Low poly as an art style
This book is primarily about creating low poly models. We’ll be focusing on low poly as an art style—flat-shaded, unsmoothed, minimalistic 3D artwork. Low poly is a clean, simplistic style—but don’t be fooled: it’s often far more complex than you’d expect.
The goal is to embrace the simplicity of an object. To create something with only the required number of polygons. To simplify as much as possible, but not too much. Low poly art is interesting because it is (ideally) a perfect mixture of simplicity and complexity.
We take an extremely simple object and combine it with advanced techniques such as realistic shading, high-resolution rendering, and modern lighting techniques. The result is a visually interesting blend of simplicity and realism.
Figure 2.7 – A low poly mountain scene (created in Blender)
And here’s an even more stylized low poly render: