on CGTuts, there's a tutorial that demonstrates making a selection of edges and turns them into a ring of edges. I kinda know how to do it manually by adding tracing a circle and adding cuts, but this is really confusing.
Another blender question: is there a way to align uv island from an edge ? imagine a rectangle rotated, you select one edge and it rotates the island so the edge is now orientated horizontally or vertically.
Look into edge decals and distance field material blending. Right now the meshes have pretty sharp edges and sharp (i.e. no) blending between adjacent surfaces. Maybe look into edge damage or at least chamfer some edges here and there. Also, even though poly counts (!) are not an issue anymore its still a good practice to…
Sure, shading issues in Blender can be frustrating but are often solvable. It sounds like you've encountered a common challenge with geometry and smoothing groups. Double-check your normals, ensure edge splits are applied correctly, and consider adjusting auto smooth angles. Feel free to share the picture later for more…