Normal Mapping, Characters, Next Gen, Pipeline

Transcription

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEESSIDE
SCHOOL OF COMPUTING
MIDDLESBROUGH
TEES VALLEY TS1 3BA
CHARACTER CREATION AND NORMAL MAPPING
FOR A NEXT GENERATION COMPUTER GAME
Habib Niazi
Supervisor: Mansha Nawaz
Second Reader: Heather Williams
Habib Niazi C3078330
Abstract
This project presents a fully functional pipeline for creating normal mapped character models for
next generation games, as part of this a variety of real time normal mapped characters have been
created to illustrate the techniques used and the end result of using the system.
The characters use many different industry techniques including ambient occlusion, normal
mapping, height mapping, and specular mapping. This achieves the look of high quality in game
characters that have a sense of realism whilst adhering to the specifications of next generation
game engines and hardware.
The project includes research into the technical constraints and specifications for creating
(Normal Mapped Characters) for a modern videogame and also discusses the various influences
and artworks that have inspired the style and theme of the characters produced for the project. 3d
Studio Max was the software used to put together all the separate elements of the project into a
complete and organised system. It was also the chosen for the development and displaying of the
created models because it is industry standard software for the development of computer game
assets. The 3D models were created in 3D studio max and Zbrush, and the textures were divided
between user generated painted maps and baked texture maps using wither Zbrush or 3D studio
Max. The Assets were then scaled to specification and exported to the Ogre Real Time Engine to
be displayed and tested.
The project was constantly being tested and updated and the result is a both a fully functional
pipeline ready to be used in production as well as the real time examples of the techniques in use
in the form of realistic characters created to the specs of current and future game engines,
observed in a real time inside both a direct x 9 capable viewport and the ogre real time engine. All
the characters with the exception of character four Zodd; are completely personal concepts and
assets. There are prospects to for further develop and improve the project, enabling the assets to
be adapted, animated and controlled in games that fit the style/genre of the created characters.
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Acknowledgements
There are a number of people who have contributed to the success of this project and without
their help and support this project would certainly not as been successful as it has.
First and foremost I would also like to thank God for the skills and abilities I have been blessed
with, my family and friends for all the support they have given me over the years in my education,
in particular my mother for helping me to fulfill my ambitions, believing in me and allowing me the
opportunity to achieve my goals.
I would like to thank Gabielle Kent, Paul Docherty and Simon Mckeown for their support and
feedback, assisting me with queries related to my project and pointing me in the right direction for
how the project should be structured and assembled.
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Contents
Chapter 1 - INTRODUCTION
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1.1 - The Project ………………….…………………………………………………………1
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1.2 - Aims and Objectives ………………………………………………………………… 6
Chapter 2 - RESEARCH & ANALYSIS
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2.1 - Production Pipeline …………………………………………… …. … … …. … …. 7
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2.2 – Normal Mapping…………………………….. …… … … … … … … … … … …. 8
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2.3 – Other Techniques ………………… ……………………………………………….. 10
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2.4 - Industry Software and Techniques …………………………………………………11
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2.5.1 - Style research……………………………………………………………………….12
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2.5.1 - Influences…………………………………………………………………………….13
Chapter 3 - DESIGN
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3.1 -Character design……………………………………………………………………… 15
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3.2 - Pipeline Design and Usage.………………………………………………………… 22
Chapter 4 – IMPLEMENTATION AND TESTING
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4.1 - Implementation … …. …. … … …. …. …. … ……………………………………..24
Chapter 5 - CONCLUSION
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5.1 - Met objectives … …. …. … … …. …. …. … ……………………………………… 29
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5.2 - Improvements to the project …………………...… …...…………………………….29
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5.3 - Taking the project further …………………………………. … …..………………...30
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5.4 - Overall……………………..…………………………………. … …..…………………31
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REFERENCES
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Report Reference List and Bibliography ………………………………………………... 32
APPENDIX
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Appendix A - Project Specifications ……………………………………………………… 35
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Appendix B - Artifact renders ……………………………………………………………... 37
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Introduction
1.1 The Project
With the advent of the most powerful generation of computer games consoles, the premise of
realistic graphics, games and characters have come closer to reality. The Playstation 3, Xbox 360
and PC have reached a stage at which all three can roughly create the same visual experience,
this opens the gate for truly convincing characters in games that will help to increase the
immersiveness of the medium and increase the story telling capabilities of games. If you think of
the greatest films, games or books it is to notice that they all revolve around characters,
characters essentially express the story and they are the most important link between the
audience and what the creator wants us to experience. Characters vary from genre to genre,
story to story, defining what a character is, how it looks, how it moves etc can never be straight
forward, as there are a unlimited amount of possibilities, when speaking about games though,
they can be slightly easier to define and categorize. Essentially the main types of characters fall
in to 4 categories, humanoids, animals, creatures, and Misc. Misc encompasses all the other
types such as aliens and anything else that doesn’t exist, by defining what category a character
falls in, we can then make assumptions on what the character will need in terms of design and
creation, biped quadruped etc.
