Hard Ops & Boxcutter - A tutorial for NOOBS (Blender)

In this video, we'll be discussing beginner tips and tricks for the Hard Ops & Boxcutter addons.
►► Our Blender courses & resources - www.blenderbros.com
Buy Hard Ops & Boxcutter (affiliate): gumroad.com/a/811037811
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MY FAVORITE BLENDER ADDONS:
🔳 UV PackMaster 2 Pro: gumroad.com/a/1027609715
⚙️ Hard Ops/Boxcutter: gumroad.com/a/811037811
🔨 Decal/Mesh Machine: gumroad.com/a/766964851
🧘‍♂️ Zen UV - gumroad.com/a/997463155
⛮ Kit Ops 2 Pro: gumroad.com/a/779940979
💾 PowerSave: gumroad.com/a/442037363
🔌 Cablerator: gumroad.com/a/341111923
SOCIALS:
💻 Website - www.blenderbros.com/
📚 Our products - www.blenderbros.com/store
🏪 Gumroad - gumroad.com/theblenderbros
☎️ Discord - / discord
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🎨 Artstation - www.artstation.com/blenderbros
CONTACT:
📱 Inquiries/questions - [e-mail]
**Some addons listed above may contain affiliate links, giving me a small commission from any sales made. I only promote addons that I use personally.

[@michaelthomaswilson]

Excellent video and a gift to this community. There are so many little tweaks and settings throughout the workflow that have such a great impact and you did a great job focusing on those. Also your design philosophies shared throughout are a wonderful added bonus. Thanks for putting this out there.

[@earlylights2852]

Can't thank you enough! Thanks a lot for this! I really loved the cavity setting, the edge do pop! Never really knew why my models never looked this good. One suggestion: Perhaps its a great tutorial idea to show the main HOPS features & their equivalent vanilla ones side by side to explain the concept behind them. So that a newbie can understand the actual intricacies of what HOPS helps them achieve in a single click.

[@AndrewMaksymBrainNectar]

Thank you so much for sharing these. This is like all the beautiful level designs I see in Halo and ID software games.

[@Gester143]

This tutorial honestly came with more than just explaining hard ops and boxcutter - thank you per usual ⭐

[@TezzRah]

oof hard ops and box cutter are truly a mission to learn, but you guys make it seem easier - I purchased some tutorials from your website aswell they are a godsend, keep up the good work!

[@JoshGambrell]

Thanks a lot, Tezz!

[@dimension2395]

Thank You, Josh, you are the light at the end of the tunnel. I've downloaded UV and E-book and they're awesome! When I grow to good 3D artist I will donate you so much cash as you gave me knowings. Keep doing, man, you're the best!

[@Arte_D-zs9qi]

Very helpful, learning these add-ons is a long journey, but you are making it much easier. Thanks

[@jeffdavies2824]

Finally, I'm taking the time to "buckle-down" and learn hard ops and box cutter. I've been more of a monkey with a machine gun until lately. This tutorial really helped me to get started with HOPS expecially.👍

[@annidobo]

This was quite mind-blowing

[@javadahmadi]

This was an excellent video. Finally, I get BoxCutter.

[@darshjoshi1641]

Beautiful techniques.

[@yeahrightbear8883]

Great video but I disagree with your first point. I think it's very important to copy real world objects. Most people don't notice the details of an object until they really look at it. And copying an object forces you to look at the details. And so once you have copied multiple objects you start to see patterns and learn common design characteristics and ideas that you can then implement into your own designs. Think of something you interact with every day. Could you draw it accurately from memory? Probably not. Your brain looks at things enough to recognize them but not enough to replicate them accurately.

[@snark567]

I think if you're just starting to learn the tools, copying existing objects would be a more frustrating experience as you'll constantly struggle finding exactly what to use and how to achieve a certain effect so you can be faithful to whatever you are trying to copy. It takes you out of the experience constantly, breaks the flow and makes the process un-enjoyable which might make people give up. Modeling from imagination means you can just mess around with the tools and have fun. I think this is a very important thing to do at the beginning, people will naturally start to pick up on how to use everything else once the process no longer seems intimidating.

[@jgdublin]

​@@snark567 While it is true that experimentation (play) can lead to the accidental discovery of knowledge, beginners don't understand the full significance of that knowledge because, well... they are beginners. Beginners require structure in the form of learning objectives and any useful learning objective should be challenging if it's not you can be sure they aren't learning much. What is very important in the early stages is that learners have a sense of progress, completing objectives gives them that.

