The only hard limits for UDK are StaticMesh: 65535 ( 16 bit index) vertexes SkelMesh : 4,294,967,295 ( 32 bit index) vertexes 45k tris seems to be normal for "next-gen" characters.
Yep, and their Next Gen Texturing Techniques is about as in-depth as a texturing tutorial can get. It's pure awesome and I'd suggest purchasing it asap if you're looking for a texturing based tutorial series.
That still seems EXTREMELY egregious IMHO. You need to take that target and probably 1/3 it at, least. That kind of tri count is something that is typically reserved for characters in current gen games.
I haven't used Keyshot but if you're not having a lot of luck generating PBR for it, you could try using the suite's "Last Gen" option to generate the old school specular setup.
Congratulations, Martin! I'm really interested to see what Blizzard's next-gen game is and seeing the work on your portfolio makes me curious of what they're doing. I'm envious!
Hey, look at this tutorial. I think it will help you. http://cg.tutsplus.com/tutorials/autodesk-3d-studio-max/how-to-create-a-video-game-dumpster-the-complete-current-gen-workflow/
First one looks great, but I think it could use a bit more colorvariation in the armor. The Kraylor looks like a modified Gen mo kai mesh from UT2k4 to me.
Hence why we need more ORIGINAL furry models. Like Shayna. and Glumpf (Yes, the Glumpf models' furry. so are the Gen Mo'kai to an extent.. :P). and That KICKASS Pandaren Brewmaster.