Betts
              11 mins ago














            up vote
            1
            down vote













            You can do this by using an Array modifier and an Empty.



            1. Create a new cube, and scale it to the size of your step.


            2. Very important! Hit Ctrl > A (or the appropriate command on your operating system) and select Scale. This applies the scale so that the array modifier doesn't get confused.


            3. Switch over to the Modifiers tab in the Properties panel (looks like a wrench) and select Add Modifier. You should see one that says Array under Generate. Click that one.


            4. Create an Empty (Shift > A > Empty). It can be any one of the options you want, we will be able to delete it later. I selected a Cube.


            5. Move the empty object to where you want the offset of the step would be. I just set mine with an X and Y of 0, and then I set the Z to 1. That will be the offset each step will take.


            6. Scale the empty object to how you want the steps scaled. If you do not scale it, the array modifier will just place blocks upon blocks; you want steps. I scaled mine to 0.8 which looks pretty good in my opinion. Do NOT apply the scale! It is needed for the array modifier.


            7. Go back to the cube object and to the modifiers tab. Under Count uncheck Relative Offset and select Object Offset. Click the value box with the cube in it. It should show a list of objects. Select the Empty.


            8. Increase the count to the number of steps you want and you should see the pyramid! Adjust it to your liking.


            9. To permanently apply this to your object do this: Under the Array modifier click Apply. The modifier should disappear, but the object should seem unchanged. Now, you can delete the Empty.


            10. You are done! Following my own steps I got this:


            enter image description here



            Not exactly your picture but I'm sure by adjusting the values of the empty you can get something of equal likeness :)






            share|improve this answer




















            • This doesn't leave all steps with the same size...
              – John Dvorak
              1 hour ago










            • Oops...I'm trying to fix that right now. I'm a beginner myself, every time I set the empty Z scale to 1 it looks weird
              – Sam1370
              1 hour ago






            • 1




              @Sam1370 The reason it gets weird, is that it scales down from the most recent one. So if you set the X and Y scales of the empty to 0.9, the first (not counting the original, which stays the same) will be 0.9, the second will be 0.9*0.9 = 0.81, the third will be 0.9*0.9*0.9 = 0.729 and so on.
              – Duane Dibbley
              29 mins ago










            • This would have been my way... It works fine if your array is in say, Z, and you scale the Empty S-Shift-Z in object mode. All the steps have equal depth - The array elements pick up the XY scale. ,,Maybe the OP wanted a manifold mesh, though?
              – Robin Betts
              11 mins ago












            up vote
            1
            down vote










            up vote
            1
            down vote









            You can do this by using an Array modifier and an Empty.



            1. Create a new cube, and scale it to the size of your step.


            2. Very important! Hit Ctrl > A (or the appropriate command on your operating system) and select Scale. This applies the scale so that the array modifier doesn't get confused.


            3. Switch over to the Modifiers tab in the Properties panel (looks like a wrench) and select Add Modifier. You should see one that says Array under Generate. Click that one.


            4. Create an Empty (Shift > A > Empty). It can be any one of the options you want, we will be able to delete it later. I selected a Cube.


            5. Move the empty object to where you want the offset of the step would be. I just set mine with an X and Y of 0, and then I set the Z to 1. That will be the offset each step will take.


            6. Scale the empty object to how you want the steps scaled. If you do not scale it, the array modifier will just place blocks upon blocks; you want steps. I scaled mine to 0.8 which looks pretty good in my opinion. Do NOT apply the scale! It is needed for the array modifier.


            7. Go back to the cube object and to the modifiers tab. Under Count uncheck Relative Offset and select Object Offset. Click the value box with the cube in it. It should show a list of objects. Select the Empty.


            8. Increase the count to the number of steps you want and you should see the pyramid! Adjust it to your liking.


            9. To permanently apply this to your object do this: Under the Array modifier click Apply. The modifier should disappear, but the object should seem unchanged. Now, you can delete the Empty.


            10. You are done! Following my own steps I got this:


            enter image description here



            Not exactly your picture but I'm sure by adjusting the values of the empty you can get something of equal likeness :)






            share|improve this answer












            You can do this by using an Array modifier and an Empty.



            1. Create a new cube, and scale it to the size of your step.


            2. Very important! Hit Ctrl > A (or the appropriate command on your operating system) and select Scale. This applies the scale so that the array modifier doesn't get confused.


            3. Switch over to the Modifiers tab in the Properties panel (looks like a wrench) and select Add Modifier. You should see one that says Array under Generate. Click that one.


            4. Create an Empty (Shift > A > Empty). It can be any one of the options you want, we will be able to delete it later. I selected a Cube.


            5. Move the empty object to where you want the offset of the step would be. I just set mine with an X and Y of 0, and then I set the Z to 1. That will be the offset each step will take.


            6. Scale the empty object to how you want the steps scaled. If you do not scale it, the array modifier will just place blocks upon blocks; you want steps. I scaled mine to 0.8 which looks pretty good in my opinion. Do NOT apply the scale! It is needed for the array modifier.


