Hi angeliclight, yes I think you've got it now.

> SUBD is more like pushing and pulling with clay, no?

Yup, I think that is a pretty good analogy. I usually say that NURBS is more like drawing or illustration, since you tend to draw profile or outline curves, and then use those curves to construct surfaces by sweeping, etc.., or also to cut holes or indentations by drawn profiles.

SubD tends to work more by manipulating a cage of interconnected points in 3D. It is more like sculpting since you go in there and move little individual pieces and points of a surface in and out to adjust the shape, it is also easier in SubD to dice up a small region of a model into smaller polygons and then continue to make adjustments to the points.


> Not two hammers but a hammer and a wrench, so to speak.

Yup, definitely!

Each one is best at different kinds of models. If you're making a mechanical shape that can be created by some outline curves and also involves cuts and precise holes in it, then NURBS is not only way faster but also more precise (because cutting pieces with one another works better).

On the other hand if you have a surface that needs small details like little bumps or wrinkles, that works a lot better with SubD since you are a lot more free to go into a small region and make fine adjustments to the shape. A lot of character models tend to fall into this area.

- Michael