@Tosyk When searching this thread there isn't always a direct copy of any specific shape but there are often examples of similar shapes and similar smoothing artifacts. Looking at how other artists solved similar problems can help inform which topology strategy would work to resolve a specific mesh smoothing problem. The…
@count23 Correct. Extruding and rotating the new edge into place ensures that the longitudinal edges remain parallel, until they are joined with the surrounding geometry. Constraining the scale operation by length and height ensures the width remains consistent and this helps prevent unintended surface deformation. Without…
Outside of specific project requirements, stock 3D certification programs and technical edge cases, there really isn't anything wrong with using triangles and n-gons in subdivision modeling. Flat surfaces are arguably the least effected by messy topology. As long as the corners are supported and the surfaces are co-planar…
@ConvexSurface Overall it looks like you have the right idea but sometimes connecting directly to a curve's existing polygon grid can cause a lot of smoothing issues. In these cases it's often better to place the intersecting geometry between the existing segments of the curved surface and use the existing curve geometry…
@tatertots You're welcome and thank you for sharing your results and followup questions. Example images in my previous post only show the initial block out, the final topology with a smoothing preview and the final subdivision model with a shiny material to highlight any artifacts. Only showing the starting and ending…