Quad Modelling

Illusive · Feb 2010

I was just wondering if anyone has any good tips or tricks for fixing 3 & 5 sided polys and how to cut in good mesh flow and such. i always end up using a edge loops but it always feels like a waste. any help would be appreciated.

Muzzoid · Feb 2010

Anuxinamoon · Feb 2010

As long as you get rid of 5 sided (or higher) polies, you should be okay.

Tris are okay if you place them well. I try to keep them away from shoulder and hip deformations, but they are fine on elbows and knees. Make sure that you keep the tris the same scale as the quads around it.
Don't make more that 6+ edged stars (where 6 or more edges connect at a single vert) or make tris that are 1 metre long and 20 cm's wide. That will just be asking for trouble.

You should show your model so we can get a look at it.

Muzzoid · Feb 2010

might help if you are asking about modelling in quads for subdivision or are you doing it for game models?

Subdivision models should be 100% quads (there are some exceptions to the rule, but those are mostly when you get really down pat with how things subdivide).

if its for games, dont worry about quad modelling so much, tris are perfectly cool infact you can model in 100% tris if you want. And for the deformations, imo make a bunch of random shapes and skin them and see how they react.

First hand testing is better than any tutorial. period.

Illusive · Feb 2010

^for games but i like to work in sub divisions for the normal maps so yeah i like to keep it quads.

but yeah i know what you're saying i pretty much do just wait til i physique but i hate having to go back and try and clean up meshes. rather just get it right the first time.

Muzzoid · Feb 2010

Your high poly mesh isn't the same as your low poly mesh. You make a high poly first then make a low based off the high. treat them different.

Also dont touch physique, use skin instead, it is only in max as a legacy feature.

By the sounds of it you need to forget normal maps till you understand how to make a last gen flat diffuse character.

Anuxinamoon · Feb 2010

Illusive wrote: »

^for games but i like to work in sub divisions for the normal maps so yeah i like to keep it quads.

but yeah i know what you're saying i pretty much do just wait til i physique but i hate having to go back and try and clean up meshes. rather just get it right the first time.

You will never ever get things right the first time. The sooner you start accepting this, the easier your learning process will be

Yeah use skin, its simpler, easier and is accepted more in engines.

Sandro · Feb 2010

I don't think subdivision models should be 100% quads. As long as there are no visible bumps, pinches and artifacts tris are okay. In fact, sometimes it's lot more practical, easier and faster to use triangles here and there instead of adding extra loops/increasing polygon density e.t.c.

I've been using lots of tris lately. I found it's lot faster if you just ignore topology during block-in stage and get the form the way you want as fast as possible and do topology cleanups later.

Sage · Feb 2010

there is no such thing as getting things done the right way the first time. It's a process. you block out first, you add details then you clean up. That's it. If you try to skip ahead to save time you end up wasting more time. Look at how pros do it, ignore that crazy voice in your head telling you that you are wasting time and just do it. If you try and preserve quads from the get go you'll find that at times when you need to add new details to your model the new details will mess up what you have done. So don't worry about it. Clean things up at the end with your cut tool and draw loops how you need them and where you need them.

Muzzoid · Feb 2010

I love it how there are contradicting answers in this thread

.... as if 3d isnt confusing enough for beginners.

rumblesushi · Feb 2010

I've been wondering why all the 3D programs seem to use quads by default for modelling. As far as I know, almost all 3D engines render triangles. I know the only prominent console to use quads was the Saturn.

With that in mind, I would have thought it would make more sense to model in triangles. Is it sometimes easier to model in quads then just export the model in triangles or?

Piflik · Feb 2010

It is nearly always easier to model in quads...edgeloops don't work with tris. In many cases at least part of the model is triangulated by hand after the modeling is completed, to prevent the automatic triangulation messing up the model...

EarthQuake · Feb 2010

Sandro wrote: »

I don't think subdivision models should be 100% quads. As long as there are no visible bumps, pinches and artifacts tris are okay. In fact, sometimes it's lot more practical, easier and faster to use triangles here and there instead of adding extra loops/increasing polygon density e.t.c.

I've been using lots of tris lately. I found it's lot faster if you just ignore topology during block-in stage and get the form the way you want as fast as possible and do topology cleanups later.

It depends what sort of sub-d. If you're doing a base cage for sculpting, keeping it all quads is 100% necessary to avoid nasty problems in mud/zb. If you're doing more traditional sub-d IE: mechanical stuff in max/modo/maya, ngons and tris can be veryyyyy useful when places in the right places. Usually they work well on very flat places or areas where you dont have much curvature/detail, but yeah, they can be a great way to keep your mesh from getting excessively dense carrying your edge looks throughtout the entire mesh.

Quad Modelling

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