What is "clean" topology?

Support Modeling
1

I have a task to model a pouf. Some general requirements for this model: model should have no more than 15,000 polygons, and clean model topology.

I did a high poly pouf model and now i need to retopologize it. I’ll show you upper part of the model.

I have a few questions.
Can i call it a clean topology?

Is it good to separate parts of the model, or should i make them as one object?
is it bad to have holes like that if they are not visible?

Should i triangulate mesh before exporting it to substance painter for baking maps and texturing, or having triangles is bad?

2

That’s not enough information to answer neither of those questions. The model structure can fulfil many requirements

  • The end use (still image, animation, game engine, 3D printing, other)
  • support for other pipeline stages: material/texture boundary, UV mapping, deformation
  • density
  • support for subdivision surfaces
  • form

in that order.

If the maps you’re baking requires that the underlying geometry doesn’t change, you should triangulate before baking. Normal map is one of those.

Clean topology, without seeing the forms well enough nor knowing the requirements, can mean many things; Usually it means quadrilateral faces all over, because quad faces have a direction, which gives readable flow for the things listed above. Many other flavour of clean comes from that, like easy manipulation afterwards. That doesn’t mean it has to have 100% quads though.

This one lists many general requirements for clean, and the exceptions
https://www.turbosquid.com/3d-modeling/checkmate/checkmate-specifications/checkmate-pro-specification/

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3

Thanks for your answer. I dont know the end use of this model, but i can show full list of requirements. Maybe it will give some more information.

Image5

4

IMHO the originator of that list either has a clearly detailed definition of what “clean model topology” means for their purposes and will provide it on request, or this has been left deliberately ambiguous as part of a scam (once you submit your work they’ll claim the topology’s not clean as an excuse not to compensate you). Ask them – if you get back any variation on “Competent modelers know what clean topology is, it’s not our job to educate you” then you’re being played.

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5

This is for the CG Trader Freelance thing. I was working on the exact same thing a few days ago. All I got was a message saying to try again in the future.

So I do agree with what @KickAir_8P said, it seems kind of shady.

6

Without trying to speculate what “they” might mean by the term, and/or why they might be saying it, to me a topology is “clean” when it is very easy to rig it. And, the “cleanliness” of the topology is therefore “joined at the hip” to that rigging plan, whatever it is.

Ordinarily, rigging is done with armatures that affect specified vertex-groups, thus influcing the movement of vertices within each group. So, as the armature moves through its entire intended range of movement, the repositioning of those vertices which will actually be in view ought to be good-looking. These considerations are not merely cosmetic – they can cause problems later.

Some considerations are perfunctory: doubles are removed, surface normals are consistent, unnecessary vertices and faces (inevitably left-over from your efforts to get the model “just right”) should be sought out and removed.

To me it’s also very important to actually rig the model as soon as possible, and then to do some realistic rigging tests where you animate the armature across full range-of-movement and arrange for the camera to move around to look at the thing from every angle that will matter in the show.

(Modeling that will never be visible “in the show” … doesn’t even have to exist.)

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