Hi guys so after i smooth out my model the edges became a fucking

If you're happy with how it renders that's all that matters but it's not a good habit to get into. With that many polys I reckon you probably could have modelled it quicker but it doesn't really matter - just try not to keep working like this because it's so much easier to get out of shit if it's all quads.

>>574733
Thanks! Is there any way to avoid my edges going full retard when smoothing a model?

>>574729
The only reason you should care about topology is if you are performing interpolation (subdivision) or deformation (animation). Anything further is simply autism.

You can also see it as a chance to improve your skills.

>>574734
Since you are using Maya, look up Crease Sets and try to understand the differences between subdivision algorithms, and what their parameters do.

I think OpenSubdivision is in vogue right now.

>>574729
How on earth did your edge loops end up like that anyway? Show the un-smoothed mesh, I can't fathom what it might have looked like.

>>574734
1. Make sure all your polys are quads.
2. Make sure the distribution of edge loops is even across the entire surface, unless you're adding a support loop for creasing.
3. If you have to choose, 5-sided n-gons are better than tris, especially on geometry with no major bends or creases.

In general, you are using way too many polygons for a surface type that can't possibly benefit from that level of detail, as the sides are largely flat, while the profile of any falchion-type sword is extremely narrow, so you shouldn't waste polys adding thickness either. With the way the mesh is smoothing right now, the edges get rounded off way too much and make the sword looks thicker than it really is.

File: blade.png (302KB, 1132x1077px) Image search: [Google]

302KB, 1132x1077px

>>574760
Maybe this will help you out, I whipped up a falchion blade to show as an example, in Max though, not Maya, but topology is the same anywhere, so...

The way it's made is simple, just a plane than I edge-extruded using a reference, everything up to the tip is quads, then I angled the blade 2.5º, mirrored it and fused all the bottom edges together. Applied a tiny chamfer to the cutting edge to prevent it from smoothing, an extra edge loop for the spine, and an extra two edges along the sides of the spine to crisp it up.
I just scaled the spine of the blade down till it was thin to my liking. The tip and back are just capped polys. The pinched area in the middle is to make the sharp top point of the falchion. Also, because the bottom of the blade is actually quads, it's trivial to split it up for the tang. no tris or ngons in this mesh.

>>574775
When i unsmooth it it fucks all up so i can't really post a picture of the original version, it looked like yours kinda but way more polygons simply because i have OCD and just every vertex had to be on point with the reference image, ye i also added a lot of edge loops to not fuck it up when smoothing it out and so i could scale only the bottom to make it more sharp

>>574777
>but way more polygons simply because i have OCD and just every vertex had to be on point with the reference image

The point of subdivision surfaces is that your base mesh essentially acts as the control surface of your smoothing operation, you should mainly care about the final curve matching your reference, not the base mesh, although if you followed the rules I outlined (even spacing and flow-aligned edge loops) both should match up pretty well anyway.
Try to place your loops only on key points along the mesh where further detailing may be required, for instance, for the spine bump all I did was draw two extra loops and slid the top verts in. This part looks pinched in on a real falchion, so it's not a problem to do so.

My mesh has just ~170 polys before smoothing. If I wanted to optimize it for a game, I would make a variant of the base mesh where I would remove the support loops, add loops to define the profile instead and maybe a few chamfers too. Technically there's no real reason to even have to subdivide an object like this because most of it goes to waste, although a regular sword with a more complex profile would benefit.

File: this is how you modeled it.png (12KB, 765x163px) Image search: [Google]

12KB, 765x163px

I guess you were trying to model in details or something like triangles going up the sword. if you are going to model stuff like that do it after the subdivision.

Why is this so subdivided?

File: awshieeet.jpg (34KB, 480x360px) Image search: [Google]

34KB, 480x360px

>>574980
pretty much this
look up what control edges are for a reference if you wanna do wonky shit like adding details pre subdiv