Blender - Using the Decimate Geometry tool to reduce triangle count on a skinned mesh

Blender's Decimate Geometry tool can reduce the triangle count of a skinned mesh without requiring you to re-skin the mesh afterwards. The mesh decimation is done algorithmically, so the final results usually are not as nice as they would be if a human artist were to reduce the geometry by hand, but it does allow you to reduce your custom avatar mesh to a triangle count supported by Sansar.

Using the Decimate Geometry tool

To use the Decimate Geometry tool while editing a model in Blender:

1. Select the model and switch to Edit Mode.
   

   Select the model and switch to Edit Mode.

2. Select Mesh > Clean up > Decimate Geometry from the bottom menu. A Decimate Geometry options menu appears on the left side.
   

   While the model is selected and in Edit Mode, select Mesh > Clean up > Decimate Geometry.

3. In the Decimate Geometry options, set Ratio to the percentage by which to reduce the triangle count. For example, to divide the triangle count in half, enter 0.5.
   

   In the Decimate Geometry options panel, set Ratio to the percentage by which you would like to reduce the mesh's triangle count. In this example, the triangle count will be reduced by 62%.

4. Save the file and export as an .fbx as described in Exporting custom avatars from Blender.