There's something similar in the wiki, it's called a round inset (images from the Subdivision Modeling page): * http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/File:Subdiv_roundinsets.jpg * http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/File:Subdiv_bolt-insets.png Note the 5-edge poles that form a loop around each hole.
Yep, that's good advice. A lot of good advice here about a game art portfolio http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Portfolio Also see this page for career info http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Game_Industry
In passing, a very minor broken link report : On this page http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/HairTechnique the link to the panda pdf is broken. It should be : http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/File:Squirrelyjones_fur.pdf It's not much, but I hope this helps !
I can't talk to Alec's specific setup, but we have some resources here that should help you get started: http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Category:EnvironmentTexturing http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/MultiTexture
I sent a private message to Nightstalker. This info might be useful to others, so here: Also, the wiki has moved since this thread was written. The relevant pages are now here: http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/VertexNormal http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Foliage