What is the 'right' workflow in the industry

PolyLove

Hi guys

I have been debating my own personal workflow as ideally iam working towards having a portfolio ready in 7/8 months time to approach studios for environment artist positions.

Ideally up to this point my workflow has been 'Create high-poly -> create
topology -> bake your maps -> texture'

but since Quixel suite has been released, Ive been using NDO to quickly create my normal maps, convert them then to diffuse/occlusion etc maps then of course once iam happy with my texturing I use DDO to spice things up abit!.

In doing this ive became worried in-case this is not the most 'appropriate' way of doing things.

Just wondering if the pro's working in studios out there can give me some
leverage on this particular workflow and if its ok to use within the industry as a professional to speed things up rather than creating highpoly etc?.

I do understand some studios do not have Quixel software etc

Thanks guys!

PolyLove

AdvisableRobin

There is no right workflow...any studio you go to will have a slightly different flow then others. Part of the job is learning to integrate.

So just learn the software and use whatever workflow you want. That being said, creating high-to-low baking pipeline is very common.

instg8r

I'd add that proxy models should be worked in there....I'll make a mid to higher poly proxy that the teams can get in the game ASAP. That way silloutte, etc. can be evaluated and it can get in the game. Updates to it as you complete the low poly and texture work will be easy-peasy. Now you have breathing room for your high poly work, and if you've made your proxy high detail enough, it will be a great base for your in-game low poly. Just my two cents

PolyLove

Thanks for the reply guys much appreciated!

Defo took note!

Dan Powell

Depends completely on the game and art lead's direction. Most AAA stuff will use a workflow similar to the one you described, which is to create the high resolution asset then bake down to the game-ready version.

From there software like nDo can be used to edit in finer Normal details that would lose too much resolution from baking (such as bolts, panels, etc.) nDo is good for giving you strict control over each pixel, whereas baking will be relying on your cage and anti aliasing for example, which are very automatic and don't offer as much control as nDo does.

PolyLove

Awesome thanks for the response Dan . I worked on a asset today which ive uploaded to polycount which was done that exact way