[ QUOTE ]
definitely am on the same page here as flewda on the grill being normal mapped. i also think you could get away with normal mapping the back and side windows as the trim really doesn't peel away from the sides and with the extra geo
[/ QUOTE ]
It's always going to look better modeled, in a situation like this, and he definitely has the tris to spare with that 8000 cap.
As for a tiling texture, I really don't understand why you'd want to use one, or what you'd need it for. the 4394938x2048 they gave you already seems like more than enough, especially considering their screenshots' style.
i agree with that suprore, which is why it's so confusing. and on a vehicle like this, i can't really see much use for a tileable texture.
see these are the things they said:
 The condition of the truck isnt pristine, but also isnt a rusty junker. Lets call it well aged.
 The shape of the truck should remain as shown, but the graphics can be modified. Change the name if youd like. We like irreverent humor, but it isnt required. And dont worry about offending us it wont happen.
 We would like to see normal and specular maps where appropriate.
 Maps do not need to exist on a single sheet. In fact, we want to see at least one example of a repeatable texture.
 Ignore the underside of the vehicle and the interior cab. The windows should be opaque with a reflection map.
then they said:
Restrictions and budgets:
 8000 triangles not including the wheels (use your best judgment with them)
 6 x (1024 x 1024) texture budget. Use to create diffuse, normal, and specular maps. Again, dont use a single sheet for your maps. This is a budget; its not to dictate map sizes.
 A reflection map can be used and is not included in the texture budget. Use your discretion.
With the polys you have left I would model in the edges of the doors, where they meet the body or each other in the case of the back ones (unless you were planning to normal map that). They appear to have those modelled in in the images you've shown (of course the doors may be seperate it they can open, or they have an interior, but the door edges are visible either way). And I'd still join the one side window to the other so you can see right through the vehicle (that's not modelling an interior, since the interior would be textured flat black - it would look just like the concept.
Jec1183 asked why you don't normal map the trim. I can give a couple of reasons why it shouldn't be purely normal mapped. Firstly the transision between the trim and the surrounding plain is going to be sharper if it's modelled than if it's mapped, secondly you then have a nice seam there so you can switch materials for the trim easily - chrome or rubber or whatever you wan the trim to be. Again, this is in keeping with the apparent style shown in the images from the game.
Hawken makes some good points about adding additional detail, and he's both right and wrong in this instance. 8000 is a pretty high budget for such a simple vehicle even if you include an interior, underside and the wheels. Without those it's a pretty massive budget, and ordinarily some sort of additional cutting for damage would be worth while. Except they didn't ask for that, and the screenshots don't seen to be showing any damage to the vehicles, so could be they specifically don't want that. One place he's wrong, to a degree (at least regarding this particular style), is about modelling fancy details. It's an icecream truck - once the potential damage, wheels, underside and interior are taken out of the equation it is in fact a box, with fancy details.
That's not to say I don't agre with him about doing an interior and little cone details that can fly around and an underside and doors and a hood that work and so on, but they didn't ask for that, and on the strength of the screens you posted for the game they don't want that. Sadly you're just as likely going to fail an art test for giving them more than they want as you are for giving them less, since it's not only a test of how good you are, or how well you can adhere to a budget, but also of how well you can follow instructions.
/Edit/ Just read you last post, and I note they say repeatable texture, not tiling. Not necessarily the same thing. Tiling is where you have a relatively small texture that is repeatable when tiled over a large area. repeatable could just mean that you take one part of the texture and reuse it elsewhere. Take the bumpers for example - you could use the same texture on both the front and back bumpers and that texture is now repeatable. I'm not saying that's what they mean - they might literally mean "tiling", but it is another way to look at it.
my plan was to normal map the "doors" as far as the trim and where they open and stuff are compared to the body of the truck, but it might look better to just model them on.
i see what you're saying about the inside. i was worried about joining the 2 windows and just painting the interior black, because i didn't know if that'd look retarded or not.
and yea. i want to show that i can make a nice looking ice cream truck, and still follow the instructions.
in fact, harlequin, i'm actually worried about putting too much detail into my texture maps. going off those images in the screens i posted, the vehicles don't seem to have much detail in the textures, which makes me worry about making my truck have all kinds of dents and scratches and paint chips and stuff, considering.
i just got off a 12 hour shift from work, but i can't sleep. i'm so focused on this project that it's driving me nuts, i couldn't sleep if i wanted to.
i am very willing to make changes where they need to be made, and want to make the best of the test i have, so i want to make sure everything is perfect, but at the same time, i worry about myself. by asking all these questions over and over again, i wonder if i'll be a burden should something come up on the job (if i were to get it) that i couldn't figure out.
i guess what that rambling was, was that i want to make sure i can figure things out on my own, but still get feedback on things i need to fix. i just don't want to get a job and not be ready, but i know i'm ready. i've been ready since i was 10.
anyway enough rambling. i'm going to fix those modeling changes.
