8 3d Modeling Styles Every 3D Artists Should Know

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As a 3d artists there are a many 3d modeling styles spread across various 3d modeling applications. The right 3d modeling style you choose will play a huge impact on the speed, quality and final outcome of your 3d model. In this video, we will take a look at 8 of the most popular and useful 3d modeling styles, and help you decide which 3d modeling style is right for you.

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[jlmussi]

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*Modeling styles:*
***Booleans*** (02:07)
Pros- fast, accurate, powerful in specific situations.
Cons- unexpected results, bad topology.
***Retopology*** (03:34)
Pros- improved performance, faster workflow, improved topology.
Cons- time-consuming, loss of detail.
***subD modeling*** (05:33)
Pros- less working geometry, infinite quality.
Cons- difficulty.
***3d sculpting*** (07:56)
Pros- organic modeling, concepting, skip the technicals.
Cons- processing power, limited to organic shapes.
***NURBS*** (11:16)
Pros- precise measurements, compatibility, industrial standard.
***kitbashing*** (13:28)
Pros- quick details, access to many parts, faster design.
Cons- limited control, limited creative options, overreliance on kits.
***poly modeling*** (14:57)
Pros- widely used, widely accessible.
Cons- time-consuming.
***photogrammetry*** (16:33)
Pros- real-time model creation, complex model creation.
Cons- time-consuming, accuracy relies on photo quality, can't capture certain surfaces.


Great video thank you!!

[Kira]

I'd probably add 2 more styles to this list.
Programmatically generating shapes, which can be done with OpenSCAD for example. It's not as widely used as regular CAD modeling, but can be useful at times.
Generating geometry with nodes, for example with Blenders Geometry nodes. Very hard to get into, but it's mind blowing what can be done with the right set-up.

[helenxyz]

Thank you JL! I have been learning 3D modeling for several years, and this is the first video I watched which summarizing the advantages and disadvantages of so many modeling methods! Now I have a clearer concept of ​​the Sub-D modeling method and a better understanding of what you are talking about it in the video. I also can imagine how much effort you put behind this video!

[KismetBP]

YouTube Failed me… they didn’t recommend this channel earlier +1 sub. Great video. ❤🤘

[johnsierra]

Thanks for taking the time to explain these subjects. I was unaware of all these different techniques.

[m-simpson]

Very good overview, I'd add: 5:30 for Retopology the artist also needs knowledge of animation, anatomy, and texturing to get the best results. The deformation of the character model during animation can have problems without knowledge of where to put the cuts, and texturing can also be easier if you're aware of where to hide the UV cuts.

[Keanine]

I'm not a 3D modeller by any means, but occasionally I have need of a model and I do my best to make one for myself at least as placeholder. I'm glad to hear that my method of poly editing and using a subdivision modifier in blender is something that is recommended as a good foundational method as it means I've been on the right track for my needs! Interesting video thank you

[lomborg]

I've just begun to mash different objects together and sculpt/model them into the shape(s) I need, then retopo all of it like it was a regular sculpt. Really enjoy that workflow so far.

[Skycers]

This video is an absolute gem for beginners. It takes the complex world of 3D modeling and presents it in the most beginner-friendly way you can imagine. No confusing jargon or complicated explanations to overwhelm you. If you're new to 3D modeling, this video is a lifesaver. Major props to JL Mussi for their incredible work in making it so accessible and easy to follow. Trust me, you don't want to miss out on this one!.✅

[najeebenton]

I just like to say thank you for helping me through my journey. I started 3D Art school back in 2020 and now I'm a week and 3 days away from graduation. I just like to say thank you, for helping me on this journey

[afloox]

I loved this video. :) I was struggling for a long time with creating pinch-free models because there weren't any good tutorials back in 2010. They were like.... "I push this vertex here, I extrude that face here..." But WHY? WHY did you pushed? I was asking this in myself.

And then JL come and followed along his tutorial with the BMX bike. I understood topology, and I learned the I need 3-4 times denser mesh for a feature I want to create. I did the mandatory fails that every beginner does: began modeling a feature in way too low resolution geometry. He taught not only HOW to push vertexes/edges but WHY. Showed the goal we wanted to reach.

