Good day
I dont know if there is a name for the way i have modelled, but i have been calling it component modelling.
I have been using the CGI interface on and off for quiet a few years, which means that the industry has advanced far more than i have been able to keep up.
So, as with all industries, we try and find shortcuts. I have been watching a lot of tutorials on topology and it is only recently the full power of this tool has become apparent (as well as “compositing” which i am to fully grasp).
Basically, is “Component Modelling” a good short cut to topology?; (i know this is vague, but can i fake or create topology by modelling individual components first?)
one might call it ‘patch’ or ‘multi-patch’ modeling. Usually this refers to a technique of stitching multiple NURBS patches together. Whatever you call it, i use it too sometimes.
I don’t know, but if the results you are getting are working fine, and you are comfotable with the way you are doing then I don’t see any problems with it, i’m no EXPERT on topology, but I know that you may have trouble in one area of this, and that is keaping everything evenly spread, and then connecting everything.
I don’t know, but so far it looks like it can work, but modelling really is best done in the way that you find best. There is no right or wrong way around making something, just depends what skills you have to do so.
The trick is to use a single quad for each ‘feature’ and then extrude outwards. Cut across only as many times as you need to get the detail or you will end up with widely varying mesh densities for each patch, making the stitching process hard.
Upside is that every muscle/bone etc has a mesh that follows its contours. This makes animation simpler, cos you give each patch a bone, and the bone deforms that single item only. This means the item retains its underlying topology, and doesn’t get lost in the stretching process. It also forces you to see the features you are modelling, rather than just making eyes, nose, mouth, and assuming the rest of the face is just filler between them.
Downside is the problem of stitching the parts together.
One incidental point is it is useful for knees, elbows, knuckles etc. Put a patch with two edgeloops around it to represent the kneecap, or knuckle or whatever, give it a bone that rotates half of the joint angle ( a fan bone) and your deforms will be far simpler and cleaner. The joint will not flatten and get all mushy when bent to sharp angles.
