Retopology for Beginners in Maya

In this Maya modelling tutorial, learn how to get started with retopology using the very handy quad-draw tool. With it, you can do all forms of retopology, from environments, characters and creatures to props. It's used by artists in all fields, including gaming, high-end VFX and commercials.
Support us by checking out our merch!
teespring.com/...
Subscribe now!
www.youtube.co...
Website - flippednormals...
Instagram - / flippednormals
Twitter - / flippednormals
Facebook - / flippednormals
Our episodes are also available on all major podcast services!

[@anvekarakash]

tab + middle mouse button = select loop Tab + left click drag + extrude control + shift = delete control + hover = add loop Shift + left click = relax/Smooth

[@TaylorShuffle]

Thanks God.

[@kreoxs8388]

Thanks

[@upprrdimensions892]

Thx

[@randomnetizen6700]

thengssss

[@sridharm1372]

tq bro

[@johnthunder962]

Saving my degree since 2019.

[@satjoysat]

You do animation or vfx .

[@johnthunder962]

@@satjoysat Game art ( modeling, UV's, texturing, rigging, importing to game softwares)

[@satjoysat]

@@johnthunder962 I want do that

[@satjoysat]

@@johnthunder962 can you tell me the price of maya auto disk.

[@johnthunder962]

@@satjoysat I don't recommend you buy it, you can download a pirated version and learn there. When you get into a company they'll most likely have a maya license.

[@llewtree3013]

It’s also really useful to turn the symmetry on preferably in the x axis whilst modelling, it can save a lot of time, it’s found in the same tab as quad draw just above it a lil ways up.

[@seencapone]

This looks like it would be a great way to quickly model tailored clothing for your character, too

[@puzzlemagnet1957]

doesnt do a very good job for folds , if yout clothing is flat with no folds, then yes

[@joehardy7115]

I wondered why you guys stated in another video why Maya is your goto for re-topologizing, now I know. This looks crazy fast once you get comfortable.

[@starboi2099]

7:22 Most satisfying part

[@TheKillingTreeTT]

@Sean Winkfield I came

[@sebbef]

It's crazy how useful this is, also it makes the process a lot more fun and less labor!

[@samy7342]

YES I was taught to do this in 3d max in an extremely boring and tedious way but the fact that this tool exists is amazing

[@nemjef121]

This simple tool is a brutally vital step in my workflow. It saves literally double digit hours of work and it only took me like 5 minutes of a video to learn how to do it. Insane.

[@kylekenney1907]

I have to say, of all tutorials I have ever seen, this one is the best made. Well done!

[@anishoe9287]

Fantastic video guys! I've used the quad draw tool but I found it wasn't as fast as I thought it would be. I learned so many new tricks through this video. Thanks!

[@FlippedNormals]

Thanks a lot, Annie! We're really glad you enjoyed it. We just posted another retopo video on doing a head, should you be interested :)

[@larspacktaus]

Very good tutorial. Perfect length and work speed. Nice to listen to also. Thank you!!

[@FlippedNormals]

Great, thank you!

[@zackakai5173]

Trying to model a torso harness/vest thing for a character mesh and this is proving SUPER useful for getting the basic shape of the mesh down. Thanks for the tutorial guys!

[@GeoJJx]

Thank you so much for this! I recently learnt about retopology but my experience with the tool hasnt been the most efficient thus far, your advice on working big instead of granular is so true for most of modeling aspects! :D

[@FlippedNormals]

Thanks! I really that to be true for most things too: work big and only add details once the main shapes are working :) Glad it helped! /H

[@lukacoleman3902]

Fuk, you guys are a life saver. I have a character model due as an assignment this sunday and the tutor hasn't taught us how to retopologize properly

[@FlippedNormals]

Really glad to help :D

[@SirEpifire]

Coming from always needing separate retopo tools back when I used Softimage to now; this is absolutely incredible! I tried running auto retopology from Maya on some sharp rock sculpts but the system could never adapt enough to meet crisp hard edges of the original highpoly, while retaining mid poly resolutions. Appreciate your guys' explanation on these tools!

