>>655592
>Are the warwick fundamentals to hard surface modelling in 3ds max still the de facto intro to learning how to do modelling in general?
Yes. Modeling with subdivision surfaces hasn’t changed much over time and the tools he uses are the most basic that you can find in any 3d program. You could almost call his style of modeling archaic since there exist faster methods of getting results, but modeling with quads is still the foundation of every other technique where you learn to break or avoid having to use them to save time.
>my main goal is to model characters but i have no real polymodelling skills.
Trying to get into character modeling off the bat is a lofty goal because characters require multiple techniques at a sufficient high level to build and you’ll just end up making crap if you go in unprepared. You’re better off starting slow with hard surface objects as you can cut corners more easily with regard to modeling and mapping, and feel good about actually having made something that at least looks like what you wanted.
>is it just better for me to learn character design in zbrush and how to utilize uvlayout and topogun than to try and learn modelling
No, there will still be things you’ll need to make using traditional methods like props and any hard surfaces on the apparel, or armor. You’ll end up sculpting anyway, so it’s a good idea to learn it as well, just keep in mind that if you don’t know the basics, your retopo wont be worth shit.
>furthermore, i hear marvelous is better for making clothes than 3ds max and possibly zbrush.
Not necessarily, you can make clothes just fine by detaching surfaces from your character and stretching them out into the shape you need. Marvelous takes a more technical approach as you end up stitching clothing together as you would in reality, but since it’s based on a physics simulation, the level of detail isn’t particularly high, so you may end up detailing the cloth in Zbrush anyway.