ok heres the deal Post your app 1 post what kind of models you mostly do organic structral or mechanical buildings vehicles etc 2 Last post your modeling process if your making a human do you start with the torso head hands etc do you use box modeling detail out poly by poly siloute etc Ill start out My main app is Lw I model everything but mostly enjoy organic for most models i start with the chest torso area using boxed out then going to extruding polys for arms head legs etc but often create detailed areas using polys then conect them I find difrent areas of the model work better with difrent methods of modeling ok now its your turn go go go

Hiya Trav, My application is LightWave (because that's all I got), but i'm strictly a non-organic modeler. I usually start with a sectional profile polygon that I can extrude and go from there. All of my models can be built with a handful of the basic tools, straight out of the box. I rely heavily on extrusions, bevels, smooth shift and stencils to modify basic primitives. Depending on what I am modeling my work flow varies, if I am working on a building - plan, mass then detail. If it is a weapon - side view, mass then detail. If it is a robot, then I start with moving details (like fingers) and work backwards to a whole that makes some sense. Doesn't always work. I find that my favorite tool of all is "undo" :oP Next one up... Cheers! - M

I model mainly in Rhinoceros3D though I have tired a few other programs (remind me...I need to visit the LightWave Forum). I do character modeling mostly and organic modeling specifically (as anything can be a character). My method of choice is lofting and then point editing. It's allows for ultimate control in my opinion and it's where the true heart of Rhino exists. I do find that sometimes I have to vary my modeling methods to fit my needs, however and will then fall back to sweeps or revolves. -NEXT! PS. Trav...you copped out dude, you could've gone into a little more detail. (just teasing). The torso and head of my organic models are made using a three curve lofting technique. I then edit the resulting surface, use the mirror tool to get the other half, match and merge the two surfaces together. I do this as a time saving tool and it also allows me to sneak in a lot more detail than other methods would allow. (see the image)

lol yeah < i guess i will add more detail after a few more post but hey look at that sweet model you got going ! is it the balrog if so i have some good refrance shots if you d like anyway thanks for posting guys

Yup, it's a Balrog...not entirely accurate model but kinda close.

i moedel primarily in amapi 6.1 although i have several others [carrara, truespace, cimema4d etc] i mainly make organics but i can make most anything, i just enjoy figures more. i use contrustion curves and poly creation to build, as it gives me the most control over the finished model. favorite tool : the bevel tool for creating wrinkles. like Teyon i make one half only then mirror and weld it together. cheers for another great topic Travis. stu

that should have read constuction lol im an ok modeller but a lousy typist. cheers stu

well i am a cinema 4d modeler and a newbie though my process is detailed form some of my art theroy and process is a bit hard to explane though i will go through it if you want ... first i start out with brain storming and tinkering around , which normaly consists of a pencil in my hand and my sketch book or one of my many sketch books , i always am drawing something , at bus stop's , when i sit down for a minute any time in the day and nearly any place.. secondly once i find a sketch i like i begin to draw it multiple times , over diffent sides and views of the same object over and over , still on papper and my pencil in my hand , to capture what i see it is , mostly useing 3 point perspective form the flat image i roughed out befor next i take a look all over the web and through books i have here on my bookshelfs for refrance materals or other designs that have been in the same genera and i save all of the images into a project catalog , normaly there very good for ideas of detailing and texturing later. then i begin consitruction of the model , useally form the largest object or largest base within the model and bratch off form that. then i go into detailing form that when bratching out in diffent areas , wile studing it ,pondering it , and refuring many many times to my own sketches i started with. and then i go into the process of texturing which normaly i texture a model multiple times , removeing the shades i dont like or tweaking them until its pleasing to my own eye . ------- and the type of modeling i do is structural or mechanical modeling in a sci fi like genera for now ,though i hope to brantch out eventually and get the hang on organic modeling , but sence i am staring out still learning C4d alot of the accuall modeling process is tral and error , so i want to get down to where i feel i am decent at this stage , and then move onto the organics side this is the only image so far i have done to my satifaction in c4d , though so far i have had many models i have scraped or put on the shelf for later , because my skills are to lakeing to get some of the angles and effects i want , without it looking compleatly glued togeather... but hey we all start out somewhere