OH! a very big question i had. UVing. i know you have to uv smart, but do you have to uv pretty? i like to flatten my uvs out, and i know what they are after they are flattened, but someone walking up behind me, wouldn't be able to tell what it was based on the UV shape. is that a bad thing, as long as the texture looks great?
edit: just read your edit, and i see what you're saying. i thought it was odd myself, because i've always thought of tiling textures for buildings and stuff like that, not necessarily something as small (maybe not the right term) as a vehicle.
If you get the job, and then you have questions regarding stylistic type things, you can ask somebody, preferably the lead vehicle artist, or the art director. They'll expect it - even if you'd been in the industry for years they'd still expect questions from someone new to their project because every project is different, and you're not required to be psychic
I would add some detail in the texture, even though there isn't that much in the actual game - you do want to show that you can work to order remember, and they did ask for it to look well aged, which it won't if you paint it flat white (or actually flat light grey, flat white would be a bad idea, I'll let you work out why ). The trick will be keeping to their established style, while adding that little bit extra. Wouldn't be much of a challenge if there wasn't some interpritation required.
And nobody gives two figs about how your unwrapping looks when it's flat, as long as it doesn't waste a lot of space. Working out which bit of a vehicle is unwrapped where will likely be tricky for you, let alone some other poor bugger who's looking over your shoulder. When you ship the game all people will see is the model with the texture applied - how that looks behind the scenes is completely irrelevant to anyone but you (as long as you don't hide any tits and ass in the blank spaces...).
Hawken makes some good points about adding additional detail, and he's both right and wrong in this instance. 8000 is a pretty high budget for such a simple vehicle even if you include an interior, underside and the wheels. Without those it's a pretty massive budget, and ordinarily some sort of additional cutting for damage would be worth while. Except they didn't ask for that, and the screenshots don't seen to be showing any damage to the vehicles, so could be they specifically don't want that. One place he's wrong, to a degree (at least regarding this particular style), is about modelling fancy details. It's an icecream truck - once the potential damage, wheels, underside and interior are taken out of the equation it is in fact a box, with fancy details.
[/ QUOTE ]
I guess I was reading from the stance of what I would want to see from applicants. For me it would be more about what they do with the budget (creatively) and not about getting a truck any art drone can make. Anyway.
My only other advice for art tests is make that shit fast!!
The longer you leave it, ask questions on forums etc, the longer it is from them asking you to make a sample and them actually receiving it. In which time X amount of other people are sending in their junk.
With regards to the quality aspect (giving them more than they ask for), that's what your portfolio is generally for - an art test is often a misnomer, it's not so much testing your art as it is testing your potential to create good work under pressure, to a set of guidelines and constraints.
I've never heard of someone being regected from a job for doing more than was asked (as long as the quality was there), but it's not doing yourself the favour you'd think it would be doing. On the times I've interviewed those who've had an art test they didn't stick to, one of my first questions is "why didn't you give us what we asked for?" The answer can say a lot about a person and the position they might end up with.
Unfortunately 99% of the work in the industry is for art drones to some degree or other. A portfolio piece shows off how good you can be, an Art Test is intended to show how good you are while doing what you're you're told. 's why one of my first questions was "do you have a portfolio?" Not that I got an answer to that one
it all makes sense. i really just want to do the best of both worlds. i want to make my test look great and show off details and stuff, but i also want to do what they want in order to show i'm perfectly suited for the game they are creating.
i'm almost done uv mapping. i have 2 more things to uv map and then i can start my maps.
i just got off a 12 hour shift too, so i'm disgustingly tired.
I appreciate all the comments though, i'm glad it's still going strong. i hope that by having others look at it, as well as my self, i'm able to make the test the best i can make it and land the job, which would just be amazing.
