Reply To: What is the best way to model something?

Hey @546_student,

You could model each piece of the motorcycle as a separate objects,
you could model the whole motorcycle as one object,
or you could model one object with each piece separate in edit mode.

None of these are wrong, only a preference and depending on the final use of the model (3d printing for example)

As for overlapping the mesh with another mesh, No don’t do that. Intersecting 2 faces at different angles is ok, but overlapping, No.

I personally, like to model each piece separately in edit mode and maintaining the gap as in the design of the motorcycle when all the parts are assembled.
I would model the first piece, usually starting with the easiest, duplicate the necessary edges for the adjacent piece, move them over to create the gap, model the adjacent piece, and then repeat for the next piece. This helps maintain a nice even gap and good clean topology.
I see some people model the same way, but make each piece a separate object. Its just a preference.

For a 3d printed model you would need to model the whole motorcycle as one object and one continuous piece, no gaps.
The problem modeling this way from the start, is when you need to add an edge loop for example, it will loop round the whole model and probably to areas you don’t want, cause pinching and other artefacts.
It would be much better to model with the gap and when your done, work on filling the gap with faces or merging vertices.

Good luck and share your progress and don’t forget to ask for feedback and tips along the way.