So thanks to JL I can now model everything I want. Now I am learning the sculpting workflows from Zbrush to Substance Painter. I am a terrible sculptor... :D

[gorgeousnoxy]

I come from a number of VRChat hobbyist creators and none of us care about actual principles of 3D modeling, we just want to make avatars that are visually appealing. One method you talked about that I didn't even know existed, but people use a lot in this space is kitbashing. In VRChat creator circles they call this Frakensteining because often what happens with these very inexperienced modelers is they take a bunch of meshes mixing optimized and unoptimized garbage together to create a character with who knows how large of a polygon count, definately not optimized, a couple dozen materials on it, etc. After 3 years of learning and thousands of hours of failure and growing I have a lot more respect for many of the principles you talked about in this video. Most of what I focus on is low poly modeling of clothing and assets, so the poly modeling method is what I use the most. I have attempted to use sculpting to create my own characters, but without having good artistic foundation skills in perspective and proportions as well as inexperience in sculpting most of them have been a mess. However, I have never given up and I keep falling forward every time I make a creation and so my sculpts have gotten a lot better over time and I am able to use my tools far more effective now than I could in the past. I was about to skip your video because honestly these large concepts are boring as hell and are painful for hobbyists like myself to listen to because we do not care to learn core concepts. We just want to make pretty characters. I understand that the best way to improve in art is to study realism and learn disciplined principles like you're referring to, but I have found for myself I will give up if I try to go that route in self study. I need a balance of work study and play in order to keep pushing forward. So sometimes I will watch content like yours or listen to the painful advice of my friends that are professionals in industry critique and destroy things I have made that I think are good until I realize they are not. But sometimes I'll just have days where I get in blender and create whatever the hell I want just for my soul. Thank you for the video. My favorite thing to learn about was kitbashing because it gave me an idea for creating new characters.

[stevennope]

amazing video for beginners wanting to understand terminology and concepts thank u!

[aqualust]

Bro I can’t thank you enough for your videos and the important content within them. In my journey as a student I’ve chalked most of these modeling terms up to “buzz words” because they have been so poorly explained to us. In every video you break down how the stuff works and share the importance of its use. I really can’t praise this enough. 3D asset creation is truly as wild and techical as programming and it takes great teachers to make students into pros. 💯

[ranger]

Thanks, I have learned a lot from you.

[rexrip]

I do a lot of level design and hard surface and use a hybrid method of modeling based on a couple methods mentioned. I first use basic shapes (multiple objects) to get the general idea of how everything will look (this start is extremely good for spaceship designs), it is similar to scrap building. Once I am happy with the general shape, I model simple low poly parts. Then I take the one with the largest surface area and in edit mode basically trace the rest of the components. This way the geometry is already clean without much need for additional touchups once the modeling is done. Once I get all the basic shapes, then I use bevels to get the smoother shape where needed (hand beveling). After this is done in the case I am using mirror modifiers, I will also mark all the seams for the unwrap so I do not have to do it on both sides of the model. After this, I will apply the mirror, unwrap the model and using nodes make basic procedural materials. I will bake them onto clean textures, export them to something like photoshop to do a bit of touchups. Then through software that will make my PBR maps. Finally, I will reimport all the maps to a new material, connect everything and then add a bevel modifier to give it a bit of a clean shape. I am working on a potato so sculpting is out of the question. This method is light on performance and the models can reach photo realism with way less geometry. The only resource intensive part is baking the textures to 4K resolutions, 2K and smaller are pretty fast... I am using Blender for modeling.

[davidboomer]

Thank you so much for the video, you're very GOOD at explaining all the different concepts of modeling. I'm a junior game designer and I'm so grateful I found your channel, your masterclass it's top notch 💯💯

[pepekrep]

brilliant video, thank you for the greart overview (i'm a beginner)

[Strider]

Today's generation of 3d Artists are turnin Gets! Enjoy your videos, Good luck man!