Polygons mean 3 or 4 edges, you have some near the side of the leg that are 6 (A BIG no no). Back when I was first learning character modeling this is the tutorial I used: http://www.3dtotal.com/team/Tutorials_3/low_poly_character/low_poly_01.asp Its considered by many to be a very good starting point. For low poly models…
Your model is suffering from two things right now. 1. Bad poly flow. You don't have any real edge loops which means two things, muscles and clothing do not end up looking real. Just because this is a cartoon doesn't mean you can ignore musculature, and second, it will not animate correctly. Heres some tutorials to help…
Oops, just realized that the first link I posted was the wrong one (not the one I started with, still good though). This is the one I meant to post: http://www.3dtotal.com/ffa/tutorials/max/joanofarc/joanmenu.asp
I can't believe your teacher actually told you its harder to add geometry. Most modelers I know will Build it to look good in a reasonable poly range and then optimize the whole thing, its a walk in the park to remove something from your model, unless you are a polygon pack rat when it comes to removing stuff. Your…