In this quick video tip for Blender 2.5 we take a look at how to use the Boolean modifier effectively. The default behavior of the modifier tends to leave messy meshes that can be troublesome, using just a couple of quick techniques the end result is quickly improved.
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22 Responses to “Tip: Using the Boolean Modifier Effectively”Leave a Comment
Awesome solution!
Awsome man! and perfect timing, i didn’t even know this modifier excisted! and this is going to make some upcomming projects so much easier!
Thanks for cool advices! Really nice and fast workflow.
Fantastic, I really like the tips and the modifier series. A great resource for those not in the 3D industry but using Blender now and then. I can jump back to them anytime, short sweet and packed full of info, like having a video book on the functionality of Blender tools. I even have them all saved on my phone. Thank you and more please.
Wow…I never thought of that… Thanks Jonathan. I don’t know how many times I have used the boolean modifier to find out that the result comes out looking just terrible!! Very helpful, Thanks!
Good tip. Boolean modifier is one of those tools that seems so useful until you see the mess it can make. This tip is extremely helpful. Thanks.
thanx for the tutorial but…
i personally , for this specific case , would create a circle , manually do a nice topology and id be done…
the solution for this case looks to me uglly…. to many unneeded vertex, and its just fixing problems , i prefer to start and end properly ,
so … for me the boolean modifier is not yet in good shape.
I completely agree with you. However, the boolean modifier can be useful at times, particularly if you need to visualize a result quickly. But you’re right that is really is not ideal and in most cases you’re better off doing it manually.
-Jonathan
Posts: 1
boolean modifier
Hi, the little project I’ve set myself is to bisect a cone on up to 5 planes and use the cut profiles to demonstrate a circle, ellipse, parabola and hyperbola and their origins from conic sections. I’ve tried to “slice” using the boolean modifier but things disappear or don’t simply split and separate as two objects – the ideal. I wish to somehow animate the work from: cone – to each of the geometries or curves mentioned but I can’t find a good way, or any way even, to acheive the goal of phase 1 – to create the 4 basic 3d shapes from the cone by virtually “knifing down or along” through the 3d cone and showing two separate resultant cone pieces as well as the object used in the boolean procedure (which will be discarded).
Any clear advices you may offer will be greatly appreciated. The joy of Blender inculcates impatience!! We want it to instantly translate the artistic idea but the language and procedures must come first!! My excuse is that this Geometry Project is probably of the most fundamental curvatures of orbits in the universe and so should be laid out soonest. I won’t get into what’s to follow as it scares me right now lol. (potential complexity!)
Thanks for the video tip. This perfectly fulfills all my needs for making holes in walls!
Interesting! I didn’t actually know what the modifier could do.
Me neither. Finally, a solution for a cartoon character crashing through a wall! Nyuck nyuck.
Wow, thanks! Never thought of that! Useful enough for me!
This is why we need b-mesh. Boolean is a great way of doing things, but only with b-mesh functionality.
my work http://fileml.com/1i77778
hello to all …. Greetings .. my name is carlos fernandez … and need to know if someone could help me .. I’m collecting for next year go to America … I am from Venezuela … 3D design but here is useless … I wonder if someone could be my friend .. to talk on skype … to improve my English … please? thanks for your attention …
Wow! you just made me not hate boolean o_O And I really Really REALLY hated it XD
For me, this is one of the biggest things I want to work correctly in Blender. When I started doing 3D in 1994 with early AutoCAD, the Boolean modifiers were what I used to make just about everything. Back in the day when 3D programs didn’t have a function to draw a circle or a sphere. When I first tried Blender, the piss poor performance in the Booleans was probably my biggest frustration. But I think with using your method here, it will help me speed up my modeling… I still think the same way I used to when modeling which has proven to be a pain with Blender. Thanks for the tip.
Messy Messy Messy take the time in the first place better results!
Hey Jonathan,
you see its not even close to it…by the way in the darker plane there “should” be the text 
(done with uv rapping…) well i dont know how to continue, anyhow this result isnt good enough for presenting it 
, so if anyone got time and wants to go for it, here are the project files:
I know its actually not really fitting here, but maybe you or one of the guys who read this could help me ^^. I started working with blender and 3d about 2-3 weeks ago, your videos helped a lot (thx). So i should do this thing
http://tinyurl.com/trophycha (dont worry no virus) for company, and my result looks like this: http://tinyurl.com/ownpic …well
http://tinyurl.com/blendercookie
thx in advance
or some tips would be good enough too
i try again then 
Thanks!