How to Create a Video Game Dumpster: The Complete Current-Gen Workflow
As technology evolves, the tools and requirements for creating current-gen game art are constantly changing. In this tutorial we will learn the current game art workflow in its entirety, from the low-poly model all the way to final game-ready asset. We will create a realistic grimy dumpster suitable for any urban setting.
This mammoth video training series features over 194 minutes of video instruction on all aspects of game art creation, including creating the low-poly and high-poly models, the UVW unwrap, baking normal maps from high-poly, and creating diffuse, specular and detail bump textures.
Final Effect Preview
Contents
- 1. Creating the Low-Poly Model: 3DS Max 2009 (or equivalent).
- 2. Creating the High-Poly Model: 3DS Max 2009 (or equivalent).
- 3. UVW Unwrap: 3DS Max 2009 (or equivalent).
- 4. Baking Normal Maps From High-Poly: 3DS Max 2009 (or equivalent); X-normal; CraziBump.
- 5. Creating the Diffuse Texture: Photoshop CS2 (or higher); Photo texture source.
- 6. Creating the Specular Texture & Detail Bump Texture: Photoshop CS2 (or higher); CraziBump
Note: click the ‘Monitor’ icon to view tutorial in full-screen HD.
1. Creating the Low-poly Model
2. Creating the High-Poly Model
3. UVW Unwrap
4. Baking Normal Maps From High-Poly
5. Creating the Diffuse Texture
6. Creating the Specular Texture & Detail Bump Texture
Stay tuned!
We hope you enjoyed our first tutorial. We have more tutorials coming up on Maya, C4D, Blender and ZBrush. Check back soon! To make sure you never miss a thing, follow Cgtuts+ on Twitter and subscribe to our RSS feed.
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By Kaleb Aylsworth
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Where is the video download button?
Where is the download button video?
Hey, everytime I do my normal maps, they are either curved in or curved out when viewed on the model, creating some really nasty graphics issues. If, in crazy bump, I turn the displacement depth to 0 it fixes it, but in your video you have it set to 50. Any idea what is happening here?
Thanks for the help!
thanks! just amazing!!
one thing to note: it seems that in photoshop cs4, the trick of using a 50% grey to host the inner shadow effect and passing as invisible is achieved by setting the layer to pin light. at least thats what worked here…
anyway, superb tutorial!!
Great tutorial, Really enjoyed watching and being part of the “ooh” and “ahh” factor that is watching you work.
Keep up the great work!
Awesome tutorial Kaleb, very helpful.
I traditionally use 3ds Max’s Projection and Render to Texture to generate normal maps but I am now trying xNormal at your recommendation and I seem to be having an edges issue. Whenever I bake out chamfered edges I get the chamfered edges but I also get a very-noticeable line down the middle. I thought I was doing something wrong so I tried max’s Render to Texture and it baked out perfect without said line, so I must be doing something wrong with xNormal’s settings. Any ideas? And no, I did not forget to flip the Y/Green channel.
Low Poly – a simple cube
High Poly – a simple cube with all edges chamfered once
Thanks for taking the time!
Great tutorial! Thanks Kaleb!
lots of thing aren’t clear, the way you made this tutorial is not as professional as your workflow in 3ds max is.
Fantastic Tut! I wish I had this available 2+ years ago. Would have saved a lot of frustration.
I do have to wonder why you exported all the pieces separately instead of exploding the model, in which case you would have been able to render the normals in one pass.
If I was baking it entirely in Max I would have exploded it, but I find that I sometimes get some strange results with Xnormal’s auto generated cage when I explode things, and trying to get the right distances by exploding, exporting, testing, and then re-exploding, exporting, and testing again until I get the desired result actually takes more time than to just export the individual pieces. Another thing I discovered since creating this tutorial is that you can export the pieces separately, but bake them all in one pass in Xnormal….and that seems to fix the problem with the auto cage spacing.
Very nice tutorial Kaleb! I would say this website has some of the best 3d tutorials on the web!