[@awhellyeah543]

I am amazed that this did not feel like a 14 minute video . very useful information! I think having a second person in the video that you speak to helps!

[@Alexandros_Pan]

one of THE BEST, EASIEST AND MOST EXPLANATORY videos i've seen! GOOD JOB! You just won 3 subscribers, keep it up!

[@MrDeadLord]

Extremely useful! Didn't know Maya have so useful stuff inside! Thanks you!

[@manoellecavalcante3301]

My brain is overheating

[@Karpour]

Wow, I just found your channel and already learned so many useful things! Thank you for putting all of this on KZbin!

[@FlippedNormals]

No problem at all! We'll keep making new content every week, so stay tuned :D

[@McAliotsam]

THANK YOU! So awesome! Now Maya is the main topology tool that I will use! Thank u again!!!!

[@HappyHimitsu]

Just noticed your tutorials here and wanted to thank you guys for being so clear and concise (also, not a complete bore to listen to!). Keep up the great work, you have another subscriber! :D

[@FlippedNormals]

Thank you :D

[@ashleechan22]

You guys have THE best vodeos!! So in depth and clear. Thank you!

[@FlippedNormals]

Thank you Ash!

[@nicolebry1120]

Lmao I’m a newb at 3D what on Earth am I doing watching videos so far above my Modeling I classes current expectations of me? Short answer is diving in headfirst is exactly how I learn stuff the hard and fast way haha. Getting a grab bag of tips in advance from videos like this one has saved me fatal errors before in other programs and I’m hoping my luck holds out that I keep catching mistakes before they happen. Thanks for making these videos, I just discovered y’all today. ☺️

[@GreekFireWarrior]

Great video! Recently using Maya's Retopology. Had no idea about the hotkeys until I saw you show where they are in the video. Super handy stuff!

[@bunekolover]

very helpful, u guys earned my sub!

[@FlippedNormals]

Thanks! Glad it's helpful

[@furlerer]

Wooow, I had used the quad draw very briefly once, but had no idea it was this featured! Great stuff guys, subbed! :)

[@sassuskrassus3166]

The thing with the B key is soo good to know !!!

[@totally_not_a_troll]

Trying to learn 3D modeling as a hobby. Nothing more. No big expectations. Thus it was never on the table to learn Maya, because Maya costs money and why would I pay so much for a small hobby. Then, during some random video on "Why is Blender not the industry standard" or some such, guy mentioned that Maya is the #1 Retopology tool. And because retopology specifically is such a pain in Blender, I decided to see how Maya does it. Suffice to say, I get it now.

[@user-kk6yz8ql7o]

you can download student (or pirate) version and study maya free

[@ValrixV81]

Guys this is such a great tutorial, and its free. I am waving goodbye to 3d coat for retopo now!

[@michaelsulesky7221]

This is a great video!! Really looking forward to future parts!

[@MrFallac]

I love this tool. I am totally addicted to it. So useful for so many things, not just retopo. Like belts and straps. omg this is the ace no1 720noskopezomg belt tool (can set offset under live constraints). and it is fun to use.

[@Hhhhhh-es3hm]

It’s a kind of old video but so helpful for me, thanks!

[@smolder6366]

where has this program been all my life *-*

[@smarsh7779]

Wonderful, easy to follow and very clear.

[@jackj147]

This was extremely useful. Thanks for posting!

[@FlippedNormals]

Thank you! We have another retopo video too, which you might like: Retopoing a Head. kzbin.info/www/bejne/b3-Xo3prpq2Knc0

[@mmmuck]

I like to determine my target poly count then divide by 4 until I get to the lowest res to work the fastest. So if I'm aiming for 10,000 polys on the head, I'll make it 2500. If it's still too slow to work in divide by 4 again. So your base in retopo would be 625. When you then smooth, it's easier to tweak and add details and your work is 4 to 16 times faster.

[@architgupta3d]

That's a really nice lucid video, thanks a lot!

[@CFNexus]

I did not know you can add soft selection to the smooth tool. Will try it at work. Thank you.

