Squeaky Clean Topology in Blender: Create accurate deformations and optimized geometry for characters and hard surface models

Michael Steppig

£16.99 per month

4.2 (5 Ratings)

Paperback Dec 2022 248 pages 1st Edition

Michael Steppig

£16.99 per month

4.2 (5 Ratings)

Paperback Dec 2022 248 pages 1st Edition

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Key benefits

Overcome complex topology problems while working through projects
Learn to topologize quad-based and non-quad-based meshes with step-by-step examples
Optimize your models by reducing the triangle count to improve performance

Description

This book is an introduction to modeling and an in-depth look at topology in Blender, written by a Blender topology specialist with years of experience with the software. As you progress through its chapters, you’ll conquer the basics of quad-based topology using triangles and Ngons, and learn best practices and things to avoid while modeling and retopologizing. The pages are full of illustrations and examples with in-depth explanations that showcase each step in an easy-to-follow format. Squeaky Clean Topology in Blender starts by introducing you to the user interface and navigation. It then goes through an overview of the modeling techniques and hotkeys that will be necessary to understand the examples. With the modeling basics out of the way, the next stop on our journey is topology. Working through projects like a character and a sci-fi blaster, the book will illustrate and work through complex topology problems, and present solutions to those problems. These examples focus on deforming character models, non-deforming hard surface models, and optimizing these models by reducing the triangle count. By the end of this book, you will be able to identify the general flow of a shape's topology, identify and solve issues in your topology, and come out with a model ready for UV unwrapping, materials, and rigging.

Who is this book for?

This book is for character modelers, sculptors, poly modelers, and hard surface modelers. Whether you're looking for an introduction to modeling, optimizing high poly or sculpted models, or just a deeper dive into the subject of topology, this book will walk you through the topology workflow from beginning to end.

What you will learn

Identify the general flow of a model s topology, and what might cause issues
Understand the topology of a character, and the joints that they make up
Handle non-quad based topology
Lay out your meshes for UV seams
Explore and use hotkeys to get things done faster
Optimize models for a reduced triangle count

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Free for first 7 days. £16.99 p/m after that. Cancel any time!

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Frequently bought together

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Total £ 119.97

James Jan 03, 2023

I've been modeling about as long as Michael and have a bit less knowhow about topology but enough that it's gotten me by, Michael however has outlined a rather cohesive guild on how to approach your topology while avoiding beginner mistakes, I'll likely find myself incorporating some of his methods in my next modeling project.

Amazon Verified review

Dannzo Jan 04, 2023

This book does a great job outlining the fundamentals of topology, giving solid examples of various implementations and teaching optimization techniques. After a short introductory explaining the Blender UI and how to use Blender to manipulate geometry, the book begins by introducing the basic concepts of topology, giving three clear and concise rules to follow. It then builds upon these foundations by delving into other topics like deformation and UV maps. In addition to covering the basics of topology, the book also provides numerous examples of how the concepts can be applied in practical settings. This is where the book really shines. It has entire chapters dedicated to showing how to retopologize a humanoid head, body and hard surfaces. Each of these chapters walks you through the process step by step with images so that it can be easily understood. Lastly, optimization is covered. This is where artists in the game industry are really going to want to pay attention. As those in the field will understand, having a great number of triangles is going to impact the performance of the game. The final chapter shows how to break down what was previously done in order to reduce the number of faces, while maintaining the look of the original mesh. Overall, the book does a great job of explaining the material and giving examples paired with images making it easy for the reader to understand. I recommend this book to 3D artists wholeheartedly.

Jared Miller Jan 13, 2023

I think that most 3D artists lose their minds a little when they encounter the concept of retopology for the first time. You just spent days, maybe weeks working on a highly detailed sculpt. Then you must figure out how to make the model usable for animation. Retopology can be very intimidating. Speaking on my own experience, I found it to be the most tedious and difficult part of the character creating pipeline. It took me a long time to understand the importance of good topology and deformation. I wish I had had this book while I was learning 3d art. Steppig does a great job of explaining every step in the process, but also explains the reasons for each step. By the end of each section you have a strong understanding of both the theory and the practice of retopology. While this book is written as a guide in Blender, the concepts and application are the same in other industry tools. I absolutely recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn these crucial fundamentals. Good luck on your 3D journey!

Adobe Creative Suite Jan 03, 2023

Michael has done a great job exploring this topic and providing a concrete framework to build incredible work with. Better than most online guides and tutorials I have seen and worth it.

Andy Feb 07, 2025

Missing download materials.

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Squeaky Clean Topology in Blender: Create accurate deformations and optimized geometry for characters and hard surface models

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