St. wrote:

> "Michael Raiford" <mra### [at] hotmailcom> wrote in message
> news:40f9503d@news.povray.org...
> 
>>hehe...
>>
>>This is my first attempt at doing mesh-based models. The picture is
> 
> a
> 
>>capture of my wings interface. I'm modelling the skull of a cow, and
> 
> so
> 
>>far I think I'm doing okay.
>>
>>Any advice to a Wings newbie so I don't wind up screwing up my
> 
> model?
> 
>   Yes, save your Wings file as 'cowskull2.wings/obj',
> 'cowskull3.wings/obj', etc. - Wings does have a tendency to just
> evacuate now and again with near drastic results in my case... You can
> then call on these once you've re-booted.
> 
>      Nice start.
> 
>      ~Steve~
> 
> 
I agree with Steve.  I typically save copies of models at ever major 
point of departure along the path of development. I have evolved a whole 
standard of nomenclature to track the variations on the model as I 
develop it.  Frequent saving of external copies is the single most 
important thing I believe.  This way you can always return to a lighter 
version of your model rather than try to wrestle with over heavy 
geometry.  Save often and cut you loses quickly.

Make sure also, that you have plenty of depth in your undo buffer.

I use the mirror tool shamelessly but selectively.  I just maintain a 
loop along the plane(s) of symmetry.  I can model with mirror off.  If I 
have created some geometry I need relected, I do the loop cut, create 
the mirror, freeze the mirror and continue on my way.  If I need to see 
how the new geometry looks reflected in real time I leave the mirror on. 
Some tools are more effective with the mirror on, some without.  Often I 
mirror in more than one plane (not simultaneously of course).

I also loop cut then weld back different parts of the model for 
different reasons usually to expose inner geometry or the limit the 
scope of the magnet tool. This would be helpful I would think with a 
subject such as yours with so many internal surfaces. These are more 
advanced techniques, but ones that I wish I'd been more bold to take 
advantage of earlier on.

A technique you also might find will save time and keep you out of 
trouble with a model like yours is the use of the "bounding box" and 
"center" tools in unison.  You might take 10 minutes with a practive 
model to see how they work.  Basically the "center" tool will shift the 
model so that the highlighted part of it, say a face you are working on, 
is located at the origin.  This makes that area easier to examine with 
the camera.  If you need to shift the model back to some original 
location, you will have saved its "bounding box" and return it there. 
The bounding box is only a need if you have several objects in a 
specific relation to each other.

A cow's skull is an excellent, though challenging, subject for a Wings 
model.  To infinity and beyond!

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