3D modeling (noob question) should I cap unseeable areas?

cnrk

I am an architect and I am modeling arch-viz things, but I want to sell them on the Internet and make them usable for any kind of project
I am learning many things over the Internet but I couldn't figure out what is the best solution for unseeable areas? so my question is should I close unseeable areas or can I leave them open. To make clear what I mean. I am attaching my model. It is affecting so much on polygon numbers.

poopipe

if you cant see it, it shouldnt be there 

Eric Chadwick

Generally that's a good rule, but if there's any kind of articulation or animation then some of those hidden surfaces will need to be retained. For example if the cushions are meant to be removable.

A better example is a chest of drawers... if the drawers are open-able then you should include drawer interiors, but if it's always closed (as in most archviz renders) then don't include drawer interiors.

Alemja

For capped areas it doesn't matter if it looks pretty, use as many triangles and such to get it done since there is a good chance it won't be seen. Since you plan on selling these assets, in my opinion I would cap them to be safe. This would be in case the person who purchases wants to do kitbashing or something like 3D printing. It may not be super likely, but I would personally find the asset easier to work with if it was already capped.

Alex_J

agreed that if you mean to sell them it is better to leave optimization and use up to the end user. If you really wanna go overboard include several optimized variants of the model (like non-capped and/or LOD's).