Template:Maya2017 Polygon Normals

Normals

Toggle normal display on your currently selected object

If your normal is oriented the wrong way (the face is black), you have to Reverse the normal of the face

In Maya each surface has a front side and a back side. This has consequences for how the face responds to certain commands. Which side is the front and back can be shown by the normals. You can display the normals of a face by selecting the face, then going to Display > Polygons > Face Normals:

On one side you'll see a line perpendicular to the face. This side is the front. If you would extrude this face the arrow will point in that direction too. If you want to change front and back, select the face and go to Mesh Display > Reverse:

The faces of a volume also have normals. The normals of primitives automatically are turned outwards.

If you have created a volume out of a face and have trouble with an operation like Booleans, check if the normals of both objects are turned outwards. If not, select the object(s) with the normals in the wrong direction and reverse them.

To hide the normals, select the object and go to Display > Polygons > Face Normals again.