Warhammer Squig 'speed asset'(3-day challenge)
high dynamic range
This was a project I did last weekend.
The goal: create an animated character from scratch, from a single concept image to in-game(UE4), in 3 days.
Day 1 - sculpting in Zbrush(high-poly creation)
Day 2 - retopo/UVs/map baking/texturing
Day 3 - rigging(CatRig)/skinning/animation/in-game
Some breakdowns to follow.....
EDIT - Sketchfabs added below
The goal: create an animated character from scratch, from a single concept image to in-game(UE4), in 3 days.
Day 1 - sculpting in Zbrush(high-poly creation)
Day 2 - retopo/UVs/map baking/texturing
Day 3 - rigging(CatRig)/skinning/animation/in-game
Some breakdowns to follow.....
Replies
Day 1 - Sculpting in Zbrush.
Everything starts in ZB...........usually from a trusty sphere.
'snakehooking' the forms is always the first port of call. Clay Buildup and Dam Standard are then the 90% brushes. Zspheres, custom insert brushes, and dynameshing to augment the sculpt.
The aim here is speed to quality ratio. A trade-off between time spent(avoiding OCD noodling), and passable quality for the final in-game asset.
To be honest the whole project went really smoothly without any headaches. Each stage was completed in a respective day. There was, of course, plenty of back and forth, but I had Zbrush/Max/S Painter and UE4 open at all times and just jumped in and out of each depending on what I was doing/testing.
Day 2 - Retopo/UVs/Baking/Texturing
With the sculpting complete(this is still non-destructive and can be worked on all the way through the pipeline with only the need to re-bake the normal map is necessary) it's on to the next stage: retopology.
In keeping with the search for speed in the pipeline I decided to see how far I could push auto-topology for an organised [animatable/deforming]mesh.
Staying in Zbrush I used Zremesher in conjunction with its localised retopology feature using the topology brush.
Although the result isn't ideal - high vert count and spiral loops - I could make it work and know that it wouldn't be hard to rebuild and optimise if I chose to in future projects. Plus, as character tri/vert counts are constantly on the rise in modern engines this isn't nearly as much of a problem as it used to be.
Here's a video I made recently demonstrating the technique:
Anyway, thanks for posting this, looking forward to Day 3!
Often times, no matter what settings you dial into ZRM or what guide curves you lay down you just can not get concentric spans, which is where this technique comes in. I'll post up the retop breakdowns/thought process.
Day 2 - Retopo/UVs/Baking/Texturing
For UVs I always use a combination of 3dsMax/Headus/Zbrush. Depending on the project I'll use one or the other or all 3. With the Styx plugin jumping back and forth is so painless that it's like having all the tools in a single application.
Day 2 - Retopo/UVs/Baking/Texturing
Baking maps in Substance Painter is about as simple and straightforward as it gets. and because it's synced(MikkT) to UE4(my destination engine) I don't even have to spend time testing it out, I already know it will work.
Plus, for me, working in this way(WYSIWYG) in real-time, in the viewport, saves so much time by not jumping back and forth/importing/exporting. It's the only way to work.
Texturing was a very fast and simple process in Substance Painter: just painting several skin value variation layers and masking between them whilst building up the tones gradually. the same as what I'd usually do painting skin in ZB......but with layers and masks.
And that was day 2.
Day 3 - Rigging(CATRig/Skinning/Animation/In-Engine(UE4)
Day 3 - Animation
As I only had a few hours to complete the animation it is far from polished. Animation usually takes the most time in the pipeline, but I got results that I considered acceptable in the time I had available, as I wanted to stick to my self-imposed deadline.
The cycles I created are: Idle1/Idle2/Walk/Jump/Attack/Taunt/Death
ANIMATIONS
modelthx for sharing your workflow
@fuzzzzzz no problem mate.
Day 3 - In-Engine(UE4)
With everything finally finished it's time to bring the assets into UE4, a very smooth process in comparison to years past.
It's important that the rig doesn't contain multiple hierarchies(root nodes) as UE4 is looking for a single root. I like to export each cycle to its own .fbx file and test them out in Persona using a BlendSpace 1D to check the blending.
Then I import the texture maps and apply them to a new material. It's important to uncheck sRGB in all linear maps(rough, metal, normal) and set roughness to linear colour. UE automatically detects the NM and sets up the gamma/compression on import. Then just plug them in using the packed channels from Painter. (channels can be viewed in UE4 or edited in PS if required)
And the lads 'acting the bollcks' in-engine.......
Hope this breakdown was helpful to beginners, lurkers, or the casual curious on-looker. It bloody better be because it took me longer to do this than the f@@king asset!!
@Lando_Mange thanks man, it's a pleasure.
@amirabd2130 cheers mate, it is based on a Warhammer concept.