Adam Bryla

Hi.I spend a time in modeling, and want to share some thoughts:

For me the ideal workflow would be with minimised shortcuts i must click to perform next operation. During modeling we spend hours and hours in performing same operations so every click count a lot. And its cool to concentrate on form and model not on UI. Now I feel like a small ninja-hacker. I know that i can change few things there and there…. But for me it's still not coherent at all.

So I think Houdini have almost all necessary tools for modeling, but it's rather lack of consequences and sporadic flow breakers. I will try to be as much analytical as i can, but also I allow myself to propose sth time to time (in brackets)


PolyDraw is not fill out with tools:

Built Mode
Do anybody use making empty point in the void? It's unintuitive and slow because then you must connect those points anyway second time. (there could be whole split mode instead of creating empty points - and create polygon from points functionality will remain same anyway)?
There is no assigned option for quad edit in build mode ? (could be extrude) ?

Edge Slice - is useless as a whole mode. (it would be enough have it in edit under: move edge operation with Shift modifier)

Brush Mode / Smooth Mode
could be just expanded to … zbruish

Edit Mode- lot of time when im forced to create new node, or do it by accident it’s a new: Edit node. I'm used to that if im using shortcuts: T R or E it remain in edit mode. It still nothing else than editing points, but it's very often when i must move points in coordinates system not available in polydraw.


Tools lack in poly draw:
- delete not working same way in every mode sometimes it works other times it makes blast node.
- lack tool: switch trix. Using it all the time in non ideal topo.
- poly draws smooth selection mode

Shortcuts
I don't know how deep is sidefx philosophy if we talk about the shortcuts. But for modeling it is one of the crucial things. The ideal solution is when you have left hand on keyboard and right on mouse all the time. Z brush is good example of great combos app. You can perform so many operations just with LMM+ modifiers or different type of behaviour (click on / drag …). Biggest Flow breakers for me are:
- throw out from tool but Shift + 1 switch to 1 mode. (it's big one but i see that it could be just a part of whole philosophy)
Lack of consistency: to edge slide but 3 for edges in build mode
Shift as brush size sound inefficient compared to alternative tool mode.
Have access to alternative options under shift alt or ctrl i.e: mouse scroll in Loop SOP make division in snap measure. With shift could change division count
Hard to access different selection types - now under ‘9’ and only in selection mode. It’s very useful tool and all selection types are great, but it's hidden.

Radial menu
I tried to rearrange some of those things just for myself, but i couldn't find a way how to assign selection types (which by default are under ‘9’) to radial menu.
I always found that sometimes i want to quick use one tool in different modes. (Like fuse) Radial menu is good place for things like is but again i am not able to do it by myself.

Selection
Other problem i see is that all of those tools are good when your mesh is clear and built of quads. Unfortunately …very often it's not a reality. Most vivid example is semi-loop edge selection. It can find it excellent while working with clear geometry, but try to boolean or polyreduce mesh and select straight line. It's almost impossible and i'm struggling a lot of trying to select my edges (straight mode with shortest path?)