            7. Go back to the cube object and to the modifiers tab. Under Count uncheck Relative Offset and select Object Offset. Click the value box with the cube in it. It should show a list of objects. Select the Empty.


            8. Increase the count to the number of steps you want and you should see the pyramid! Adjust it to your liking.


            9. To permanently apply this to your object do this: Under the Array modifier click Apply. The modifier should disappear, but the object should seem unchanged. Now, you can delete the Empty.


            10. You are done! Following my own steps I got this:


            enter image description here



            Not exactly your picture but I'm sure by adjusting the values of the empty you can get something of equal likeness :)







            share|improve this answer












            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer










            answered 1 hour ago









            Sam1370

            518




            518











            • This doesn't leave all steps with the same size...
              – John Dvorak
              1 hour ago










            • Oops...I'm trying to fix that right now. I'm a beginner myself, every time I set the empty Z scale to 1 it looks weird
              – Sam1370
              1 hour ago






            • 1




              @Sam1370 The reason it gets weird, is that it scales down from the most recent one. So if you set the X and Y scales of the empty to 0.9, the first (not counting the original, which stays the same) will be 0.9, the second will be 0.9*0.9 = 0.81, the third will be 0.9*0.9*0.9 = 0.729 and so on.
              – Duane Dibbley
              29 mins ago










            • This would have been my way... It works fine if your array is in say, Z, and you scale the Empty S-Shift-Z in object mode. All the steps have equal depth - The array elements pick up the XY scale. ,,Maybe the OP wanted a manifold mesh, though?
              – Robin Betts
              11 mins ago
















            • This doesn't leave all steps with the same size...
              – John Dvorak
              1 hour ago










            • Oops...I'm trying to fix that right now. I'm a beginner myself, every time I set the empty Z scale to 1 it looks weird
              – Sam1370
              1 hour ago






            • 1




              @Sam1370 The reason it gets weird, is that it scales down from the most recent one. So if you set the X and Y scales of the empty to 0.9, the first (not counting the original, which stays the same) will be 0.9, the second will be 0.9*0.9 = 0.81, the third will be 0.9*0.9*0.9 = 0.729 and so on.
              – Duane Dibbley
              29 mins ago










            • This would have been my way... It works fine if your array is in say, Z, and you scale the Empty S-Shift-Z in object mode. All the steps have equal depth - The array elements pick up the XY scale. ,,Maybe the OP wanted a manifold mesh, though?
              – Robin Betts
              11 mins ago















            This doesn't leave all steps with the same size...
            – John Dvorak
            1 hour ago




            This doesn't leave all steps with the same size...
            – John Dvorak
            1 hour ago












            Oops...I'm trying to fix that right now. I'm a beginner myself, every time I set the empty Z scale to 1 it looks weird
            – Sam1370
            1 hour ago




            Oops...I'm trying to fix that right now. I'm a beginner myself, every time I set the empty Z scale to 1 it looks weird
            – Sam1370
            1 hour ago




            1




            1




            @Sam1370 The reason it gets weird, is that it scales down from the most recent one. So if you set the X and Y scales of the empty to 0.9, the first (not counting the original, which stays the same) will be 0.9, the second will be 0.9*0.9 = 0.81, the third will be 0.9*0.9*0.9 = 0.729 and so on.
            – Duane Dibbley
            29 mins ago




            @Sam1370 The reason it gets weird, is that it scales down from the most recent one. So if you set the X and Y scales of the empty to 0.9, the first (not counting the original, which stays the same) will be 0.9, the second will be 0.9*0.9 = 0.81, the third will be 0.9*0.9*0.9 = 0.729 and so on.
            – Duane Dibbley
            29 mins ago












            This would have been my way... It works fine if your array is in say, Z, and you scale the Empty S-Shift-Z in object mode. All the steps have equal depth - The array elements pick up the XY scale. ,,Maybe the OP wanted a manifold mesh, though?
            – Robin Betts
            11 mins ago




            This would have been my way... It works fine if your array is in say, Z, and you scale the Empty S-Shift-Z in object mode. All the steps have equal depth - The array elements pick up the XY scale. ,,Maybe the OP wanted a manifold mesh, though?
            – Robin Betts
            11 mins ago












            up vote
            1
            down vote













            The simplest solution is probably the Remesh modifier:



            1. Create a simple pyramid out of five faces. You can do that by shrinking the top face of a cube to a single point and removing duplicate vertices.

            2. Add a Remesh modifier. Set Mode to Blocks.

            3. Increase Octree Depth until sufficient number of pyramid steps has been achieved or surpassed.

            4. Decrease Scale to reduce the number of steps.

            5. Apply the modifier, optionally tweak the object scale.

            At this point, you already have a pyramid shape but its mesh is rather dense. To clean up the mesh:



            1. Switch to edit mode (TAB).

            2. space -> Limited Dissolve. This fixes vertical faces but it leaves horizontal faces with the wrong edges.

            3. Mesh -> Clean Up -> Split Concave Faces. This splits the horizontal surfaces in the way we want. Be sure to select all of the faces.

