Hi Pozero, there was also some recent discussion of this here: http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=1048.1 , so you might want to check out that thread as well.

I think it is true that a SubD program will generally work better for characters, but not really so much for the reason that you mention (adding bones) - more because it is easier in SubD to add details like small folds or wrinkles to very small areas of a model for shaping things like around eyes or a nose.

You can get better behavior of your MoI-generated model under later deformation if you divide up your output mesh into smaller polygons.

For example here is a shape that has some flat areas in it - normally these flat areas do not get a whole bunch of polygons in them, since they are not necessary for a regular rendering:



However those larger polygons are not good for deformation - there just aren't enough points in all the areas there to have enough detail. Once those points are moved around the larger polygons will connect between them with a more noticeable straight piece.


Here I have used the "Divide larger than" option in mesh export to force the creation of a much denser mesh with a lot more vertices in it:



When there are a lot more points, it gives a lot more detail available to the deformation process to work with.

So I think that would probably be the solution to your current problem.


But in general I think it is true that one single 3D software is not the perfect tool for every single kind of shape - SubD is generally more flexible and suitable for character work especially with organic details.

However, I wouldn't say that creating a complex character model is exactly "easy" in SubD either. It can take quite a bit of time and practice before it becomes very natural. But if you want to do character work it is probably the right area to look into.

- Michael