What is Retopology?

Simply put, retopology is essentially the process of taking a 3D model with a high poly count and reducing the number of polygons to the smallest number possible to still retain the original shape.

If that sounds confusing, don’t worry, retopology is basically the process of simplifying. I’ve included an article that breaks down 5 tips for helping you improve your retopology, regardless of what software you use.

In addition, there are plenty of awesome tips in further detail over on topologyguides.com so check them out!

First, add a plane into your scene and enable snapping. Next, in edit mode, snap each vertex to the surface of the model that you’re going to retopologize. And then it’s just a matter of extruding that shape over and over until you start to rebuild a lower resolution of your model.

Next, just buckle in for the long haul. It’s not going to be fast. Retopology is going to be a tedious process. Just put on some music and approach it like it’s a puzzle. Just focus on tackling the big shapes and making general pieces come together while keeping your tiles as large as possible without losing detail.

Biggest takeaway:

Start with the biggest, general shapes first.