Mesh Machine - My Powerful New Blender Workflow! (Tutorial)

In this video, I'd like to show you the power of mesh machine and how you can use it to get complex results in Blender which wouldn't otherwise be possible!
►► Enroll in the most popular (and free) hard surface modeling course - www.blenderbros.com/jumpstart
►► The Hard Surface Academy - www.blenderbros.com/academy
Mesh Machine addon: machin3.gumroad.com/l/MESHmac...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MY FAVORITE BLENDER ADDONS:
⚙️ Hard Ops/Boxcutter: gumroad.com/a/811037811
🔳 UV PackMaster 2 Pro: gumroad.com/a/1027609715
🔨 Decal/Mesh Machine/Machin3 Tools: www.blendermarket.com/creator...
🧘‍♂️ Zen UV - gumroad.com/a/997463155
⛮ Kit Ops 2 Pro: gumroad.com/a/779940979
💾 PowerSave: gumroad.com/a/442037363
🔌 Cablerator: gumroad.com/a/341111923
SOCIALS:
💻 Website - www.blenderbros.com/
🏪 Gumroad - gumroad.com/theblenderbros
☎️ Discord - / discord
🖼️ Instagram - / blenderbros3d
🎨 Artstation - www.artstation.com/blenderbros
CONTACT:
📱 Inquiries/questions - [e-mail]
**Some addons listed above may contain affiliate links, giving me a small commission from any sales made. I only promote addons that I use personally.

[@andrewoakley737]

Make sure to turn on experimental features in your MeshMachine settings to get access to the offset cut function!

[@DonTouch]

Thank you very much! I thought it got removed from the latest version lol 😆

[@rav3102]

i am saved

[@MichaelFlynn0]

where where where where where where is this ?

[@SteveJ-hq3jz]

Oh, thank heavens for that! Much obliged!

[@Thehammm_]

Where is that??? Its no where on the menu :|

[@sofia_butterfly]

Thank you for explaining why you do stuff and not just "Just do this". I noticed in a lot of videos you give very nice explanations!

[@JoshGambrell]

Thanks Sofia!

[@fisherman10101]

this really helps, thank you for the great explanations

[@truongtrongsang666]

Very helpful, and surprisingly therapeutic

[@MACHIN3]

Nice one Josh.

[@blackswan6386]

quad remesher is " THE " Gamechanger and worth every penny ! absolute need. i cannot work without anymore ! thanks Bro's. Only Mech MAchine 3 i need to have this bevel solve technique, wow ! epic tools guys really nice

[@Tiniuc]

Quadremesher was important enough for me to get the lifetime license. However, I only use it for things that are not animation-critical. Things that are animation-critical need to be properly retopologized by hand, such as a body mesh attached to an armature rig should be handled by retopoflow 3 instead for instance, because for animation and deformation, the mesh needs certain topology in certain places - things quadremesher doesn't know about... and I've had mixed results using the addon's faceset method for guiding the edge loops.

[@jeffspinner6579]

This will help alot for creating my Kit±Ops² INSERTS I want to make for the details of my Optimus Prime build for my short machinima film I'm working on. Kinda like HDAs of Houdini without the torment of Houdini. Tyvm. HOpsCutter/Meshmachine/Machin3tools themselves feels like more keybinds than vanilla Blender itself. mx2 gave me 2 playlists of all their features, (mostly so I'd stop asking him if this or that can be done with HOpsCutter), so hopefully soon I'll know the tools as well as possible. With Meshmachine and Machin3tools I rely on you and Ryuu for the most part. I wanted to thank you guys for all your work. At least one guy benefited from it: me.

[@ronrobson5076]

Hey Josh, thanks for the workflow idea. I‘m just wondering what would be the next step to improve the surface quality of the big fillet. In your preview picture the transition looks way better than in the video. Maybe you could do another tutorial covering this.

[@najhonbanjon]

very nice this object thanc

[@1lihaco731]

s and a couple EDM and Dubstep goals for myself, and I guess I better start learning sowhere. Thanks for the great vid!

[@JC3D]

cool!

[@peterbuck914]

This modelling style with mesh machine looks so cool. Like you can get some really nice shapes very quickly. But I’d love to see a video on how to model something like this then make it useable for games. You bring up quad remesher. Is that the way to go? And is it as simple as that?

[@JoshGambrell]

For the example in this vid yeah probably. I could get away with triangulation but that fused area was really messy, so I'd probably only use that for a concept render. I'd use Quad Remesher on this particular piece for games.

