From concept to game model, part 1. Modelling
Thursday, December 18th, 2008
Hi people of the web : )
Tekei (Tobias) here and I will tell you about the process of making a game model from someone else concept art. I just finished modeling a crossbow (approx 1 hour work) and I guess this would be a good opportunity to start off.
I guess the biggest difference from working on an idea of your own is that the concept art has to be a lot clearer and thought out, so working side by side with the concept artist (Nixi) as I do helps as well. If the concept art isn’t covering all the necessary angles and is clear enough on what parts that go inwards and which ones that go outwards it can be a real challenge to get things right. Usually, however, it can be solved with some improvisation and common knowledge without ruining the concept all together.
I know some people who prefer to keep turn-arounds of their model as background sheets in their 3d software and just follow them for their modeling. Personally I only do this for very complex models or if it’s extremely important that there are no differences between the concept art and the 3d model. Usually I just keep a picture open in another window or on my desk and model by eye. From my experience this gives the models more a bit more life, if that makes sense.
The next step will be UV-unwrapping and texturing.
