Figure 4.5 - Subdivision settings

What will determine the smoothness of your model is a combination of

the subdivision count and algorithm. At the top, you will see two

smoothing algorithms:

Catmull-Clark: If you want a full smoothing of your model with

rounded shapes, you should use this method.

Simple: For projects where you want only new faces and divisions

but no smoothing, you can use the simple option.

The level of subdivisions shows unique values for smoothing objects in

the Viewport and Render. Usually, you will use a lower value for the

Viewport and a higher level for the Render. The reason is that a model

with a high level of subdivisions may add a significant computational

load to your system.

With a high level or subdivisions, you might experience some common

operations delays like changing the zoom and even swapping between

Object and Edit Modes. Depending on the value and number of

smoothed objects, you can even crash Blender.

A value of two for the 3D Viewport and three for Render usually shows

great results for most 3D Models. Unless you have a project requiring

more subdivisions, always use two for the viewport and three for render.

In Figure 4.6, you can see the difference between using one and three

for subdivisions.