poly pushing is the essence to good character design.
imagine every polygon as a separate entity that describes your model and you are 99 percent there.
it improves your uv mapping, character design and allows you to control the amount of polys for any level of design.
it also improves your animation, if you can imagine a whole humanoid animated in your mind before you even start, your well ahead of the game.
use your brain, spend the energy to memorize the patterns and muscle layout for better cleaner proportions and easier uv mapping and animation.
