Robot head mesh problem (sharp edges + unremobable poles)

Hi, new here so dont beat me too hard.

But, to the point - Im trying to sculpt a cartoon robot Jenny from one of Nickeleodeon shows

This cartoon’s style is pretty weird so front projection doesnt match side projection when in 3d, and side doesnt match back projection so Im modelling after this sculpt


Ive started with head (if I cant model it good enough no point wasting time on body)


here comes the problem, that is that sticking out chin-thing.
(screen labeled ‘1’)
Ive simply extruded it but there is one pole I cant get rid of (there are no triangles in the mesh, its pole’s fault)
(screen labeled ‘2’)

I thought of adding additional line of quads to get rid of it…
(screen labeled ‘3’)
…but it only made it look worse :expressionless:
(screen labeled ‘4’)

(It wont let me upload more than 3 files at once, so I had to merge them, sorry…)


Any ideas how can I fix it? The model is purely mechanical and thus should be as smooth as possible, exept for edges that should be sharp and pointy.
(And dont worry about the eyes, I already know how to make em :] )

EDIT: Any help, please… this mesh is starting to give me nightmares…

Rather than starting with a UV sphere, try starting with perhaps a cube which has been subdivided a couple of times and use the smooth tool on it (lots of times) to make it kind of round.

Use subsurf to smooth out the model after you’ve got the basic structure down first, creating edge flow that will let you add controlling loop cuts to control subsurf when you add it. The crease tool can also be used along side controlling edge loops to keep the poly count lower and still get nice sharp edges where they should be.

Use a mirror modifier as well to start with at least, as long as the head itself is for the most part symmetrical, it makes sense to only have to work on one side.

In short you want to start out with a real simple mesh, which is easy to edit, not a UV sphere with hundreds of vertices.

An example of perhaps how i’d go about starting something like this might be this below. It might look blocky but with subsurf on it’ll be smooth, and by extruding the mouth area out i’ve already got the desired edge flow around there, to add loops if need be.

Attachments


Thx for your reply, buuut…

Lets assume I model a mesh similar to yours, but whats next? Shrinkwrap? Retopo? I dont think this will give better results, especially that ill have to align that chin-thing edges to a straight line…

But, Ive discovered what has been causing my problems. Its the way Catmull-Clark subsurf algorithm works



(Note how subsurf edges curve in the highlited section, its where the ‘chin’ begins)

If there was a way to manually move those edges…
If there isnt Ill simply apply subsurf when im done with whole model and aling those vertexes by hand.