Helpful Bits and Bobs

So I have been modelling some interesting props at work, well interesting in the sense of the geometry and challenges they have presented to me, after all how interesting is a Coffee Maker or Toaster ;o) What got me thinking is that when I first started out, these kind of tasks massively intimidated me. Lots of curves with holes cut  into them, strange shaped parts, lots of components, basically many challenges. So I thought I'd share some general tips that will hopefully help you through these sorts of models. I also hope to do some more detailed examples in the near future.

1: When faced with what seems to be a daunting item to work on, stop, look at the item and you'll see it's made out of lots of parts, so instead of trying to build the whole model from one mesh, break it into it's component pieces. This not only helps you focus on small, manageable chunks but also allows you to keep your workspace fast and clean instead of a huge mesh.

2: This is linked to number 1 but again when I first start out I block out the model using basic primitives to the correct dimensions and then clone these to work on the detailed work.

3: When modelling try to work out how many segments you will need at the start especially for shapes like cylinders as this can be a pain adding more further down the process.

4: If you're modelling things that have symmetry then the Symmetry modifier is your friend and will save you plenty of time. Once your all done and are happy you can the collapse the stack (although only do this once your completely happy as this can't be undone).

5: If part of the model is at an awkward angle and extruding etc is a pain due to this, then do an instanced clone of this. Then rotate it so it's at a much more manageable angle, and work on this instead whilst the other model gets updated with your changes.

6: Keep the mesh as clean as possible (stick to quads) this way it'll cause you fewer problems, especially when making changes and using modifiers such as Turbosmooth. I also try to avoid using Boolean or ProBoolean unless I really need to and normally only at the end of the modelling process.

7: When I'm working on meshes that have lots of curves, I find that using a circle spline as a guide with a very low step interpolation (normally 1 or 2) to snap my extruded mesh to very helpful and allows you to keep the correct shape.

Hopefully these will help someone out and make modelling a little less stressful.