Claudia Herbst
Associate Professor
Pratt Institute
Department of Digital Arts



Those pesky triangles (avoid them if you can...)

When applying a Smooth node to an object, each face is divided into four subdivisions.

3 or 5-sided geometry (that is, odd sided geometry) has problems smoothing.

Triangles on rounded surfaces don’t smooth nicely.(5-sided geometry yields
better results but also isn’t perfect.

It is important to note that uneven artifacts can be useful in modeling, such as when
constructing an elbow, which has an “uneven” appearance compared to the rest of the arm.

You can delete edges to get rid of triangles. Or, use the Split Polygon tool. Using extrusions,
you can avoid triangles altogether. Each new face will have four sides (quad).

What follows is a simple example of how to avoid triangles.


Here's what I have: a simple plane. I want to add some details using the
Split Polygon tool or the Offset Edge Loop tool.




Notice that I ended the inserted loop on a Vertex. That can lead to
undesirable effects when applying a Smooth node.




This doesn't look pretty...




Let's backtrack and this time, end the inserted loop not in a
Vertex but midway along an edge.



Now use the Split Polygon tool to create four-sided faces
(they don't have to look like a square but should have four side).
It will make for a better mesh when the Smooth node is applied.