[@snark567]

@@jgdublin I see where you're coming from, however everyone has a different approach to learning. I for instance would rather learn the bare bone basics of how to use the program and just create random stuff until I get to a point where I want to make something and I don't know how, which leads me to a tutorial on that specific thing. It's more of a learn on a need to know basis kind of thing. When you're following a structured tutorial trying to cover every nook and cranny of a program, it gets tiring because not only do you not care about the temporary things you are copying from the tutorial (like the Blender donut thing) but you're also wasting your time learning a lot of things you're most likely not going to use any time soon and by the time you actually do need to use them, you'd have forgotten how and would need to watch another tutorial again. All of this just makes the process stressful and boring. Most people don't want to sit through multiple long tutorials in which they do stuff they don't care about. So while extreme hand holding and copying pre existing objects to a T can be helpful for some people who just want to be sat down and told what to do. Others benefit more from learning the bare minimum and just messing around, only searching for more tutorials whenever they hit a bump.

[@jgdublin]

​@@snark567 you made me laugh with that bloody donut tutorial, lol . I agree with what you are saying, I'm just balancing out the comment section, with the counter argument. Personally I'm more inclined to do my own thing as well.

[@Dimplesapplepie]

I learned a tons alike, and it was sometimes a challenge. Any all new designer need to copy the real life.

[@sudayang1230]

Great video!

[@faddlewaddle2615]

Fantastic! Thank you for this video.

[@ttpechon2535]

OMG that merge by distance thing is amazing! All my models have the double vert issue everywhere!

[@derrickdouglass]

Thank you Josh!

[@Yodiebro]

I just got boxcutter and hardops and this is perfect

[@vitaliyred622]

Oh I just wanted a banokular for my project, this could work! Time to model! Thanks for the video!

[@cryptocite3366]

thank you for making this tutorial

[@Peteristrate]

Brilliant! Thank you :)

[@jakemarcus9999]

Super good video. Thanks a lot m8

[@kimmysander2447]

nice little video, this seems a lot easier than what im used to with 3ds max.

[@mootzartdev]

Top form as always Josh

[@JoshGambrell]

Thank you!

[@triphan5535]

thank you for your advice

[@henryvasquez1814]

Hey Josh, I think the best way to access the different types of mirrors after pressing Alt + X is to press Alt and scroll the MMB, try it, I think is quicker and more efficient.

[@JoshGambrell]

Good note!

[@watch9994]

Amazing video, thx u for it!

[@ubertcoolie8694]

thanks, your tutorials a awsome

[@keal4825]

Thank you so much, very nice

[@sqwert654]

Had Ho/Bx for couple of weeks, once my Fusion360 sub ends this will be my go to tool. With the added plus of cleaner topology.

[@xylvnking]

Great intro, thanks :)

[@baskapes762]

Just became a blender noob, perfect video for me 😎

[@retrojames4226]

I've purchased hard ops and boxcutter after watching many of your videos. They make life so much easier when modelling. I'm a noob, and created an entire room (swimming pool area) as 1 shape. There were so many problems that the lighting and materials wouldn't work correctly because it was a non-manifold object that was too messy to fix. I am never doing that again 🤣

[@ScorpionIsGoofy]

this plugin is so cool

[@dandiegor]

Nice!

[@Kalliko3DArt]

lol just bought these 2 in a bundle and 5 mins later you release this haha, thanks!

[@JoshGambrell]

Perfect! Let’s get it!!

[@michaelverheyen5531]

@@JoshGambrell Josh from about 4.40 minutes your key input isn't visible anymore, the mouse stays on the screen but keystrokes aren't displayed. Thank you for the effort you always put in your tutorials, learned a lot form it.

[@tobyhallam4750]

Josh, you are the Bob Ross of 3D modelling !

