Tricks

How to invert mesh normals

Inverting mesh normals (the side on which they are visible) can easily be done by flipping the vertices, as shown to the right

How to create a thick outline

Create an inverted version of the object, see above to make one.

Set it to the desired color

Expand so the inverted shape envelopes the smaller original shape.

You now have a sort of outline. Use Z to do fine adjustments for smaller outlines.

Keep in mind this technique is expensive and should only be used on simple meshes!

How to create a sphere

There is no sphere primitive but you can make a very spherical cylinder!

1. Create a cylinder primitive.
2. Extrude the top and bottom.
3. Move the top most and bottom most exterior vertices inward to create an incline.
4. Adjust the vertices to closely match the a sphere's shape.

You now have a have a pretty round mesh to use!

How to create a hole through a mesh

1. Extrude from the chosen mesh
2. Move the extruded points an increment inward to act the lip.
3. Move extruded meshes vertices to be parallel with those of the base.
4. Extrude again from the lip extrusion.
5. Move the second extrusion downward through the model.
6. Repeat steps 1-3 for the opposite face.
7. Delete the faces of both extrusions.
8. You now have a hole down the middle of your shape!

Reducing memory load

Delete Faces

Faces that are on the inside of the model should not be visible, and even if they are often shouldn't be. Make certain you want to delete the face as there is no way to re-add a face to a mesh. Faces that aren't visible can also be deleted, such as the bottoms of objects or top depending on the camera angle.

Replace Meshes with Extrusions

By using extrusions instead of more meshes, you can reduce your vertices count. For example, two meshes have 16 vertices, but a cube and it's extrusion would be 12 vertices.

Use Simpler Primitives

Try to use as few vertices as possible when creating a model.

Primitives

How to Add Animation

picoCAD does not have any animation else than the motion of the camera.

However, there are a couple of tricks to add pseudo-animation.

Zoopraxiscope

A technique that predates film!

By placing a planes each at different angles you can use the camera to create pseudo animation as it rotates around the frames!

Oversized Faces

When a mesh face gets to be too large, textures will begin to warp and wiggle.

This a bug but you can use it to create a wavy texture effect, like heat waves!

To fix the bug see How to fix wiggly large textures.