I've set myself the task of modeling a shoe. Shouldn't be too difficult I said to myself. Three attempts later I have very little to show for it. Does anyone have tips on a preferred method of modeling something like a shoe, ie. complex shape with an open face (to put your foot in). Thanks for any feedback. Regards...... Glenn

I model in LightWave and am not very good with organic shapes... but if I were to tackle something like a shoe I'd use the box modeling method. Basically I'd start with a segmented box that gets subpatched, then i'd push and pull vertices till I get something that remotely resembles a shoe. I'd attempt to detail the sole using a couple of extruded shapes to keep it as simple as possible. If laces were required, I guess I'd have to rely on rail extrusion. Hope that helped... :o) M

Mind Over Matter
"If you don't mind, then it don't matter."

After making shoes that looked more like socks, I have a better way of doing it. I make models using box modeling or poly modeling in gmax (works the same for 3DSMax). For a shoe, I start by making the sole. I make the sole from a box that is 2 wide, 3 high and 7 long. This gives me enough verts to model the basic shape. When the sole is done, I duplicate it and move the copy up, modify the copy to make the foot of the shoe. I dulicate the sole again, and use the back end (of this copy) to extrude a heel. That is my approach.

Thank you for the tips. Your example boots look fantastic by the way. I had indeed realized that everything was going to hinge on getting the sole right. I haven't tried the box idea yet. I started with a spline shape, extruded then converted to a mesh, but this gives a large number of vertices. What I like about your model is that there do not appear to be many (any) superfluous vertices. This I guess is the big advantage of box modeling. Anyway, once again thanks. I'll post my efforts soon. Regards..... Glenn