[@artworks3d]

I'm back to learning Blender after a 3-year absence (health & personal reasons), and WOW have I forgotten a ton... But Josh's tutorials are always so great to follow along and incredibly easy to follow! Thank you as always Josh... Okay, I'm using Blender 3.5.1 (Mac OS X) so I'm guessing some of the hot keys (and/or options) may have changed since this video was made, but at 2:02 (Josh's settings) my settings don't have any of the same options as his... Also, I do have Box Cutter (and HOps) installed-no idea what release version it is; whatever was current in 2020-but pressing the "D" key does absolutely nothing when I've activated Box Cutter. Additionally, a lot of the hot key commands for BC result in loads of Python errors. I'm really wanting to learn BC (and HOps) but right now it's impossible. Any workaround or suggestions?

[@richardroche1463]

Hey Josh, I finally decided that learning HardOPS & Boxcutter and Hard surface modeling (HSM) is what I need to focus on first. I have been just messing around but, finally I want to master HSM which means Hard OPS & Boxcutter. I just tried your link for Hops guide and it says page not found. I would love to see and learn all the hot keys. Thanks, Rich

[@freedoggee7614]

Another awesome design and thoughts tutorial! When we turn of loop slide, areas where geometry bevel intersect with bevel modifier slides and creates shading issue. I wonder what option is better in this case? Example like a side of the mesh with champfer

[@I_am_Spartacus]

Just did my first Hard Ops 'thing' following this video... it was really helpful, cheers! However I will point out you didn't really explain how to use some of the tools that well, like the NGon knife tool, it took me a few gos to get that working properly...and also, the last part about duplicating the model to get those 2 faces to create a boolean, would of been much quicker to duplicate the faces, separate and then boolean.. but I understand what your point was with what Hard Ops could do...

[@Gonzoyd]

Awesome tutorial. Thanks Josh, want to be someday a great prop 3D artist and your tutorials really help me a lot.

[@Blue-eu5qn]

This was great, especially the bounds center for origin. I've been looking for a way to do that for 2 days now. But I'm having a rough time understanding how the cutters interact with each other in their alternate dimension. Can you recommend a video that deals with this? Thanks

[@angTranang]

Tks sir

[@alevcopur]

Hi Josh, I have installed hard ops and boxcutter. It is great. However, in the newest blender version I can not find how to set your settings in 2:15 any help is appreciated

[@kobyhatton549]

Had the same issue! You just need to click the boxcutter button on the left side of the screen to make it active. It looks like this: i.imgur.com/183p3ZM.png

[@ianmcglasham]

I am a huge fan of quad based topology but too many people think that a sub division solution is the way to model a new design. It's not. This is the correct way. Use these tools and be creative. Wasting your time worrying about topology at this stage is too restictive. Crating a quad based version comes later - if at all! Modelling should be free and creative. Good topology can make for boring objects because the sub-d solution is so difficult that you compromise and choose a simpler shape. Go wild. Use these tools and worry about 'fixing' them later only if you need to. Great video.

[@JoshGambrell]

Absolutely spot on, Ian! Exactly my sentiments.

[@Handcraftedcc]

Quads are overrated. It's good to know when quad topology is needed, but especially for hard surface stuff more often than not if you can get clean surfaces without shading errors your good to go.

[@Moonstalker383]

Is the Hard Ops & Boxcutter shortcut guide no longer available?

[@UniflixmediaChannel]

Hey bro! Love what you do here on youtube. Im learning a lot from you. I tried to get your shortcut guide but it seems like the link isnt working. can you update it for us? Thank you! great work.

[@qualitysket3134]

When we follow your game asset tutorials do you recommend we create the same asset or our own asset?

[@veqv]

Great Video! It looks like the pdf isn't available anymore?

[@MrMagicPenguin12]

What settings are you using to have the edges of your mesh in Object Mode look like they already have a small bevel? Is this a mat cap thing? Edit: Sorry I didn't watch through! For any future people, at 11:52 it is explained Go to Viewport Shading -> Cavity

[@f612CreatorsPodcast]

You are awesome lol

[@NerdLegionInc]

So i got the addon thinking it might be able to help me with 3d kitbashing making it easier to slice objects up. but now i'm not sure if that's the case. Is this something I can use it for?

[@o.kiryukhin]

Hello, Josh! Thank you for video. Hard Ops & Boxcutter are amazing addons. Can you update hops-guide link?

[@PriyaSingh-ci2kr]

Hello, do you have the addon downloaded? if yes can you please share with me too. I can't afford to buy them and I want to learn. I would really appreciate it.

[@xamako3]

What software do you use to show key and mouse strokes in real time? Please

[@theodorschnoor4921]

Is there any alternative for control tilde?