Assets in respect to this project are the 3d models, and pipeline is the process through which
these models must go through in order to reach their finished state, ready for animation or
games.
This Project will focus on defining, utilizing and refining a character production pipeline that can
be used to speed up the production of character assets for games and other design related work.
This is a very important area of development as games production and feature film development
are time restricted, therefore doing things efficiently and as quickly as possible become vital in the
outcome of a project. As discussed earlier, character definition is very important, as it allows you
to plan for the process’s you will need to put the particular asset through before it can used in
production e.g. creature character etc.
The importance and need for a production pipeline is clearly evident, although time and
money are an important aspect in the justification of a production pipeline, the other is
the ability to recreate the results, this means that it must universally work and
compensate all users, it cannot be too software or process biased, but still be able to
fulfill all the points on the brief.
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The scope of this project is to analyze the typical processes involved in making characters for the
games industry, it is essentially doing all the research and development needed to create
characters; focusing specifically on the modeling aspects, but also being broad enough to cover
the whole pipeline with texturing etc.
1.2 Project Outline
Research:
This section essentially explains the influences for the project, provides industry examples and
gives the project (a place on the map) Issues and items that must be taken into consideration
when undertaking such a project. Defining the limits of the project, the scope, based off the
information discovered from multiple sources.
Design:
This section describes the factors that went in to design, showcasing the multiple variants and
specifications that helped to define the final designs that were used in this project.
Implementation & Testing
Covers the processes involved in creating and implementing the designs created in the design
stage, it also extensively discusses issues that were noticed and resolved during implementation.
The testing stage is demonstrated with the use of images and the important changes made as a
result of testing.
Conclusion:
This section features a critical appraisal of the project, its contents and offers suggestions for
improvement and possible directions for further development of the project.
Limitations
Due to the amount of time and resources needed to produce high resolution film assets this
project focuses predominantly on game related, the scope of the project is larger than just one
field, but due to the constraints, it will remain focused on how a character production pipeline
would be implemented for games.
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Restrictions (no access to high quality scanner)
Access to high end equipment
Research and Analysis
2.1 PRODUCTION PIPELINE
A production pipeline is a series of actions and processes an asset is put through before it can be
called complete. For example a pipeline for creating textures for a character would involve, first
creating a UV set for the character, gathering and collecting images to be used as reference and
manipulated in a photo editing software, and finally using these images and digital painting to
paint on a texture map which is then to be applied to a character, being overlaid the characters
UV’s and displayed directly on the characters polygons.
Production pipelines are critically important to asset production industries such as the game and
film industry, because it lays out a blueprint for all assets to go through before they can be called
complete and ready to go into the final product, which means all the assets will be developed to
the same standard and same time period, which means the developer will be able to predict the
average time to produce an asset, which is very important in a professional competitive market
like video games.
Although Research will be done into how large organizations use production pipelines. The
emphasis for this project will be for using it on a smaller scale, for creating personal or
professional work.
Figure 2.1.1 Production Pipelines used by Factor 5 Games Company
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Figure 2.1.2 Pipeline stages being implemented on character
Low-res model
Normal Mapped
Height Map data
Colour Map
Figure 2.1.2 Character asset taken through the different stages of the pipeline
There are similarities and differences between the pipelines used for games and film, the main
differences being the hardware, software and asset specifications between each. Both are usually
developed on a PC, MAC or Linux based systems, on industry standard software. Due to the
same software being used to develop assets, in more recent years the two industries have more
in common in terms of techniques and workflow used, and in some cases involving licensed
franchises, the film models are used as a basis for capturing detail in a normal map for the game
model, and as a cage to build an optimized game mesh from.
