Save file size got huge, is this normal?

Oh, weird! That sure is a sharp jump. Are you able to see how many polygons/faces the scarf is before Blender crashes on you?

Just exercising a thought here: Is Dyntopo turned on while you are sculpting with a Multires modifier on?

Hey Chunck, thanks for being so responsive by the way. I got very frustrated and decided to take a week off. Back now and ready to try and fix this again. I selected all the verts on my scarf and we are at 2028 vert/3887 edge/1860 face/3720 triangles. I have looked into lowering this since you have expressed concern. Do you recommend unsubdivide on sub modifier?

I couldn't find Dyntopo though. I am not sure what that is.

Thanks again!

No worries! Sometimes that is the best strategy, come back to it with a fresh mind. :) Which version of Blender are you using, by the way?

Hm, ok. So that isn't a ton of topology, I don't think you will have to worry about trying to drop your poly count, necessarily.

What I am stumped on is exactly 'why' your file size shoots from 100mb to 1.8gb. To me, this sounds like there may be a moment where a modifier or something else that you may have active in your scene is actually subdividing your mesh exponentially behind-the-scenes, without your knowledge, which may be causing your PC to stutter and freeze up on you. Especially if it is consistent. 

You mention that you select all the verts on your scarf to receive those statistics, so would I be correct to assume that you were selecting everything in "Edit" mode? With your Multi-Res modifier on at the level you normally have it at before it crashes, would you be able to tell me how many verts/faces/tris you have for it in "Object" mode? You may need to isolate it first (with the scarf selected, hit Shift + H), the statistics will be in the same place (bottom right hand corner, and then you can unhide everything again (Alt + H).

I'm wondering if you might need to remove the modifier entirely and bring the scarf back down to its default topology (the amount of polygons that you had from using the Curve object, after you made it a mesh but before adding a modifier), re-apply either a Subdivision Surface modifier or Multi-Res modifier and actually "apply" it, so that when you are sculpting Blender is aware it is using "real" topology.

After some tinkering, I was able to get the file size back to 480mb. It seems to jump up from the 100's when I begin to inflate or do stuff with the cloth filter I think. I also feel like there is something going on with the subdivisions somewhere. It has gotten better but it can still putter out even just moving the camera. 

I was finding those in Edit mode. I tried your method in object mode. I am at 29,760 vert/edges, 7,440 faces, 14,880 triangles. Thanks for telling me how to Shift+H and Alt+H, I didn't know that one.

I am going to tinker and remover to multires mod and see what it does. I am rather sad because I feel like my computer should be able to handle this. Would you mind maybe checking out my build and seeing if there is an upgrade you recommend for helping out with this issue? I am guessing my computer could be the problem as well?

Also, I hope I am not being a huge pain lol but I have one more question atm. I have sculpted my scarf, but when I leave sculpt mode for edit or object the sculpting disappears. It goes back to being the half-tube structure if that makes sense. Any ideas what I am missing here?

Thanks so much for the help so far.

Edit: So I have gone back to the scarf video to try this again. I deleted the Multires and the vert, edges.. etc all went down in value.  I did this in object mode. I notice though that the Multires subdivide from Object mode isn't carrying over to Edit mode, but it does carry to Sculpt mode. So after deleting Multires and then adding again I have:

Edit - verts 2028/edge 3887/faces 1860/triangles 3720

Obj - verts 7775/edge 15214/faces 7440/triangles 14880

Sculpt - verts/edge 29760/ faces 7440/ triangles 14880

Now here is the weird part... my old save file at 480mb has lower counts in obj mode, same in edit and sculpt. My new file with the bigger counts is only 2mb now..  The main difference is I haven't done any sculpting in the new save file.

I will check-in once I have scultped and let you know how the new save file functions. This is all so interesting.

Ya, that was my initial thoughts. If you are simply moving vertices by sculpting, there shouldn't really be an increase in file size, unless somewhere there is something that is actually adding vertices/subdivisions. 

Looking over your specs, I can't say there would be any issues with hardware. Your PC is far beefier than mine even! I'm actually quite stumped at what could be giving you that kind of grief... 🤔

As you are now trying, I would honestly just recommend starting over (as much as that sucks), or at least starting back before modifiers were introduced. I do still think it may have something to do with your mesh being rapidly subdivided without you knowing, I don't see any other real reason from what you've explained as to how your file size bloats so quickly, if all you are doing is moving vertices around. 

For your question: That is actually some functionality of the Multi-Res modifier. You'll notice that there are 3 sliders, for different "modes" you can be in. Object (viewport),  Render (rendered image or exported mesh), and Sculpt. Some modifiers won't preview when in Edit mode, which is why you may be getting varying statistics for how many verts/faces/tris this mesh actually has! As far as I know, Multi-Res is one of these modifiers.

Why the sculpting information seems to disappear in Object mode is because you may have your "Level Viewport" slider set to a lower resolution than you have it for the "Sculpt" mode slider. So while the information isn't actually "gone", Blender is just hiding it for you while you are in other modes. This can be useful if you want to sculpt in high detail, but then move around your viewport fast when in Object mode, since it isn't rendering as many polygons. 

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Let me know how that goes, I am interested to see whether or not your file size shoots up again.

Alright sir, I have a final response. I ended up not going back to a 2mb file, because I really liked how the scarf turned out in one of the 480mb files. So that all ended up working out and running fine. I think there was a combination of subdivisions and cloth movements that bumped up file sizes too much. 

I was also able to find the sliders (I am a noob for this one) and get the detailed scarf to show up in all modes. Thanks for the help here.

I am finished now and I really like how it turned out. You were great at explaining everything and awesome at answering my questions here so thank you again!

Here is my final image if you would like to check it out.

I am a noob fr, so one more question. Do you have a suggestion on where to go from here? I am subscribed so have access to the courses, do you recommend anything in particular? I will keep plugging away regardless. Have a solid evening!

For as much grief the scarf seemed to provide, it turned out amazing! The folds look really organic, you truly nailed it. The enitre composition looks sweet, I am loving your renders. :) Happy to help out, even though the mystery of why your files shot up may never be fully solved. 

That's a great question! There are two courses that come to mind immediately:

Creating a Stylized Forest (https://cgcookie.com/course/creating-a-stylized-forest-with-blender-2-9)

- This one is taught by Kent Trammel, and he does a fantastic job at capturing a an incredibly atmospheric nature scene. It may be out of place for a snowman, but I'm sure there are many tips you could pick up to make a snow-themed one very easily, to give your snowman a backdrop!

Directing the Camera in Blender (https://cgcookie.com/course/directing-the-camera)

- This one is taught by Wayne Dixon, as he does a crazy good job at covering all things camera-related! Once you have a sweet looking backdrop, I'd highly recommend taking a look at some ways you could go even further into showcasing your beautiful scenes and models. You'll learn practical camera techniques to not only take great still-renders, but he will have you moving your camera around and getting some great animated shots as well.

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I can highly recommend those two courses if you want to continue going further with your snowman, or if you even want to just learn new skills that are going to help hone and round out your skills even more! Thank you as well for checking out my course, it's been a pleasure getting to talk to you about the project and to finally see your finished result! :)