Basic Standard for Character Art?
greentooth
I want to become sufficient at sculpting realistic characters. I see people's sculpts, though, and they're crazy good. Photorealistic as hell, pores and all. Way above my current level, though I'm trying.
When it comes to realistic characters, what is the average acceptable level of quality for a character artist wanting to get their first job doing it? If there is such a thing.
Replies
If you only concern is job then there is not answer for your question as I have seen ppl with amazing portfolios getting turn down and ppl with mediocre ones working for big studios so there are a lot more then just how well your art looks
But on any other level if you can make something that can easily walk outside and nobody notice then you have it -> believable humans
Hi! Check out current games, pick characters you like and inspect them thoroughly. Also look for sample characters available for game engines (paragon, adam).
Creating characters for games involves much more steps then just sculpting: Concept/Design, Blockout, Sculpting, Subcategories: Hair/Fur/Fuzz, Clothes, Props, GameResMesh, Rigging and Skinning, Texturing, Shading, Posing and Rendering - that's just what comes to mind right now. Some steps depend on others, some can happen in parallel. Best finish several projects to get an idea of all tasks involved and how they interconnect. Don't expect the first characters to be perfect.
I wouldn't worry too much about skin pores and other small surface detail in the beginning and instead focus on the big shapes. If those are off, all the details and surface definition in the world don't make the model better. When starting out, it can help to cut out the design portion and practise execution/technique by working of references. Anatomy is learned and practised over time. Additional studies on the side, like drawing or analogue modelling, are a good way to improve, while changing things up (aka get away from computer).
Much success!
Oh, I'm well aware of those steps. It's just that sculpting is the one I really want to focus on at the moment. When it comes to the very high level details, it's not them themselves that's important; it's the skill to be able to get to that point. Because, as you say, there's no point in those if the model itself isn't good.
Basically, what I mean is, what is "good enough"? Given the variation in games, it's difficult to tell, so I thought it might be best to just ask people who do those as their job. I'll see if I can find some current ones to check.
Personally, I find it most actionable to chose a specific game and create an asset for it. This way you have a benchmark (does it fit into the game, does it look out of place next to original assets). I think games that have "realistic" visuals do some sort of abstraction/follow a particular art direction (sometimes informed by tech art), so being specific should help.
Could start a thread with a particular project here (target game/references, character abstract, learning goals, wips) and hopefully gather some very specific pointers and feedback.
I'll do that.