Blender - Topology Fundamentals

Learn the basics of 3d models and their geometry. This information should help you when it comes to creating your own 3d models.
Looking for Blender 3d resources? Check out my website for links to assets, addons, discord, and more.
www.pzthree.com/

[@elantrauma]

Every time I open blender, I'm full of creative ideas and concepts. After I close blender, I'm hungry, tired and late for work.

[@Its.Cube.]

What helps for such tutorial videos is to have a program that shows / records the pressed buttons like "ctrl+R" or what ever. "left click" " rigth click". It's easier to follow the tutorial that way. Great video though!

[@ianmcglasham]

Good video. Good workflow. Good advice.

[@mj2068]

did you just casually create half of a cool spaceship and a couple lunch trays for the crew member and taught a blender lesson...

[@FalseDeities]

Amazing thank you

[@varunkashyap3723]

12:13

[@SlavicAMV]

Timestamps: 00:00 Fundamentals of 3D Topology and Mesh Resolution - 00:00 Overview of 3D topology fundamentals and basics of vertices, edges, faces, and poles - 01:37 Explanation of mesh resolution and density, and the impact on 3D models - 02:33 Understanding the importance of edge flow, loop creation, and face orientation in 3D modeling 05:54 Understanding Mesh Topology and Edge Flows in 3D Modeling - 05:56 Subdividing shapes creates a pinching effect around poles, leading to increased mesh density. - 06:02 End poles are useful for redirecting topology and controlling edge flows in 3D modeling. - 11:22 Understanding the relationship between edges and vertices is crucial for directing topology and edge flow. 11:46 Topology and Geometry Techniques in 3D Modeling - 11:46 Messy topology can still be used, but edge flow can't be controlled. - 12:03 Insetting and reduction techniques can create different topologies for better mesh control. - 16:56 Using limited dissolve and other tools to clean up geometry and preserve details. 17:39 Blender 3D Modeling Workflow Tips and Techniques - 17:42 Using shortcuts like V to turn off vertex bevel and Ctrl to snap to the grid. - 17:50 Creating shapes, adding edges, and using subdivision and beveling techniques. - 20:42 Using mirror modifier, weighted normals, and chamfers for shading and edge flow. 23:33 Techniques for 3D Modeling and Deformation - 23:33 Understanding the limitations of subdivision models and the need for good topology. - 24:17 Using techniques like proportional edit tool and bend modifier for mesh deformation. - 28:33 Demonstrating the use of loop cuts and edge flows for creating complex shapes and scenes. 29:25 3D Modeling Techniques and Tips for Clean Meshes - 29:25 Using Ctrl B and inset to subdivide and create clean edges. - 30:28 Applying solidify modifier and adding loop cuts for sharper edges and clean topology. - 33:05 Techniques for maintaining shape and topology when increasing detail and polygon counts. 35:19 Understanding Topology and Subdivision Modeling in 3D - 35:19 Base mesh dictates edge flows for clean geometry and easier editing. - 35:43 Using tools like Loop Tools Circle and Machine Tools add-on for better results. - 37:15 Understanding topology, e-poles, bevel shapes, and subdivision modeling for 3D modeling. 41:12 Tips for Creating 3D Models: Focus on the End Result, Don't Overthink, and Simplify the Process - 41:14 Focus on what you want to create, not the current state of the model - 41:20 Don't overthink the process, start with basic shapes and refine later - 41:33 Simplify the model by using bevels, creases, and subdivision to achieve the desired result 47:12 Understanding Triangle Subdivision and Geometry Creation - 47:12 Subdividing a triangle involves adding density to the middle section. - 47:16 To subdivide a triangle, place a vertex in the middle and extend lines in different directions. - 48:17 The goal is to help viewers understand fundamental building blocks of 3D models.

[@zackeryrblx]

lifesaver

[@icewm1474]

**me struggling with an issue for 3 days** this guy casually mentions the solution like it's a foot note, thanks dude your channel is underrated

[@adityamohanta8902]

Timestamp may help someone having same issue.

