It’s 3d time

Hi everyone!

We just wanted to show a bit of the process we are working at the 3d department, here is one of the many assets we’ve got on our map, we’ve started building the basic shape on our 3d package where we create the basic structure and define the right topology for it. Then, take them to  a sculpting sofware to do a detailed version where we extract the normal maps and paint a texture wich matches it, Normal mapping  is a technique used for faking the lighting of bumps and dents. This technique is very useful for next gen games where details is everything.

First we create a diffuse map. A diffuse map is a texture you use to define a surface’s main colour. On this case many textures are painted by hand, trying to avoid using photografic references. When we have painted our diffuse map, we can also create a specular map, wich helps to define a surface’s shininess and highlight colour. I particularly like to create the specular map from the diffuse map, desaturating the whole image and then balancing every part with a colour filter like curves or levels wich help to get more contrast on it. It is very important to keep everyting separated by layers otherwise this process can be a bit tedious..

Here you can see a bit of this process explained.

 

 

Art pre-production. First 3D models.

Hi there! The production rate of the art department is reaching breakneck speeds. Our four 3D artists work a lot of hours modelling the concept-art sketches into three-dimensional elements to be used directly in the game. Do you remember the shield of the Durno warrior? Here you can see it the same way as will look on the game.

 

You can check the whole construction process of an item for videogames. First of all, the 3D artist receives the concept-art and starts the hi-res modelling. Then we need to resize it so it does not consume many resources, which is crucial when you want your game to have a proper flow. This process is known as retopology. Then, with the low-res model we apply different texture maps; the diffuse, specular and normal map, which make the object react differently with different illuminations during gameplay. Tthis way  we can save resources and display an object in low resolution which will have a fantastic ingame look.