Ive been getting a lot of questions lately about edge loops i figure ill post a short tut on creating about using the volume form and detail and show what edge loops are for begginers ! feed back on what you are interested in would also help

Thanks TRAVISB all advice is appreciated. I think I'm OK on what edge loops are and even where to place them but I'm still a lttle hazy on why they are important (mainly for animating /morphing right?) Another unrelated area is the whole quads versus tris versus n-gons. I gather that quads are safer bet for subdividing because they sub-d more predictably but then I've also read that tris are better for the finished model because they always have a flat surface and therefore render better. Then there's the poles/stars thing, they're best avoided even though they can't be avoided! I've not read any disadvantages to poles, my guess is that they subdivide unpredictably? Phew, sorry about that didn't mean to run on so much! Baz

Hey man, really love the idea. I really would be happy when you show us how to MAKE and POSITION them around the mouth and eyes. But I hope you will exactly explain whet tools u are using and stuff. Really like the idea and I guess you would make much ppl happy with that. Me off course and there will be much others.. wozz

Baz yes you are correct on the edge loops thing its mostly for animating and creating good deformations especialy in the face during animation! As far as quads and tris go i can only state my personal feelings on this after modeling for a year and talking with people like wiro, stahlberg etc I think that many of us have come to the conclusion that quads are best but strategicly placed tris are often a better solution in some tricky areas As far as rendering goes quads are actauly divided into tris for the render anyway and stars (where more than 4 polysmeet ) are a definete pain but as you said almost imposible to avoid n gon polys or polys with more than 4 sides render out well in some apps for example mirai but wont work at all in others As far as showing the exact tools ill be using lw but the methods and tools for general modeling like this should be similar and ill try to explain it very clearly

Thanks TRAVISB, more useful info! Why do you say stars are a pain. I've only produced a few models but I don't remember having any problems associated with stars. Is it the way they subdivide? I can imagine they might alter the poly flow when subdivided. Looking forward to the tut! Baz

Just eavesdropping. jon

 
~jon
My Blog - Mad Utopia Writing in a new era.

lol @ jon baz stars are a pain in lw is what i should have said

Im in... BTW, is there still going to be a beginner level modeling tut on human forms tomorrow? I told my wife that she would have to go to "Fabricland" alone tomorrow. Damn; hate missing the opportunity to look at material for placemats and pillowcases but life will go on.

LOL sorry guys i coudnt get back from a taekwondo event so ill try to take care of it this week ;)