Ok in that case we can aim for a realistic volume based base mesh as well.
For a cartoony base mesh I would aim for a much more simplified topology, with generic proportions and no anatomical details. This will likely not work for extreme proportion changes but it can still be a good base to start from.
@1D_Inc My main feedback for the topology of your low poly human is that it relies too much on poles.
The goal shouldn’t be to reach the lowest polycount with the highest possible shape control via the topology.
The goal should be to provide the most basic topology possible with a good base resolution to further subdivide for multires sculpting. Any shape details and control should be done via sculpting, so the topology needs to be malleable to any change.
We might need to ship these volume base meshes with a couple of multires levels to give a good base level of definition. Especially for the realistic one.
Follygon just recently released another ModMesh asset pack, which shows the topology very well:
But even there I’d argue that evenly distributed quads would be best everywhere.