Pipeline & Tools/2025
Procedural LOD's
A modular tool for Maya that automatically generates multiple Levels of Detail (LODs) from a base mesh, featuring progressive polygon reduction, configurable soft/hard edge processing, and automatic hierarchy organization. Accessible through a custom dockable interface inside Maya.
PythonMaya APIPySide/QTMaya.CMDSAutodesk Maya
Challenges
- Manual LOD creation was repetitive and prone to human error, resulting in inconsistent naming and disorganized hierarchies.
- Reducing polygon count while preserving shading quality and the overall silhouette of lower LODs.
Solutions
- Configurable preset-based pipeline with polyReduce driven by either percentage reduction or triangle budget per LOD level.
- Progressive soft/hard edge processing—LOD0 preserves the original hard edges, while lower LODs automatically apply optimized smoothing.
Results
- Automatic hierarchy generation and standardized naming using configurable prefixes and group structures.
- Reduced the entire LOD0–LOD3 generation workflow to a single "Generate LODs" button click.
/ Gallery
Results of LOD generation with progressive reduction and main UI
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