@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…
@ANAFREE Aregvan is correct: the smoothing artifact is caused by overlapping geometry and modeling this type of surface detail as a separate piece of floating geometry will be more efficient than trying to blend everything together into a watertight mesh. There's an extra edge loop that runs between the primary support…
@guitarguy00 In the previous example: the base sphere has 12 rings with 24 segments and the subtracted sphere has 22 rings with 28 segments. Both quad sphere and UV sphere intersections tend to produce topology that requires some additional clean up. Minor differences in scale and position often prevent the perfect…
@lammer_228 Overall it looks like you have the right idea. Whether or not the shape is correct depends on what the model will be used for (hero prop, background prop, minor environment clutter, etc.) and whether or not the model needs to closely match the reference images. A lot depends on where the object will appear in…
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…
@IronLover64 To add to what's already been said: try to simplify the mesh by dissolving and merging some of the extra geometry. Straightening and rerouting the remaining loops into the existing geometry on the back strap should solve most of the smoothing issues. Flat surfaces that are properly supported are relatively…
@MegaSofteae Creating a detailed outline of an object's profile can seem like a logical place to start but in most cases this limits the way you think about the shapes by constraining it to a 2D space. This is why it's generally considered best practice to block out all of the major features of an object in 3D before…
@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…
@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…