[@M8cool]

What was the problem if i could ask

[@cubodeneon3547]

what problem

[@slavsit7600]

we still need the problem

[@latisimus4751]

Everyone tells you to learn topology but no one bothers to explain it, grateful for this video and will be watching it a few more times to really understand what was said. As someone who’s been working with blender on and off for over 4 years I know my hot keys by heart I can make anything if I’m following a guide but understanding these key points will go a long way to making my own meshes without relying on others. I’ve finally starting to understand and blender is actually fun now.

[@6biche]

bro i was telling me the same things this guys is good, he take the proper time to make you really understand what matter and tell u every little ideas that blows up in is mind while making it. I think we all appreciate this kind of content. And god damn is on blender up to date with all the knowledge. thanks for all men.

[@ianzander5057]

@@6biche yeah and the whole video he was dropping knowledge bomb after knowledge bomb. By the end, my jaw hurt from it hitting the floor so much.

[@gabrielegagliardi3956]

Totally agree, there are a lot of time lapses here on KZbin or people making advanced stuff but you always need to understand the underlying logic by yourself. I'm pretty amazed how difficult it is to find a step by step topology guide, I don't get why people are not able to teach a clear topology workflow.

[@jcubtanman]

As someone who only started working with blender a few months ago, I've watched enough topology videos that at some point I lost count. This one has been BY FAR the most informative, and I'm certain I'll be using it as a reference for years to come. Can't thank you enough!

[@Tachastasiia]

absolutely agree - as a total noob I find this video incredibly useful

[@1star_god]

I'm crying DX you are my best friend do you understand how many "learn topology"youtube vids I had to sludge through to found one that actually EXPLAINED DOING the topology instead of just the 5 million tools for doing it Thank You I love you!!

[@Trench_762]

Dude you are suuuch a good teacher. I'm not a beginner anymore but I watch this anyways just cause you teach so well. I wish I learned from you when I was starting it would have saved me so much time. Also your Gumroad has so many amazing things. I literally got everything it was like Christmas. Thank you.

[@novellanightmares]

About using creaes: You have to consider if your model is going to be imported into another software. Some software does not support Blender creases.

[@marioboulay]

I love watching this. I'm gonna print and learn those keyboard shortcut. For 4 years I was using Cinema4D and it's not as interesting to use. Blender seems pretty polyvalent. Great jobs man. BTW im a 65 y/o graphic and modeling and it feels good to watch this. I've just install it and it'll be wow to use with Unreal 5.4 I wish I could do those thing everyday but.... work off work on makes me tired and inconsistent.

[@scynthetic]

best topology video out there, i keep coming back to it and as i progress and every time i learn something new

[@Kurt634]

Absolutely one of (if not THE) best vids on topology on KZbin. I watched this video a few months ago not really understanding topology but been diving into understanding it more recently (going over redirects and reductions, poles etc) and you’ve managed to help in levelling up my understanding of it massively with this vid. Even just highlighting that n-poles are made during the redirects and reductions was something that wasn’t clearly explained/shown in other videos (I guess it’s obvious to them, but they didn’t really highlight it) but you gave me so many light bulb moments (& I haven’t even finished watching this vid yet 😂 I’m sure there’ll be many more). Thank you. 🙏 if you were to release a course that’s as high quality as this, going from beginner going over these fundamentals, to applying them to models and going into more advanced stuff, I think me and many others would probably purchase it.

[@DanielVittozziLavoro]

Finally i finished this tutorial and now i got: +20/100 pt. topology skills +10/100 pt. self security when doing blender +30/100 pt. depression 🥳🎊🎉

[@RedZFlame]

i'm really glad this video popped off on the algorithm, because i got to find your channel and discover an astoundingly informative channel on blender modeling that i desperately needed

[@dcarty]

I only just learned about back-face culling now. That's amazing and saves so much time.

[@Katana2040]

Best Blender/3D content on the 'tube'. Legit information that can be translated to any other package (I've been a Maya user for 20+ years). Well done, sir.