2.2 Normal Mapping
Normal Mapping has become a major feature for next generation games and one of the defining
factors behind what makes a game look next generation. In particular, normal mapping on
characters has enabled games developers to create in game characters that almost rival their film
counterparts, increasing the visual appeal to the consumer, as well as trying to implement a more
convincing representation of real humans, creatures and other characters inside the game world.
Human beings have 5 senses, and visual perception is one of the most important, it defines how
we live our lives, how we interact with people, how we recognize objects and many other simple
but important functions in our daily lives. We perceive objects by their physical appearance, from
their silhouette, to the extremely fine details on a surface. Our visual perception is so powerful
that emotions can be invoked by just a visual sign/cue, like the fear associated with the
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movement of a spider and the sight of its rough, hairy body. This introduces a very powerful
mechanic for games developers as it allows them to recollect any old memories and experiences
related to those surfaces, making the experience feel more real and immersive.
Visual recognition is one of the easiest and simplest of the senses to stimulate, as we are
constantly aware of and see everything in our environment, which means, that we have to at least
match the visual fidelity of real world items, without even taking into consideration representing
even more complex and surreal surfaces that exist in fantasy worlds
Audio, is the only other real sense that can be utilized within any kind of medium as they currently
exist, due to the fact that the other senses; touch, smell, taste cannot be reasonably implemented
into current technology in order to achieve any kind of realism with any kind of reproduction of the
world represented within the chosen medium, in this case video games. There are some current
sensory technologies which are beginning to be implemented into new technology and devices
but they are still in their infancy and currently infeasible for simulating a realistic sense of
simulated world, through the chosen medium.
Films are the closest medium
The only limitation with normal maps, is that currently they just use the normals lighting
information from the high rez surface baked into a map and applied to the low rez mesh, to make
the surface look a lot more detailed than it is, because the light illuminates the surface according
to the normals of the higher rez mesh, although the results look good, low polygon counts mean
that low poly edges and geometry give away the simplicity of the real mesh.
Displacement maps solve this problem by displacing and translating the mesh’s vertices
according to a grayscale map that bakes in the positions of the high rez mesh’s vertices and
polygons. The only downside to the displacement approach is that you need a lot of geometry for
the map to produce decent results, therefore game technology tried to find other solutions that
fake the displacement effect, by occluding the mesh, according to a map, to simulate an uneven
surface.
When this technology is developed into a fully implementable state, the graphics in real time
games will move up to a level that will rival pre rendered imagery and films.
Therefore the next few sections will contain information relating to current technology and
upcoming technologies, so as to show the evolution of real time technology and what will be
achievable in the near future of video games
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Normal mapping applications for games
In gaming applications, where all the rendering is done on the fly and in real-time by the game
engine, there is no real option of compositing pre-rendered layers to create the final image.
Everything shown to the viewer has to be available in 3D at whatever resolution is supported by
the engine. As a result, developers do not have the option of incorporating extremely highresolution models in the viewport. Although today no game engine can support a scene of 200
million polygons, recent demonstrations of Unreal Tournament showed how highly detailed 200million plus polygon scenes could be reduced to 1 million polygons using normal mapping
techniques, and then loaded into the game engine. To do this, companies have had to build their
own tools as Epic did for the Unreal Engine demonstrations.
Some of the biggest challenges that 3D artists face involve long render times and budgeting
polygon counts in highly detailed sequences. One of the best ways to lower render times is to
have fewer polygons to render. Normal maps offer a great way of shrinking down files without
having to compromise detail and image quality in your scene. Artists will often lower the
resolution of objects in a scene to compensate for large file sizes. With normal maps, you can
expect to have faster render times and very high quality results.”
2.3 Other Techniques
Due to their infancy and lack of completion the following techniques could not be implemented
into the project, but they still have a major significance in terms of the future of visual games
technology, eventually replacing normal maps. It must be emphasized that these techniques have
been available for some time in the realms of pre rendered animation and film, but we will be
exploring their future use in real time gaming.
