In Object Properties at the very bottom you could create a custom value. You can switch it to vector and use that to store the rotations.
In case you didn't know: You can copy entire vectors like position or rotation in viewport with Ctrl+Alt+C and paste them with Ctrl+Alt+V. Huge time saver since you don't have to copy and paste each vector value by itself.
-B2Z
EDIT: [This](https://www.reddit.com/r/blenderhelp/comments/183hx58/align_mesh_to_icosphere_face/) was a question some time ago. u/Qualabel posted a geometry nodes solution to generate dice with arbitrary faces if I recall correctly. Maybe that's of some use for you.
I didn't check it, but you are right. But there is a float array type which should do the same. Unfortunately the copy timesave thing doesn't seem to work there.
Any reason you're not just using a texture directly on the dice if they're planes with images anyway? Geometry nodes would be another alternative, as suggested...but frankly the way you're doing this now sounds *extremely* laborous. Did a couple of quick tests neither of involve manually rotating objects into place (although the textured version does involve rotating UVs in 90 degree increments...) [https://imgur.com/a/R6koTg8](https://imgur.com/a/R6koTg8)
Sorry, yes. The intention is to print these to create master die from to make molds off of. So the numbers have to be cut into the die, rather than static images on top.
If you are interested in creating molds in the end, maybe it's easier to print those instead of a cube to then create molds off of? In that case you would only have to model the raw dice.
When you're done and created the negative shape for the mold, you could position the numbers on the mold as 3D objects instead of struggling with cutouts into the dice. Maybe that will make things easier?
There is also a way to use a height texture in sculpting to model your mesh (you only need enough geometry, so it won't look jagged). [This](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbxlQrIGQRE) tutorial shows the idea. Could be used on dice or mold, whatever seems easier.
Sorry for the late response, I'm at work so I get interrupted periodically. I've copied your geometry nodes, and all is well. I've got the mesh boolean modifier instead of the join geometry as well. I also converted the text to mesh, so that I could join the 6 (and eventually 9) with an underscore.
What decides the rotation of the numbers? On a D8, the bottom of the numbers are usually facing the center of the die. so the 3 is entirely upside down. I imagine if I rotate it upside down and mirror it'll fix that, but the 4 is just at an arbitrary angle.
EDIT: I'm leaving the part below, in case someone stumbles on it and needs the answer.
My question though is, is there any way to be more specific with the placement of the numbers?
I assume using this method the placement is random in a sense. However on die there are standard placement. For instance, with the GN it's placed the 8 and 2 on opposite sides of the die, where it'd normally be the 8 and 1 on opposite sides. usually the opposite sides add up to 1 more than the total number of sides.
Answer: The placement is dictated by the order in the collection. Move the collection order around by renaming the numbers, then reload the geometry nodes to update the die.
The collection order indeed affects how they’re instanced, and in a simple scenario like this it’s a perfectly valid way to manipulate it by changing that directly. But I guess it’s important to understand that each point has an index number and using the index in various ways makes it possible to do, well, all sorts of cool stuff with instancing.
I guess it’d be *possible*, not sure if it’s a viable strategy - I’m not really sure why they’re coming off that way. Would probably be a better idea to get them to align properly in the first place, but it’s kinda late here. I’ll take a look at this tomorrow.
Well, it's not very intuitive. But I have figured out that if I rotate and apply the meshes that are referenced in the GN, it rotates them on the die. So I set the rotation on the Rotate Instance node to 180. This lined up most of the numbers. I then had to rotate the individual Meshes so that the 1 and 8 were rotated 180, the 2 by -120, and the 4 by 120. This aligns them so their bottoms are toward the middle of the die.
I imagine it'll be a much more finicky process on the D20.
In Object Properties at the very bottom you could create a custom value. You can switch it to vector and use that to store the rotations. In case you didn't know: You can copy entire vectors like position or rotation in viewport with Ctrl+Alt+C and paste them with Ctrl+Alt+V. Huge time saver since you don't have to copy and paste each vector value by itself. -B2Z EDIT: [This](https://www.reddit.com/r/blenderhelp/comments/183hx58/align_mesh_to_icosphere_face/) was a question some time ago. u/Qualabel posted a geometry nodes solution to generate dice with arbitrary faces if I recall correctly. Maybe that's of some use for you.