[@edwardoowew]

I like those "degrees" showing off when you do the knife tool. How'd you do that?

[@edwardoowew]

one more thing... why does it called "Korean bevel"?

[@pzthree]

Modify the knife tool in preferences/keymap. The K key drop down, greyed out menu items can be changed. Turn on the settings you want. Works for other things too. Like bevels or insets. As for the other, remains one of the world's greatest mysteries.

[@justrandall5458]

Thanks for taking the time to create this video. Its the first topology video I've seen that actually explained everything in a way a beginner like me can understand. I appreciate the effort you put in to creating this. If you ever read this I hope you have a great day, it is well deserved.

[@noniss439]

This is the best Topology fundamental video in youtube by far . I struggled through learning almost everything by other videos and forums ,and seeing all the informative points youve put here its almost basically everything you need to know about topology . Very nice work !

[@daviskimathi8632]

This is by far the best topology video I've come across bro. I subscribed immediately. Thank you so much for this tutorial .

[@alexsorov1958]

Wow I am just a beginner even your simple plane looks good , thanks fır the great information subscribing ❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉

[@Jez2008UK]

Fantastic video, thank you so much. I've never rated my modelling skills, but I've been learning Blender (from 3DS Max) for about 3 weeks now, and for some reason I'm finding modelling in Blender is just so much more fun than I ever saw/experienced/had in 3DS Max (maybe it's the decades of hate I've held towards Autodesk finally kicking in and being awoken by the Blender software and community!). Your talk/demonstration/lecture (even!) was brilliant, and I'm guessing for me, it'll be a case of just playing around like you demonstrated and start making stuff in Blender :) Cheers!

[@MatteoMeShow]

Super excellent explanations and tips for everything. I left surprise by the bunch of cool stuff and information are in my mind right now. Thank you!

[@mutedsounds2k]

I do not understand "Face/Tri" in the initial illustration: also quads and nGons are faces!

[@pzthree]

Good catch. Was the first example of a face and an attempt to save space. You are correct they are all faces.

[@bryanleebmy]

It would be great if you had a plug-in to show which keys you were pressing at any given time, so we can always catch up on the shortcuts you use :)

[@pzthree]

To many custom keys for it.

[@Jez2008UK]

@@pzthree Isn't there a Screen Keys Addon for Blender? I agree with bryan because anything that helps us learners is always a good thing in my opinion.

[@isuckatgaming7225]

For an older guy changing career.. What paid courses would you recommend if any.. I follow along a lot of free tutorial and also try to make my own model, watch video like this to try to understand exactly what i'm doing, but i would like more technical courses, again to try to gain a better understanding of 3d and blender. If it's help i'm learning for product design and animation. I'm an older F.... and i'm not the brightest.. But i have a lot time and will to learn, to try to compete with the younger and more talented crowd.

[@Di5functi0n3l_playp3n]

I watched this a few months back. This refesh3r is even more valuable. Thanks for being very clear and straightforward. This is a great video for beginners. Will save a lot of headaches. My modeling is much better because of this video specifically. Thank you 🙏

[@8ismmusic]

This is fantastic, you're saving my life here!

[@SystemUpdate310]

Too bad I haven't found this video before I made a bunch of messed up models for my game.

[@vaepuer2290]

I don't use blender, and I'm not even finished with the video, but with 10 years experience it always helps to come back to the fundamentals :)

[@Riseofashes]

At 25:59 you have an S-shaped curve in your cut-out. I've been practicing your way of using N-poles to create flows but I'm having trouble doing that cleanly. Can you (or anyone) offer any advice?

[@josephvanwyk2088]

You deserve a whiskey man. Best topology video I've seen. Have been using Blender for 3-4 years now. The reason why it's so effective, because NONE of us went to school learning Blender, topology and these things should be handled like classroom explanations/lecturers. And, I just recently learned how to reduce topology by "tying them up" - like you demonstrated here in 12:50 and all that jazz. Had a tough time wrapping my head around that, but finally got the hang of it. The one thing I still have a hard time wrestling with is cleaning up bevel corners (they are somewhat a nightmare). 44:33 type of stuff.

