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i'm not sure how to phrase this question/title so please excuse that.

I am trying to create a 'line' mesh of equal width following a shape, which in my case is an oval. I want the width to be say 50cm.

Ive done this with more regular shapes (squares, circles) by duplicating the vertices and scaling down, and then joining.

However with this shape scaling it like that (ie by a factor of 0.9) means the polygons at the sides are wider than the ones at top, as the image shows:

a hollow oval with polygons of varying thickness

How would you go about this? can I scale the inner 'ring' by a set amount/distance rather than a percentage? Ive looked at the solidify modifier, and scaling along normals, but haven't found a configuration that works. Im thinking using a curve or line and converting to mesh might be an option also but not sure how to go about this.

Any help much appreciated :-)

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2 Answers 2

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Many ways.. you just have to bear in mind the transformation is an offset, not a scale.

One way: Starting with a filled circle, scaled in Edit Mode, not Object Mode.. (Or CtrlA > Apply the scale of your object before proceeding.)

Then you could I inset the face, and delete the (already selected) inset. As @awnine has pointed out, for precision, you can enter the thickness of the band numerically in the Inset operator's F9 panel.

enter image description here

Just as you can't scale to create the offset, you can't scale to adjust it, either. You would have to select the inner edge-loop and GG slide it along its edge-ring. If you need to adjust inwards, you can hit C or hold Alt to release the clamp which would normally prevent you from sliding outside existing faces.

enter image description here

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  • $\begingroup$ Thank you - using this along with the option pop-up box means i can define the exact thickness and is exactly what i need :-) $\endgroup$
    – awnine
    Commented Jan 19, 2022 at 5:46
  • $\begingroup$ @awnine Ahh .. of course! Forgot to mention F9. Will edit. $\endgroup$
    – Robin Betts ♦
    Commented Jan 19, 2022 at 7:14
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The Shrink/Fatten tool works nicely for this.
You just need to add some thickness first.

  1. Extrude your elipse a bit, to give it thickness
  2. Select the loop faces and "Fatten" them outwards
  3. Remove the extruded vertices using Delete > Vertices

enter image description here

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    $\begingroup$ Man…you know ALL the tools!!! +1 $\endgroup$
    – Chris
    Commented Jan 18, 2022 at 15:01
  • $\begingroup$ thanks, just lucky, had to figure out the exact same thing yesterday :) $\endgroup$
    – jachym michal
    Commented Jan 18, 2022 at 15:02
  • $\begingroup$ thank you, i needed to keep the 'difference' between the two ovals as the resulting mesh so this isn't the method for me (unless i'm missing something), but as id never used those tools this was a good introduction :-) $\endgroup$
    – awnine
    Commented Jan 19, 2022 at 6:11
  • $\begingroup$ @awnine Simply duplicate the oval vertices first, to also keep the original one. Same way you'd do if you just scaled it ;) $\endgroup$
    – jachym michal
    Commented Jan 19, 2022 at 8:22

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