[@k-8844]

nice i just bought this

[@xaam.9076]

In the setup, appreciate the videos! Maybe a dumb question but is there a way to export content in mono in soft20?

[@vavalexus]

Yeah, offset cut is really a beast. The question is only, how to chage the width unit? It is by default in meters. And if I work with some sall objects, and say I need make an offset cut 0.1mm, it is impossible to do. The smalles amount there is 0.001mm, while I need 0.0001. So I'd rather be better with the units taken from the Blender units. I now need to scale up small objects, make this offset+bevel+normal transfer (via Stach it meshmachine) stuff and then scale it down again.

[@sorosandras9334]

merci beaucoup a toi :))

[@othoapproto9603]

Nice tut, I know this was about showing MM tools. But I want to point out if you had matched the loop count in both parts, the booleaning would have a better chance in merging points.

[@billymuncher]

nice one

[@user-rj5hd7hh8p]

Thanks

[@rushboardtechuk]

Currently I own KitOps Pro, HardOps and Boxcutter, and I use CAD Sketcher. I would be curious how to work Mesh Machine into that workflow.

[@waleedcreates4294]

hey i wanted to ask. does this work the same way for a convex bevel? as i see this is a workflow where the beveled crease is concave . (hope it makes sense) thanks for the videos btw :)

[@DaCapitalist1]

Mesh machine op!

[@eugene4950]

nice, like mesh fusion in modo or hardmesh plugin in maya

[@XTCMatrix]

Odd question, but can you take your style of modeling, like a CAD type, or what you call non-destructive and bring it into Zbrush or blender and start sculpting and subdividing it without messing up all the geometry?

[@JoshGambrell]

No, you'll need to remesh it into quads so you can sculpt onto it.

[@sakkarinsawad548]

done tNice tutorialngs and to fast track our learning curve and there are so many EDM artists using it.

[@bleemsquid]

It's really cool. Doesn't have any similarities with CAD. Still nice however.

[@zorex324]

HI Josh I am thinking of buying boxcutter and hops but can I use hops and boxcutter to make non sci-fi stuff like a more realistic this time and day stuff like a idk phone or just anything more normal or is it mainly for creating hard edge objects with like no real organic curves?

[@jeffspinner6579]

I think of HOpsCutter as a speed addon. My understanding is that with HOpsCutter everything can be done in vanilla, just with many more clicks/menu searches/etc., but Meshmachine (and the Alt + A function of Machin3tools [free version too] for example) stuff, Idt can be done in vanilla Blender at all.

[@Psyda]

I teach Blender and I always say that Blender has an Addon driven workflow. I recommend the Hops/Boxcutter addons as a funamental toolset for Blender when hard-surface modelling. Josh trends toward scifi models, but they are used for all hardsurface modelling.

[@danielbarros8299]

Of course man. Some kind of shapes are easily done with BoxCutter and don’t mess topology that much. And HardOps has A LOT of features that help your workflow (mirror and symmetry are so much more fun to use in HOps). Definitely worth it for anything

[@dziewiatkom]

What others have said. Ive been using HOps/Cutter for about a week now and it saves a great amount of time especially the symmetry, mark, and sharpen tools. The best part for me is how Modifiers through HOps just behave smarter then if you tried to apply them yourself.

[@JoshGambrell]

Absolutely. I do subd with HOps all the team. Automating creases, shortcuts, seams, amongst other things make it useful well beyond hard surface modeling.

[@scotchtapeworm3755]

Just time time, as I am trying to get into hard surface modeling

[@UnpublishedGameDev]

Witch shader did you use I see he round the edge and highlight them somehow

[@andrewsimper]

It’s great that Blender has this plugin, thanks for the tutorial. It reminds me of a very basic version of MeshFusion in Modo, I wonder if the author of the plugin is basing their work on this?

[@CraftDutch]

What version of blender is this and what version om mesh machine are you using?

[@DarrenLGoldsmith]

When I add the bevel on the first cylinder at 0:51, only 1 side actually bevels correctly. The other just adds edges along the ovoid face. I have applied scale etc. Any idea why that might be happening?

[@sameeruddin]

Could you do a quick mesh machine tools that won't be possible in vanilla , i ended up buying HOps and boxcutter and realized i keep crapping out the mesh due to these reasons ...thank you for thsi video

[@iiandreio4228]

The majority of tools in mesh machine are unique to it and not in vanilla

[@sameeruddin]

@@iiandreio4228 thank you for the response ...i just saw a video by ryugi which gave a detailed description of mesh machine tools ...extremely powerful stuff 🙏 ❤️ thank you

[@mysteriousstranger9496]

Is it nessecary to have both Hops and MeshM or do they basically both serve the same functions.

