SubD-modeling is the same as
polygon-modeling in Maya, workflow-wise. But
polygon-modeling in Maya is trickier than in some
other packages, here are a few tips that may make it
easier.
We want to create a special shelf for the tools we
use the most, we want to keep it fairly clean and
not over-crowd it, so we can find the items quickly,
and have a small learning curve.
Create a new shelf, name it Polymodeling.
Shift+Ctrl+Alt as you click on any
menu item puts it on the shelf, with icon and
everything. Check so you have the settings you
like on any tool or action before you shelve it, or
go into the Shelf Editor (the arrow on the left of
the shelves) > Edit Commands to change it later.
Download, install and source the MJPolyTools
(www.maya3d.dk, copyright Mikkel Jans). Open
the menu, and do the same as above. Note, you
need to put the MJP icons in your icon directory
first, it's usually maya/extras/icons/. You
can also change the image later in the Shelf Editor.
This is the shelf I've ended up with, after some
testing.
From left to right: MoveNormal Tool (
to move verts along the normal). Extrude Face
- very useful (check Polygons > Tool Options > Keep
faces together, it's not on by default). Split
Polygon Tool, also very useful. Merge Vertices
(with a tight setting). And then the wonderful
MJPolyTools, or at least the ones I use most often:
Edge Loop Split, Select Loop, and the Mel command to
source the MJPTools at the beginning of a session
(otherwise they have no effect). Lastly two
conversions: Polygon to SubD and Subd to Polygon, I
use these a lot.