Prop Creation

1. Overview

2. High Resolution Model Construction

3. Low Resolution Model Construction

4. Texture Baking

5. Texturing

6. Prop Test

7. Sample Files and Links

Overview:

The artwork on STO needs to be disgustingly good. Other artists should look at it and get queasy because of its sheer awesomeness. It should make you giggle. Go big, or go home and I mean that in the most fun way possible…but really.

Of course, we have to make it fast (there's always a catch). In the following pages we get a lot more specific about how we are attacking this and we outline our process. All of this work is a collection of the discoveries made by the art team and by our outsourcers.

The general theme is, make high resolution models as fast as possible. We then bake out useful texture maps to speed texture creation. The only way to push this pipeline and the aesthetic it gives us is to make it sustainable. That means making it fast. That's our job. Once a high resolution asset is built, baked and realtimed, it's 80% done. There is a good example of this on the texture baking page.

Below we refer to the “texture artist” and the “modeler”. If you're a rock star, this is probably you the whole way through. We break the disciplines like this because it makes sense to us. Also, if someone's strong point is textures and another's is modeling, it makes sense to have them focus on that discipline and hand off assets at that point.

Software Used:

We use Maya, Z-Brush 3 (the only version), Turtle for texture baking, NEX Tools for Maya to speed modeling, Headus UV to speed UV layout and of course PhotoShop.

The Workflow:

1. Look at the concept art, spec sheet and stub files for inspiration, poly counts and texture budgets.

   Some of our pieces are modular. We are keeping that in mind and doing texture breakouts that show which pieces are to be modeled separately. Separate textures are assigned to each of the modular pieces.

2. Block out the model.

The blocked model is a medium resolution model with enough detail to judge shapes and profiles. The model should be in separate pieces that are easy to scale, push and pull. You should use edge looping techniques as this will translate easily to your low and high resolution meshes. With this model we usually adust and exaggerate profiles and massing. For the blocking model you should create an asset that can be up-ressed to the high poly version and down-ressed for the low. Also, if you have been given a stub file, don't use this as the blocking model. These generally don't have enough information and they can't be adjusted because they are generally one big clump of geometry. We need to be able to push and pull the masses.

1. Create high resolution geometry.

We use edge looping techniques because it allows us to create the low and high resolution models quickly. It is perfectly valid to use any construction method that allows you to get the shapes you desire, however edge looping is the recommended technique for the majority of your shapes.

1. Create a real time game asset using the high resolution asset to guide the “fit”.

   The fit to the high resolution model is critical to get good results when baking the textures. Usually we take out the smoothing "holding" edges to generate the real time asset.

2. Bake out textures that assist the texture artist:

   Once the high resolution asset is built and a good fit to the real time asset is achieved, baking all the maps out is fast.

   Occlusion Map – Darkness in the corners.

   Spherical Harmonic Channels – General lighting that is not too directional.

   Normal Map – The standard normal map.

   Albedo Map – Color values only with no shading at all.

   Grayscale selection sets – For the texture artist to use in PhotoShop.

3. Texture the asset and make materials

Source Material

There are several things provided to get you started. They are as follows.

Concept Art

The concept art is simply a picture of what you are building. Sometimes you'll get orthographic views and sometimes you won't. It depends on the asset.

Stub File

The stub file is a Maya file with a hunk of geometry in it that losely represents the poly count, texture size and shape of the asset. It also informs the file location, name and type of shader channels used. The stub file is what we place in the game to flesh out a level befor final geometry is ready. It is also used to help us monitor performance prior to final assets being ready. There are also assets used for scale reference placed in the file. It is not something that needs to be strictly adhered to unless it is derived from a template.

Template File

Template files are created when an asset requires animation interaction. In order for things to line up correctly the asset required needs to conform to strict conventions. When an asset requires the use of a template, the template file will be called out. A chair is a great example of an item that needs a template. All reces need to be able to sit in the same chair. Therefore, the size of that chair has been well planned.

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