I'm very excited to share, I started 3D modelling this week and I'm trying to challenge myself to learn new things & techniques with every project. I just finished and uploaded my 4th model, I'd like to share it with you!
I would greatly appreciate any comments & criticism you might have. I know that I have a LOT to learn, and I think the best way to learn is to discuss.
Thank you!
For your 4th model it looks great.
For the feedback part:
you have a lot of geometry that doesn't end in a logical way
https://pin.it/qyrtls53zw5sob here are some infos on how to make the geo flow a bit better 
also there is a lot of parts that you could reduce by a lot
the textures look like you did them via materials, so there is a lot to improve there in the future
But it looks how it should if you don't look to close at the details. R2 looks pretty good.
Thanks a lot for the feedback.
I have a lot to learn about topology, and I'm having a hard time with the 'reduce' option on maya. I've tried it a few times, and almost every time I end up with weird edges and vertices that don't connect anywhere properly.
I almost always start with a cube and try to keep a clean layout, but whenever I try reducing, I have this problem. Also in this model I had a similar problem, and I ended up even 'smooth'ing some parts, which ruined the topology even more. I guess I have to learn by doing with time!
Yes I did the textures with materials in the sketchfab 3D settings. Honestly I'm scared to deal with UV maps before fixing the topology. So I think I should fix my workflow first, then dive into textures.
Once again thank you!
Since you work with maya, a good tip is to work with a 2d plane and the quad draw tool for things that are mostly flat
Helps a lot with the "keeping everything where it should"
using reduce (mostly just messes things up) and smooth (just at the end if you really want to make it rounder) should be avoided mostly
you can also just use it to "retopo" over a model you already did to make it lower and more planed
Now I'm trying to model the LAAT from Star Wars, clone wars. This time I'm trying to keep everything as clean as possible. The "Average Vertices" option is proving very useful for keeping things in place mostly. This is what I have so far:
I looked into the Quad Draw. It's building the topology over the whole design, but I guess it wouldn't work well with something like this? I mean, I will have to re-create all the surfaces, right? So basically doing everything again?
Do you have any suggestions for the current progress?
Cheers!
id start with a way lower basic shape, set the edgeloops where needed and then use preview smooth (3) to check how it would look smoothed.
the wings id just make as seperate item
it often works for flatter things like swords and co but yeah for that specific one it probably won't work
I'm trying to simplify it now, this is also turning out to be a nice topography practice. I'm using references from the link you gave, about how to make clean stepping between different densities.
I'll keep you updated, this is very helpful for me. Thank you!
Just as example
1. quad draw the side view
but i didn't want to go to far into modeling it
then hit smooth- delete the edges you don't need. of course there is a ton more work after that but it's quite a nice workflow to just have the basics set.
That's a great demonstration, it really helps me put things into place in my mind. I might try it actually, I'm on the edge right now.
This is how far I managed to simplify it so far:
EDIT: New image.
I'll make the wings as a separate object, don't know why I couldn't think of that. It seems obvious now that you said it!
The main problem I have is the front concave bit, where the turret should come. I can't seem to create it in a smooth way. Maybe I'll just create a new object for that part, what do you think?
looks good so far
add an edgeloop around there and hit 3 to give that hard edge.
it's quite the hard model you picked for one of your firsts since it got a lot of round parts mixed with some very hard spots. But looks much better already.
edit: or bevel that edge selection both would work fine
Some more progress. Also added the edge loop, and pressed 3. Here's how it looks now:
I think I will add the turret and the rings around it as separate objects, seems like it would be the easiest way. The flow isn't the best, but I fixed most of the problems with the topology now, I'm very happy with the progress. Once again thank you!
@dark_minaz An update! Still very early stages, but I'm loving the challenge. Learning by making mistakes, haha.
the only real way to learn
But looks already way better and is probably in the same poly area than your first screen shot was.
Next part that you need to learn is the magical button called "set vertex normal to X"
that generally helps to make things look rounder than they are. Especially for the gun part that will be quite useful to not waste to many polys there
With hard objects like this just make multiple objects, like those rockets under the wing, the walls for the troopers, the front turrets etc you can still connect them in the end if you really need to.
But looks like you are on the right path for now
I did play around with the Set Vertex Normal to X, but I couldn't utilise it properly I think. I will take a second look at it. Meanwhile, I discovered the "Soften Edge" setting just above that setting, it helped me a few times!
Here's where I'm at so far. The globes are placeholders so I can get a "feel" of the overall progress.
the set vertex normal to x (60 mostly) just smooths the parts that should be round and leaves the really hard edges alone
but looks like you are making some good progress on it
