VIDEO GAME CHARACTER MODELING STEPS?
Can anybody give me the rundown on how do a character for a video game. tell me if I'm wrong but basically this is what I thought the process was.
1. model your character.
2. unwrap the uv's
3. first detach the dead and export into zbrush
4. paint it till its fully detailed.
5. use zmapper to get displacement maps.
6. apply the map to max file
7. export the body into zbrush
8. paint it till its fully detailed.
9. use zmapper to get displacement maps.
10.apply map to max file
11. export all the accessories of the character into zbrush
12. paint till fully detailed
13. use zmapper to get displacement maps.
14. apply map to model.
15. then start doing the texture the same way.
is that how to do it? if not can anybody give me the steps how to do it? thanks
1. model your character.
2. unwrap the uv's
3. first detach the dead and export into zbrush
4. paint it till its fully detailed.
5. use zmapper to get displacement maps.
6. apply the map to max file
7. export the body into zbrush
8. paint it till its fully detailed.
9. use zmapper to get displacement maps.
10.apply map to max file
11. export all the accessories of the character into zbrush
12. paint till fully detailed
13. use zmapper to get displacement maps.
14. apply map to model.
15. then start doing the texture the same way.
is that how to do it? if not can anybody give me the steps how to do it? thanks
Replies
It's all up to you as the artist though. As there is really no proper way to do it, but have you're own standard.
Unless you mean normals maps (those RGB, mostly blue maps - not a greyscale heightmap).
CrazyMatt has a good technique too - you shouldn't entirely detail out your character meshes if you're taking them into ZBrush... you can take a fairly un-detailed model into ZBrush, sculpt away to your heart's content until it's finished, then rebuild a new low-poly mesh around the sculpted model, and bake normal maps from the sculpted mesh onto the UVs of this new low-poly mesh.
-Create some quick bones/joints, skin model and test deformations. Refine model if problem arose.
Read Ben Mathis' excellent 4-page tutorial on the steps he uses in 3DS Max and ZBrush to build a normal-mapped character with ZBrush here - http://www.mr-chompers.com/tutorial/normal_workflow.htm
That should answer most of your questions.
Why have an extra pain in the arse stage , when using the zbrush base you can also use this for morph targets.
IMHO if you build the base correctly in the first place it is more than adequate for in game stuff
step 2: ???
step 3: profit.