MAX/Photoshop workflow evolving for the future
polycounter lvl 18
The more I see of what's to come in the next gen consoles, I see a change in the way content is made. I see my traditional workflow of MAX/Photoshop needing an overhaul or supplement to adapt and keep up.
I wanted to get some input on what workflows and applications most people are using or learning to meet the demands of next gen console work.
I wanted to get some input on what workflows and applications most people are using or learning to meet the demands of next gen console work.
Replies
Use shortcuts, plan ahead. Art assets should be assets, not simply models and textures. They should be reused as often as possible and modified, rather than starting from scratch. On a big project you not only reuse your own work, but the work of the rest of the team. Why would I build a jacket from scratcg when someone else at work has built a great one already.
There is no magic make art button.
There is no magic make art button.
[/ QUOTE ]
Not sure what your meaning or implying here. I made no hint at doing any such thing, nor do I believe such a thing exists.
I'm not looking for a quick way to do something, I'm asking what artists in the game dev industry have done to modify their workflows to ramp up for the demands of next gen console work. Particularly those that do not have a cinematics background.
if you should get any extras i would seuggest lookin into Zbrush as far as modelling tools and maybe deep pint or some other 3d paint proggie.. But you are still good to go with that killer max/PS combo!
Some things you can work around, but it takes longer. Like painting out seams. Alt-tabbing between PS and Max might work OK for you, but it takes time. Projection paint is much faster, immediate. So I've been using Body Paint 3D for fixing seams.
Some things you can't work around, because it just takes too long. ZBrush is great for organic high-res detailing, Max is not nearly as agile there.
UV relax is another... you can do it in Max via various workarounds (Reactor cloth thing, pass the UVs into verts and use Relax modifier and then pass back to UVs, etc.). But Deep UV is much faster, almost a one click wonder.
Modeling is another. Modo is awesome, so I hear. I haven't been modeling high-res much lately, but another artist here likes it.
Also might help to specialize a bit. Become an expert at a certain part of the pipeline, rather than a jack of all trades. May companies seem to be dividing up the workflow, since there's so much of it, and so many things to learn for each. But here we're a small shop, so we need to wear many hats. Keeps us busy!
http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?t=241000
<sigh> Wish I was at E3 today.
I'm curious what other tools people are using to flesh out their 3ds max pipeline...
My video card may be a problem with next gen workflows, I'm usually using a beefy game card (GeForce 6800 ultra currently). I couldn't imagine trying to build a model with my configuration that exceeded 100-200k polys.
Is the Quattro or FireGL series (or anything else)better for hi-end work? What type of hardware configurations are people using?
Reusing lots of assets is also great. I'm making a library of little widgets/decorative elements as I make high-poly assets, so as time goes on I can build less stuff totally from scratch.
Some scripted tools are increasingly helpfull, such as scripts to automate all this exporting/importing between different apps.