[@thejosephchrist]

I had no idea about the strips you can make. Thats a great way to make fast straps and such.

[@FlippedNormals]

It's quite handy for sure! :)

[@ciavyn]

This is fantastic--thank you so much for doing retopo. It's the one thing that seems a bit "secretive" in the modeling information online. ;)

[@emmanuelchacon8900]

You guys are the best! I love you dynamic duo vibe.

[@XanStephP]

So helpful and clear! Awesome!

[@RahulKumar-if9wt]

you said "it's not the ideal process" then what is? please elaborate

[@viOletStarX3]

Thank you so much for the video! It’s incredibly helpful and super easy to understand!

[@nicolasQQ]

Can't wait for the next video!

[@FlippedNormals]

Same! They are really fun to do.

[@XanderZ0ne]

Of all the years I've been using Maya, bruh, never knew you could use the farkin TAB key!!! I'm arr ee tee arr dee ee dee.

[@BenjatIsufi]

I like before I watch.

[@ericdalpiaz410]

u re my gods guys , ty for all ur vids!!!! they re so amazing , ty ty ty , keep the great work *-*

[@kitheaxeman]

That's a perfect channel ! Keep it up guys !

[@FlippedNormals]

Thanks a lot!

[@Aaurelion]

Quick question... What setting is used to cause the quad draw mesh to be transparent through the model. When I try to apply broad surfaces, the new polys I make get hidden inside the model. I tried using xray, however that makes the original model transparent to the point that I cant accurately retopologize. Thanks guys!

[@FlippedNormals]

Are you using Maya 2018? In previous versions, the visibility is almost impossible to work with, but that's improved in '18.

[@marcovbitt]

Active Xray in your view, help a lot

[@Aaurelion]

Right on ty. Im still using 2016 so i dont have that feature update yet. Still able to manage well though.

[@Yue4me]

no wonder it's so hard to start as beginner with maya 2016.

[@user-rw8co4mw8s]

really good guid. Thank you guys!

[@jevlin]

Man, it was so useful! Thank you so much for making it.

[@FlippedNormals]

Thanks a lot!

[@Birendraart97]

Very nice features and tricks I didn't, know before watching this

[@hyperanomaly1513]

Much needed tutorial

[@FlippedNormals]

Thanks! Appreciated.

[@benjaminjaiyen798]

Thanks for the demonstration! I feel better about retopo in maya now. Been doing it in ZBrush XD and now doing it maya! Thanks

[@FlippedNormals]

Awesome! Maya is pretty awesome for it.

[@teynix3389]

Very cool tutolial!Thank you!

[@AFE-GmdG]

Nice Tools! Wait for an implementation of these in Blender :)

[@lelebzrr2230]

i really apreciate your help with dowloanding this software

[@JoshFryer]

Incredibly useful! Thank you!

[@FlippedNormals]

Fantastic, cheers!

[@yaqili8157]

Thank you! This is extremely helpful!

[@uuuuu1111]

Exactly the video I needed, it's as if the youtube algorithm read my mind.

[@nitrork]

I'm kind of confused, after you retopo the mesh, why don't the changes seem to apply to the base mesh? It seems like when you reselected the whole mesh (highlighted green) it still displayed the old , messy topology, and you were selecting your retopo mesh independant of the original mesh? Do the changes need to be applied some how?

[@umeshkhanal9945]

awesome tutorial

[@NickYT90]

Nice! I'm still learning a lot about 3D. Trying to understand where this fits into a workflow and what it is used for.

[@FlippedNormals]

Thanks! I hope that our videos will help you get a good understanding of 3D - and that my comment on the other video to you helps too :)

[@nganpickery1485]

Really good stuff guys!

[@thanhlai1721]

this video are helping us a lot! thank you !!!

[@UrassisHurtn]

I am now transitioning to Maya from Max on my own accord because I find it to be way better for characters, and watching this confirms it even more, its light years from the max tool which is just so wooden and stiff :D

[@artvisionproduction4773]

Thanks guys, that was super beneficial to me :)

[@bearbones7913]

I am no industry expert but if your a beginner like me look up Polyremesh in Maya when you are working on hard surface models

[@crimsonBen]

@11:28 i dont know if it did come with an update, but you could have used "Mesh -> Conform" and set the offset width and apply, that will generally do the same i guess

[@sjcobra84]

You are a fucking saint. As a graphic design lover, I'm pushing to improve on my 3D as much as I can. Subbed.