Displacement Mapping
As mentioned in the previous section displacement mapping is one of the most accurate
techniques for providing all the detail from the high resolution mesh, but the fact that the polygon
count must be increased substantially to accommodate these details is what has held this
technology back from being fully used in games technology. With the advance of computer
hardware, console hardware and technology, it is highly likely that this technique will be
implemented in the successors of the current generation of consoles and graphics technology.
(PS3 Xbox 360 and Direct X 10)
*Insert Picture with comparisons.
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Parallax Occlusion Mapping
- Height field information to occlude parts of the mesh to give the illusion of complexity
- Self Shadowing
- Illusion of surface complexity in terms of shape and material
Relief Mapping
A different approach to the same goal, relief mapping also uses occlusion techniques to deceive
players into believing there is more detail than there really is.
This section explained the difference between the different forms mapping techniques used in
current games technology and upcoming technologies. All this confirms that visuals are one of
the most important factors when it comes to games, and characters.
2.4: Industry Software and Techniques
The pipeline Defined in this project is focused on character asset creation, and more
specifically the creation of the 3d models, the following software is a shortlist of the main
software used for the production of professional character Assets;
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General 3D Software Packages; 3D Studio Max, Maya, XSI are the three
industry standard packages used in the production of character assets
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Hi Resolution sculpting and modeling; Zbrush, Mudbox, Silo, Modo, Zbrush being
the industry leader in terms of usage, and stability, and maturity, having launched
years before the competition.
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Image Manipulation Software; 2D: Photoshop, 3D; Zbrush, Bodypaint, Deep
Paint 3D, these are the predominant applications used for image manipulation,
texture painting/creation.
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Texture Baking : ZBrush, Mudbox, 3D Studio Max, XSI
Software listed in the order or pipeline usage.
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2.5.1 Style Research
Recreating and improving existing visual styles was an important goal for this project, not copying
but using a similar design and aesthetic look to create assets that would not look out of place in
the worlds of the chosen games. There are many different types of game genre, genre is
important as it dictates the particular style and look of the assets created for it. The characters
being created for this project had to specifically adhere to FPS, RPG and ACTION genres so it
was important to analyze and research into the most successful games in this genre, such as
Unreal Tournament for FPS, Final Fantasy for RPG and Berserk for ACTION to be able to
successfully recreate a similar aesthetic and visual appeal. As stated in section three characters
will be designed and created, in order to lend authenticity to them the games listen above were
looked at.
Artists will be included in this area:
Sebecosir – Sebastian Legrein Ubi Soft
Zack Petroc – Art Director
Marco Djurdevic – Marvel Covers
Kentaro Miura - Creator of Berserk
Kolby Jukes – Lead Modeler
Kevin Lanning – Lead Artist
Kevin implements a similar system, his character and model definition stage is a very
good way of working out exactly what detail you will need for your models and allows
you to at an early stage define how and where it will be developed, A major
disadvantage of using Kevin’s system is that you have to continuously switch
applications, while this may not be an issue for some, but due to the limitations this
project should a thing was not feasible due to the applications eating up so much
memory, this would invoke a lot of crashes.
One of the common attributes that is visible in all of these artists works is their great knowledge
and understanding of anatomy, this lends authenticity to their designs and instills a sense of
reality to creations that do not exist. Level of detail is also something that is very prevalent to all of
these artists works; they all display great detail in their works, adding a greater level on interest to
these areas and the works as a whole and again making things appear more realistic.
By looking at the works of these established artists it helps to create a sort of specification for the
character to ensure that at least match the level of quality of the artworks displayed in this
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section. Using these as a guideline, the design stage will try to discuss these processes and
points in greater detail and how these relate to creating convincing character for computer games
and other mediums.
One other observation from this section is the fact that a lot of computer game art is similarly
themed, and has a certain aesthetic feel to it, they all try to instill a sense of realism by the
complexity of form and surfaces as shape requires a lot of polygons, which aren’t always
available. The most successful designs will incorporate all of these things and once these rules
are established and understood well, the artist can go on to break and redefine these rules to
create even more compelling artworks.
2.5.2 Influences
These are broken down into genre that the game and character fits into. These categories are
RPG, FPS, and Action and will relate to the character design and specification
FPS/war:
Unreal Tournament
Unreal Tournament hosts a variety of different races, tribes and beings. Boasts a large number of
maps and vehicles, perfect for team based combat etc, I really enjoyed the vast open spaced
environments, and the cohesiveness between designs. All the members of a particular character
group have similar visual attributes, but remain different enough to be individually appealing.