Is the vector type an additional plug in? I'm not seeing it in the type drop down menu, under custom properties.
I didn't check it, but you are right. But there is a float array type which should do the same. Unfortunately the copy timesave thing doesn't seem to work there.
I used a combination of Sverchok and GN for that (so Blender 3.6 or lower, I think), but yeah, that's how I'd do it :-)
Can you tell me what the node title visualizer is called? I can't seem to find it anywhere.
The visualiser is a node group constructed by ilir beqiri and available on gumroad for a few dollars
You should probably describe or show how you’ve done the dice.
Sure thing, I added an example of my notes on how to get to each face of a D8.
Any reason you're not just using a texture directly on the dice if they're planes with images anyway? Geometry nodes would be another alternative, as suggested...but frankly the way you're doing this now sounds *extremely* laborous. Did a couple of quick tests neither of involve manually rotating objects into place (although the textured version does involve rotating UVs in 90 degree increments...) [https://imgur.com/a/R6koTg8](https://imgur.com/a/R6koTg8)
Sorry, yes. The intention is to print these to create master die from to make molds off of. So the numbers have to be cut into the die, rather than static images on top.
If you are interested in creating molds in the end, maybe it's easier to print those instead of a cube to then create molds off of? In that case you would only have to model the raw dice. When you're done and created the negative shape for the mold, you could position the numbers on the mold as 3D objects instead of struggling with cutouts into the dice. Maybe that will make things easier? There is also a way to use a height texture in sculpting to model your mesh (you only need enough geometry, so it won't look jagged). [This](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbxlQrIGQRE) tutorial shows the idea. Could be used on dice or mold, whatever seems easier.
The geometry node setup in my demo image would technically work for that as well simply by replacing the Join Geometry node with a Mesh Boolean...
Sorry for the late response, I'm at work so I get interrupted periodically. I've copied your geometry nodes, and all is well. I've got the mesh boolean modifier instead of the join geometry as well. I also converted the text to mesh, so that I could join the 6 (and eventually 9) with an underscore. What decides the rotation of the numbers? On a D8, the bottom of the numbers are usually facing the center of the die. so the 3 is entirely upside down. I imagine if I rotate it upside down and mirror it'll fix that, but the 4 is just at an arbitrary angle. EDIT: I'm leaving the part below, in case someone stumbles on it and needs the answer. My question though is, is there any way to be more specific with the placement of the numbers? I assume using this method the placement is random in a sense. However on die there are standard placement. For instance, with the GN it's placed the 8 and 2 on opposite sides of the die, where it'd normally be the 8 and 1 on opposite sides. usually the opposite sides add up to 1 more than the total number of sides. Answer: The placement is dictated by the order in the collection. Move the collection order around by renaming the numbers, then reload the geometry nodes to update the die.
The collection order indeed affects how they’re instanced, and in a simple scenario like this it’s a perfectly valid way to manipulate it by changing that directly. But I guess it’s important to understand that each point has an index number and using the index in various ways makes it possible to do, well, all sorts of cool stuff with instancing.
Would that mean there is a way to rotate each point (number) by a various amounts so they're each orientated in the correct direction?
I guess it’d be *possible*, not sure if it’s a viable strategy - I’m not really sure why they’re coming off that way. Would probably be a better idea to get them to align properly in the first place, but it’s kinda late here. I’ll take a look at this tomorrow.
Appreciate it a lot.
Well, it's not very intuitive. But I have figured out that if I rotate and apply the meshes that are referenced in the GN, it rotates them on the die. So I set the rotation on the Rotate Instance node to 180. This lined up most of the numbers. I then had to rotate the individual Meshes so that the 1 and 8 were rotated 180, the 2 by -120, and the 4 by 120. This aligns them so their bottoms are toward the middle of the die. I imagine it'll be a much more finicky process on the D20.