[@Messir]

How did you enable grid snap at 2:40?

[@netyimeni169]

with almost every operation I was like "YOU CAN DO THAT???"

[@gundajek6431]

Whats the key for Hops helper menu? on 6:33

[@FischersFritze12]

Nice Tutrial to HardOps, but where can i find the Hops helper, like urs at 6:34 ? Im german i dont know what Tilda is ?

[@davincitaq]

😍

[@edru5087]

HardOps and BoxCutter. How do you change the text size and position of on screen text?. Thank you.

[@user-iu2ez4bo7p]

Will there be any issues when 3D printing? In other words, do these add-on make anything LOOK smooth, etc but not actually be smooth

[@mikkor3]

How do you make the lines visible when you use boxcutter, I cant see the boxes like you can at 13:53 in the video

[@eagleeye6662]

can I use hard ops and box cutter in blender 3.1.2 ?

[@emptyname7091]

yay sci-fi hot pocket for learning

[@aggers2325]

Sorry for the silly question, but my blender's interface looks completely different, i have no "settings" icon or "non destructive" dropdown etc that you select 2 mins in, i have boxcutter and hardops installed on blender 3.0.1

[@justin7649]

I'm having the same issue. I'm guessing that our versions are outdated and require an update. The problem I have is that I purchased Hardops/Boxcutter Bundle (in 2019) on gumroad while I wasn't "logged in" and I no longer have the purchase email...

[@RichieCastellano]

@Neb6 Thank you!

[@J0hn4rt15t]

​@Neb6 That means I have to buy boxCutter also. I have bought only HardOps. There is another way to make these settings? Thanks

[@Plum_Bob]

What is Q Tilder?

[@oshinoyoshida]

page not found for the shortcut file

[@punker3d514]

Ummm. HardOps BoxCutter noob here...how do you access the settings you are saying we should copy? I see an entire extra row of icons you have that I don't, including the one with the gear icon that has the drop down to access all these settings. What am I missing? Thanks!

[@nasmith67]

you need to hit "Alt=W" for to make it acting. Hit "N" on your keyboard after selecting an open space in the viewport and you should see BC in the list on the right side. There will be a pop-up explaining what to do

[@jmalmsten]

Is it possible to open that helper window any other way? I mean... I ask as I live in a country that doesn't have a dedicated tilde-key on our keyboards. :P

[@pedrocalazans7873]

I can't move my câmera when i use buxcutter, why? (I change pan and rotate shortkeys for extra buttons on my mouse, 4 and 5. Zoom is working) I need change this shortkeys in another place?

[@blenderytrabajo5329]

which is that addon?

[@alanwashington7231]

What version of Blender are these tutorials made in? I am using Win 11 and Blender V3.0.1 with a multitude of problems

[@persianleague399]

I have the same questions, and also I have to re-code the "__init__" file in boxcutter folder every time blender crashes (Which happens so often) and boxcutter itself does not work properly- for exp: circle cutting mode enlarges when applied to the model ... I'm using boxcutter 7.1.7 on blender 3.

[@RinconDelSaiyaman]

Hi, I'm having a problem while I use the Cut tool. Every time I use the tool It doesn't make the correct cut, Sometimes adds an extra square or it change the scale for no reason. Any sugestions? this is driving me nuts

[@sarahg.3357]

Seems like you need to update the versions of your addons so it match the new version of Blender you're working on ! Had the same issue and it fixed it

[@otherworlds9677]

I'm a beginner, so I don't want a bunch of addons that are gonna get me all confused, and alter my workflow to the point that I can't follow along with tutorials and such. Which addons do you recommend for a user that is just starting out? Just the absolute essentials (I understand that none of them are absolutely needed.)

[@Remm3d]

none, learn vanilla if possible, the addons depend on what you wanna go into specifically, example, boxcutter and hardops are only useful for hard surface modelling, they can be used otherwise but aren't worth the time to learn, in the same way, you should find addons that fasten your workflow and help in what you make

[@sasoritaiga]

is that a blowdryer in the background? There is an odd whine throughout the video.

[@HavelockVetinarii]

subscribed for saying you want the edges to pop, Josh groban likes when things pop!

[@SeanLake3D]

@2:08 you're showing settings that I don't see in my version. I'm up to date, but not sure where that menu lies

[@InTheRedShirt]

Seems like it's primary purpose is for 3D rendering. Can these same techniques be used for modeling for 3D printing and production?

