MODELLING CONCEPTS
Weight of geometry.
Another vague area of subdivision surface modelling. We want to describe the shapes we make in the most efficient way possible and this means using the fewest vertices we can to describe our shapes.
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However "fewest" can be determined by a lot of other considerations. The distances at which an object might reasonably be viewed or rendered, The amount of underlying detail which you would like to have modelled rather than texture driven, The amount of distortion it will endure with rigs, cloth and various deformers and the desired subdivision level within a scene.
There are many things which can help you to decide on how light you can make your cage but you should always strive to make it as light as possible to describe your shapes. The subdivision surface modifier is much better at curving topology than we are as humans. and the less weight of gemoetry it has to work with, the better a job it will do.
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How responsive a scene is when lighting, animating and blocking out a scene is an incredibly important consideration in CG. Every effort should be made to ensure every single model is as light as is reasonable.
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