Quote - PTEX sounds interesting and I'll support anything that removes the necessity of UV mapping, but the insistance of quads in the higher end 3D spectrum has been the norm much longer than ptex has existed, so that can't be the reason. 

Consistently even edgeflow is a given, whether you're using all quads, all tris or a combination of the two.

Quads won't produce artifacting  - if the geometry is designed correctly to begin with. I guess I should have added that part in before. The only other time they'll produce artifacting is if poly faces are intersecting each other. If you're having to try and twist quads around to distort them into the needed edgeflow then that means the mesh wasn't designed properly to allow for the mesh to change direction. 

Quads isn't the only rule tho. Along with it you have to consider consistently even edgelfow, as pointed out (should be obvious but I guess not), no stars containing more than 5 points, no n-gons, using diamonds to direct flow. Diamonds can be tricky, as their base shape reduces to a tri, so a good understanding of where and when to use them is important. Starting with the most basic shapes when you begin a new model, just like with drawing, is also important. A lot of people just learning to model insist on dividing the model up until it's smooth before they start working on it, (this is especially common in sculpting programs), when instead you should be pulling 4-6 sided cubes around until you get the basic shape needed, and then add edges gradually, and only to round out forms, once the edges you have are stetched to their absolute max. 

 

~Shane

 

Shane, nothing is a given in modelling obviously. ;)

Most people just starting out don't realize that there's more than one technique to modelling, and really it takes years to master each one.  Even the most proficient modellers often don't realize they can do something easier or faster if they simply adjust their workflow slightly, or use a different method entirely.  I spent the past 8 years (give or take) freelancing and working in studios all over, and while I met many people who were able to model me under a table, there was never a shortage of guys who were stuck in one way of doing something, and didn't realize there were maybe 3 or 4 other ways that may have increased their modelling speed, and given the same results.  The biggest mistake newbies to modelling make is not paying attention to edge flow, and not realizing why we model in quads.

Sculpting applications require no manual adjusting of edges (until you retopologize), so there's no need for the mesh to be quads when sculpting.  It's easier and more efficient for the program to read the surface in tris.  It's not until you manually need to retopologize do you really need to think in quads.

I personally prefer to poly model almost everything.  It provides the most control, at least for me.  However, spline modelling is very useful for some shapes too.  Obviously, almost all newbies learn with box modelling or primitive modelling, and that's fine too.  Intermediate to seasoned pros, however, need to start recognizing edge flow, and how to use it.  That's the real key to good topology, and to good models.

I know a couple really good modellers here on Rosity, and one is a hard surface modeller mostly, while the other is entirely hard surface.  Both of these guys could theoretically model with ngons if they wanted to.   They deal in a lot of flat surfaces and planar geometry, but they also redistribute their meshes, so they still use quads for almost all their surfaces.  Because even though most of their models aren't meant for deformation, should someone else decide to alter something, it's much easier to grab an edge loop and manipulate topology that way, than to fumble about edge by edge, or vert by vert.

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Tools :  3dsmax 2015, Daz Studio 4.6, PoserPro 2012, Blender v2.74

System: Pentium QuadCore i7, under Win 8, GeForce GTX 780 / 2GB GPU.