A Glimpse At The Creation Of 3D Objects
By Matt Lester
Building the 3D objects for Draw a Stickman: Epic 2 involves an elaborate process, from creating an initial concept to effectively modeling that image. We give a glimpse into this process, detailing how our Epic 2 crew created a 3D drill, one of the pieces of mining equipment that will be featured in the game.
Step 1 (Concept): In order to build 3D objects, we first begin by creating a rough concept of an image, either through traditional or digital means in Photoshop, which we then use as a basis or guide to construct the final version through 3D modeling. In this example, our artists Annie Erskine and Joy Erskine began by creating a concept image of a drill.
Step 2 (Shaping): Next, we shape the object we are trying to create. We do this by evaluating the concept image and breaking it down into essential forms, using simple polygons such as cubes or spheres.
Step 3 (Refinement): During this step in the process, we refine those rough polygons to match the subject matter exactly, preparing for the following steps. We refine these polygons by moving and shaping them with various tools called vertexes, which are the points in space where the faces of an object meet (such as the corners of a cube).
Step 4 (UV): We then create a UV map. U and V stand for coordinates on a grid, much like X, Y, and Z. We essentially take a photo of the sides of the polygons that we want to apply texture data. We then merge the edges where needed and lay them out in a logical manner. Think of it like reverse origami—separating the pieces to better understand how it works. The purpose of this is to help the computer understand the insides of the designated shapes where all the texture information should go.
Step 5 (Texturing): For this last step in the creation process, we bring our UV map into Photoshop and either paint our texture information within the outlines of the shapes or apply the already created sprite-based images to the same shapes, which adds the colorful texture information as seen above. After that process, the object is ready for the Unity (game engine) based animation work.
I hope you liked this simple look at the 3D modeling process. We look forward to seeing everyone enjoy the exciting adventure of Epic 2.
