On making panels on hard surfaces workflow

NAIMA

So I have adoubt , so far for making panels for my spaceship I am doing like that

Low poly model ,

I cut some parts of it to carve out a panel

on the panel I apply  in this order:

1 Base Edit poly panel
2 Shell
3 Edit poly ( delete the interior faces and add two edge of the borders of the shelled panel )
4 Symmetry
5 turbosmooth 2-3 iterations according to needs.

Good--> Visible seams
Problem --> Gaps and Angles misalignment

and I am not conserving a copy of the main mesh under the panels.

But I started thinking of inverting the position as I noticed when I apply smooth on the shell the borders get bended and I get some more rounded edges, or am I wrong ?

1 Base Edit poly panel
2 Symmetry
3 turbosmooth 2-3 iterations according to needs.
4 Shell
5 Edit poly ( Here I would need to add a chamfer on borders or they look too much connected to each other and I completely loose the seam )


Good--> Precision alignment at borders and Angles with no Gaps
Problem --> Not very visible seams


so wich one is the correct workflow?

though with the first method I get more nice and visible seams between panels though I sometimes I have gaps especially on angles and junction points .
With the second I get less visible seams and gaps seem to be not present  but the edges look more straight and less visible .

ActionDawg

Just place a mesh underneath everything and keep the rounded edges.

NAIMA

somedoggy said:

Just place a mesh underneath everything and keep the rounded edges.

Though still remains the problem of angle gaps .

ZacD

Gaps aren't an issue as long as they don't look bad when it's baked down to a normal map. If there is a gap, but a mesh underneath, it'll look like that part is attached to some sort of framing underneath. You can also use a push or inflate modifier to close the gaps, but leave the seams you want. 

Medusa3d

If I want to separate the mesh into more objects, I usually Chamfer the edges in Edit Poly and then ad the reinforced edges. And depending on the model, I decide how many Chamfer segments to ad. There shouldn't be any gap, since  the vertices in the middle are snapped together, and the reinforced edges keep them in place.  There's usually nice ambient occlusion between the chamfered edges, so the separation is visible from a distance too.

If I just want it as detail on the surface of one mesh, I select the edges and Edit Poly > Extrude.  

Bumblebee

just make the support edges tighter