How do People make High Poly models in 3ds Max ?

Razorb

Hi,

Ok, this has been really daunting recently ! i have been trying to delve deeper into the world of high poly modeling in 3ds max, not sculpting in zbrush or mudbox.. but hard surface high poly stuff within 3ds max !... here is an example (not my work obviously!)



ok so yea.. i think i could model high poly stuff.. i mean it wouldn't be thaaaat hard doing a super high poly mesh that looked cool! but it would take me months and months! coz i really dont know what tools and options to use within max... at the moment im trying to go from a low poly mesh only using chamfer to make it higher poly... and doing it this way feels soooo wrong and stupid :O i dont know .... i think there must be a plugin that people use or things in max :O i dont think people just keep chamfering everything or maybe im completely wrong to start from low poly ?

so yea in a nutshell.... how does everyone make high poly meshes in 3ds max ? oh and is it better to go from high poly to low poly, or low poly to high poly.

thanks everyone !

low odor

You subdivide your mesh...using the subdivision in editpoly ..or turdosmooth modifier

Razorb

that makes everything look so messy tho :O turbosmooth deforms the mesh big time too ;( is that the only way ?

j_bradford

You have to chamfer your edges to keep the contour of the mesh. So for example if you had a cube, you'd chamfer all the edges to keep it a cubr when you subdivide it with meshsmooth/turbo smooth. That understanding will take you a long way.

Sage

...low poly mesh only using chamfer to make it higher poly... and doing it this way feels soooo wrong and stupid :O....

I like this statement, because it sort of describes a lot of things we have to do to get things to work.

For harder edges make an edge loop close to another it creates a tighter transition. Think of subd as a blob, and to make the blob sturdy you need support. The more edges you add the stronger the definition is. Ideally you would start with a primitive with several segments so they would form nice quads. The problem with this is that it is a pain in the butt to do it this way and it hard to get good results. So just build up your model slowly and keep in mind where you need tight bevels and add more edge loops there. You can use chamfer in combination with subd modeling as well.

Tools I use often

chamfer to position edges if I don't have the option of using connect with pinch and slide.

Connect

Edge contraints lets you quickly slide edges around

assigned shortcut to turn nurms on and off, turbosmooth

Symmetry

No special plugins, even if there was one you need to understand how to use weighting and edges to make your models be hard where you want them and soft at other places. Just try making indents on a flat surface and practice changing directions without making everything look wrong, then when you get the hang of that try it on curved surfaces.

Do a search on this forum there should be a lot of information to help you.

3D Palace has some nice video tutorials on a some ways to approach this.

http://www.3d-palace.com/

Here is a quick basic example. Not sure what version of max you have access to but if it doesn't open try the fbx file. For the fbx just select a row and add turbosmooth, then you can compare what does what. the fbx files imports as an editable, just convert the object to poly if you want.

basic subd example



Alex

Ghostscape

Go high to low, look into tutorials on subdivision modeling.

xxbrightliesxx

i use nurbs when i subdivide and change the iteration to what i need for a subdivision lv

Eric Chadwick

Links to learn about subdivision surface modeling.
http://wiki.polycount.net/Subdivision_Surface_Modeling

Murdoc

I'm from Maya/Xsi so I have one question any tool, script, whatever to put a an edgeloop where I click? I hate having to select all the edges in the loop and sliding it then laying down my edge.

warby

i am honored to have my artwork be quoted in this way just for general information that is made in maya and its polygons not subdivision surfaces. ^^


but yes chamfering your edges where you want to maintain your shape is key !

alexk

when you guys say "chamfer edges" do you mean bevel them?

dale22x

no they mean chamfer...the button is labelled chamfer

it just takes w/e edge(s) you have selected and just splits them into two

alexk

Forgot to mention I'm using Maya, after googling, it seems that Maya's equivelent is indeed the Bevel.. okay nvm, carry on

dale22x

oops, my mistake

Razorb

sry i havent replied sooner ! but i just want to thank everyone for all their wisdom ! and i now think i understand how things work.. kinda! i just need to improve my workflow and speed with doing it ... chamfering and subdividing and smoothing and so on heh

thanks guys ! oh and warby yea some real sexy nice work on your webby thanks dude !

if i think i crack this high poly stuff... i will post in here with my result and what i did ;o

Sage

Murdoc XSI lets you place Edges exactly where you want them with one click and Maya does as well. In XSI it's called the split edge tool, the shortcut is this ] and if you middle click it adds an edge loop where you want it.

Vailias

alexk wrote: »

Forgot to mention I'm using Maya, after googling, it seems that Maya's equivelent is indeed the Bevel.. okay nvm, carry on

Try "Duplicate edge loop" for harder corners. It will insert a new loop on each side of your existing loop. Also insert edge loop is nice for adding single loops.
Bevel works like max's chamfer.

Funky Bunnies

Murdoc wrote: »

I'm from Maya/Xsi so I have one question any tool, script, whatever to put a an edgeloop where I click? I hate having to select all the edges in the loop and sliding it then laying down my edge.

not by default in max, that I know of. There are a ton of scripts around that do this though.

Archanex

Hey man, I made this for ya, hopefully it helps a bit

Razorb

Archanex: haha thanks alot for this ! but just as you posted this i foung out the same thing today watching that video from the eat3d website ive learned a lil more about high poly modelin heh thanks alot tho ! very much appreciated

levin

most likely if you want to work with loops make sure your mesh is not an "editable mesh" but an "editable poly". the edgeloop tools are much better in that mode.

FAT_CAP

Are people really just chamfering edges to create there highpoly sub-divisions? I would always insert an edge loop on each side of the edge I wanted hard - as in Archanex's tutorial above - chamfering all the edges in that example would produce a triangle at each corner and stop the object from being all quads - how are people getting round that with just the chamfers?

MoP

Yeah I usually work with loops instead of bevel/chamfer, although it's only sometimes that bevelling will produce triangles, a lot of the time you can bevel something and keep it entirely quads, just depends on the topology.

jerry

A small tip in max: use extrude on your edges. Just make sure heigth is 0. It gives a new edge at both sides of the edge you selected. It can make nasty corners (which you have to clean up) sometimes but it gives great control.