Visualize and make it happen!

GREETINGS!

In my training to assassinate polygons better I have developed a technique that is very important in understanding mesh flow, so much so that it is one of my main techniques!

-Activate Bear Eye of Understanding Technique-
-FWOOSH-

It is the ability to visualize what something in the real world would look like with a wire frame over the top of it. It was not something that immediately happened. It took many years for me to understand the concept and put it into practice. Granted this is just my experience with it and you may pick it up instantly. Maybe I can even help you with that!

To begin with, lets do something simple. Look at the monitor in front of you. Now envision the most simplistic form in 3d geometry. My monitor would be made up of 4 cubes. 1 for the main screen, 1 for the support, and 2 for the diagonal legs on the bottom of the support. This is one of the most crucial aspects to the technique! Being able to simplify shapes down in your mind will help you understand how to build them in 3d. It is like a backwards construction technique that you then play forward again when modeling.

After I have my basic geometry figured out, I begin imagining how those cubes would be connected. How would I slice my geometry and weld points (vertices)?

Once the cubes have been welded together, I would start looking at detail. The most important part would be the screen again. That's where every one's eyes would go first as a focal point! So I would need to inset the front polygon and extrude in the negative to create the screen indentation. I would do this same technique for any other focal points on my object, knocking them out one at a time until I feel I have covered enough ground dissecting to start modeling or until something shiny catches my attention.

Do this process a few times on simple things. Your office telephone, desktop tower, energy drink next to you, then move on to something more complex. Something like a semi-truck, 747 airliner, or cargo boat. Once you feel confident with these objects start moving to the organic, trees and flowers. Once you can do vegetation, your power level will be over 9,000! Try to do this with humans. Start with photographs (because staring at a stranger is awkward... Trust me on this...) and then try on a friend or loved one.

It is a fun technique and can be used to warm up before modeling or sketching! Can you visualize what your monitor would look like in wire frame? Try it out!

-POOF-