Polys or Sub D

# 1 21-06-2004 , 10:06 PM

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Join Date: Jan 2003

Location: US

Posts: 39

Just starting to get into Maya and after a few tutorials I seem to be getting the hang of it some what. So my question is what really is the difference between polys and sub Ds in the end? The modeling I am planning on doing will be geared more to photo realism and animation down the road as I learn. So I would like to get started properly. I plan on doing rigged figures and mechanical devices such as tanks and vehicles. So what would be the best way to approach this and why. Remember I am a newbie so use small words user added image

.

Thanks

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# 2 22-06-2004 , 09:01 PM

Lead Modeler - Framestore
Join Date: Feb 2003

Location: UK

Posts: 6,287

Right I'll try and explain this as best I can. Now Polys and SubD can actually be part of the same model. You can basically generate a SubD surface from a Poly mesh (preferably Lo res to begin with) when converting to SubD you can have a choice of two options, you can disply the proxy object (lo res poly object) or you can leave it as it is and use the right mouse button over the Sub D to dispaly your lo object cage over the top. And also display vertices and faces and edges too.

Sub Ds are absolutley ideal for organic shapes, but if doing characters with rigging can be very heavy to animate unless you have a lo res proxy figure displying too. You can turn off the diplay for the SD while animating the Lo Res poly version. All this aside you can choose to convert your SD to a much higher res poly mesh once you have finished your model, you have a great deal of control. The only thing I would suggest is not to texture your object while it is an SD surface but change it back to your poly proxy or base mesh as it is also known and do it on that then convert back and so on. I would recommend looking it up on your maya help menu to get an insight there and get your hands dirty too. There is loads of stuff available on the web too. Check out Bay Raitts Subdivision surface techniques. Hope this helps you a little.

Jango

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# 3 23-06-2004 , 04:48 AM

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Join Date: Jan 2003

Location: US

Posts: 39

thanks for the info I will have to check the web for some more info. I did see that you can switch between subDs and polys in the right click marker menu. But I guess what I was wondering is how does it effect the final outcome? I know that nurbs can give you smoother surfaces than polys are subDs sort in between? Thanks.

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# 4 02-07-2004 , 10:31 AM

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Join Date: May 2004

Location: Herts, UK

Posts: 14

I am still in the transfer from max to maya but am proficcient enough to fumble a model together, but the above info has been a great help. I got a bit confused abouth the proxy mesh thing but have sort of got the hang.
I model a low poly proxy mesh and texture and rig it, but can swap the proxy for a higher res version later on. Is this correct?
If so, how is the higer res on linked to the texture and rig etc?

Maya be a hard mistress, but I will tame her....I hope

Keep up the good work all you noobs, one day we will all be free

Cheers to the SM team

Malc

Somedays you are the pigeon, and others, the statue

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# 5 02-07-2004 , 12:10 PM

Lead Modeler - Framestore
Join Date: Feb 2003

Location: UK

Posts: 6,287

Hey Dude

If you look in the convert option in modify menu you will see that you can keep the proxy when going to sub d, if I'm right you only needto bind the proxy object because of the node connection between that and the subd. You can hide the Sub D while binding the proxy object. There are several ways to do it. I'll post more later as I dont have time right now. But I recommend this book, Maya Character Animation by Jae Jin Choi. I have had it over a year and its one of those invaluable books with lots of info.

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Polys or Sub D

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