@JBurk The underlying topology in both your examples, with some minor adjustments, could work. Which starting topology layout makes the most sense will depend on whether the shapes need a softer or sharper transition. With subdivision modeling there's almost always going to be some kind of minor smoothing imperfection and…
Quickish tutorial on how to make some chainmail/chainlink to wrap around pipes and other objects. First step - Right click snaps toggle button and make these settings in the snaps and user grids tabs, when finished activate snaps... Second step - Go to the front viewport, then on the create panel, select helpers and…
Catmull–Clark subdivision averages between existing points and this creates a smoothing effect. Uncontrolled subdivision smoothing tends to deform shapes and shape transitions that lack supporting geometry. Creating shapes that have crisp edges and minimal smoothing deformation often requires adding support loops on both…
@Neox Really appreciate the kudos. @laeion Welcome to Polycount. Consider checking out the forum information and introduction thread. Soft hard surface objects can be tricky to model but taking apart one of these packages or gathering references of them disassembled can provide some insight into how the paper is cut and…
@rudenko_je Deciding whether or not certain smoothing artifacts are acceptable really depends on a couple of different factors: * Are the smoothing artifacts on a part of the model that's visible to the player under normal game play conditions? * Are the smoothing artifacts significant enough to still be noticeable when…
@rogi92 Manually extruding and filling polygon strips can be a viable modeling strategy but some of the shapes in that mask could make it a tedious and time consuming process. Since you already have a solid start to outlining the shapes: consider streamlining this modeling strategy by using Blender's curve system to layout…
cool, heres somit of what ive learnt and some Qs for peeps who know more ive been learning mayas "propper" subD modeling tools not the proxy mesh stuff (or smoothmesh) which is a poor relation to maxes modifier based subD in both terms of functionality and in speed (just a simple mesh smoothed to a decent degree will slow…
@jimdrawandmake A couple of posts above there's a discussion about preserving crisp edges and sharp corners when merging cylinders into other shapes. There's also a recent post about merging details into curved geometry and that links back to a previous discussion that may be useful for other parts of the shapes in the…
@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…
@LoneRanger Some of the smoothing artifacts may be the result of using an uneven number of bevel segments on areas where multiple surface angles converge. Try using the following bevel settings and see if that improves the smoothing behavior: 2 segments, 1.0 Shape, Arc Miter Outer. Increasing the mesh density tends to…