Hello all! I have two questions on the same subject that I haven’t been able to find an answer to, and I think part of the problem is I don’t know the proper terminology. I just recently got into 3D modeling, so I’m still picking up the technical language.
My questions revolve around the mesh created by merging two objects (tools).
The first, and easier, deals with what happens to the polygons that end up inside a mesh when two objects are merged. Looking at the counts, it seems that the polygons still exist, even if they aren't visible.
Example: One wants to make a lollipop, and so a long cylinder mesh is added to a sphere mesh using Tool>Geometry>InsertMesh.
So the question is: do the polygons of the cylinder that are now within the sphere still exist? I assume that they do. As they will never be visible in the final product, is there a way to get rid of them so that the polycount can be lowered?
And now the second set of questions. This has to do with polys that end up under the visible layer of the mesh, but are still part of the whole single tool.
Example: One is trying to smooth out the area where a joint is, and while doing so a wrinkle of mesh is pulled down and covers another wrinkle of mesh.
So now the question is: is there a way to discard the hidden wrinkle and fuse the flap of mesh to the part that it now intersects with?
The reason I am asking is because eventually I would like to animate the project that I am working on. I have never done this before, but it seems to me that having these hidden parts of the mesh could cause very unattractive visuals when the object is skinned with a texture and then animated, thereby revealing these hidden part of the mesh that haven't been textured.
In 3DS Max there appears to be several ways to merge two objects seamlessly using Weld, Attach, etc. I am aware of two features in ZBrush that are close to what I think I'm looking for, but neither will do what I want exactly: Adaptive and Unified Skins. Adaptive looks as if it can only be applied when still working with ZSpheres. Working with Unified Skins has never resulted in a workable model for me, always distorting the mesh, even in areas where no change is needed to unify the mesh. So is there such a tool within ZBrush, or does one have to export and do all the corrections in another program? (Which seems more time consuming, and disappointing, than just creating the mesh using another program and then importing to ZBrush.)
Sorry for the length of this post, I just wanted to make sure I explained everything sufficiently as I don't know the exact terminology yet. And thanks in advance for advice and comments!