Beginner Environment Artist Looking for Tips

KStew

Hello all!

I am a newcomer to... well, everything game art, really.  I am hoping to break into environmental art in the game industry.  I've only done a bit of 3D work with 3DS Max, and I've worked a decent amount in Unreal Engine, creating small and simple game levels using the assets available in the engine.  I'm actually a student right now for Game Programming and Development, but as I proceeded through all the programming classes I realized that it wasn't really for me.  The class that I took on 3D modeling, though, was the most fun I had while getting to the end of my degree, along with some other design-related courses.

Basically, I'm hoping for ideas on how to get started.  What programs do you all recommend?  I've noticed, as I look over job openings for Environment Art and other 3D art positions, Maya seems to be the program of choice.  Why is it more popular than 3DS Max?  Where do you recommend I start in creating game assets?  Should I jump right into creating an environment, or start with smaller asset models such as weapons or crates and so on?  I'm not particularly interested in character art, but I'm willing to work toward it if having an expanded repertoire will assist me in finding a job with any studio.  What kind of details do studios look for in an environment art portfolio?

Any tips and tools that you would recommend, I would really like to hear about!

Sorry for the wall of text.  I've included some photo's below of what little 3D work I have done (keep in mind, these were all created in a single week, to fulfill a course requirement), and an image of the scene that I hope to create as my first environment.


(All created in 3DS Max)


This is the first scene I hope to create, and is my current focus.  It seems like it could be simple enough for a beginner like myself to create.  Let me know what you think!

Ashervisalis

I would really suggest, before creating entire scenes, try to get good at creating single, high quality props. Doing an entire scene will make you want to rush the props, and right now you need to learn how to model single things so they look great.

Brian "Panda" Choi

Make a high quality prop first.  Since environments involve a construction of large and small props, it'll be easier conceptually to focus on a single, well made asset.

Looking at your work right now, I think you immediately need to understand the following:

1) What is Physically Based Rendering, and how do you make PBR ready assets?
2) How to bake normal maps (and other maps like ambient occlusion) from High Poly models onto Low Poly models.
3) What is the Allegorithmic Substance Designer and Subsstance Painter softwares and what do they do? 
4) What is Marmoset Toolbag 3 and what does it do?
5) What is Quixel Suite and what does it do?
6) What is real time rendering and why is it different and needed for video games?

Maya is more prominent than Max most likely because of its prevalence in the VFX industry, and that eventually spilled over into game development.  I personally use Modo because, out of the box, it just makes modeling a LOT more easier across the board.  I would personally recommend learning Modo, but if you're planning on dabbling in aniamtion at all, Maya will be a solid thing to start in.  And I started in Maya originally.

Environment art portfolios will range for many students.  Some focus on material creations, others focus on world building.  Whatever you do, just make sure it's the best work you can possible do AND it's something other people and you can see being inside an existing (or future) game.

Larry

All of the above these guys said are true. You need to learn how to make good assets before jumping to a scene, but you can always try. From what I see the scene tou chose is rather easy to block out so you can propably do that. But in order for it to look good, you need to have good materials. Substance designer is the program you need to be good at if you want to recreate that particular scene. 3ds max is technically faster than maya in terms of modeling but studios use maya for animation and decent modeling. Dont forget that both maya and 3ds are from autodesk.

The programs you need to learn for this industry are
A modeling program (3ds max,maya,modo,and blender which is free)
A sculpting program(Zbrush preferably but mudbox is fine as well and more beginner friendly)
A baking program that suits you(tons of choices, zbrush mudbox xnormal substance painter marmoset 3ds max,I go with xnornal for now, simple and free)
A game engine in your case unreal.
And a main skill you need to have as an environmental artist is your texture creation so you propably need to learn substance designer,ue4 materials and blueprints, and decent photoshop skills to tweak your textures.

KStew

Wow, thanks for the responses!  I really appreciate getting ideas on where to start.  It seems like I have a lot to learn to get started, but I'm excited to dive in.  I figured that singular asset creation would likely be the most recommended starting place, but I wanted to throw my first scene choice in for good measure.  I hate to admit it, but I really don't have any experience creating textures, so I'm definitely going to have to focus on that for a while as I get started.

Thank you!

JordanN

Even though you have a lot of practice to go before creating your first environment, there's nothing stopping you from trying your hand at doing blockouts. 

Unreal Engine 4 comes with free default assets. You can try creating a room using some pre-included table and chair content. Or you can try your hand at using the landscape tool and build an experimental outdoor environment.

You can use this opportunity to get an understanding of proportions. Because even when you're done making your first props, it's important you model your objects with a correct sense of scale and harmony so they don't look out of place when you put them into a scene.