Reducing the number of vertices in a mesh is a problem that if solved correctly can save the user a lot of time in the entire process of handling the model. Most of the solutions today are focused on reducing the mesh in one big step by running a separate application. The goal of this implementation is to bring the reduction application into the users workspace as a plugin. Many of the modellers in the various computer graphics industries use Autodesk Maya the plugins intention is to create a efficient tool which also give the modellers as much freedom as possible without the need to ever leave Mayas workspace. During the process the possible issues and solutions of creating this tool in Maya will also examined to help introduce the process of creating a tool for Maya. This plugin has the potential to improve on the existing reduction tool in Maya by giving the user more options and a more exact solution.

To decrease the rendering time of a mesh, Level of Detail can be generated by reducing the number of polygons based on some geometrical error. While this works well for most meshes, it is not suitable for meshes with an associated texture atlas. By iteratively collapsing edges based on an extended version of Quadric Error Metric taking both spatial and texture coordinates into account, textured meshes can also be simplified. Results show that constraining edge collapses in the seams of a mesh give poor geometrical appearance when it is reduced to a few polygons. By allowing seam edge collapses and by using a pull-push algorithm to fill areas located outside the seam borders of the texture atlas, the appearance of the mesh is better preserved.