[@bossibrargaming8938]

I reinstalled the windows then i reinstall the quadremesher now it's showing me error remeshing faild please tell me any solution

[@Dina_tankar_mina_ord]

Quadremesher has a lot of functions. Do you have a formula on how to use it depending on the situation? It feels like there is more to it than I understand.

[@TheTrumanZoo]

He checks the amount of scene faces before remeshing to get it to look similar before and after, but you should try a little higher count first often.

[@Dina_tankar_mina_ord]

@@TheTrumanZoo That's what he says, of course. The tool has a lot more functions that I would like to know if anyone is using.

[@JoshGambrell]

I honestly don't know all the functions and how to use them effectively. Once I do, I'd be happy to make a tutorial. For hard edge objects, tick that option on

[@Dina_tankar_mina_ord]

@@JoshGambrell thanks for answering . I´ve been tinkering. and some options are self explanatory. but things like vertex color, normal splitting, facemap 2 material leaves me clueless. But I guess RTFM applies even for me 😅

[@mana20]

Hey Josh, I'm a solo dev programmer that's getting to the point where I need to pick a path for art. Do you think 2D is more manageable or would be 3D end up being a better choice since it's more technical?

[@JoshGambrell]

Well, go with what you enjoy. Concept artists can work in both 2D and 3D, perhaps try both and see where it takes you.

[@mana20]

@@JoshGambrell agreed, both are viable, I'm just trying to decide as a programmer picking up art late in life what makes the most sense as a solo dev.

[@JoshGambrell]

@@mana20 In some pipelines 2D artists make the concept piece, then the 3D artist just creates it in 3D. IMO you can get really good at one skill or decent at both. I'm not very good at drawing but I find myself to be superb at modeling since that is where I focus all my time.

[@Elysium3D_]

how do you access mesh machine tools, i cant find the key bind, i am pressing Y but is not working

[@cekconi1773]

👍👍👍

[@sharkid7399]

I hope you answer tNice tutorials bro, I am wondering how can I add plugins from another disk drive if my main drive (where I installed soft soft)

[@gordonrobb]

I don’t understand this. When I uses offset cut, it only gives me the choice between running an offset one why or the other. It doesn’t create the offet on both slides of the selected loop. What am I doing wrong?

[@JoshGambrell]

You’re using offset, and not offset cut. Enable it in experimental features in mesh machine settings

[@gordonrobb]

@@JoshGambrell Oh wow. How did I miss this. Thanks.

[@j_shelby_damnwird]

You use a lot the "sharpen" HoPS function. Forgive the noob question, what is it for?

[@okipokie]

Whats that hotkey for quick union??

[@markkatsdesign]

Hello, offset cut doesn’t trim the surrounding faces no? It adds the extra layer thus creating a mess ?

[@JoshGambrell]

Not sure I follow.

[@markkatsdesign]

@@JoshGambrell Does the offset cut delete the overlapping faces?

[@JoshGambrell]

@@markkatsdesign It deletes out any surrounding geometry, yes. In certain situations it's a bit fiddly and doesn't work.

[@markkatsdesign]

@@JoshGambrell and it doesn’t work when there is a complex curve.

[@technoober8352]

Difference between hard-ops, box-cutter and mesh machine in simple terms? These look like they do the same kinda thing.

[@adventuresinportland3032]

Are you editing this video or are you really moving that quickly?

[@IstyManame]

I don't have "offset cut" in mm's Y menu, there is only "offset" option and it's doing different thing. I have newly installed version 0.11.2. Used 0.9.0 before, can it be the problem?

[@iiandreio4228]

Turn on experimental features

[@JoshGambrell]

^ what Andrei said

[@Thehammm_]

I have 1.5 and I can't get L select to work at all. I've googled all day trying to find a fix and nothing. Tried re-installing it and still nothing. L select isn't on any keymap rebind on the addons preferences menu for Machine tools and neither is the actual selection menu

[@kendarr]

What the hell, you got a beard and automatically aged 10 years and became a Chad lol, cool vid btw

[@tomchandler7568]

Im using meshmachine in blender 3.3 but its crashing while pressing Y key

[@morphtek]

its still not close comapred to houdini and soft boolean plugin

[@takindia5581]

why is my gms softing like static?