The unreal tournament models exhibit great skill in making the most out of the available polygons,
although the polygon counts are low, great polygon placement and texture usage give an illusion
of more detail than is actually there. Unreal tournament is a great example of the limits of
previous generation of technology, before the implementation of normal maps.
Gears of War
This game was also created by Epic Games but this was there first game based of their new
game engine UNREAL ENGINE 3, a showcase for their technology. Gears of war displayed the
massive jump in visual fidelity and quality of real time graphics by using normal mapping and
other mapping techniques on all the assets in the game.
RPG/Fantasy
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Final Fantasy set a new standard in fantasy design with its debut in 3D, it is one of the longest
running computer game franchises, with over 12 games under its belt and still going strong. One
of the prime reasons people play final fantasy is to experience the amazing vivid worlds that
Square Enix create for each game. These include;
- The use of bright colours, non conventional design and anatomy.
- Humans and animals in same environment
- Unique Fantasy
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CHAPTER 3 - DESIGN & IMPLEMENTATION
After the analysis of research materials, the next stage was design. Before any implementation
and creation could commence, initial plans and designs were necessary; as indicated in the
pipeline research, a thorough pre production stage occurs to help define the style, look and mood
of the assets that are to be created. This stage is very important as the end result will be directly
affected by the time and effort put in to the design stage, games and film being very much visual
arts, means that the aesthetics is very important, and constantly under close and harsh scrutiny.
Each new film and game released aims to raise the bar in terms of visual design and quality
because this is a major selling point for consumers. To this
3.1 - CHARACTER DESIGN
The first stage of character design and creation is to define a character profile and collect images
and information that will be used as a basis to create concepts which go through many revisions
until a satisfactory end result is found; with the advent of digital sculpting software a lot of this
conception can be done in 3d now.
In this instance, the main inspiration for character designs were from popular game types, the
genre of the game dictated many design decisions for the character, so the first stage was to
decide what type of games the characters were going to be used in. Three different game genres
were chosen for the basis of the character designs, the first was a boss character for an rpg/slash
and hack game in the styling of Genji : Days of the Blade etc. Some characters are less complete
in terms of both their profiles and their state, this was due to implementation of the production
pipeline, it allows the user to create models quickly and continuously reshape their vision until
they are satisfied or gets another idea they want to develop quickly.
CHARACTER 1 - NEANDERTHALL BARBARIAN;
This character was designed to fit into the Unreal Tournament game world. Unreal Tournament is
a first person shooter game, which pits players up against each other or cpu opponents in a death
match scenario, but also has other game play types such as capture the flag, Assualt etc etc.
Unreal tournament includes a large variety of different species and character that players can
use; they range from human mercenaries, through to robots, and even aliens. Although there is a
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wide selection of characters and species, the characters feel generic and don’t really appeal as
much as they could, therefore it was decided to try and create a new race/tribe for the game that
would appeal to the player. This character is part of a tribe, from a far off land, as yet,
undiscovered by the rest of humanity; they are thought to be direct descendants of Neanderthal’s,
with harsh sharp features and bone structure, with extremely muscular physiques and compact
proportions. Due to their lack of contact with other human beings, their culture took an alternative
path to the rest of humanity, they pursued black magic and alchemy to technology, and they are
power hungry brutes with an obsession to violence. There land was accidentally discovered by a
traveler’s ship, and this spawned their intrigue and beginning of their bloodthirsty quest to capture
the lands of the world. They use a combination of heavy duty weaponry, clubs, maces and staffs,
for close range combat, overpowering their opponents with brute strength. They use black magic,
and dark spells to attack from a distance, making them deadly foes, especially with their group
mentality. They battle in groups, headed by a single elder, who gives orders; the lives of the rest
of the group are sacrificed for the protection of the leader, causing a massive drop in morale if
any damage is inflicted upon them.
They are stupid on their own, with the combination of the elder, and spells, they become an
intelligent and lethal group, when the leader is taken out, and the cohesive deadly force falls
apart, as they return to their unintelligent brute full origins.
