how would i select shells instead of verts, edges or faces?

Question

I have a model that I'm working with that is extremely packed and it's hard to get my camera in to select faces that I need to. How do I select individual shells instead of just verts, edges or faces? if shells isn't the right term, how do I select all faces connected to each other?

Try selecting one face and pressing L. – Christopher Bennett Feb 13 '22 at 16:18 — Christopher Bennett, Feb 13 '22 at 16:18

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Feb 13 '22 at 16:38

"L" is the magic key in Blender for "island" selection. Yep, maya called them "shells". Another term could be "flood selection" or "select connected".

Operation: You can simply hover the cursor over the area you want to select and press "L" (That's lower-case, I'm just using the CAP for clarity). You're not required to select anything before invoking shell selection, but you can if it suits ya.

Note that subsequent selections with "L" are additive; they will add to the current selection.

Subtractive Operation: Sometimes, it's easiest to select everything with "A" and de-select islands of polygons, verts, or edges. You can de-select islands with "SHIFT-L". This is ridiculously counter to every popular software convention, where "SHIFT" always adds to selections, but you'll get used to it.

Try using "L" and "SHIFT-L" to select and de-select islands (shells) of polys. Good luck and happy modeling!

also you can select one vertex (or several vertices) of a mesh and press Ctrl L in order to select the whole mesh — moonboots, Feb 13 '22 at 16:41

how would i select shells instead of verts, edges or faces?

1 Answers1