[@MrAkurvaeletbe]

That topology makes my brain hurt

[@sebbosebbo9794]

In vanilla blender this is hard near impossible how you say CAD curve modeller maybe or hours of try and error . mesh M. have awesome feature but the mesh flow for game looks a little bit messy.. I dont know this the way to go ...

[@MACHIN3]

What kind of topology do you think you need for games? All games care about it triangles, and you can easily get a triangulized mesh with perfect normals with MESHmachine.

[@sebbosebbo9794]

@@MACHIN3 hard surface can be ingored okay.. but is always a theme in a review. inhouse I think.. sometime deformable parts for animation like leather patches on a tight body organic non metal amor f.e. the review process they want the quadflow model status so it must delievered in a in C4d file Format inhouse.. I saw Moi3d is inhouse used for preciss measured bolleans sometime even on very simple models for printing the models but even used in inhouse libarys for games production,too. we have some blender users now and they find the precise meassure bollean part better in Moi3d ..I saw it only nearby so blender vanilla boolean is sometime a problem .. sometime you must bring up a surface a tiny bit to have not a messy boolean mesh artifact . I used blender for Web graphic part sometimes inhouse Im not so good in modelling in blender ..have no add on.. you work looks so fast with this great add on I think..love it...thx

[@mezo.a0]

61 years old and just purchased tNice tutorials software. i love making my own soft

[@mdabuhassan230]

Joel Karr to be fair I learnt loads

[@Manar80s]

thank God for 3ds max...

[@znaigardz9876]

instead.... soday I’ll manage to export sotNice tutorialng decent on soft... one day lol

[@LatestNeuz]

It's free or pad

[@sho3d]

Unfortunately I find that the blender bros tutorials are becoming more and more commercial. This topic has already been covered :(

[@JoshGambrell]

We run a business selling digital products. Of course that's a priority. Every video aims to ultimately promote our products, and we are very transparent about that. On the same coin, every free video we release to KZbin aims to provide good value in some way, shape, or form.

[@petneb]

It's fine, we all need to make a living.

[@RunTheTape]

at this point, why not just use a cad program?

[@bigsmokerc]

I know nothing about blender or 3D modelling but it looks like quad remesher is something that should be built into blender ASAP

[@afrosymphony8207]

if you aint got mesh machine money there is a7dollar inset addon by kushiro that i believe something kinda similar.

[@ilyachernobrov]

This is not even close to CAD. In CAD you just model. Also not sure you need a lot of this cylinder to cube booleans. Most of the cases are much more complex situations which unfortunately can’t be handled by any of these approaches. And third - it is impossible to get good baking low poly or mid poly out of this geo. From CAD you can generate good model with good shading. So long story short all these add ons are mostly for the ruff concerting and tutorials. Anyway thanks for sharing !

[@candle_eatist]

why does Josh with a beard look like a male model

[@Psyda]

I can't stop seeing Ludwig when I see his profile pic. I think it's the hair and Eybrow slit.

[@Rai2M]

Vanilla Blender or nothing )

[@YuriKruglov]

It crashes all time

[@JoshGambrell]

update blender

[@efeozturk5253]

probably some boomer managers will say nay if you propose them to use objects with this kind of topology... but amazing addon anyway.

[@jasbarlegaspina1220]

I love pirating your software nom onom onomnom

[@trm245]

im tired of the blickbaity blender community, "new workflow" this shit old af

[@BestMods168]

Your modeling tutorials are really bad. It teaches bad habits to new and unaware users. You're not even focusing on good topology and its flow. From one section to the next in the model, the pieces dont even connect.

[@KingcoleIIV]

Bestmods168 You have no idea what u r talking about. You are like a 1800s horse and bugy dealer trying to talk people out of buying a car. Get with the times man. Update your knowledge before criticizing.

[@ndjxisjenxjix9525]

@@KingcoleIIV he also says it. This technique is good for concepting and such, if you want cleaner topology, you either not use booleans or retopo later.

[@Psyda]

He's apply fusing techniques that would take hours by normal means. This isn't an introductory tutorial. This is a quick fuse for advanced topology. It sets groundwork that would typically take 10-20+ minutes of cleanup.

[@JoshGambrell]

We here at Blender Bros prioritize tricking people into becoming bad artists. It's our passion!

[@KingcoleIIV]

@@ndjxisjenxjix9525 I was talking to the best mods guy in the comments

[@FilippoRomeoMEZZOTINT]

For me mesh machine is complete useless. I run most of the times into problems I don't have with blender default or the same problems as in blender default. For me, there are almost no improvements to blender workflow. Maybe I have no intellectual access to this addon.