Thanks a lot for the tutorial. I have a question about texture atlas padding for mip-map. How should that be handled? I do not see any padding in your example.
Depends on the target hardware though. Normal maps are sometimes better for a mobile game than a high vertex count. A nice example of what's possible. http://karolmiklas.com/gallery_2.html
I don't think they make them for the simple reason that it's impossible to put a jacket on a t-posed mannequin. As an example, try putting on your coat with your arms in a t-pose....:)
I like this very much, maybe you could make the center of the shield more interesting for example the sphere in the middle to pop more or maybe some intricate designs around it.
Yep, that's a good way to look at it. Another example FWIW. I made the grass shorter as it gets closer to the rocky path. Mongrelman, we have an English translation of that on the wiki, if it helps.
Hmm. If you have the time, I'd maybe combine metro interiors. For example, here is NYC's subway interior. I think the bars that curve and stuff are way more interesting.