Video Titled : Modeling Workflow - Poly Plane Techniques

# 1 30-12-2012 , 08:33 PM

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Video Titled : Modeling Workflow - Poly Plane Techniques

When working with this tutorial I had a problem with the video. The narrator was speaking fast and I don't understand what he was talking about when he said to delete the the back after using the extrudor tool, this happen on time 6:17.13 in the video titled : Modeling Workflow - Poly Plane Techniques, Thanks

Cheers,

Bill

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# 2 31-12-2012 , 02:23 AM

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First I apologize for speaking to fast.

Watch this and it should make more sense what is happening.

jerry can tut question - YouTube

Stick with it and things will become clearer as you learn.

"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Sir Isaac Newton, 1675

Last edited by ctbram; 31-12-2012 at 02:27 AM.

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# 3 31-12-2012 , 09:17 AM

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Thanks for the speedy reply on the problem but I was talking more about when you delete the background. When doing this it makes the edges easier to select. I'll send you a screen shot from your tutorial showing you more of what I was interested in but you said in the video to delete the background, this makes it possible just to select the outer edges only. I'm having problems with deleting the background to get to this stage of the video., thanks

I'm using Mac for this video.

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# 4 31-12-2012 , 12:43 PM

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I just watched that section and after the extrusion I accidentally say hit the d-key which was a mistake but corret it and say hit the "delete" key to delete the back face (Like I showed above).

Then after pulling the face forward (as I did in the video above) I mentioned the edge may look odd because their normals were soft and to select Normals>Harden Normals (which I had put on my shelf bar) so the edges have a faceted look and are easier to see.

When you add polygons maya will look at the angle between faces and if it is below a threshold (usually 30%) it will soften the normals of the edges between the two polygons to give a smoothed appearance. Since the final intent is to smooth the overall model I like to harden all the edges from time to time as I model to give the model a faceted appearance so that it's easier to see the edges without having to turn on wire frame on shaded mode.

I think that might be what you are referring too.

There are a small number of modeling tools that I use alot that I pull to my shelf bar and harden and soften normals are two of them.

I also have center pivot, freeze transform, and delete history on the shelf. These are all under the modify tab.

"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Sir Isaac Newton, 1675

Last edited by ctbram; 31-12-2012 at 12:54 PM.

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# 5 04-01-2013 , 02:50 PM

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Edge Tool - Jerry Can

When selecting edges in the Video Jerry Can. I had a problem with when selecting edges that it add more poly line with each click and then deleting the poly line above the new selection. Your video's are very informative and I'm learning a lot of new tricks but I have already started over 3 times. I have final gotten to the part of using the Offset Edge Loop Tool but this problem has hampered me from going any further. Thanks and I hope that it something that you understand on how to fix.

Cheers,

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# 6 04-01-2013 , 03:00 PM

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Sorry I am not understanding the problem as described. Can you maybe grab a couple more snapshots maybe before and after and zoom out a bit more so I can see more of the entire model.

Hang in there and we'll get this worked out.

It's not unusual to have to start over a lot when you are just learning. This is a beginner level tutorial but I did try to include as many techniques as I could along the way.

"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Sir Isaac Newton, 1675

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# 7 05-01-2013 , 07:34 AM

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Offset Edge Loop Tool

Here are the Before and After Photo's of the Problem. The Tool is the Offset Edge Loop Tool. The problem happens when selecting the Edges and using OELT. When you select the edges the other edges deselect or add more edges and when you hit command Z to undo all the edges go unselected. I'm learning a lot from you Jerry can Video and I doing these Lessons so that I can use Maya for my 3D work. I was using Sketch Up and importing the finished models into Maya but we had problems with rendering with the shadows, this also cause other problems with lighting. I think that the problems were with the models from SketchUp. I was thinking about using Ninja City as a Pluggin to produce city scenes and what to know your input on the Ninja City Pluggin. Thanks

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# 8 05-01-2013 , 01:34 PM

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The issue most likely has to do with the triangle. The edge you have selected runs through a triangular poly. When you apply a tool like offset edge Maya does not know what to do when it hits the point in the edge where it branches at the tri.

Can you give me the time code and the video part you are on. I'll take a look at that section and can walk you through it.

-Rick

"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Sir Isaac Newton, 1675

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# 9 05-01-2013 , 02:44 PM

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I found the section in part 2 of the tutorial and the problem is the triangle. I place both those edges to make the bend in the side close too the vertex's on the left and right side of the can.

You have the edge running through the vert creating a triangle. If you go to time code around 1:30 and play through again you'll see that I use the cut faces tool and say something like place the edge "just inside of this vert" indicating the inner most verts on those sections that form the X shape.

When you get to the part just before I make the bend around time code 3:38 I say something like "now before we bend the side lets go around and look to see if we have created any triangles" and "everything is all quads so let continue".

I have grabbed a screen capture so you can see the difference of the version in the video and yours around that point so you can see the issue.

Also you seem to have missed the part where I adjust bottom edges of that part the forms the X inward to create bevel. The sides on yours are coming straight down.

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"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Sir Isaac Newton, 1675

Last edited by ctbram; 05-01-2013 at 03:20 PM.

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# 10 05-01-2013 , 02:53 PM

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I just noticed you have two other triangles that do not match the topology of what is in the tutorial.

As a general rule triangles and ngon (polygons with more then four sides) should be avoided. This rule can sometimes be bent. But as a beginner I would suggest you try to stick with quads.

There is a triangle in the above screen grab from the tutorial for instance that would not be a problem there is also an ngon (see the image below) since this tut was targeted for beginner level at a later point in the tutorial I add a edge to make those into a quads.

If it's your own personal project and you are aware of how the model is going to be rendered and used such as will it be deformed or not then you can save some time and effort by leaving an occasional tri or even an ngon in the model but many would argue this is just bad form. I am of mixed opinion on this so I will leave it to you to decide. However, as you are learning I'd strongly suggest to stick to avoiding tri's and ngons.

In studios they will generally prohibit ngons and tri's even if they do not present a problem. There are a number of very good reasons that they have this rule. One of the most obvious is that in a studio many artists may have to work with your model as it moves through the pipeline. If someone had to adjust the model later in the pipeline that innocuous tri or ngon could become a problem.

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"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Sir Isaac Newton, 1675

Last edited by ctbram; 05-01-2013 at 03:38 PM.

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# 11 05-01-2013 , 03:12 PM

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I hope this helps to get you back on track. Hang in there! It's always a struggle in the beginning.

The tutorial is beginner level but it has techniques that are designed to prepare you for the next level. So it's a step beyond the typical beginner tutorial that basically stuffs primitive shapes into each other. (smile).

I try to do my best to explain each step.

"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Sir Isaac Newton, 1675

Last edited by ctbram; 05-01-2013 at 03:18 PM.

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# 12 05-01-2013 , 08:39 PM

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I do know about beveling the edges in the first video but had a problem when extruding the star shapes. The problem come in the form of the stars were not flat and it caused a problem when I extruded out that it gave me a funky shape. Then when I check the right and left sides it was not flat with the rest of the Geometry, this cause some really funky shapes. I think that it might be better if I just start over again and think about the pointers that you showed me in your emails. Thanks and I'll start the Jerry Can over for the 4 time. Thanks

Cheers,

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Video Titled : Modeling Workflow - Poly Plane Techniques

Edge Tool - Jerry Can

Offset Edge Loop Tool

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