            4. Num 7 -> Num 5 -> 3x Num 4 to switch to top-down view rotated 45 degrees.

            5. Box select the north and south slopes and press space -> enter to Limited Dissolve again to remove unwanted edges.

            6. Repeat once again for the west and south slopes.

            Now you can efficiently tweak the mesh. To remove the bottom step, select the bottom face, then press CTRL + Num + -> X -> Dissolve Vertices. Similarly for the top step.






            share|improve this answer
























              up vote
              1
              down vote













              The simplest solution is probably the Remesh modifier:



              1. Create a simple pyramid out of five faces. You can do that by shrinking the top face of a cube to a single point and removing duplicate vertices.

              2. Add a Remesh modifier. Set Mode to Blocks.

              3. Increase Octree Depth until sufficient number of pyramid steps has been achieved or surpassed.

              4. Decrease Scale to reduce the number of steps.

              5. Apply the modifier, optionally tweak the object scale.

              At this point, you already have a pyramid shape but its mesh is rather dense. To clean up the mesh:



              1. Switch to edit mode (TAB).

              2. space -> Limited Dissolve. This fixes vertical faces but it leaves horizontal faces with the wrong edges.

              3. Mesh -> Clean Up -> Split Concave Faces. This splits the horizontal surfaces in the way we want. Be sure to select all of the faces.

              4. Num 7 -> Num 5 -> 3x Num 4 to switch to top-down view rotated 45 degrees.

              5. Box select the north and south slopes and press space -> enter to Limited Dissolve again to remove unwanted edges.

              6. Repeat once again for the west and south slopes.

              Now you can efficiently tweak the mesh. To remove the bottom step, select the bottom face, then press CTRL + Num + -> X -> Dissolve Vertices. Similarly for the top step.






              share|improve this answer






















                up vote
                1
                down vote










                up vote
                1
                down vote









                The simplest solution is probably the Remesh modifier:



                1. Create a simple pyramid out of five faces. You can do that by shrinking the top face of a cube to a single point and removing duplicate vertices.

                2. Add a Remesh modifier. Set Mode to Blocks.

                3. Increase Octree Depth until sufficient number of pyramid steps has been achieved or surpassed.

                4. Decrease Scale to reduce the number of steps.

                5. Apply the modifier, optionally tweak the object scale.

                At this point, you already have a pyramid shape but its mesh is rather dense. To clean up the mesh:



                1. Switch to edit mode (TAB).

                2. space -> Limited Dissolve. This fixes vertical faces but it leaves horizontal faces with the wrong edges.

                3. Mesh -> Clean Up -> Split Concave Faces. This splits the horizontal surfaces in the way we want. Be sure to select all of the faces.

                4. Num 7 -> Num 5 -> 3x Num 4 to switch to top-down view rotated 45 degrees.

                5. Box select the north and south slopes and press space -> enter to Limited Dissolve again to remove unwanted edges.

                6. Repeat once again for the west and south slopes.

                Now you can efficiently tweak the mesh. To remove the bottom step, select the bottom face, then press CTRL + Num + -> X -> Dissolve Vertices. Similarly for the top step.






                share|improve this answer












                The simplest solution is probably the Remesh modifier:



                1. Create a simple pyramid out of five faces. You can do that by shrinking the top face of a cube to a single point and removing duplicate vertices.

                2. Add a Remesh modifier. Set Mode to Blocks.

                3. Increase Octree Depth until sufficient number of pyramid steps has been achieved or surpassed.

                4. Decrease Scale to reduce the number of steps.

                5. Apply the modifier, optionally tweak the object scale.

                At this point, you already have a pyramid shape but its mesh is rather dense. To clean up the mesh:



                1. Switch to edit mode (TAB).

                2. space -> Limited Dissolve. This fixes vertical faces but it leaves horizontal faces with the wrong edges.

                3. Mesh -> Clean Up -> Split Concave Faces. This splits the horizontal surfaces in the way we want. Be sure to select all of the faces.

                4. Num 7 -> Num 5 -> 3x Num 4 to switch to top-down view rotated 45 degrees.

                5. Box select the north and south slopes and press space -> enter to Limited Dissolve again to remove unwanted edges.

                6. Repeat once again for the west and south slopes.

                Now you can efficiently tweak the mesh. To remove the bottom step, select the bottom face, then press CTRL + Num + -> X -> Dissolve Vertices. Similarly for the top step.







                share|improve this answer












                share|improve this answer



                share|improve this answer










                answered 34 mins ago









                John Dvorak

                32118




                32118



























                     

                    draft saved


                    draft discarded















































                     


                    draft saved


                    draft discarded














                    StackExchange.ready(
                    function ()
                    StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fblender.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f118460%2fwhats-the-fastest-least-destructive-and-most-scalable-way-to-create-a-proper%23new-answer', 'question_page');

                    );

                    Post as a guest













































































                    Comments

                    Popular posts from this blog

                    What does second last employer means? [closed]

                    Installing NextGIS Connect into QGIS 3?

                    One-line joke