Little Lost Artist: Introduction and Questions
So, uh... hello! Hopefully this is the right forum to get things started with; no sense getting things off on the wrong tentacle.
I'm a 3D artist who, getting close to the end of his schooling, is working on the whole "standing on your own two feet" thing and focusing forward to getting work doing what I love. The trick, of course, being figuring out what exactly that is, besides just a generic "making video games!". After trying out any number of things I've found that I really enjoy environmental art, but the deeper down the rabbit hole I go the more I realize I'm wading into deep waters. My instructor recommended I come here and just jump in head first, so here goes nothing.
I'm currently working on a big class project; a subway station that I'd like to take from concept to dropping into Unity or UDK and being able to walk around. I've finished the most of my basic modeling, but have run up against a bit of a nasty wall when it comes to UVing and texturing. I have some basic practice in editing UVs, creating tileable textures, and the like, but putting all the concepts together to create polished, packed texture packs has me stymied. I've spent most of today going over threads, tutorials, and guides both here and elsewhere, but I still feel like I have no idea where to even begin. Any advice would be sorely appreciated.
In a more general sense, encompassing workflow throughout a project is something I'd really like to get a better grasp on. I've been a digital painter for a number of years, and the process of working through a painting from gesture/undersketch to basic blocking to shading/textures, all keeping in mind the composition as a whole, has become second nature enough that I don't really think about it anymore. I can't even begin to say the same for 3D projects, and I'd very much like to.
In any case, thanks for your time, and I'm hoping to find a bit of a home here as my work grows and I learn more about... well, everything!
I'm a 3D artist who, getting close to the end of his schooling, is working on the whole "standing on your own two feet" thing and focusing forward to getting work doing what I love. The trick, of course, being figuring out what exactly that is, besides just a generic "making video games!". After trying out any number of things I've found that I really enjoy environmental art, but the deeper down the rabbit hole I go the more I realize I'm wading into deep waters. My instructor recommended I come here and just jump in head first, so here goes nothing.
I'm currently working on a big class project; a subway station that I'd like to take from concept to dropping into Unity or UDK and being able to walk around. I've finished the most of my basic modeling, but have run up against a bit of a nasty wall when it comes to UVing and texturing. I have some basic practice in editing UVs, creating tileable textures, and the like, but putting all the concepts together to create polished, packed texture packs has me stymied. I've spent most of today going over threads, tutorials, and guides both here and elsewhere, but I still feel like I have no idea where to even begin. Any advice would be sorely appreciated.
In a more general sense, encompassing workflow throughout a project is something I'd really like to get a better grasp on. I've been a digital painter for a number of years, and the process of working through a painting from gesture/undersketch to basic blocking to shading/textures, all keeping in mind the composition as a whole, has become second nature enough that I don't really think about it anymore. I can't even begin to say the same for 3D projects, and I'd very much like to.
In any case, thanks for your time, and I'm hoping to find a bit of a home here as my work grows and I learn more about... well, everything!
Replies
http://wiki.polycount.com/TextureCoordinates
http://wiki.polycount.com/3%20Dimensional%20Tutorials/UVW-Mapping
Beyond looking at some of the links contained therein, I'd also suggest posting work as early and often as possible so you can receive feedback on what you're doing right and what you're doing wrong.
Where would be the best place to post work for feedback; the P&P section, the Digital Sketchbook, or the Game Art Workshop? My first guess is P&P (it does have feedback in the title), but the emphasis on "showing off" made me a bit nervous, I suppose. Not that showing off is bad; it just made it feel like more of a "finished work" display area.
Off to the P&P forum I go, then.