Steps for modeling for games or/and movies

Bokche

Is there a course/workshops/tutorials in depth where is shown entire process for creating hard surface or characters for games or movies?

I want to know all the steps. Because i don't really understand what to do next after modeling in Maya or sculpting in Zbrush

CompanionCube

http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Polycount
http://eat3d.com/
3dmotive.com
http://www.digitaltutors.com/
www.thegnomonworkshop.com

Brian "Panda" Choi

Are you basically looking for something that covers:

1) Retopologization
2) UV Mapping
3) Baking Maps
4) and Texturing?

Bokche

Yea panda, this is what i am looking for.
I assume retopo is done on sculpted mesh in Zbrush.
After that i am not sure what is coming next and what to do and how.

Brian "Panda" Choi

So assuming you've done ALL your retopologization in ZBrush and it's DONE. (Mind you, you can do it in other packages like Maya 2014 onwards, 3Dcoat, Topogun etc.)

1) UV Unwrapping time. (Google terms: UV Unwrapping + [Whatever 3D package you're using])
- Why are we doing this? Because we need a skin first to start texturing, which baking maps later basically does as well. Think bear pelt. We're making the pelt so we can add skin to the bear.
- Beginner things to keep in mind: Maximize UV space usage! Organize the islands in a SMART and LOGICAL way. Don't give me weird angles that won't jive in a painting programs that DOESN'T have a rotate canvas function.

2) Baking Maps (Google terms: xNormal tutorial)
- First question you have to ask yourself: Are you doing Diffuse, Normal, Specular, or Physicall Based Rendering. Answering those will determine what maps you want to bake.

I'm just going to leave you with that for now.

Also, if you're working on a character right now and need CONTINUOUS help down the line for said character, just start a Pimping and Preview thread so you can get consistent help there in "one" place, instead of parsing out these questions.

Add3r

My general workflow:
1. Maya blockout of model
2. High Poly hard surface model in Maya or sculpt in zbrush (usually just for organic or broken/debris/stone/detailing, etc)
3. Retopo for LP, usually using the Low Poly blockout as a base or starting place if it is a non organic shape, if organic I will use zbrush retopo
4. Unwrap in Maya or HeadusUV (really depends if personal piece, complexity, etc. as I do not have access to Headus at work)
5. Bake in xnormal, sometimes do quick bakes in Maya for specific things like normal map stamps and such for overlaying on my full bakes (bolts and other smaller macro details)
6. Texture in photoshop, sometimes with the help of the quixel suite.
7. Preview in Marmoset or in-house engines as I texture so I am not blindly making changes.

For specific questions about workflows, there is a -shit load- of free tutorials and info on the interwebs and here on Polycount. Also, skim through the WIP threads here on PC and see people's progress, really helps understand the usual difficulties of bringing a piece to the finish line. Also helps bring to light where people struggle, the issues they ran into, etc so you can avoid them.


EDIT: Seems the others have beat me to the punch line, didnt refresh the page.

Bokche

Thank you panda. When i get to character creation, i would start in PAP thread. But now i model just hard surface. Still learning Anatomy and stuff.

Thank you again

For the second question, i would like to create those maps, Diffuse, Normal, Spec,Displacement

Add3r

The maps you described are for the older LDR style workflow, these days we use the PBR workflow using: Albedo, Gloss, Spec, Normal, AO (Could go by different names, depends on engine).

PBR = Physically Based Rendering. Also tons of tutorials on PBR texture creation, baking, etc. Get on that wiki, yo.