Detail on Polygonal objects requires more faces. As face count increases, 3D programs performance begins to degrade. Do not worry, though! On a decent workstation, it takes thousands of faces to notice any degradation in performance.
It just means that you will have to be careful when building geometry. A common mistake for beginning animators is to build everything with high detail. As you will discover, it is not always necessary to model everything with lots of detail. There are many workarounds and short cuts for designing a great looking scene without all the extra detail.
Along the lines of the detail problem is the ability to edit detailed models. Due to the large number of faces in detailed areas of a Polygonal model, making small changes can often be a significant challenge. Even with all of the 3D programs selection tools and editing capabilities, you will find that getting into the nooks and crannies of a detailed mesh can be tough.
Patch Modeling: Patches, short for Bezier patches, represent another surface modeling technology available in the 3D programs. Rather than being constructed from faces, patches are defined by their boundaries. This means that the locations of the boundaries exist and how they are oriented control the interior of the patch.
The interior of the patch is governed by the Bezier technology. Bezier technology allows for smooth areas within the interior of the patch. Across the patch is a series of interconnecting points called a Lattice. The position of the Lattice points define the curvature of the surface. Although the Lattice is itself not editable without applying an Edit Patch modifier, it allows you to see the way a patch is constructed rather easily.
Dan has been writing articles for nearly 4 years. Come visit his latest website over at http://clickergaragedooropener.info which helps people find the best Clicker Garage Door Opener and information they are looking on Garage Door Accessories Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/software-articles/some-considerations-on-polygonal-modeling-1402942.html