How would I add these multiple holes to my mesh?

[bluberry (T)]

I’m modelling these boots and I need to add the holes where the shoelaces will go through.

I need to add 17 holes to each side of the boot. (so 34 holes per boot!) Is there a quicker way to add multiple holes at once, and how would I do it without destroying the topology?

[joseph]

@bluberry

how would I do it without destroying the topology?

I wouldn’t add them at all, I’d bake them in as details on a normal map and bump map, no real geometry. That way, you can get that high level of detail without worrying about topology

[Magnavis]

Yup. Not to mention that the laces would hide 95% of the hole anyway. If you wanna be super lazy, you could just paint the ‘holes’ black.

But if you reaaaaaally wanted to, you could select a group of faces like this, and use the inset tool:

But then your topology would have to flow evenly along the path of the laces.

[Okidoki]

@bluberry

Is there a quicker way to add multiple holes at once, and how would I do it without destroying the topology?

First part: yes and no via booleans but you have to position multiple cyclinders
Second part: no; never… holes are absence of material… so they do form a border at the surrounding material… and their topology…

You have to slide some vertices to get a better position for the wholes and then add some geometry…
for exampl by adding a premade hole to the surface normal and then “weave” their topology with the showmain object (show).

Edit: …or… you just add some donuts…

The Boot Blender Timelapse (pre-zbrush)

…and maybe even ( do not ??) make the texture at the holes transparent ??