Harlequin: oh wow i just noticed that you had asked me for a portfolio when you first posted in this thread. i'm sorry. i missed that part of your post
In the hypershade window scroll down through your "Create Maya Nodes" bar on the left of the window until you get to a closed submenu titled "Env Textures" click the one you want to use (based on what your reflection map is), then connect it to your Blinn materials "reflected color" attribute. When you've done that double click the Environment node you created and then click "image" and select the file that you're using as your reflection/environment map.
thank you illusions. i'm posting from work right now, so i don't have any of my images, but i finished the art test and turned it in on the final day. looking back on it, there's little things on the textures i wish i had added, but i guess everyone thinks that about their work after it's done.
As soon as I can post a final image i will. Thanks to everyone who checked out my wip and gave me advice and crits. It was super appreciated. I love this community and the advice/knowledge that comes from it.
Replies
definitely am on the same page here as flewda on the grill being normal mapped. i also think you could get away with normal mapping the back and side windows as the trim really doesn't peel away from the sides and with the extra geo
[/ QUOTE ]
It's always going to look better modeled, in a situation like this, and he definitely has the tris to spare with that 8000 cap.
As for a tiling texture, I really don't understand why you'd want to use one, or what you'd need it for. the 4394938x2048 they gave you already seems like more than enough, especially considering their screenshots' style.
see these are the things they said:
 The condition of the truck isnt pristine, but also isnt a rusty junker. Lets call it well aged.
 The shape of the truck should remain as shown, but the graphics can be modified. Change the name if youd like. We like irreverent humor, but it isnt required. And dont worry about offending us it wont happen.
 We would like to see normal and specular maps where appropriate.
 Maps do not need to exist on a single sheet. In fact, we want to see at least one example of a repeatable texture.
 Ignore the underside of the vehicle and the interior cab. The windows should be opaque with a reflection map.
then they said:
Restrictions and budgets:
 8000 triangles not including the wheels (use your best judgment with them)
 6 x (1024 x 1024) texture budget. Use to create diffuse, normal, and specular maps. Again, dont use a single sheet for your maps. This is a budget; its not to dictate map sizes.
 A reflection map can be used and is not included in the texture budget. Use your discretion.
so it's kind of back and forth.
Jec1183 asked why you don't normal map the trim. I can give a couple of reasons why it shouldn't be purely normal mapped. Firstly the transision between the trim and the surrounding plain is going to be sharper if it's modelled than if it's mapped, secondly you then have a nice seam there so you can switch materials for the trim easily - chrome or rubber or whatever you wan the trim to be. Again, this is in keeping with the apparent style shown in the images from the game.
Hawken makes some good points about adding additional detail, and he's both right and wrong in this instance. 8000 is a pretty high budget for such a simple vehicle even if you include an interior, underside and the wheels. Without those it's a pretty massive budget, and ordinarily some sort of additional cutting for damage would be worth while. Except they didn't ask for that, and the screenshots don't seen to be showing any damage to the vehicles, so could be they specifically don't want that. One place he's wrong, to a degree (at least regarding this particular style), is about modelling fancy details. It's an icecream truck - once the potential damage, wheels, underside and interior are taken out of the equation it is in fact a box, with fancy details.
That's not to say I don't agre with him about doing an interior and little cone details that can fly around and an underside and doors and a hood that work and so on, but they didn't ask for that, and on the strength of the screens you posted for the game they don't want that. Sadly you're just as likely going to fail an art test for giving them more than they want as you are for giving them less, since it's not only a test of how good you are, or how well you can adhere to a budget, but also of how well you can follow instructions.
/Edit/ Just read you last post, and I note they say repeatable texture, not tiling. Not necessarily the same thing. Tiling is where you have a relatively small texture that is repeatable when tiled over a large area. repeatable could just mean that you take one part of the texture and reuse it elsewhere. Take the bumpers for example - you could use the same texture on both the front and back bumpers and that texture is now repeatable. I'm not saying that's what they mean - they might literally mean "tiling", but it is another way to look at it.
i see what you're saying about the inside. i was worried about joining the 2 windows and just painting the interior black, because i didn't know if that'd look retarded or not.
and yea. i want to show that i can make a nice looking ice cream truck, and still follow the instructions.
in fact, harlequin, i'm actually worried about putting too much detail into my texture maps. going off those images in the screens i posted, the vehicles don't seem to have much detail in the textures, which makes me worry about making my truck have all kinds of dents and scratches and paint chips and stuff, considering.
i just got off a 12 hour shift from work, but i can't sleep. i'm so focused on this project that it's driving me nuts, i couldn't sleep if i wanted to.
i am very willing to make changes where they need to be made, and want to make the best of the test i have, so i want to make sure everything is perfect, but at the same time, i worry about myself. by asking all these questions over and over again, i wonder if i'll be a burden should something come up on the job (if i were to get it) that i couldn't figure out.
i guess what that rambling was, was that i want to make sure i can figure things out on my own, but still get feedback on things i need to fix. i just don't want to get a job and not be ready, but i know i'm ready. i've been ready since i was 10.
anyway enough rambling. i'm going to fix those modeling changes.
