Before I continue… Look! Knitting!
Now that that is out of the way…
On a previous post, Robert asked:
So, I have a question pertaining to 3-D modeling. For the purposes of my portfolio, I’m wondering how high-res my pieces should be? I frequently find myself creating models that are shaped very well, but they have a rather large poly count. So, I guess the underlying question here is whether it is more impressive in a portfolio to see very high poly count models with good texture or to see lower poly count models with textures that just give the appearance of higher resolution? (Keeping in mind that my painting/drawing skills are rather poor at present so the textures are a definite weakness for me right now)
This is a good question, and the answer is almost always, “It depends.” As a general guideline, you should never put more geometry into a model than is absolutely necessary to create the shape you want. If you’re making a cube, that cube only needs to be 6 polygons. A cube that is 600 polygons is ridiculous, because you really only need 6 in order to make the cube look like a cube. The more complex the object you’re creating, the more polygons you’ll probably need to make it look right. If you have a set budget for polygons, use them where you’ll get the most bang for your buck. People won’t care if a door is made up of six polygons, but they’ll notice if the doorknob is blocky and unrealistic. Have a look at the wireframe on one of my meshes:
This is a fairly high-poly mesh, but I spent those polys where it would show. If those curves were choppy and blocky, the mesh would just look bad. Since I spent the polygons on those important parts, the blocky headboard and footboard can be very simple.
Generally, it’s more impressive to see a lower-poly model that looks good than a ridiculously high-poly model. Anyone can throw extra polygons at a mesh to make it look smoother, but it’s much harder to serve modeling steak on a hamburger budget and it shows more skill. Texturing is also really important–if you model really well but you can’t texture for poo, you’ll probably have a very hard time getting hired. There really aren’t separate modeling and texturing positions in most companies–3-D artists do both, so good skills in both areas are pretty necessary for the job.
Thanks for the question! I hope this was helpful.