[@MichaelHurdleStudio]

Well done. Thank you.

[@Fenkreg]

useful as always; could you please the way how to handle when you have created topology for head and shoulder, how to cennect them; my first experience ws pretty messy at this point..

[@whome5810]

Excellent video! Thanks! :)

[@abhijeetpatel5624]

Best tutorial it help me a lot

[@timbossart1637]

Thanks for your work !

[@purewinter5650]

Oh my god this changes everything. It's hard to give up topogun but retoing inside the mouth is next to impossible and it consistently crashes when trying to do partial retopology but can handle 3 million polys in just reference mode. The moment you try to load a 3k poly base mesh and that same reference that worked fine, boom crash. Mouth lovers unite!

[@Harikrishna-tj9om]

pro tip for you guys,you can improove maya perfomance by importing a z remeshed high poly and then retopo on it

[@gabyx76]

Wow, very good quality "tutorial". Subbed !

[@arifnbd]

Thank you so much!!!! i tried once topogun..but, doing it in Maya is for comfortable...Thank you for the video!!!

[@FlippedNormals]

Thanks! Maya has got a lot better over the years. I also started off in Topogun many eons ago, but Maya has got pretty good!

[@theconstantine1159]

You guys are great!

[@awakendreams2536]

I'm pretty new to Retopology but this was really helpful! I did have a question, when it comes to adding something that isn't in the original mesh can you add this during the quad draw stage? I know using the live snap magnet means you shape from the original mesh. However, I was wondering if something came up and you wanted to add an extra piece, where in your process would you make this addition?

[@blairzettl3933]

Life saver. Thank you.

[@josemarcano6591]

Thanks guys!

[@FlippedNormals]

No worries, Jose!

[@Farrukh3D]

Very nice work :)

[@tsuna47]

Suuuuper useful, thank you so much :D

[@DANUNAVARRO]

SUPER COOL!

[@diegouribe587]

it worked. Thankss sooooo much.

[@JMTBFLOW]

Good stuff, boys.

[@FlippedNormals]

Cheers James!

[@sayantanbiswas1337]

Sub'd for this video. Fantastic!

[@73maxmau]

I noticed that, after a while, Quadraw become sluggish, making it hard to work with it. I tried to use it over a 300k mesh from Zbrush, and after about 5000 polys, it start get very slow. I tried to delete and even disable history all togheter, but no use. I then tried to Cache the original mesh as an GPU cache, making the entire scene of just 5000 poligons. And again still sluggish!

[@229yeti]

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat??! I have been struggling dealing with inporting/exporting files between topgun and maya, sometimes just because I need something smoothed for a little。 Yet this amazing tool just sitting in maya laughing at me.....ToT This ends now! Thanks guys

[@FlippedNormals]

Hah! :D Topogun is great, but it's also handy to have the tool right in Maya too.

[@jagannathpanda8121]

really useful video.thank u sir.

[@Eldoro82]

One thing ive been struggling with when i retopo this way, if its hard surface mesh, id prefer a clean and straight edges, but its so hard to control via this method!

[@abdosoltan9919]

Thanks guys it was very helpful . Could you make a video of the next process of animation and how you do it ?. 🤔 🙏

[@FlippedNormals]

We just did a video today on how to take this into ZBrush and reproject the highest level onto this. Is that what you mean? :)

[@abdosoltan9919]

@@FlippedNormals yes sure, thank you very much 👍.

[@crimsonBen]

hey guys, is it possible to select an edgeloop and move it around? just like after you extend a loop you also can move the loop around, but not afterwards anymore :/

[@mariamelmacato1132]

informative video good sir, Gracias

[@user-mg1iw8io6l]

beautiful moouse pointer. I want it.

[@tusarosnow9858]

Thank you sooo much