Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
This is where the artist's skills come into play. He must be very good to obtain an
optimal result when producing a low-poly model that visually matches the quality of
its high-poly counterpart.
There is a specific software, such as Polygon Cruncher, that automatizes the conver-
sion of a high-poly model into a low-poly, but to obtain an optimal result it is always
best to do such things manually!
The following figure, taken from Wikipedia (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_poly
),
represents the procedure to get a detailed low-poly model using a normal map cre-
ated from the high-poly counterpart.
Texturing
Once a model has been created, it is necessary to put one or more textures on the
mesh. The mesh of a 3D model only represents its basic geometry which constitutes
a collection of polygons. The texture is the image that covers the 3D mesh to give it
its correct aspect for the game.
The following is the figure of a simple, flat texture for a wall made of bricks:
