Solidify Modifier

This modifier tutorial is about the solidify modifier which is a cheap way to extrude a basic 2D shape into three dimensions without adding extra vertices.

I started here with a rather lame 2D star looking shape. You can create this by adding a plane, going into Edit Mode, deleting the vertices. Then, holding the Ctrl Key, left click to add vertices in a star shape. Select all the vertices (A Key) and hit Alt + F to add faces.

Then we Tab out of Edit Mode and add a Solidify Modifier:

The first thing you'll notice is not much happens. :)

That's because the thickness is set by default very low. To change this, slide the Thickness slider. The Thickness controls how far it extrudes or how "thick" it is.

The Offset controls where the thickness is extruded (relative to the center). At -1 it extrudes it completely in one direction. Changing it to 1 will make it extrude completely in the opposite direction.

Another important option is Fill Rim. If it is not turned on you will just get two separate copies of the same flat shape. Turning this option on will add a face on the rim.

The empty box with the dots in front is a Vertex Group box. You can specify a certain (pre-established) group of vertices to apply the solidify to. 

Quickly tab into Edit Mode and deselect everything. Then, select the four vertices in the middle and hit Ctrl G to add a new vertex group. In the Properties window, you can click on the Object Data tab and look at all the vertex groups, delete them, add new ones etc.

Now select that group for the Solidify modifier and you should get something like this:

Some other uses of the Solidify Modifier include:

• adding thickness to a Spin modeled glass vase
• adding depth to traced logos or text