[@shubhamparihar6487]

watched your video its super informative thanks, i use maya and its very helpful

[@NeilMyatt]

Been using blender for years but learned a thing or 3! Thanks for making this dude 🎉

[@Model_verse]

what is this theme of blender u using and how u get that modifiers panel its looking cool, and thanks for this guides very helpfull

[@korykading9797]

Excellent video for beginners like myself

[@annir.2047]

I wish this had been the first video I found when I wanted to learn about topology, but better late than never!

[@gracjanwodarczak1551]

your channel is blessing for me man. Thank you for all that stuff so much. Best explanation of topology on yt

[@AlvaroDevLabs]

This tutorial is a must have for beginners

[@LifeOfLeeofficial]

Are you a cerified teacher? Really good video! Like 👍🏾

[@andrewmcintosh9832]

8:35 Sub'D a Triangle into quads??!!! What is this sorcery?

[@CamSpaghett]

It’s kinda nuts we were never taught this like 5 years ago in my diploma for game design. Like not to the extent this video has

[@kemizhang107]

Did anyone memtion that your voice sounds like jama? His my favourite artist

[@Rafiki82]

I kind of get it but to be honest I feel like most blender teachers go so fast or skip over so much that it's really hard to get to learn the basics.

[@tracyjackson7419]

Thank you so much for your video! A lot of tutorials explain what to do but never why!

[@KarenSedrakyan-KS]

It so cool video guide Thank You so much🙏

[@DAWNOFHIM]

You kinda sound like Bojack Horseman

[@basantdev4097]

Shading issue killing me before this vdeo

[@ngso_dec]

What is this UI theme that you're using?

[@SoRePeSi]

To someone who has zero control over anything on blender, this is magic. Gonna be rewatching this one a lot.

[@channelname8623]

would love to see the settings for your solid viewport shading. looks better than my rendered. on a side note, the screencast keys addon costs $1 on blendermarket. 41:40 i needed this.

[@testtest-mt7lw]

What kind of theme are you using?

[@ahmetbaykara.mp3]

Solving a topology is kind a brain cardio 😂🔥

[@EClavel]

Thank you so much. I don’t use blender. I started in Maya, learned Cinema 4D, I know use Houdini. Blender has saturated the internet with garbage meshes. I wish this video was required to watch before you can upload a blender made mesh to CG or Turbo. To this day if I see a Blender native file on either site I will not even consider the model to be viable. . I’ve bought hundreds of models… every blender native has been a clean up job dud. I work on a virtual production stage… I don’t have time to clean up backwards normals and change tubes that have a ridiculous amount of subdivisions, bad topo also greatly effects the UVs.. UVs ar a vertex attribute. So Thank you!

[@richard-wy6jx]

good information, but way too much, packed and told quickly. it's impossible to catch everything you say. you're spitting out information way too quickly - half way through and it's starting to feel like you're just showing what blender can do, and doing it at high speed.

[@makedonas6]

This video covers a complex topic so understanding every bit of the video by rewatching it is a must.

[@sinnersloschen]

Now THIS is a lesson! Thank you so much!

[@m_mdi0]

I'm wondering how you get shadow in viewport? With plane and mesh have different matcap?

[@pzthree]

Viewport materials

[@kennilini]

great vid, thanks! question: why is it called Korean bevel? xD

[@pzthree]

Rumor has it. It was used heavily in Korean game studios. Forever remains a mystery to this day.

[@callumharper3281]

Did you duplicate the object @33:25 or just select it? Clever trick none-the-less

[@pzthree]

Duplicate

[@SapiensVirtus]

thank you for this mastercalss

[@Nitinsingh-u1p]

I needed this so bad huge thanks

[@markanthonymartinez2171]

Damn, this tutorial right now.....

[@sorubro2193]

A lot to process, thanks for the content

[@abraiyan7984]

A pure masterclass!

