Author Topic: The new and improved 3D model topic! (Read 3849913 times)

BluetoothBoy · April 29, 2015, 09:07:41 AM

One thing I've done to improve my mesh optimization (and overall quality, often) is to try to make as much of the model as I can from one object (and by that I mean connect vertices, too).

Example: this thing I'm working on (as seen in this picture) is one solid piece, with the exception of the parts that branch off, like the rails and the tubes (although they are part of the same object).

I also found it best to optimize as you go. When I subdivide to get a smaller set of faces, I delete all the faces I don't need, all the surrounding edges, and reconnect it all properly. This leaves me with a proper mesh full of quads and tris, and none of those messy (and often problematic) n-gons.

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pwnfulz · April 29, 2015, 04:36:25 PM

I usually model like that, I just extrude faces and do loop cuts. I find it easier this way.

Demian · April 29, 2015, 05:13:52 PM

Quote from: BluetoothBoy on April 29, 2015, 09:07:41 AM

One thing I've done to improve my mesh optimization (and overall quality, often) is to try to make as much of the model as I can from one object (and by that I mean connect vertices, too).

Example: this thing I'm working on (as seen in this picture) is one solid piece, with the exception of the parts that branch off, like the rails and the tubes (although they are part of the same object).

I also found it best to optimize as you go. When I subdivide to get a smaller set of faces, I delete all the faces I don't need, all the surrounding edges, and reconnect it all properly. This leaves me with a proper mesh full of quads and tris, and none of those messy (and often problematic) n-gons.

Wires please.

�::Kishgal::� · April 29, 2015, 05:27:26 PM

Quote from: pwnfulz on April 29, 2015, 04:36:25 PM

I usually model like that, I just extrude faces and do loop cuts. I find it easier this way.

Problem with that is that cleaning up after a bunch of loop cuts can be really tedious as well. There's also the fact that the number of faces needed to accommodate an extrusion is usually greater than if you had the extrusion as a separate object.

Foxscotch · April 29, 2015, 05:34:48 PM

wow, I'd never thought about it that way. there's no kinda issues that can come from having intersecting faces? that will make things a lot easier...

�::Kishgal::� · April 29, 2015, 05:39:35 PM

Quote from: Foxscotch on April 29, 2015, 05:34:48 PM

wow, I'd never thought about it that way. there's no kinda issues that can come from having intersecting faces? that will make things a lot easier...

None; take apart the default gun model and you'll see that it has plenty.

Trogtor · April 29, 2015, 11:38:33 PM

i always strive for consistency and rather exude but I actually do that to save some polygons

TheKhoz · April 30, 2015, 01:49:53 AM

When I see an issue like this in my modeling, my policy is always "take the path of least resistance". I try to find the tactic which will be cleanest, easiest to manipulate in the future, if I need to. If I were, for example, adding rivets to the side of a gun, I would use the method on the right, as it produces a much cleaner model. This is something which is much easier to undo, if I ever needed to. However, if I were to make the body of a car, I would want that to be all one piece. I will never be dissecting the body of the car once I have made it; it becomes its own physical object (for me).

Demian · April 30, 2015, 07:47:05 AM

Quote from: �::Kishgal::� on April 29, 2015, 05:27:26 PM

Problem with that is that cleaning up after a bunch of loop cuts can be really tedious as well. There's also the fact that the number of faces needed to accommodate an extrusion is usually greater than if you had the extrusion as a separate object.

Exactly. You should always do like in the picture on the right if your model will not deform like a creature. Floating geometry saves triangles.

�::Kishgal::� · April 30, 2015, 08:22:36 AM

Quote from: Demian on April 30, 2015, 07:47:05 AM

Exactly. You should always do like in the picture on the right if your model will not deform like a creature. Floating geometry saves triangles.

Oh, yeah, I guess I should show what those numbers look like with tris since that's what you'll be converting to for Blockland.

It's quite the difference.

�::Kishgal::� · April 30, 2015, 09:17:13 PM

Quote from: �::Kishgal::� on April 30, 2015, 09:14:26 PM

Has Science Gone Too Far?

plad101 · April 30, 2015, 10:49:28 PM

Boob ribbon B)

BluetoothBoy · April 30, 2015, 11:02:26 PM

Quote from: Demian on April 30, 2015, 07:47:05 AM

Exactly. You should always do like in the picture on the right if your model will not deform like a creature. Floating geometry saves triangles.

There are other reasons why this could prove problematic, actually. UV mapping is one of them. It is usually FAR easier to UV map models that have little free-floating geometry.

Depending on how the model is being rendered (realtime simulation, game, baked, etc.), there can also be issues with things such as z-depth, anti-aliasing, and shading. So no, usually not an issue (especially if you're trying to preserve polygons), but you have to be careful, because bad things can (and do!) happen with intersecting/overlapping geometry. I use it a good bit myself, but I prefer to stick to modeling with connected vertices.

�::Kishgal::� · May 01, 2015, 07:23:57 PM

for some reason whenever my tablet pen hovers over the viewport it just zooms in rather than letting me do anything
gosh darn

Frequency · May 01, 2015, 07:53:47 PM

Quote from: �::Kishgal::� on April 30, 2015, 09:17:13 PM

add boobs