Topology

Low poly

This is the low poly version of one of the high poly sculpts. It's the mesh that gets UV mapped and used for baking details onto textures. This one has around 4,500 polygons, but if I were preparing it for VR, especially for distant LODs, I'd reduce the poly count even further.

The most important thing is following the form and capturing the silouette of a the form.

Since there's no normal splitting and the mesh is one continuous surface, some loop merging has been done where different forms meet to reduce unnecessary topology. When merging loops, it's important to evaluate as you go and consider whether it might cause artifacts or issues during deformation in animation.

Subdivision modeling

When I subdivision model, I start with a low-resolution base mesh and focus on clean topology with quads. I keep the geometry simple and evenly spaced, then use subdivision to add smoothness and detail. I make sure edge loops support the form and maintain control over sharpness by adjusting edge placement or adding support loops.