Can somebody tell me what should I do?

r0yaltyy

I want to be a Hard Surface artist. I just started on modeling 9th of October(2020) with Maya with no prior 3D modeling experience.

Here's what I can do right now (I also added some ugly and unnecessary details with zbrush in some models): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1D4-Gn6XVoI7SOToJT3St2Wcidysr7wMB?usp=sharing 

(I didn't have any hard projects.... I know... because cleaning topology after bool operations are draining my will to live)

It is so hard to finish a model without a modifier stack. I think Maya is more of a quick sketch tool. Deleting history of object just resets everything about it(bevel info etc.) so it's hard to model something from beginning to end.
Should I switch to 3DS max or fusion 360? or should I stick with Maya?

Fusion 360? Why? You may ask. Well, everyone seems to use fusion 360 now. Literally %70 of people on Artstation uses it. Also bool operations looks so easy on it... I guess I just don't know. There are SO MANY paths. Can somebody tell me what should I do?

Larry

No easy way around that. There are some tips and tricks for topology you can learn from Arrimus 3d on youtube and other tutorials. You can model everything you want on Maya, if you are searching for an "easier" tool then i guess you would be disappointed. You could try sculpting but it is definitely harder. You could try Rhino that doesn't really care about topology, but it's not for games. But those might be more fun for you. A hard surface artist specializes in these exact same tasks you said you hate, Ngons, booleans and beveling. Many artists set a universal bevel for stylized assets, and the amount of beveling is honestly a category on its own. I would suggest you set a value that you use in all your metallic meshes for example. When you are working in the industry there's mostly the technical part, and not the creative. So you should learn to appreciate and embrace the tedious tasks. In every job actually, you can't complain that "i hate doing this" you just push through it, and do it CORRECTLY.

For now you should practice, learn, explore. Find a way to get joy by searching for something new, excitement for expanding your knowledge and fulfillment from solving the problems you come across because that's the life of a self taught artist.

oglu

Learning to model is a hard way. There is no shortcut. Just push hard and practive. It takes years to get really good.
And you can model everyting in maya. 
Here is a recently posted workshop.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mibMPaE4Qyk

oglu

And i recommend this tutorial here. There are a lot of "production" tricks in there.
https://www.artstation.com/marketplace/p/zn2N/tutorial-realistic-game-assets?utm_source=artstation&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=homepage&utm_term=marketplace

r0yaltyy

Larry said:

if you are searching for an "easier" tool then i guess you would be disappointed. 

I don't think I explained myself very well(my mistake), I'm not actually looking for an easier tool. I just want a tool that can finish a model from blockout to highpoly stage without depending on other softwares( like zbrush) for adding details so I can study correct topology on it. But with Maya, it's hard to get to high poly stage without having to delete history of objects(causes lag otherwise) because losing something like bevel info of the object is basically shooting myself in the foot.

Meanwhile in 3Ds max you can easily turn beveling on or off or copy and paste it in other parts of the object which makes it better tool suited for me as a beginner. Also I don't have to delete the history of object on 3DS max so I don't lose information of something like beveling info.

Also

 Larry said:
There are some tips and tricks for topology you can learn from Arrimus 3d on youtube and other tutorials

I already watch his videos everyday! Dude is awesome! He is the best teacher on youtube IMHO. I learned A LOT from his videos.

r0yaltyy

oglu said:

Learning to model is a hard way. There is no shortcut. Just push hard and practive. It takes years to get really good.
And you can model everyting in maya. 
Here is a recently posted workshop.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mibMPaE4Qyk

Dude in the video just uses kitbash parts and makes some simple planes. There isnt much retopology(which is the hardest).

oglu

Watch everything. You are thinking to fast.

sacboi

Yah, agreed.

r0yaltyy said:

(I didn't have any hard projects.... I know... because cleaning topology after bool operations are draining my will to live)

And from personal experience dependent upon optimised edge flow or indeed segment count, boolean operands needn't be an absolute chore to efficiently implement, only practice, practice then more practice will enable a progressive fluent competency via perseverance over time, as others alluded too earlier upthread.

