I’m trying to set up a Technical display mode for poly surfaces where only the outer edge boundary of the polysrfs shows up but any joined internal edges don’t.
Any suggestions?
Thanks, Steve
Hi Jeremy,
Thanks for chiming in. Unfortunately my problem is a bit uglier than that. I have a series of polysrfs and I want to just show the border of each polysrf without the internal edges. (see attached)
I am joining a whole bunch of srfs that have come from SubD to Nurbs together to make more logical panels for fabrication that then get meshed. Once meshed the problem goes away, but it would be nice if I could see the panels as I go to stop my tired old brain from getting confused.
I suspect this isn’t possible 
This is just while I’
Nice model of Sonic. Made in Rhino with SubD and then converted to NURBS, or is it an imported 3d mesh from an external file? It’s it free?
I used to create Sonic, Toe Jam, Blaze Fielding, Axel Stone, Sammy Hunter, Dr. Zan, Signal, Mister X and other “Sega” characters for fan games 20 years ago.
Hi Bobi,
Sonic model is most definitely not free or available
We are working with Sega to produce a bunch of giant inflatable characters. Yes, SubD modelled then convert to Nurbs. These are already in production, but I used that model as an example of what I needed for the display mode to make my life easier.
Cheers, Steve
Great work on making Sonic so close to the actual game model! 
Brings so many memories from my young years. I prefer Sonic’s classic round design from the early 90’s, but the modern version is also nice in its own way.
Here is a brief example of ToeJam whose 3d mesh model I created in 3ds max in the early 2000’s. Plus the original cover of the game for Sega Mega drive that I used as a reference.
Have you tried to select the surface / polysurface, open the Properties panel and set isocurve density to 0 under Display?
This is a problem I’ve always struggled with as well.
When I convert SubD to NURBS, it creates multiple split faces. If I turn off “Edges” in the Technical Display mode, it hides the surface edges as well, which isn’t the result I want. (Ideally, I only want the internal/joined edges to disappear, while keeping the main outline).
Also, there’s a strange glitch: with Edges turned ON, if I right-click and pan/rotate the screen, it temporarily displays exactly how I want it to look…
Note: The characters are my own original creations, inspired by the concept of crayons and pencils.
SystemInfo
Rhino 8 SR33 2026-7-7 (Rhino 8, 8.33.26188.13001, Git hash:master @ 482f88a83547c62cde64d78ea8a8690b7349f289)
License type: Not For Resale Lab, build 2026-07-07
License details: Cloud Zoo
Windows 11 (10.0.26200 SR0.0) or greater (Physical RAM: 32GB)
.NET 8.0.14
Computer platform: DESKTOP
Standard graphics configuration.
Primary display and OpenGL: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (NVidia) Memory: 24GB, Driver date: 4-23-2026 (M-D-Y). OpenGL Ver: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 596.36
> Accelerated graphics device with 4 adapter port(s)
- Windows Main Display attached to adapter port #0
- Secondary monitor attached to adapter port #1
OpenGL Settings
Safe mode: Off
Use accelerated hardware modes: On
GPU Tessellation is: On
Redraw scene when viewports are exposed: On
Graphics level being used: OpenGL 4.6 (primary GPU’s maximum)
Anti-alias mode: 4x
Mip Map Filtering: Linear
Anisotropic Filtering Mode: High
Vendor Name: NVIDIA Corporation
Render version: 4.6
Shading Language: 4.60 NVIDIA
Driver Date: 4-23-2026
Driver Version: 32.0.15.9636
Maximum Texture size: 32768 x 32768
Z-Buffer depth: 24 bits
Maximum Viewport size: 32768 x 32768
Total Video Memory: 24 GB
Rhino plugins that do not ship with Rhino
C:\Users\PLSALES\AppData\Roaming\McNeel\Rhinoceros\packages\8.0\NVIDIADenoiser\0.4.3\NVIDIADenoiser.Windows.rhp “NVIDIADenoiser.Windows” 0.4.3.0
C:\Users\PLSALES\AppData\Roaming\McNeel\Rhinoceros\packages\8.0\II Combined Tools\1.0.1\II Combined Tools.rhp “II Combined Tools” 0.0.0.0
C:\Users\PLSALES\source\repos\MaterialGen\MaterialGen\bin\Debug\net7.0-windows\MaterialGen.rhp “MaterialGen” 1.0.0.0