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References used for Barbarian Character
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CHARACTER 2 - NOSFERATU ZODD (
Zoddo)
The decision was made for one of the characters to be created from an existing franchise, as the
videogame market regularly creates movie tie-ins and adaptations from a variety of sources such
as; Comics, Books, Film, TV, Anime, etc. The character chosen to be created is from a Japanese
Manga/Anime called Berserk. Berserk has already spun off two video games on the Sega
Dreamcast format and the Sony Playstation 2 format. Zodd is one of the predominant characters
in the story, equivalent to a boss in many games, this character was chosen because it has a
very strong presence, there are quite a few fantasy games on the market that feature characters
with similar attributes. The reasoning behind making Zodd one of the characters for this project is
because its highly probable that their will be a Playstation 3 incarnation of the franchise, therefore
this project hopes to create an updated version of the character for current generation standards
using new techniques to create the most credible version of the character yet.
Character Bio:
Zodd is renowned among soldiers for being able to survive deadly injuries. He has been seen on
battlefields for over 300 years. Zodd is an apostle perhaps the oldest one, his true form is a
Minotaur with bat wings. Though a God Hand apostle, he's different from others, while others
seem only interested in killing innocents, all Zodd wants is to find worthy opponents.
Voiced by: Kenji Utsumi (Japanese), J. David Brimmer (English)
Also known as Nosferatu Zodd, or Zodd the Immortal, is referring to his apparent immortality. As
an apostle (a God Hand servant) he has spent three centuries fighting in countless battlefields
searching for worthy opponents. Zodd first encountered and defeated Guts and Griffith in a castle
raid, where he spared them, realizing who Griffith would be. As an apostle, he can transform his
human form to a deadlier Apostle one; in Zodd's case, his is that of a Minotaur with the face and
tail of a tiger, his right horn cut off (as a sign of defeat to The Hawk of Light) and retractable batlike wings. Zodd's long-time rival is the Skull Knight, who can hold his own against Zodd's demon
form. One of the most powerful apostles known, he now serves in a major role in the reincarnated
Griffith's reformed Band of the Hawk, and his personal escort/transportation. While Zodd is no
pushover, he fell to the Hawk of Light in a dream, and upon Griffith's reincarnation, decided that
he had finally "found what he had been searching for the past 300 years."
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References used for Zodd character
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CHARACTER 3 - FROAD BOSS
This character was designed to fit into a role playing game universe, such as Final Fantasy, Elder
Scrolls, and Fable etc. The character was designed to be a boss, and its proportions reflect this,
as it is fairly large; roughly 7.5ft, it has a variety of physical attributes which make it a formidable
opponent. These include, long stretchy limbs, with explosive compression power which enables it
to exert great force, which allows it to jump great distances, and create explosive physical power
that would create massive damage upon impact. Its fingers feature Tentacle like suckers, which
allow it to cling to almost any surface, making any environment an advantage; its fingers also
have long sharp claws used to attack and cut any threats or surfaces in its way. Its final weapon
is massive extendable tongue, which also has tentacle suckers on the back side, allowing the
froad boss, not only to wrap its tongue around surfaces for grip, but also using the suckers for
traction, to climb and pull objects towards it
Weakness: The only known weakness for this creature, is the fact that it can only utilize its fully
evolved form for a short period of time, therefore, when it detects that its power is fluctuating or
decreasing it will make a hasty retreat using its long tongue to pull itself to a distance place or
object, while in hiding, it will be in its most weakest state and able to be damaged.
Story: In a modern fantasy lab, the exploits of a secret scientific and alchemy lab were
used to create an hybrid object made of organic matter and alchemic materials. The
result was a soulless child which had the ability to freely break and create the laws of
nature, mixing alchemy and science through its will. This child was the most sought after
possession in all of the land. It was found the existence of such a being was detrimental to the
lives and existence of the world, as it gained a form of consciousness the fear grew in the
authorities and people responsible for its creation, therefore it was decided that the only possible
way to prevent this uncontrollable unnatural being, was to destroy it before it became old enough
to realize its own existence and the power that it posses. After a great struggle they managed to
pin down the life form and seal away its existence to a stone. The power generated from this
procedure created a shockwave of excess energy, shot out in ever direction from the place of the
sealing. Strange transformations and reactions occurred from the release of energy, which
caused unbelievable changes to the environment and the life forms in it; morphed, deformed, and
altered in intangible ways. The closer the life form/area was to the energy wave, the greater the
level of mutation, the boss character being fairly close to the explosion; meaning not only was its
physical form changed but also its mental ability. It gained a level of intelligence that gave it
superiority over less mutated versions of its species, thus making it king.
