Technical questions
Very recently after years of focusing on 2D I decided to get back in to 3D modeling. I remember a few things, but I was never all that advanced to begin with so there is a fair amount I don't know. Some of it I can probably figure out or find tutorials for, but there are a couple questions I'm having a more difficult time finding, or find conflicting answers with every Google search. I was hoping a few of you might be able to help me out.
These are pretty game character centric. I'm sure I'll have environment questions at a later date, but for now assume I'm modeling a human with armor or whatever for use in a game engine.
Meshes: I'm aware that 4 sided polygons are the preferred when it comes to areas you want to bend. Does this mean in other areas it's all right to cut them in to the mesh in order to build the costume? It seems like this shouldn't be a problem, but I wanted to make sure.
Further more, in the interest of saving poly count (ahem) and such, say it would be easier to model a separate object and then just join it to the body object. Is this practice considered fine? Again, it seems like something that shouldn't be an issue since it seems hair is handled much the same way, but double checking here.
Normal maps: I'm aware most programs are going to handle baking and such their own way. I'm using Blender to build my portfolio since I don't have a spare $2k sitting around. The question is are normal maps still mostly used to make an easy detailed surface, or have they expanded beyond that in the few years I've been absent from 3D modeling? At least when I was "current" it seemed like an extremely useful tool to add texture details from a high poly model on to a low, and that was pretty much it.
I attached an image of a base model I have started. I am asking the above because I'd like to carry this one to completion, but wanted to be sure of what is acceptable to build/project when I sculpt this and then use it to make a normal for a low poly. There are still a few areas I am aware need some work such as the hands and chest area, but I figured I'd get the above answered before I move forward.
Thank you for your time. This is my first real post and I hope to be active in this community in the following months while I learn and relearn.
These are pretty game character centric. I'm sure I'll have environment questions at a later date, but for now assume I'm modeling a human with armor or whatever for use in a game engine.
Meshes: I'm aware that 4 sided polygons are the preferred when it comes to areas you want to bend. Does this mean in other areas it's all right to cut them in to the mesh in order to build the costume? It seems like this shouldn't be a problem, but I wanted to make sure.
Further more, in the interest of saving poly count (ahem) and such, say it would be easier to model a separate object and then just join it to the body object. Is this practice considered fine? Again, it seems like something that shouldn't be an issue since it seems hair is handled much the same way, but double checking here.
Normal maps: I'm aware most programs are going to handle baking and such their own way. I'm using Blender to build my portfolio since I don't have a spare $2k sitting around. The question is are normal maps still mostly used to make an easy detailed surface, or have they expanded beyond that in the few years I've been absent from 3D modeling? At least when I was "current" it seemed like an extremely useful tool to add texture details from a high poly model on to a low, and that was pretty much it.
I attached an image of a base model I have started. I am asking the above because I'd like to carry this one to completion, but wanted to be sure of what is acceptable to build/project when I sculpt this and then use it to make a normal for a low poly. There are still a few areas I am aware need some work such as the hands and chest area, but I figured I'd get the above answered before I move forward.
Thank you for your time. This is my first real post and I hope to be active in this community in the following months while I learn and relearn.
Replies
Just fyi.
4-sided polygons: Edge loops are more important than quads, though quads help you select loops when modeling and when weighting to a skeleton. In the end though, all game meshes are rendered as triangles, so it's best to check the triangle layout before export.
Separate objects: Yes, this is fine. Depending on whether the game allows interchangable parts, you can sometimes delete hidden polys behind clothes/accessories, reducing the vertex count (saves memory, better performance sometimes) and reducing overdraw (rendering unseen polygons can be a waste).
It's easier to weight the objects to the same skeleton as the body if the vertices are coincident. If so, then where the objects meet the body they'll conform to the body during animation, because the vertices have the same weights.
Normal maps: Yep, still relevant. Some games are starting to use displacement maps, but that still seems fairly rare. Same basic workflow still applies though, model a highres mesh and bake it.
Base model: Optimal topology depends on the intended use. I put a bunch of resources here: http://wiki.polycount.com/CategoryTopology
I do have another question now. Say I make a high poly and make multiple meshes on top of each other to build the forms. This would mean I'd have the mesh of the body underneath a mesh of a coat or whatever. If I combine all of the meshes in to one object, will it still properly project on to a low res model, or would the extra unseen geometry still somehow mess with the projection?
I'll attach an image of what I have so far. I'm getting within spitting distance of making the low poly to bake the normals on to. Before I do that however I realized I don't know what to do about hair. I'm a big fan of the alpha channeled planes technique. So the question is do I make the hair its own separate object and texture map and parent it to the low poly when that is complete, or is there a way I should begin implementing it on the high poly?
At least the way it used to be was that if you made a UV and then added geometry, the existing UV was wiped out. This wouldn't allow me to make a high poly body, project it, then attach new geometry to the low poly to make the hair planes. So my next logical idea would be that the hair is its own object and is just parented to the mesh. It would look fine, but it would also mean two UVs, three if I make the head a separate object as well.
I guess my question is either if having the separate UVs is fine, or if there is some way of including hair that I am just not aware of. Sorry if I'm being difficult. I find plenty of information on making hair but have had a terrible time tracking down how it's actually implemented on the model unless it's just built right in to the mesh.
edit: Or should I sculpt out the hair on the high poly and then when I make the low poly mesh, just put the hair planes on that? Or is what I'm asking not really making any sense? :-(
I would sculpt the hair on the highpoly if the hairstyle is very "solid" looking. This would be baked into the lowpoly head model, and provide the base shape of the hair. Then you could attach transparent planes to the lowpoly head for a better/softer silhouette.
Usually, transparent bits are stuck on a separate smaller texture, because adding an alpha channel to a large texture can be expensive in memory. Typically the body texture has no alpha, so it can be compressed smaller.
The hair texture can be 1/4 the size, and a separate shader can be used for only the transparent triangles on your model. This reduces the surface area that has to be rendered with alpha blending, improving performance.
Depends on the engine, and hardware. Some work better with one shader for the whole model, instead.
I don't actually know if Blender destroys UV when new geometry is added to a model. I know 3DStudio (2007 or so) used to. On the flip side, I recently tried Cinema 4D and it did allow you to alter a mesh after a UV was made. I would imagine if Cinema 4D can do it, Blender could. Just the same, I have been fooled before.
That should hopefully cover everything I need to know to finish this up. Unless something goes terribly wrong when I project the normal. My money is on the terribly wrong thing.
Thanks again for the patience and info, Eric.