[@JoshGambrell]

3d printing/production would depend. If i was passing this through a VFX pipeline i’d retopo it. If it was a game asset no need. 3d printing you must ensure the mesh is manifold, which you can check with the 3D-Print toolbox addon. This one would be fine for printing.

[@atarada7886]

Hi, i dont know what happen but my blender crash when i to try to use boxcutter. Any help?

[@DannyEastes]

D key does not seem to do anything on my blender

[@carlobruzzese2644]

Hello! I want to purchase Hardops and Box cutter for Blender, but Im not sure if it's a subscription payment or a One off payment ? HELP! love the video cheers

[@husaruser6594]

Hi, everytime i try to make a hole with a box cutter addon 13:50, blender crashes. Is it because of the version of blender? blender 3.5

[@earth355]

Hey i tried to download the guide but the page is not opening. Can u solve this issue josh ?

[@zhengyiyu9093]

Question, when I am in edit mode, I press Q, but didn’t get the menu pop out..

[@leonardosouza5066]

at 13:31, how you scale along y axis to the left and right at same time? For me scale just for one side =(

[@NikitaGal31]

Does anyone know is there something similar for Maya?

[@bigfilsing]

Like the vid but as its NOOBS it might have been a good idea tp explain what Hardops & Box cutter are and what they achieve over and above the stock Blender tools

[@JoshGambrell]

Well, I assume people are only watching this is they’ve purchased the addon, meaning they have a rough idea of what the tools do.

[@Belarus9000]

17*46 what menu does the face mod open? Is this some kind of third party addon?

[@BuilTaDestroy]

I'm having a problem extruding on time stamp 21:28 When I do my normals are flipped, so when I try to run a difference booling it shows up as red shades. I tried to flip my normals and then run the difference but small red random shades pop out too. What am I doing wrong?

[@BuilTaDestroy]

figured it out, I just needed to turn off the face orientation. It can be turned on just to be conscious if your normals are facing the right way.

[@bluecracy]

May be late for this, but Link for shortcuts it's broken and I can't find that guide on your website.

[@Mercurio2435]

This is what Hot Pocket sleeves will look like in the future.

[@jw-creations6136]

i sthere any other way to open the Hops Helper? i have a european keyboard and tilde doesnt exist. i trie dout other combinations but wont work.

[@travisslade]

At 13:25 you add an overall bevel. When I do this, all of the edges go crazy. What am I missing?

[@coversauce4786]

I think he used scale instead of bevel

[@keithmccabe6149]

Working on this. I get to the point of drawing the box for the 'case' for the object, and the box will only align to the view - it won't align to the object. I checked settings, and it is set to align to object but refuses to. I've tried restarting both Blender and my computer, no dice. Tried a brand new box file and the box cutter aligned to object. Not sure what to do to resolve?

[@PriyaSingh-ci2kr]

Hello, do you have the addon downloaded? if yes can you please share with me too. I can't afford to but them and i want to learn. i would really appreciate it.

[@Table-Top]

CTRL-X is not doing for me what its doing for you. How do I set up CRTL-X to be the same as yours ? And I have MeshMachine too, but that symmetry option is not there for me .

[@Tokirealy]

I'm having a problem at 20:02 after pressing F key, everything becomes broken and its not becoming single engone any solutions?

[@oldmanchristmas1622]

At 18 minutes we make a case around the object by pressing Q and shift clicking curve extract. For me it looks nothing like his does when I do that. It only starts looking like his when I apply the solidify modifier. Is there a setting I can put on to have his results.

[@RuiLionheart]

Heya! I believe that you forgot one small step. When he perfoms the solidify operation he does: Q + Shift + Curve Extract. Same was happening to me, went back and noticed that I've missed that. Hope it helps!

[@chyneset2666]

@@RuiLionheart Great Question. Awesome reply! Great tip! Was making me crazy!

[@AnimeAndLyricz]

How is that menu spread out up there? For me it's just a menu next to the "object" tab on the top part of the viewport

[@AnimeAndLyricz]

nvm, i can see the menus now

[@erlson]

the link to the hotkey guide is no longer working

[@Norman_Peterson]

how do you manage to model like this with ngons, multi-vertex faces and have no artifacts and be able to unwrap?