Keeping Models Clean

1. Mirror should be X to world

Make sure the model is viewed from the front while in the front camera. x should be the mirror axis.

2. Make sure model is symmetrical

Be careful of sculpt and soft select tools, they may put your model out of symmetry. The model should mirror perfectly with the hotkey “shift m”. Be sure that the middle vertices are connected.

Be careful if you’ve already created UVs

You can also test symmetry with the shelf icon AbsymMesh under custom shelf. Open the UI select the model and click “check symmetry”. The result will be told in the command line. If it’s not symetrical out of symmetry verts will be selected.

3. Snapping verts down the symmetry before merging

– Check that verts in the same place are properly welded on the center line.
– snap with relative modes (in tool box)
– be in world translate mode while snapping

4. Mirroring segmented meshes (no symmetry line)

– grouping is easiest kinda
– move the pivot to centrer grid and duplicate
– Duplicate special – you can freeze the instancing
(can freeze later modify>convert>instance to objec)

5. Duplicated verts in same Place

cv’s (click to chow) to find duped cvs or you can use the HUD
display > heads up display > poly count
Verts in the same place should be merged unless it’s intentional

6. Mesh > Cleanup Options

-3 types of common probs
a. non manifold geometry (no volume, can’t blow up like a baloon)
b. zero length
c. interior vertex (cleanup doesn’t handle mudbox will error) select all verts and hit delete
(delete edge is shift – )

7. Obj Import and Export

This button in the custom shelf will clean out any Maya bugs which can happen more than you think. If the mesh is acting weirdly save then run the obj import export.

8. Sending to mudbox

– mudbox will also check objects

9. Sending to ZBrush

– zbrush doesn’t handle ngons
– use the tri button to triangulate ngons.