I’m a professional software developer (Senior Architect, mostly for semiconductor industry) and doing a lot of game development in my spare time. So the programming part is not the problem. I have a lot of experience to work with Blender (3DMax is a long time ago), Photoshop, UE4.
Currently I try to educate myself a lot in the field of graphics design, 3D modelling and such things. In the past days I learned a lot about some theory things like UV unwrapping with checkerboards, texel density, compressed color ranges for lighting and so on. But I feel that I’m missing a lot of stuff, a lot of knowledge and I’m trying to find places where I can learn all of those “AAA” basics and secrets, tips & tricks, hints, fundamentals. So because I wan’t to do way more of the art related things in games. As industry near as possible. Possibly I suck at art in general but even then I want to have this knowledge because it helps a lot to understand what is going on and what the industry standard / best practice is.
So my question is: Have anyone a hint for me where I can get this kind of information? I mean the internet is full of it and there are some good resources out there. But honestly I want the more professional knowledge and it seems that it is hard to find.
I would also pay for online curses if it is necessary (education is important and cost money). As I’m a full time employee only online courses are possible for me.
If anyone can help me out with a hint I really would appreciate it.
I’m in the same situation as you are, only difference I can find so far is I am a senior developer and work in the education sector
One good source of information does not exist I think. You need to find the information on different locations. Problem I have when I find a website with info is:
Is it correct what the author says?
Does it apply to games? (art, modeling, animation, etc are also used in other fields)
Is the info valid for UE4?
I always check for the post date too. Info posted 10 years ago I usually ignore.
An awesome site on level design, which I don’t find referenced anywhere else is this one: http://bobbyross.com/tutorials/ Ofcourse it depends on the type of game you are making if this info is useful.
Other good site with lots of info is… http://www.youtube.com No kidding! If you know the right keywords it is a goldmine!
I hope somebody has a good site with info on UV unwrapping. Didnt find any site with best practices etc.
Indeed YT is a great resource but only if you know what you are searching for. I mean I clicked randomly on a tutorial video and heard “Texel Density” so now I have a good understanding on it. But this are more the lucky hits. So I would take even keywords :D. But for me with no artist and professional game dev background its sometimes hard to find the correct keywords. Sometimes I have more luck.
Unwrapping as far as I know really depends on the tool you use. Sometimes its harder sometime its easier. On YT there are great explanations on this. What I have taken so far from it is.
Use checkerboards to have the same texel distribution
Hide seams on places where the player can’t see it
Use checkerboards in the engine to find the right texture size (based on the texel density setup)
Fill the UV space as much as possible
Take care of the right propotions, area with more details should get more space (but this automatically done through the checkerboards)
Seams setting is more ore less an experience value I think, to understand where the model has cuts, a tutor said “Imagine seams on clothes, if you model a shirt, place the seams there where the shirt has seams”… great hint
Render your textures at least twice the sice if you have to scale it down
I am studying Game Art in the UK. Basically what they teach us here is that your art is the number one priority any tools and software comes after that. The ‘secret’ of AAA titles are awesome artists working as hard as you prgrammers do to create an immersive atmosphere for the game. We need to draw a lot, both traditionally and digitally to constantly improve our spatial awarness and life drawing skills. These are essential skills for concepting and creating game assets to an industry standard.
Based on your post (and your job:P) you are probably interested more in the technical side of game content creation (which is a nightmare for most artists). You also need to consider that being a game artist can mean a lot of things. These days, you will most likely need to specialize yourself. You can do level design, concept art, character art, vehicle art etc etc etc… Well, you need to decide your goals. If your goal is to eventually become a game artist, you really really need to improve your art. If it is nothing more than satisfying some personal interest, there are plenty of resources out there.
I would suggest you to visit pages like digitaltutors, eat3d etc, they have some professional quality video tutorials that will help you get started.
