Relevance of modeling techniques
polycounter lvl 8
Hey guys!
Right now I'm learning 3ds max from the ground up and to learn stuff better I always kinda pretend I was creating tutorials
That forces me to think about things in a complete manner and to put those into context. Anyway, I was thinking about what different modeling techniques exist and that I was always kinda under the impression that polygon modeling is the only relevant one for the entertainment industry - but maybe I was just ignorant.
As far as I know there are 3 major techniques:
- Polygon Modeling + Subdivison Smoothing and/or light maps
- Nurbs/Vector Modeling
- Subdivision Surface Modeling(=Nurms?)
About Nurbs:
I know they can be massively useful when creating specific primitives with even surfaces that are later turned into polygons. Personally I see them as an aid to create more accurate polygon-based models.
Is there really any other use? How do you guys use them?
Subdivision Surfaces:
I have for the most part been pretty ignorant to this technique but seen it in a couple tutorials online.(admittedly some years old. They modeled a realistic car in one) I have no idea what its use is and I'm still confused why you would use this over the normal workflow. This was always especially strange because the name suggests it is the same as polygon modeling and applying a smooth/turbosmooth, but apparently it's something different. ( Some parts of the model have a higher polycount and you get strange handles)
Again, do you use them? And why?
Have I missed a big chunk of what 3d modeling is and should I learn these techniques better?
I would really appreciate if someone could help me out and put their uses into context for someone who is mainly interested in creating characters + assets and to some extent environments for game/film.
Ah and if you have the time. Do you guys use pixar's open subdiv? Don't you need higher subdivision steps to achieve results as good as with turbosmooth though? Or does it not matter when you only use it to create maps?
Right now I'm learning 3ds max from the ground up and to learn stuff better I always kinda pretend I was creating tutorials
That forces me to think about things in a complete manner and to put those into context. Anyway, I was thinking about what different modeling techniques exist and that I was always kinda under the impression that polygon modeling is the only relevant one for the entertainment industry - but maybe I was just ignorant.As far as I know there are 3 major techniques:
- Polygon Modeling + Subdivison Smoothing and/or light maps
- Nurbs/Vector Modeling
- Subdivision Surface Modeling(=Nurms?)
About Nurbs:
I know they can be massively useful when creating specific primitives with even surfaces that are later turned into polygons. Personally I see them as an aid to create more accurate polygon-based models.
Is there really any other use? How do you guys use them?
Subdivision Surfaces:
I have for the most part been pretty ignorant to this technique but seen it in a couple tutorials online.(admittedly some years old. They modeled a realistic car in one) I have no idea what its use is and I'm still confused why you would use this over the normal workflow. This was always especially strange because the name suggests it is the same as polygon modeling and applying a smooth/turbosmooth, but apparently it's something different. ( Some parts of the model have a higher polycount and you get strange handles)
Again, do you use them? And why?
Have I missed a big chunk of what 3d modeling is and should I learn these techniques better?
I would really appreciate if someone could help me out and put their uses into context for someone who is mainly interested in creating characters + assets and to some extent environments for game/film.
Ah and if you have the time. Do you guys use pixar's open subdiv? Don't you need higher subdivision steps to achieve results as good as with turbosmooth though? Or does it not matter when you only use it to create maps?
Replies
Nuke / Houdini etc.