Optimization of CG Models - An Introduction to Computer Graphics for Artists - page 103

Fig. 8.3 The dentils alone in this object have 3,410 triangles. Because of their small size, they may
be replaced with a displacement map, but only if the camera won't get very close to the image

As long as you are consistent in how you do this, the missing edges will not detract
from the quality of the model.
Some programs allow you to set an angle tolerance for ridding yourself of
shallow angles , but these can create diffi cult to undo errors, so their use is cau-
tioned. What these tools can do is highlight which edges are most likely to be lost at
any given angular threshold. If you test it at 200°, 100°, 50°, and 25° you will be
steadily selecting more and more polygons to be fused together and can decide for
yourself which is most optimal.

8.5 Part Detail

Curve detail can be low without affecting the recognizability of an object. This
works particularly well with complex objects built of many smaller parts. If the
parts are the right size and are located in the right position and orientation, they will
resemble your target object even if the individual parts have insuffi cient polygons to
resemble the part they are meant to be (Fig. 8.4 ). Low triangle counts can be very
effective when care is taken to retain all parts required for easy recognition. When
done properly, each part is represented by such a small number of triangles, that it
is almost a 3D pixel instead of a representation of the object itself.
The number of parts in your object is important to control with your object's
end-use in mind. You can easily have an overwhelmingly high number of parts, or
an irritatingly low number of parts, making sections of your object impossible to