Better way to create mesh shape (one complex shape or many simple shapes)?

[tomek320]

(on the left is mech leg I created using loop cuts and extrude, on right is how they did it on Udemy tutorial)

I was courious what are the advantages of modeling one complex shape as opposed to achieving same result to the human eye but with many simple shapes and later to group them together.

What are the pros and cons of each approach and which one do you guys prefer ?

[NP5]

Independent shapes could be animated more easily I suppose. If you wanted a foot that could conform to the ground underfoot.

I suspect the course was just using the chance to show mirroring.

[FedPete]

It’s all about the reuse of objects and of course the number of faces and vertices (faster renders).

• You could create a toe and reuse it 3 times (right image).
• But a foot (left image) can also be a reusable object (left and right foot).
• For animation, as in deform organic object, it can be handy to have an object where all vertices are under control (left image). While an explosion is better with an object as designed on the right side.

So it totally depends on what you are going to do with the object/model.

[Mark_Jackson]

Using separate objects will create a hard shading break with each other when they intersect. This can be a desired effect but if not then it’s better to connect the vertices together.