In a model for a demo reel, should I go for very high quality or optimize the amount of data?

Naoto

I am thinking of making a model of a gun for a game for my job search demo reel.

　

When I look at some of the highly rated works on ArtStation, it looks like they use several 4k textures on one gun, or excessive polygon counts for a game model.

Certainly, if I use a lot of 4K textures and a high polygon count, the quality will be very high, but I don't think it is suitable as a game model.

If it is to be made for a demo reel, should it be as high quality as possible within the polygon count and number of textures that would be used in actual work?

Or should I make it with a lot of 4k textures and a large number of polygons to take the quality to the extreme?

Which one would be more appreciated as a demo reel for the gaming industry?

I would like to hear from professionals.

Joao Sapiro

id rather see a weapon done exceptionally with non waste of triangles and a single texture than an almost like movie-like workflow.

NikhilR

You also likely wouldn't need a demoreel.
Here's a good write up on weapon art for games and presentation which might help.
https://80.lv/articles/3d-weapon-art-workflow/
Ultimately what you want is good quality renders in engine. 
While it helps to optimize I wouldn't make it your focus, i.e follow best practices but be judicious on your use of tricount and texture space.