I am following along on the tutorial Basic Human Form and I really like the video and instructors delivery. Even when I stumble across differences between the version used in Maya and my own 8.5, I am still able to do a bit of research and pick up where I left off, however where the process breaks down completely for me is when it comes time to convert all of the nurbs to polygons and then join them.

The first encounter with that process during the training occurs when joining the head and upper body. The instructor assumes that everyone can do this without any problems and continues on with the lesson.

It would be most helpful at that point if he were to say something like, "now, if one or both of your polygons suddenly disappear when you invoke the Union command, then you should..." and then go on to provide some helpful advice and/or places to read up on the matter.

With a bit of trial and error I have managed to join the boots to the legs and then join both legs together. I still cannot join the head and torso though. I suspect the problem is with the way I developed the neck (protrudent) on the torso and the cavity on the bottom of the head.

When using Boolean commands like Union, is it absolutely necessary to create a "round peg" and a "round hole"? I ask because my neck is almost perfectly round, whereas the cavity of the head is squarish. As I insert the neck region into the head's cavity, there is no overlap of the neck ( sides of the neck) extending outside the cavity and the neck extends well into the space of the head. So, when I use the Union command I cannot understand why both polygons are disappearing.

Note: I am using the Boolean commands for Polygons and not nurbs.

Mesh > Boolean > Union.

Any help would be appreciated.

Michael