Do you delete faces that dont show?

nadin_in3D

Sounds like a silly question, but unsure of how to answer it myself.

If I am making a clothed character, do I delete the parts of the body hidden by clothes? For example, do I delete the legs if they are covered by pants? What do you guys suggest? I feel like it would save on your poly count. Also, if you do delete those hidden faces, would it be wise to append those meshes together or is it ok to keep them separate?

Would love to hear your suggestions on the matter, thanks

Turbopasta

I actually want to know the answer to this too. I think that deleting as many faces as you can without compromising the quality or functionality of the model is best since it lowers the models polycount, but I could be wrong about this.

Macebo

 I feel like it would save on your poly count. Also, if you do delete those hidden faces, would it be wise to append those meshes together or is it ok to keep them separate?

I believe your first intuition is correct   If those parts are not showing ever, why keep them? Also, once you delete, i believe it is also wise to weld the edges of the clothes to the body part. If the character is going to be shown this way all the time (for instance, there will be no simulation of cloth which could lead to the faces you deleted to be shown or other similar situations) and if it is going to be rigged, the more continuous is the mesh, the easier it is to rig, since there will be no polygons hiding other polygons. 

nadin_in3D

Macebo said:

 I feel like it would save on your poly count. Also, if you do delete those hidden faces, would it be wise to append those meshes together or is it ok to keep them separate?

I believe your first intuition is correct   If those parts are not showing ever, why keep them? Also, once you delete, i believe it is also wise to weld the edges of the clothes to the body part. If the character is going to be shown this way all the time (for instance, there will be no simulation of cloth which could lead to the faces you deleted to be shown or other similar situations) and if it is going to be rigged, the more continuous is the mesh, the easier it is to rig, since there will be no polygons hiding other polygons. 

SOOOO helpful!!! thanks!!! trying to follow industry standards

Bertmac

Also think about shadow, I remember an game where the had deleted the floor of the cars.  then they did an update of the engine that showed reflected  shadows what made then to recreate all the floors again to correct it all. 

Hope that made sense.

nyx702

It sorta depends on if/how there is going to be any customization but in general is much easier to deal with clipping/skinning if there is not a mesh inside. 

Personally... I prefer to keep the parts un-welded so I can select by element HOWEVER I do match the mating topo exactly and snap the verts just as if it was welded. That way the skin weights are the same. 

I would also keep a backup of the non-delete faces JUST in case. From experience I have had it bite me in the ass when someone says "Actually lets make those long sleeves short now" or "You know that camera angle you could never see before? Well you can now! Sorry!"