C:\Users\PLSALES\source\repos\Gemini AI Render\Gemini AI Render\bin\Debug\net7.0\Gemini AI Render.rhp “Gemini AI Render” 1.0.0.0
C:\Users\PLSALES\AppData\Roaming\McNeel\Rhinoceros\packages\8.0\RhinoFrame\0.1.0-beta.19\RhinoFrame.rhp “RhinoFrame” 0.1.0.0
C:\Users\PLSALES\AppData\Roaming\McNeel\Rhinoceros\packages\8.0\byRhinoGadget\1.5.1\byRhinoGadget.rhp “byRhinoGadget” 1.0.0.0
C:\Users\PLSALES\AppData\Roaming\McNeel\Rhinoceros\packages\8.0\byRhinoGadget\1.5.1\byRhinoGadgetPlus.rhp “byRhinoGadgetPlus” 0.0.0.0
C:\Users\PLSALES\source\repos\YT Player\bin\Release\YouTubePlayer.rhp “YouTube Player” 1.0.0.0
C:\Users\PLSALES\AppData\Roaming\McNeel\Rhinoceros\packages\8.0\Iris\0.7.1\Iris.V7.rhp “Iris” 1.0.0.0
C:\Program Files\Bongo 2.0 (64-bit)\Rhino6\Bongo.20.rhp “Bongo 2.0”
C:\Users\PLSALES\AppData\Roaming\McNeel\Rhinoceros\packages\8.0\jifto\0.9.1\net8.0-windows\jifto.rhp “jifto” 0.9.1.0
C:\Users\PLSALES\AppData\Roaming\McNeel\Rhinoceros\packages\8.0\RhinoBanana\0.1.15-beta.1\net7.0\RhinoBanana.rhp “RhinoBanana” 0.1.15.0
C:\Users\PLSALES\AppData\Roaming\McNeel\Rhinoceros\packages\8.0\RhinoPolyhedra\8.25.25328.11001\net7.0\RhinoPolyhedra.rhp “RhinoPolyhedra” 8.25.25328.11001
Rhino plugins that ship with Rhino
C:\Program Files\Rhino 8\Plug-ins\Commands.rhp “Commands” 8.33.26188.13001
C:\Program Files\Rhino 8\Plug-ins\rdk.rhp “Renderer Development Kit”
C:\Program Files\Rhino 8\Plug-ins\SectionTools.rhp “SectionTools”
C:\Program Files\Rhino 8\Plug-ins\MPlane.rhp “MPlane”
C:\Program Files\Rhino 8\Plug-ins\Displacement.rhp “Displacement”
C:\Program Files\Rhino 8\Plug-ins\RhinoRenderCycles.rhp “Rhino Render” 8.33.26188.13001
C:\Program Files\Rhino 8\Plug-ins\RhinoRender.rhp “Legacy Rhino Render”
C:\Program Files\Rhino 8\Plug-ins\rdk_etoui.rhp “RDK_EtoUI” 8.33.26188.13001
C:\Users\PLSALES\AppData\Roaming\McNeel\Rhinoceros\packages\8.0\PanelingTools\2024.8.20.677\PanelingTools.rhp “PanelingTools”
C:\Program Files\Rhino 8\Plug-ins\NamedSnapshots.rhp “Snapshots”
C:\Program Files\Rhino 8\Plug-ins\Toolbars\Toolbars.rhp “Toolbars” 8.33.26188.13001
C:\Program Files\Rhino 8\Plug-ins\MeshCommands.rhp “MeshCommands” 8.33.26188.13001
C:\Program Files\Rhino 8\Plug-ins\RhinoCode\RhinoCodePlugin.rhp “RhinoCodePlugin” 8.33.26188.13001
C:\Program Files\Rhino 8\Plug-ins\RhinoCycles.rhp “RhinoCycles” 8.33.26188.13001
C:\Program Files\Rhino 8\Plug-ins\Grasshopper\GrasshopperPlugin.rhp “Grasshopper” 8.33.26188.13001
Thanks Stefano,
Unfortunately that’s not the solution for me.
Hey Bobi,
Nice character modelling! I really enjoy this stuff too. Good to see your work.
It’s getting more challenging now that the studios are going for more photo-realistic versions.
Attached is one we did for Disney recently. It looked fabulous but, as you can imagine, the texturing was hard work. Thank goodness for 3DCoat. I thoroughly recommend this software for anyone doing this sort texture painting and of course Rhino rules for modelling
Hi @Jean-Go ,
Glad to see I’m not the only one needing this. Hey McNeel, we now have a massive crowd petition of two users requesting this
I’m not seeing the effect you get when panning/rotating, so maybe our vid cards are different.
Nice work on the characters. Really cool.
Steve
Hi Steve -
I’ve added this thread to RH-76222 Display: Technical modes: simple plane has no silhouette
For the time being, you can either duplicate the naked boundary as a curve, offset the polysrf into a closed polysrf, or apply thickening to the open polysrf.
-wim
I just put in a fix for this for both Mac and Windows… However, I only put it into V9.
-J
Thanks Wim,
It’s just a display request to make my manual joining up a bit easier so I can see where I’ve been. I can’t afford the time to generate extra geometry.
Thanks @jeff . I look forward to seeing what you’ve done in the WIP.
Cheers, Steve
Hi @Jean-Go ,
That’s great. Unfortunately I can’t get that to work here.
Do you mind telling me what settings you are useing?
Thanks, Steve
Copy of Pen (BETA).ini (14.5 KB)
Please try importing this file under ‘Options → View → Display Modes’ to test it. It works perfectly fine on my end.
Perfect!
Many thanks, Steve