For synthetic modeling I use Electric Image Universe, which has a great set of tools. I seldom plan out my models, usually I have an idea in my head, and just uses the various tools to create it. Sometimes I will use an object in front of me or guide images loaded in the modeling windows. For organic I usually use Amorphium ( now at version 3 ). Some of my best stuff is spontaneous. I just start doodling and get a shape then go from there.

I have done planed out modeling, in both apps, I just find the spontaneous work more fun

I use Bryce 4 & 5, `cause that's all I got for right now. Yes, Bryce is limited in modeling, but I have fun with it, and that's all I ever really wanted it for. I model more mechanical things since Bryce (off the bat) is not an organic modeler. that, and the fact I LOVE tecnical things. (mechanical devices, robots, etc.) I should start with the base of whatever I'm working on, but I don't. I start with whatever part excites me the most. Which usually leads to undo and major resizing, but my backwards brain will have it no other way. AgentSmith

Model I made of Ichabod Cranes eyeware from Sleepy Hollow movie. Bryce 4, 182 parts, no imports. AgentSmith

Gun-wielding robot. Bryce 4, 952 parts, all primitives, lotta booleaning. Large amount of parts really just due to replication (4 legs, 2 arms, 2 guns) AgentSmith

Well, you kinda caught me halfway over the fence... I nomally (err..used to anyway) model in rhino, in most of my stuff I tried to mix mecha with organics to get kind of a hybrid style. I usually start out for a few days of just thinking, pondering off into space and dwelling in my own worlds...then when I begin to see something I try to bring it out of the depths of my mind onto paper in a rough sketch... After that I normally refine the sketch a bit and begin with the modeling (usually before the refined sketch is done) There you have it! Above: This was the last model I completed in rhino...I started a hardsuit, but never did finish it. -Modulok-

I use amapi 6.1. I model anything, but mostly stick to organics because inorganic objects are too easy and they bore me in a few minutes. I also find that I like imaginary characters more than realistic ones. Realism has been done to death and its gotten to the point where I dont care to look at realisitic models because its like going to the poser gallery (all images look the same). When modeling a character, I usually start with the chest and work out from there. No particular love for any method as I use box, construction curves, subD and single poly. Not too crazy about nurbs tho. BT

Another Rhino user here. I love creating outfits mainly. Most of a fantasy genre. The image gives you an idea. At work however, I model many different things from furniture and jewelry to mechanical components for real product production and design. I mostly start from 2D drawings and begin to create my surfaces. Rhino's NURBS give me a lot of freedom during the creative process and the 2D tools allow me to draw and sketch in the computer rather than on paper.

Got started on Bryce 4, and then found Anim8or. I use Bryce for boolean construction, landscapes, Multi-replication, layout, materials and rendering. I use Anim8or to make wireframes of shapes that aren't always easy to come by when using Bryce (although this prog does more than what I use it for.) When using Anim8or, I find the box method to be the easiest way to get started. Usually start with some primitive shape convert it to a mesh and start extruding out the faces. Then perhaps subdivison for smoother contours. Then I go and play with the points on the mesh, etc. to try and work out the details better. When in Bryce, I approach it however I want. Start creating the primitive shapes I will use and throw them together until they resemble what I want. Then it's just a matter of setting the attributes. Tweak and peak the materials until it looks right. More or less the experimentalist method, although the presets give easy starting points. I'm still not a pro yet, but it's all fun.

