Polygons, or polys for short, are the pieces that make up a 3D model. They are the shapes that play the important role of the model's foundations and are stitched to each other by vertices and edges in order to make up the final product.
But what exactly does it mean to have a set poly count limit when it comes to professionally creating models for clients? Why do high poly counts mean slower rendering and loading times? I went on a little hunt to find out more about the polygons that make up a 3D animator's life.
This image from Fallingpixel.com is an easy way of demonstrating the difference between low-poly and high-poly models. You can see that the model with a higher count of polygons has an increased level of detail. Lower counts often look blocky and are better used for models that don't have much screen time in an animation or aren't to include much interaction in a game.
If you can find the balance between a good-looking model and a low enough poly count, then it will make matters much easier if importing into other software such as Unity as most programs have a poly limit of some description for each model or set. The image below by Matt Coombe shows that sometimes you don't need to overcomplicate things as with a poly count of 6,707, you can still create a model that looks utterly brilliant and will work much better too. Personally, I prefer the model on the left with the lower poly count as it doesn't seem too "smooth" and "perfected". In fact, there are very few minor differences between the two aesthetically, whereas the difference in polygons is astounding!
