How do you plan character polycount?

rino · Oct 2013

let's say i have a character to do and max tricount is 10k.
how do i plan the character topology to be around that number?

do i do quick retopology and clean up or use somekind of reference?

also does zbrush have any script that shows you what's your tricount?

thanks
:poly122:

Farfarer · Oct 2013

You don't really plan it, as such, more that over time you'll gain a rough idea of how dense a generic 10k character mesh is and how much detail you'd expect to capture.

Heads tend to take a disproportionate amount of that poly count - if the face is animated - compared to other body parts (I'd wager that on most character meshes that dense, between 1/4 and 1/3 of the total poly count ends up in the head).

That said, don't optimise early. It's easier to pull polys out of a mesh that's too dense than to put them in to a mesh that's not detailed enough.

rino · Oct 2013

alright, thank you!

sprunghunt · Oct 2013

While you're learning to model at the right density you could always think of things in units - so for a 10k model you might think of it as 1.5k for each arm, 1.5k for each leg, and 2k for the torso, and 2k for the head. Of course as mentioned this is really just a learning tool that helps you get the idea.

There's a book by paul steed where he does this:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Modeling-Character-Wordware-Developers-Library/dp/155622088X/ref=la_B001K8D2G0_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382635598&sr=1-1"]Modeling A Character In 3DS Max (Wordware Game Developer's Library): Paul Steed: 9781556220883: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]

nyx702 · Oct 2013

sprunghunt wrote: »

While you're learning to model at the right density you could always think of things in units - so for a 10k model you might think of it as 1.5k for each arm, 1.5k for each leg, and 2k for the torso, and 2k for the head. Of course as mentioned this is really just a learning tool that helps you get the idea.

Yea this is how I worked for a while. For me the head defines how dense the rest of the body is because of the edgeloops that flow down the neck and into the arms. Most of the time I try and have clean edgeloops in low rez areas so that at the end if I am still under budget I can go in and add a quick loop or two. Ideally, if the budget is 10k I try and aim for ~8k and then go back in and add ~2k worth of details.

Dylan Brady · Oct 2013

I think this is a ben mathis image not sure. But it helps to develop a sort of "mental template" in your head so that you'll eventually be able to picture what the hand topology will look like on a 7k character vs a 15k

rino · Oct 2013

thanks a lot guys!

darknessbear · Oct 2013

Nice picture Dylan thanks!

But I also start looking at heavily of what could be easily replaced by cards and what couldn't depending on the resolution I'm going for. Also, I find looking at the lower half of a character is helpful -- wanting to find characters with easier/less dense boots ect. And see how much I can cut out/cover with other more simpler geo (like a skirt or a cape).

How do you plan character polycount?

Replies