Current Industry Standard workflow for 3D artists??

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  Klunk quad damage

  Dec 4 2025

  blimey that's a broad church..... type of game,  style of game, type of asset, what tools you have, what company you work for and does it  use an in house engine or a commercial offering and does it have a simple to use asset pipeline or some devilishly crazy nut job of one, If you have talent then I wouldn't worry too much on the how, look at what most  the  roles you are looking for are asking for in the way of packages.... the tech guys will fill you in on the how once you've got your foot in the door. Obviously it's nice to understand what the techniques are and how they are used and applied, so you don't look like a complete dunce at the interview    p.s. A lot most of the time companies don't even care what workflow you use as long as it's doesn't require extra tools, is productive and the end product looks good in game.

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  kosh3d greentooth

  Dec 4 2025

  As Klunk already said, workflows will depends on a ton of factors, there is no "standard" workflow that magically works for everything.

  
  

  I made a writeup on a realistic props pipeline a while ago, maybe there is some helpful info for you there: https://polycount.com/discussion/237029/breakdown-of-the-aaa-pipeline-for-game-ready-realistic-hero-props

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  zetheros hero character

  Dec 4 2025

  Since you mentioned hardsurface, I've heard boolean modeling is pretty powerful for hardsurface these days. Frank Polygon's sketchbook is pretty insane https://polycount.com/discussion/221392/sketchbook-frank-polygon#latest
  
  I do a lot of hardsurface, but it's character armour so the workflow is a bit different and I do it mostly in Zbrush

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  dimwalker polycounter lvl 17

  Dec 5 2025

  I think it's still mostly about art looking good.
  No one will put too much effort into researching technical side of your art at early stages. That's what test assignment and trial period are for.

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  poopipe grand marshal polycounter

  Dec 5 2025

  Most large studio workflows are designed to be simple and repeatable because most people are not exceptional. 
  Even something as simple as manually weighting normals is a risky move unless you have a robust review culture. 
  (It can't be tested with tools so you're reliant on people for validation)
  
  Concern yourself with being good at making stuff and knowing how to do things. 
   You'll be told what the pipeline demands when you get there and if you know things you'll be able to do it straight away. 
  
  
  

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  pior grand marshal polycounter

  Dec 8 2025

  To echo some of the above : 
  
  - Be excellent at creating highpoly models, both sculpted and as manually crafted geo
  - Be excellent at creating ingame meshes
  - Be excellent at UVs and baking.
  - Also pick a 3D CAD software like Fusion, Moi3D or Plasticity.
  
  And then things will vary from one project to another. Honestly not much has changed in a while, and we are already years past the singularity point of being limited by details (not in the sense of "we can now put highpoly models in game" ; but in the sense of "anything can be achieved").
  
  I think Marvel Rivals is a great example of taking a decade old workflow (straightforward baking from highpoly) and making it look fresh by leveraging handpainting and effects in a bold way.
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9z0uBUXfX8
  
  
  
  Riot's Arcane does it too : 
  
  
  
  It may not be a new "industry standard" way of doing things, but it is certainly is a new and previously unseen look.
  
  

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