[@asteroidsareidiots]

Thank you for the class

[@alliwantforyouistofeel]

omg this is so helpfull

[@jostasizzi818]

Thanks man much needed at the moment of my life

[@yahyaalqauodhi9411]

this is too much value bro

[@indigo0086]

Great video, I actually find I enjoy how fast you run through it, which helps as I rewind and understand the keys you're using and doing since I'm on 4.0

[@poppymlbb5491]

At 11:00 you did a loop cut then bevel then extrude or alt + s cause even if I use either of them after subdivision that canal both end becomes closed on the both ends like the bottom surface edge attach to upper surface

[@pzthree]

Inset hold control tap b

[@poppymlbb5491]

@@pzthree it worked thanks

[@sebbosebbo9794]

💪💥🗯🔥💭❤💨🙏🕊 great showcase tutorial of 3d basic fundamentals. thx....stable..nailed....

[@KammmuJ]

This is very helpful! Now I know the reason why everytime I use subdivision my model just crash. Thank you so much!!

[@SunriseFilmmaker]

When you are in perspective view and want to use the knife tool with straight lines to axis on a rotated face, just press shift + 7 (numpad) to place the face aligned to the view and press K and A to make the cut with 0, 45 or 90 degree.

[@peterfargo6044]

This was super helpful. I’ve been having issues with topology, especially on characters. I think I’ll practice with some basic shapes for a bit, so I can get familiar with it.

[@gbftats07]

Awesome video! Is anyone else having an issue (11min into the video) with loop cut traveling straight through the piece instead of turning at the 90?

[@MattVarner]

My first hobby project, I thought would be easy. Who knew starting out with a concrete bollard would put me right in the crosshairs with a problematic topological riddle. 😅

[@Strelokos666]

Good one, but I still don't get why caring about topology in hard surface modeling since it is dominated by boolean & bevel approach. SubD is not always necessary, especially in game art where you mostly don't need that amount of geometry and that of a dense evenly distributed topology.

[@Deunderdogs]

This is what we Teaching

[@yeettheday]

Thank you so much for making this video. Easily the most useful topology video I have seen so far.

[@Raj-np1sc]

At 11:08, you got rid of that border by ctrl+b... Can you tell me any similar shortcut for maya to get rid of such borders? 😅😅

[@marcelgraf5520]

Holy that is denser than my math lecture in uni, but so incredibly easy to understand. Really good video, thank you.

[@luzid.vision]

Incredible job, thank you so much for creating this! Especially those case studies you present for each topic.

[@bambinouno]

ً❤ the best

[@CarlosJoséPisarello-p8o]

Great and concise video with a lot of useful information. Will come back to it regularly.

[@jasper6000]

Best video watched for the last couple of months, jam packed w knowledge

[@ampmodclips]

yes, more great videos Topology Fundamentals 2, answers a lot of questions cheers :)

[@makiudon-qb7gh]

I would watch this man fiddle around with meshes in blender all day long. The amount of control and expertise is insane

[@wishyourlife6861]

This was great, thank you very much! I may have smiled a little in the end, it cleared up quite a lot.

[@dagoelius]

Subbed after watching this. Excellent teacher, made it very simple to understand.

[@lerandsouza8641]

Can you convert a ngon with 5 vertices into quad without adding extra vertex on the boundary edges of the ngon

[@oxylepy2]

I love the little lumps that you said are bad topology. They exist in real life on actual products, they're undesirable there too

[@nikolettapolyak]

At first glance, I thought 48:43 oh.... At 48:43: Please continue!!!!!!

[@waiora8387]

A lot more useful than people simply showing how they modeled something, really helps to get an understanding of all the basic concepts everything is made up from.

[@EMB3D]

what a great content, but sometimes it is very hard to follow what hotkeys you hit, sometimes you mention, sometimes not

[@GuestUser-jf8uj]

Thank you for being a 300 IQ teacher. Just thank you sir.

[@addvalue44]

All of my appreciation about that amazing content at this lesson, Thank you very much : )