Fastest possible retopo/poly modeling?
I dream of a tool for perfectly controllable polygonal modeling by drawing out vertex by vertex or edge by edge, but from Object mode (image to select “the tool” and draw on a surface/grid/orthogonal view. It could merge the currently created geometry to the selected one, or create an entirely new object). Maximum control and efficiency. I don’t need a full Retopo suite, it is kinda slow sometimes and kills the spark you have when you're right in the middle of it.
Currently I can 1: append a single vertex, 2: go to edit mode and 3: place it (the vertex) where it should be and 4: start modeling. Four steps that could and should be just one step.
There’s kind of an early version of that in Blender, the PolyBuild tool but we still need too many clicks. Fast, free, precise. I can always go in and SubD the model or clean, bevel, loop it.
The AddOn "PolyQuilt" is like 80% there, but I still need to create geo and go to edit mode. Saving these steps would save an incredible amount of hassle on a day-to-day basis.
Look at it, even just the first minute. We can and should still learn from Softimage XSI. youtube.com/watch
What do you guys think? Am I missing something? The solution with the best control and least amount of clicks wins. :P
2 Comments
A couple lines of python could do the geo create, edit mode switch, and tool selection. You could bind that script to a hotkey? I'm just getting started with python in blender, otherwise I'd post the code. I'm betting it wouldn't take much.
* @Stephen Bailey * Thanks! I will wait and hope for more people to join the discussion and collect all thoughts. The only way I can code in python is by copying and modifying code from the console. I'd love to be better but I figured it is a big rabbit hole. :)