Today I started the Art Creation for Games course, which aims to "provide students with a strong knowledge of the way real time 3D content is modeled and textured. Students develop game models of simple and complex props, foliage, and various game environments. In addition to modeling, students paint color, generate normal maps, and specular maps for created geometry. Special attention will be paid to the creation of clean and optimized models for use in games." (Full Sail University 2014 Course Catalog).
Lesson 1 covered the industry pipeline. We discussed the various software used in art creation for video games, terminology, concepts of game modeling, and culling. The first assignment for the course involved working with a reference image of a Mame arcade table.
I took the image into Photoshop to create a breakdown of the object. This allowed me to identify various components of the object and determine what assets could be reused throughout the model to increase efficiency.
I then proceeded to Maya to block-out the mesh. I utilized the breakdown and reference image as the foundation for my mesh in Maya. I also imported a human mesh provided to use as a standard for the size and proportions of my arcade table. This human mesh represented the proper scaling used in Unreal Engine 4.
After completing my block-out, I duplicated my mesh to begin modeling the in-game mesh. I took my duplicated block-out mesh and proceeded to add secondary and tertiary details while consulting my references. I duplicated objects that could be reused throughout the mesh such as the joysticks and control buttons.
This was a quick build, and the project was done during a three hour lab. I learned quite a bit about the pipeline of video game art creation and was able to implement a lot of the techniques taught.
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