@christrom Welcome to Polycount. Consider checking out the forum information and introduction thread. The topology layout on the updated sample panel looks a lot cleaner. Splitting the model into individual components does tend to simplify the loop flow and is generally considered best practice whenever a watertight mesh…
@LouisMarshall Glad the post was helpful. When trying to minimize smoothing based subdivision artifacts, like pinching and stretching, there's two basic strategies that tend to work well with existing geometry: averaging out the differences between the shapes over a wider [preferably flatter] area or constraining the…
First off, fantastic thread everyone. Lots of good information in here, I can't believe its just now that I am reading it. So, for the past few days I've been trying to grow my highpoly skillset and for lack of a better word, its been uncomfortable. While I can handle a lot of shapes & forms, theres something I've yet to…
Hi Frank, Thank you so much for this very detailed explanation. This was very clear. I've tried and tested all the different approaches you described and this has given me a whole new view on how to use the bevel/chamfer tools and the inset tool. Insetting n-gons to create edge loops around the details you wish. Using the…
@Laon A few posts up, there's a couple of relevant examples that cover how to use segment matching to connect a cylinder to a curved surface and how to route the topology around the base of a cylinder that connects to an angled surface. The basic principles of these fundamental modeling strategies can be combined to…
Comparing the concept to hilt wrapping tutorials: it looks like there's at least two strips of fabric that are looped around to make a four strand braid. The two loops spiral back and forth across each other and the wrap is tighter at the top and looser at the bottom. One thing to watch out for is a change in perceived…
@dan001 In most cases there's room for improvement but broad or open ended questions rarely lead to specific, actionable feedback. What's best will often vary depending on the desired outcome and constraints of a specific use case. Getting good answers comes down to figuring out exactly what you're looking to improve and…
@KungFuCactus Edit: I thought you used max. Oh well, this is how I would do it in max.. For ease of modificatioin you can do displacement with a heightmap, or even bake the heightmap into the normals, but if you're like me you want to model it in because you want to model it in. In that case, you can get away with some…
@Octavio I didn't. I made the same shape you did, except I didn't squish the large oval, meaning my cone didn't get squished on one side, meaning my cone had planar faces while yours didn't. I did that only to show you that both of them would meshsmooth nicely, and that you didn't do anything wrong. Also, the shape you're…
@Yogifi There's a lot to unpack but the answer to most of these questions is: it often depends. There's a significant amount of overlap between poly modeling and subdivision modeling but they are still distinct processes that require slightly different approaches. What's "right" or "best" depends entirely on how a model…