Now just a random question:
Could you tell us in short how do you render it? mray? vray? Any special configuration?
Thanks for the compliments! Regarding rendering, it really depends on what I’m going for. If I want a more photorealistic render (with reflections, refractions, advanced lighting and GI) then I usually use mental ray with mental ray materials.
For video game assets that are intended for realtime rendering, however, I usually just use the default scanline renderer with default 3ds Max materials….then I do a simple 3 point light rig, turn on raytraced shadows for my key light, use Catmull Rom as my antialiasing filter, and use lighttracer for the lighting plugin. You can find a tutorial on the this type of render setup here: http://cg.tutsplus.com/tutorials/3d-art/quick-and-effective-game-art-portfolio-presentation-day-1/
Ah, interesting! And I thought the scanline renderer is nowadays obsolete.
For some reason I overlooked this tutorial. Thanks for the tip!
@Kaleb Aylsworth,
thanks a lot for explaining the whole workflow, you really made it too easy to understand your tutorial. thanks, i do appreciate your help very much!
however, i found the technique of baking normals [after exporting each single obj.] bit difficult. i have never tried it but i am very much comfortable with ‘render to texture’ technique. any ways, thanks, i will surely try this..
regards~atul k.
[katdare_atul@yahoo.com]
p.s.: i generally use nvedia normal map plugin for photoship, can anyone please post links to download crazybump or xnormal…? thanks.
@Kaleb Aylsworth,
thank you so much for explaining the whole workflow in detail. this tutorial is very helpful and you have made it too easy to understand. thanks.
however, i found it a bit difficult to bake each part seperately [technique of exporting obj.]because i generally use render to texture to bake normals. i will try this technique.
regards~atul k.
katdare_atul@yahoo.com
In vid.3 to ur side of edit uvw’s is a tool bar PLEASE were do i get this!
It’s a plugin called Unwrap tools. You can download it here: http://boards.polycount.net/showthread.php?t=64206
Awsome
Awsome
Thanks
im using 64bit ver of 09
When i try open edit uvws i get error
Image I/O Error
C:\program files\autodesk \3ds max 2009\ui\icons\uvtools_24i.bmp
Whats this?
(Basicly it cant load em)
Great tutorial. Your explanations were very helpful during the process. It’s nice to see that instead of watching someone just model without really explaining why they are doing what they are doing. I learned a great deal. I was also wondering if you had your Unwrap_Helper available or if you could tell me the dimensions so I could try and re-create my own.
Thanks
Thanx for those impressive videos! I can use the stuff I’ve learned here for some upcoming 3d work!
Beat me to it
Gotta watch what you show, mr. designer employeed at a game design firm.
Good tutorial
Also as was said, the audio isn’t synced, which is a bit annoying.
yeah, hahaha!
Yeeesh! Fixing that now….but lets keep it on the DL ok;)
where can i get a designer for a game bro
Hey Kaleb/Everyone
I have a question.
This is my first time working with normal mapping and I can see that the smoothing groups on the lowpoly model determis quite alot of how the normalmapping turns out.
How should you arrange your smoothing groups to achieve the best normalmapping result?
This is a hard one to answer as it can only be approached on a case by case scenario. The main thing to remember is that the result you get when you apply the normal map to the low poly model will be a combination of the shading from the low poly model and the information from the normal map. Basically…if you have enough geometry in you low poly to have everything in one smoothing group without getting weird shading errors…then do that. But if you start to get weird shading in your low poly, you either have to add more geometry, or start separating you model into logical smoothing groups.
Hope that helps!
Thank you very much for your reply Kaleb!
Though my normal map still won’t turn out properly.
I know this is big favour to ask, but would you be so kind to take a look at my project files ” I can include everything, Full mesh, exported mest, normal map”
I would really like to get the understanding of normal mapping, and if you could point out the the mistakes it would help me alot.
Kind regards Stefan
thanks for answering my question concerning the ring the edges I figured it out before I checked your reply. Yes i had rouge vertices’s from removing some of the loops but I’m done with my version of the dumpster just have to bump up some of the textures