Using a pre-existing model as a reference

DustyShinigami

Hi

I hope this is the right place for this. I figured it is due to it being a place for sharing techniques.

I have a question about something I feel slightly conflicted about. For two projects I'm working on, I managed to find the game models online that, I think, were ripped from the PS4 versions. I've been using them for reference to make my own version. I've been checking them in 3ds Max for measurements, to examine their texture sets, to see their tri count etc.

I've also brought them into ZBrush to help with proportion checks whilst sculpting mine. I might be overthinking things as usual, but on more than one occasion, I've been thinking: is this cheating...? I mean, I've also manually adjusted things by eye, and with one of them, I've taken screenshots and loaded them into Photoshop with paintovers, but, yeah. What do others think? Is it considered cheating? Or is it just another useful tool/resource? Curious what others think.

Thanks

sacboi

Yes, a bit of miss placed thought process going on and no, using ripped content as a guide is not cheating. In fact its' an acknowledged self learning avenue, particularly recommended for those when starting out or deep diving into a specific 'tech' aspect either pipeline / workflow driven. Although as a point of etiquette worth keeping in mind, it's also polite too attribute the original author in terms of inspiration, if published whether personal or commercially targeted i.e. portfolio addition - indie project leveraged potential revenue stream.       

DustyShinigami

Thanks for the reassurance. I'd certainly have no problems acknowledging the original creators. In fact, one creator has already given me a bit of insight into what they used for reference for some areas via ArtStation. The other, sadly, I'm unable to. I did ask one creator, who worked on the same game, who created the piece, but they were unable to reveal who due to still being tied to their NDA.