I use Electric Image Universe. Got the deal on the dvgarage toolkit with amorphium pro 1.2. This is the first significant model I've made in EIU. I started with the torso because it was the most detailed. By the way, that's how I draw or paint, start with the most detailed part and work out. On a human, I start with the head in graphite so I expect I'd do that in modeling. Been brycing since 1998. Got into Poser last May. Played with all the free modelers like Metasequoia (love the metaballs and negative metaballs in that one) and Amapi 4.15, and spatch and hammapatch and yada yada. Looked at all the demos including Maya, Rhino, Cinema, and XSI. For the money, EIU dvgarage lights my rocket. Render is a quickie in Poser 5.

This is really off topic, but after seeing EricofSD'srender above, I had to post this one that I did a while back... Cinema 4D XL7.3 & Poser4.

Pure RDS lovin', baby. She gets a bit cranky after 500,000 polys, and I have to port to Carrara to do a any fancy light effects (auras, light cones, etc.), but it's what I've been using for years and it's what I know how to use. Though if MAX ever has a "$3400 off sale" I'd likely spring for that. I'm just getting into organics, now that I've got Carrara (which is better at the rounded stuff), but I'm still mostly a machinist. I used to work with modified polys, nowadays I find myself building straight up from vertexes more and more. How I do it is really dictated by what each mode of the program can do- my polymeshes are generally as simple as I can get away with, and assemble into more complex shapes.

I love the LW modeler!!!:) I am just learning with the organic modeling...I began with the e.t. model for few months ago and now the human female is only my second real project...LW is really hard to learn but once you know how to use the tools, you have so many options... I usually make the setup in poser though... I just love to render in lightwave! I have done Max as well...but somehow I prefer the LW renderer (for my taste and needs) I am not that good for now...but with the time I intend to learn all the tools and tips and tricks... But damn it's a lots of time!:)

As for how I start a character, I have begun by the head....I don't really know if it's a mistake...but from the tutorials I learn from, that's how they do it... I am now learning how to model a hand... By the way...It's really good stuff I have seen upthere!!!You guys are very talented!

I like your model, its more detailed than mine. I got the lights and tread on last night and was thinking about putting in the markings on the side of the foot, but decided to just paint that in Painter3d. I'm curious how you got the ridges on the neck glass and the lower body glass.

Like this...

My app: My main app is Carrara 2.0, and my secondary app is Anim8or (for goofing off on my lunch hour, heh). My approach to modeling is still "a work in process". My background is engineering, so I tend to look at things in terms of drafting. For example, I'm more comfortable entering numerical coordinates than just "click and drag". In some ways this is good, as I think it give me a better understanding of how things fit together. In other ways, I think it can lead to stiff looking characters, so I really need to learn to "loosen up" a little. Another aspect of my technical approach is that I'm more interested in figuring out how to do something than in actually making any finished art. I've got a lot of unfinished scene files that started out as "I wonder if this technique would work?" On the other hand, I have discovered I am more interested in making things look cartoony rather than realistic, which seems kind of at odds with my tech approach. Go figure. Anyway, the above picture is just about my only "presentable" finished product. It's a Poser character I made in Carrara. It's available in Freestuff if anyone is interested (search for "Cring").

Now aint that neat. Ok, thanks for the tip. I'll have to play with that some time.

Well my app is the same as Travisb's Lightwave. I use a wide variety of modelling processes depending on my needs. They step from primative, to vertex and even rail modelling. My design is pretty modular. I'll model the eye then build a head around it. Then sometimes I model the chest the connect it to the neck or I may even model the chest, or the arm, or the leg or the entire torso a month prior, undecided on on the head. I may do everything but the arms and paste another set of arms I created for another model on them. Like I said, I'm pretty modular with the way I do things. Always open ended and always dynamic. Of late I have not been modelling complete characters. I did recently finish a character which is the apex of my skills as an organic modeller but she is being kept secret for a big occasion. I chose lightwave because, well it's simply awesome. Great modeller with a great host of shaders pre-packaged and otherwise. Of late I have been cel-shading. That seems to be the direction that my career is heading much to my satisfaction. I have been experimenting with unreal shader with stunning results.