Two games job roles

Level Editor:
A level editor designs different portions of a game, this could be from a level in a traditional gaming sense, to open world spaces and interiors of buildings. The design process sometimes involves mapping out what the player would experience.
 Level editors sometimes need to be able to use 3D modelling programs such as 3D Studio Max or Maya to test and work out different design ideas and processes. However in larger companies this is often not the case, with specific people working on the 3D side. Often larger companies will have their own software for level creation, for example construction kits.

3D Modeller/ Artist:

A 3D modeller will use concept work to create a 3D version which can be used within the game itself. This could range from characters and enemies, to trees and landscapes. Similar programs are required to create the models, such as 3D Studio Max and Maya.

Topology on the sculpt

I have had a go at marking out where I think the topology would go on the sculpted model. While most parts seem about right there are certain lines which I feel may have been different if the drawing was more detailed.

Mudbox sculpt: Progress 6

Added extra detail and depth to the hair and shaped clothing on the model.

And the sculpt is finished!

Mudbox sculpt: Progress 5

Lowered the corners of the mouth and started adding the hair. Starting to look better and more accurate!

Mudbox sculpt: Progress 4

Added the eyebrows and tweaked the lips, though the sides the mouth are still too high. Also I added more definition to the nose.

Mudbox sculpt: Progress 3

The eye sockets and eyelids have been detailed, as well as the top of the nose.

Mudbox sculpt: Progress 2

Here I was working on the lips and nose, as well as lining up the eyebrows as they had become distorted while working on the side profile.

Mudbox sculpt: Progress 1

Here I have started with the side profile, making sure the nose and facial features are in proportion.

Run Animation

I used a few reference videos such as the ones below, but mostly tried to use my own movements to figure out the way the joints move.

Here is my running animation.

I felt this was the smoothest and more natural of the three animation cycles.

However overall I felt that working with Maya seemed fairly straight forward and I did not have any problems with the animation part of the project. I encountered more problems when trying to render them into a .mov format.

Jump Animation

For the jump cycle I used my own movements as I could not find any static jumps which felt relevant to the type of jump I wanted to create.

 My finished jump animation.

I tried to include anticipation as well as squash and stretch in this cycle.

Walking animation

 I used this video as a reference for the walking mechanics, along with testing out the movements myself.

Here is my finished walk cycle.

Topology!

Topology defines the layout of a mesh surface. It is important to get all of the topology correct in order to animate any object properly without deforming and producing breaks within the mesh.

Topology around areas which are most frequently animated need to be accurate and extra detail must be focused on. The most important areas on the face to animate are the, eyes, mouth, nose, and laugh lines. The way this is achieved is by using edge loops, which help determine where muscle structure or natural contours occur.

A good example of where to use edge loops. (Credit to crazyfool on polycount.com)

 Quads are best to keep to within a mesh in order for the animator to easily work with the model. While tris are not too damaging to the mesh they should be avoided when possible as they can cause problems within certain programs; although they can sometimes be useful to link areas together. That being said tris should not be used in areas which are going to be animated or highly visible. 5poles should also not be used within animated areas as they can cause trouble; however they are useful when changing the direction of the mesh, where two edge loops meet for example.

A simple mesh which includes quads, edge loops, 5poles and tris. (Credit to crazyfool on polycount.com)

Life drawing: Lesson 4

 

 This sketches could be much larger to include more detail!

I am very happy with this 1 hour drawing. The angle was unfamiliar to me and quite challenging to begin with, though when I got going it became my best work yet. (According to me that is!)

Life drawing: lesson 3

Due to timetabling issues I arrived late to this lesson, in time only for the hour long drawing.

I found this drawing taking a lot longer than I wanted, possibly due to not having done the previous sketches. Overall what I managed to mark down seemed to be accurate so I am happy with that, it will just have to be a portrait drawing!

Life drawing: Lesson 2

I felt more comfortable with proportions this week, with limited time these cannot be expected to be too much detail.

This drawing focuses on just lighting on the model. I am very happy with how the form is shown using just this method.

For this 1 hour drawing we had to combine light with shadows, ignoring drawing lines to denote the model. I found this to be a very interesting exercise and am happy with the result.

Life Drawings so far! First Lesson

After attending the scheduled life drawing classes for a while I finally decided to add them to my blog in case they ever get lost or damaged, so here they are!

I was generally happy with these 3 minute to 90 second sketches for my first life drawing class, though some proportions are off quite a bit!

A 15 minute drawing, the hands are defiantly the weakest part in my opinion.

For the end of the first session we had one hour to do this drawing. It was mostly complete however I took a little too long on proportions, although they do seem quite a bit better than the previous attempts!