subdivision surfaces

[Azinicus]

I don't know, I've tried both Polys and Nurbs in Maya and they haven't been as easy for me as SubDs. I assume the power in Subdivisional Surfaces is that you can always go 'coarser' to keep it simpler.

[ryguy]

If you want to use SubD's for your head, rough out the head first in Polys first. Going back and forth to proxy and standard is a pain in the ass, so just finalize everything in polys.

Once you feel like you've got some prgress, make a duplicate of the poly and throw the original one on a layer and template it. Convert the duplicated copy to SubDs and begin refining.

**You should always backup any poly mesh you've made BEFORE converting to SubDs. Just incase you have a major problem (like grabbing a few vertices you didn't see and notice it 3 days later) you can always go back to the original polygon version.**

I've added a few things in the Maya FAQ (http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23829) thread about SubDs.

Most people think Maya's SubDs are slow, however there is a certain workflow to go by to keep away from SubD slowness. So check out that FAQ before getting knee deep into SubDs. :)

~Ryan

[iso]

thanks for the tips.

So after you refine the model i take it you keep in that mode, seeing as you made a point that subd's don't have to slow down your system as much as most people see that they do

[ryguy]

It depends on how you use SubDs really. If you have your SubD and you keep making edits in proxy mode and then going into standard mode, etc, etc, your model will be very sluggish when you try to move it and especially when you rig and animate, your model will bog down everything.

Just make all your final polygon edits on the polygon, then create a subD once you feel it's good enough for you. Then use SubD's levels to improve on that by using creases and finer levels. If you feel the need to go back into proxy mode, just load a backup of the original polygon. You'll find it's easier to start over than trying to deal with extreme slowdowns.

About modeling using subDs:
A|W says not to go over level 5 when creating a character (head, body, everything). I would never go into level 4 unless it is very nessesary for the model (level 4 vertices aren't for editing!) Even though Maya's subDs can go to level 12, I wouldn't go past 4.

All rigging should be done at level 0. SubD's work in a heirarchy and moving around on level 0 gives some nice results. When modeling blendshapes for facial animation, you can pull any level vertice, edge, face, etc for some nice expressions as well.

Most people say SubDs are slow because they've only experimented a few times only to give up at the sign of a slowdown. Just keep working at them, there is ALWAYS a workaround, especially in Maya, regardless if it's speed, modeling, animation, etc.

~Ryan

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