Low Poly Modeling

Start with the silhouette because it is the part players recognize first and the part no texture can fix. A low poly tree canopy, sword blade, car roof or character hair shape should read clearly in flat gray before any color is added. Spend triangles on the outer profile and moving joints, then remove internal faces the camera never sees. Static props for mobile and WebGL often sit around 200 to 800 triangles, hero props around 1k to 5k, and stylized characters around 5k to 20k depending on animation and camera distance.

Flat shading is a modeling decision as much as a material decision. Mark hard edges intentionally, split normals where a faceted plane should stay crisp, and avoid accidental smoothing that makes a low poly object look melted. Bevels can be useful, but a bevel that adds three loops around every edge can double the triangle count fast. On hard-surface props, use a few strategic bevels on silhouette edges and fake the rest with baked normals or color gradients.

Materials determine whether the model stays performant after it looks good. A practical low poly asset usually uses one material and one 512 to 1024px atlas for props, with colors, gradients and AO baked into the texture. Every additional material slot is a potential draw call, especially in WebGL and mobile scenes. If a kit shares one palette atlas, dozens of props can batch together far better than the same props with unique textures.

Finish by preparing the model for use, not just for screenshots. Put the origin where placement needs it, usually at the base for props and characters, apply transforms, name objects and materials clearly, add simple collision shapes, and export the right format. GLB is the default for web, Godot and AR; FBX is safer for Unity and Unreal; STL is only for printing. A model is game-ready when scale, pivots, normals, UVs, triangle count and material count all survive import.