OH! a very big question i had. UVing. i know you have to uv smart, but do you have to uv pretty? i like to flatten my uvs out, and i know what they are after they are flattened, but someone walking up behind me, wouldn't be able to tell what it was based on the UV shape. is that a bad thing, as long as the texture looks great?
edit: just read your edit, and i see what you're saying. i thought it was odd myself, because i've always thought of tiling textures for buildings and stuff like that, not necessarily something as small (maybe not the right term) as a vehicle.
Ice Cream Truck Wip 4
I would add some detail in the texture, even though there isn't that much in the actual game - you do want to show that you can work to order remember, and they did ask for it to look well aged, which it won't if you paint it flat white (or actually flat light grey, flat white would be a bad idea, I'll let you work out why
And nobody gives two figs about how your unwrapping looks when it's flat, as long as it doesn't waste a lot of space. Working out which bit of a vehicle is unwrapped where will likely be tricky for you, let alone some other poor bugger who's looking over your shoulder. When you ship the game all people will see is the model with the texture applied - how that looks behind the scenes is completely irrelevant to anyone but you (as long as you don't hide any tits and ass in the blank spaces...).
Hawken makes some good points about adding additional detail, and he's both right and wrong in this instance. 8000 is a pretty high budget for such a simple vehicle even if you include an interior, underside and the wheels. Without those it's a pretty massive budget, and ordinarily some sort of additional cutting for damage would be worth while. Except they didn't ask for that, and the screenshots don't seen to be showing any damage to the vehicles, so could be they specifically don't want that. One place he's wrong, to a degree (at least regarding this particular style), is about modelling fancy details. It's an icecream truck - once the potential damage, wheels, underside and interior are taken out of the equation it is in fact a box, with fancy details.
[/ QUOTE ]
I guess I was reading from the stance of what I would want to see from applicants. For me it would be more about what they do with the budget (creatively) and not about getting a truck any art drone can make. Anyway.
My only other advice for art tests is make that shit fast!!
The longer you leave it, ask questions on forums etc, the longer it is from them asking you to make a sample and them actually receiving it. In which time X amount of other people are sending in their junk.
With regards to the quality aspect (giving them more than they ask for), that's what your portfolio is generally for - an art test is often a misnomer, it's not so much testing your art as it is testing your potential to create good work under pressure, to a set of guidelines and constraints.
I've never heard of someone being regected from a job for doing more than was asked (as long as the quality was there), but it's not doing yourself the favour you'd think it would be doing. On the times I've interviewed those who've had an art test they didn't stick to, one of my first questions is "why didn't you give us what we asked for?" The answer can say a lot about a person and the position they might end up with.
Unfortunately 99% of the work in the industry is for art drones to some degree or other. A portfolio piece shows off how good you can be, an Art Test is intended to show how good you are while doing what you're you're told. 's why one of my first questions was "do you have a portfolio?" Not that I got an answer to that one
i'm almost done uv mapping. i have 2 more things to uv map and then i can start my maps.
i just got off a 12 hour shift too, so i'm disgustingly tired.
I appreciate all the comments though, i'm glad it's still going strong. i hope that by having others look at it, as well as my self, i'm able to make the test the best i can make it and land the job, which would just be amazing.
here's hoping!
yes, i do. it's www.themindofmaddness.com/news.html
sorry about that.
here's what i have so far, obviously i've really only worked on the body of the truck and put some base color in for the cherry/whipped cream.
i've still got some details to add the body, as far as it's main texture, but i wanted to get everyone's opinion/thoughts.
Ice Cream Truck Wip5
As soon as I can post a final image i will. Thanks to everyone who checked out my wip and gave me advice and crits. It was super appreciated. I love this community and the advice/knowledge that comes from it.
- Mike