Maya- Combine questions!

Zack-StefyRO

Hey guys...I have some questions about Maya -> Combine feature!
1. What's the difference between Mesh->Booleans->Union and Mesh-> Combine?
2.I've made a sword and I want to import it in Zbrush...should I use Union or Combine?
3. Should I import the sword as one object or different subtools?
Thanks, and keep up the good work :thumbup:

Bartalon

Mesh > Combine simply tells Maya to treat multiple objects as one.

Mesh > Booleans > Union is a mathematical operation where it tries to physically merge two shapes together, often resulting in bad topology.

If you had two intersecting spheres and you Combined them, you would still have two individual spheres, each with their own individual volumes. If you used a Boolean Union, you would have a single fused object, with the combined volume of both shapes.

You should generally avoid Booleans unless there's no better way to get the shape you're after.

If you're going to ZBrush, you'll want to use Combine. You can import it as a single subtool (just use GoZ) then separate them into pieces as needed by separating your mesh into polygroups and using Groups Split under the Tools > Polygroups palette.

Zack-StefyRO

Thank you, sir! Yeah...Booleans creates ngons and that sucks.. never understood the difference between Combine and Booleans > Union Thanks!