I’m modeling a very simple small robot, but it is made by several objects (eg. the head is a sphere,…).
I have parented and grouped all the objects so that I can move the robot all at once. Now my doubts.
Is this a good way to work or should one always try to extrude/model from one single object/mesh?
Now that I have completed my robot how do I attach an armature to it? Should I do this for every single object it is made of? Isn’t it possible to attach an armature to the whole character?
“If in real world is made of 3 objects you’ll have to model 3 objects”
There’s always exceptions of course…for example if you’re doing low poly modeling.
Anyways, if it’s a complex object made of pieces, for example a lighter I would use one single mesh but with individual pieces selectables by pressing L.
Like elclanrs said, something like a robot that would be multiple pieces in real life, works well as multiple pieces in 3D. However, if you have an object that needs to deform, like a plant or animal, then one mesh it the way to go. Also, on your rigging question, while the rig is in Pose mode, you can select an individual object (like your robot head) and the shift-select the bone you want to parent to, and then using Ctrl-P parent the select object to the selected bone. This will cause that whole object to move with the bone.