Model Optimization - Game Character Development with Maya - page 317

Currently we have fewer divisions of faces on the wrist than we have across the
back and palm of the hand. So we should next optimize the back of the hand. Fig-
ure 5.55 (left) shows the back of the hand currently.
FIGURE 5.55 Optimize the back of the hand so it matches the divisions on the wrist.
2. Following the center of the X created for the knuckles, trace back to the two ver-
tices behind it and weld them to the ones on their left ( Figure 5.55 , right).
3. Next, flip the hand over and do the same for the palm, reducing it to match the di-
visions on the wrist. Figure 5.56 shows the palm before and after the optimization.
FIGURE 5.56 Reduce the palm as you did the back of the hand.
4. You might be left with the two edges I have highlighted in Figure 5.57 (left). If so,
you can simply collapse these because they don't add anything to the model.