For example - 3ds Max/Zbrush: Proboolean + Dynamesh hardsurface workflow tutorial 

(above technique translated to Maya - Hard Surface Modeling, Booleans & ZBrush)

r0yaltyy said:

It is so hard to finish a model without a modifier stack. I think Maya is more of a quick sketch tool. Deleting history of object just resets everything about it(bevel info etc.) so it's hard to model something from beginning to end.

Extract from the Maya tutorial:

"Try to never “Delete History” on any of the primitives you make in Maya. By keeping your history and using a non-destructive boolean workflow, you can easily revise your model over and over. What’s more, working this way makes it possible to derive your high poly model from your low poly almost for free! How?!? ZBrush."

Also, Vitaly Bulgarov - Pro Tips a similar sentiment already expressed here.

Lastly further resources I strongly recommend, at least a cursory review when time permits.

 

Polycount: Sub-Division Thread

YF_Sticks

Depends, what do you want to do? That you should answer first.
Do you want to be a hard surface artist for games? Hard Surface artist for film? That's vastly different. 

You can do everything necessary in maya. If multiple tools give you a quicker way, use multiple tools. No one cares how you make something, the end result matters most. But that can again be debated by where you want to work. 

Give us some hints to what your goals are, because that will help to guide you more towards a solution.

r0yaltyy

YF_Sticks said:

Give us some hints to what your goals are, because that will help to guide you more towards a solution.

Being able to create something like this https://www.artstation.com/artwork/dO1RWX

r0yaltyy

YF_Sticks said:

Depends, what do you want to do? That you should answer first.

hard surface artist for games

YF_Sticks

r0yaltyy said:

YF_Sticks said:

Depends, what do you want to do? That you should answer first.

hard surface artist for games

Then you should focus on what you need to showcase in your portfolio to get a job like that.
In games, things need to be optimized, baked down and they have to work within a game engine.

I'll give you an example for that glove you linked: You could create the highpoly glove with Maya and ZBrush. Then retopologize the glove to get your lowpoly version. Bake the high onto the low in your software of choice and then texture it (usually with Substance Painter). Then render them in Unreal Engine or Marmoset Toolbag. 

To get the end result, you can use whatever software you choose. It matters that the end result is game-ready/optimized and presented in an engine. 

Look at weapon artists that work in AAA game studios and see what they are doing. What software they are using and how they present their work. And don't focus too much on what software is best, especially for modeling. Whatever you like most and you feel is efficient is good enough

Zi0

You can do pretty much everything in maya but max has better tools for modeling and so does blender these days (IMHO) at work we use the Fusion360 workflow for weapons and Maya/Max only for lowpolys.

r0yaltyy

Zi0 said:

You can do pretty much everything in maya but max has better tools for modeling and so does blender these days (IMHO) at work we use the Fusion360 workflow for weapons and Maya/Max only for lowpolys.

Thanks for replying. Can you please elaborate on fusion 360 workflow?

sharsein

I believe Blender has modifier stacks. From the quick dabbling I've done it looks preferable to Maya for modeling, and I say that as a primary Maya user. It's free so a company probably won't care if you use that as long as you're able to export to Maya for handoff.

I've heard good things about Modo from 3d modeler friends, but I haven't touched it myself.

Zi0

r0yaltyy said:

Thanks for replying. Can you please elaborate on fusion 360 workflow?

1.You make a model in Fusion360
2. Export it to zbrush (as .obj) in order do make a high poly (dynamesh/polish)
3. Export another .obj to Maya and make a game model.

ned_poreyra

Maya is the last 3D modelling tool you would want to use. Blender, 3ds Max, maybe Fusion 360, MoI3d if you feel fancy. But you have to master either Blender or 3ds Max for this. Maya is an option when you're experienced, you want to model destructively and you know exactly what to do from the beginning till the end (but it's the worst software for the job even then).

Maya is used primarily by animators and some people do blockouts for Zbrush in it.

YF_Sticks

You focus too much on software. Pick one and then stick with it and learn how to properly model for games (as you said that's your goal).
Midpoly - Highpoly - Lowpoly Model > UVs > Baking > Texturing > Presentation

In the end, software is just your tool. The weapon artists I know they model in 3ds Max, it's a great software. But they can model in Maya and Blender as well because they understand the pipeline and the workflows. If you understand this, you can get a fast end result no matter what tools you are using.