Moving on from how I model rocky environments for Unity, here is a link to a PNG which shows how I am currently building architectural pieces for the same game. It’s a little high-res for an iPhone game, but it does mean we can release the game on Mac and PC too…
20 minutes spent in Wings3D resulted in a not too clean ear, but an ear none the less. I wont do any more with it, it was simply to see how Wings3D works. I quite like the method, not as fast as using Silo but more relaxing, so good for possible hypertension sufferers who work with 3D. :)
Hello. I’ve had some requests for a more detailed example of how we are getting assets ready for Unity, I hope this explains it. A full resolution file is hosted here.
A quick and messy update showing how the ZBrush rock sculpts are assembled into a complete environment. Next up is texturing and exporting the entire set as game engine assets.
Art work starts a new. Now the technical tests, file export tests, animation tests and tri count tests are complete, we are starting work on the art for Invaders. The first level, which contains the training aspect of the game, is set in a mountainous region of some cliché’d out back US town. After some (miserably horrid) test models I built in Silo, I decided that ZBrush may come in handy, even for teeny hand held game assets. The picture above shows my workflow for creating rocky surfaces.
1: In ZBrush, create a terrain, or plane object. I use a minimal number of divisions in it to keep the surface blocky.
2: Using the move and standard sculpting tools, I warp and twist the mesh into something that vaguely resembles a rock face. As these assets will be tiny, I tend to overdo the shapes.
3: I then subdivide the mesh 4 times, with smooth turned off. With the rake tool I go in and carve away the obvious straight lines between the polys.
4: I then have fun with alpha masks. I have a set of rock face alphas which I stamp over the model, rotating them so that large cracks in the alpha follow the edges on the model. Again, as these models will be about 150 pixels high, I tend to go nuts.
5: I use the Rake tool again to add random strokes to anything that looks too man made. If any poly edges are still too visible, I mash them at this point.
6: The final rock face, from new document to finished asset in 7 minutes. I then AUV Map, create displacement and normal, and export to Maya with the fantastic GoZ button. In Maya the pieces are scaled to suit our game engine, then exported as an FBX file.
The entire process from nothing to FBX file in Unity takes 10-15 minutes.
These are a very small collection of assorted street photos. Like the Cuba Collection they are joined by many many more which are awaiting the arrival of a new scanner. These were shot with either a Contax G1 with 45mm lens, Olympus 35SP or OM-1n on Fuji Neopan 1600 or Acros 100.
These were captured in Havana, Cuba. These were shot on a mixture of film types, mainly Fuji Acros 100 developed in Rodinal. My film scanner has died leaving me with a large backlog of pictures to scan, these were the last it managed. The camera used was a Contax G1 with 45mm lens.