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References used for Froad Boss Character
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3.2: PIPELINE DESIGN AND USAGE
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The Next stage is to define what needs to be done before the character asset can be
called complete. This project focuses more on the Modeling, Sculpting and Texture
Baking processes of the Pipeline, the other stages are also covered but in less detail for
the sake of completeness. Although each project will vary in terms of the required
specifications, the majority will follow the same basic structure, so the proposed pipelines
takes this into account, and covers all the general stages required for character creation
The Pipelines needed for this particular Project included;
The Modeling Pipeline is as follows:
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Creating a base mesh to start the modeling process*
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Using digital sculpting techniques to create a hi rez detail mesh*
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Building an organized topologically correct mesh*
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Re-projecting the details onto Organized Mesh*
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Creating High Frequency Details using Masks and textures *
The Complete Pipeline includes the following stages as well;
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Creating UV co-ordinates
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Painting and Creating Texture Maps
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Generating Normal and Displacement Maps that carry the mesh details from the high
resolution mesh *
(The parts marked by a * are the ones that were focused on more for the duration of the
report)
Learning curves involved with using multiple software
One of the great challenges involved with a project like this is the fact that it tries to
implement and make use of different software, in order to ascertain the best
methodology of getting quality results. Because of this, the learning curve and time
needed is increased dramatically, as each piece of software has its own way of doing
things, and the goal is to research, learn and use these techniques to a successful end
result. This is a vast amount of work which is why the focus will be on the modeling and
23
normal mapping stages, as there will be a number of assets being made, enough to test
out the features and workflow of the chosen software in order to gain a better
understanding and knowledge of the practical usage of each in a production
environment, as they excel in different areas.
24
CHAPTER 4 IMPLEMENTATION AND TESTING
After the research and design stages were completed, the next stage was to move on to
implementation and testing the created artifacts. Creating 3d models is a long and detailed
process; much care must be taken at each stage to minimize any problems that can emerge as a
result later in the process. This was the longest and most important stage of the project and the
point at which the production pipeline really came in use, by pre planning the implementation
stage by use of a pipeline, it made the process much more efficient and helped to reduce errors,
which is a fundamental issue when developing games, as the smallest error can lead to bigger
errors which inevitably can cause a game to be delayed. That is where testing comes in; testing
in this case is essentially rendering and previewing the 3d models in both real time and offline
scenarios to check for errors. This is done not only in the Zbrush, the software where the hi poly
models created, but also in 3d Studio Max the software which is used to put everything together
and export for games. This is a relatively simple but time consuming process, as every asset
must be viewed in a variety of angles to notice any errors, and if they are noticed, time must be
then taken to work out what caused the error and how to resolve it. Using visual signs as a testing
method is not the best of practices, because humans are bound to make errors, so this is an area
that could use some further development and improvement in future projects.
4.1 Implementation
Once the research and design stages were complete, the next step was to actually
implement the knowledge and planning lay out in the previous sections. Using the
production pipeline created using the design to implement and execute the production
pipeline.
- Creating the Base Mesh
The first Stage as detailed in the production pipeline design is the creation of a low
polygon base mesh. There are different ways to approach this, but through
experimentation in the project, the most efficient and fast ways to create base meshes
were;
25
-
Creating simple base mesh in general 3D software such as 3D Studio Max, using
box modeling techniques to create a simple box representation of the concept.
-
Using Zspheres to create a basic Zsphere representation of the concept, and
then converting to a skin using the irez and mesh resolution options to control the
shaping and detail of the mesh conversion.
At this stage mesh topology does not need to be taken into consideration, instead, the
most important factors are having enough detail in specific areas to be able to detail
them in the subdivided high resolution mesh. To ensure that the mesh will have the
detail required, care must be taken to keep the size of polygons relatively the same, this
ensures that there will not be any under detailed areas or artifacts from stretched or
deformed polygons. Another recommendation is to keep all polygons quaded, again, this
ensures there is a uniform surface when subdividing models, triangles can cause sharp
edges and bumps in the mesh when subdivided.
If the mesh was created in a general 3D application then the next step is to prepare the
mesh for exporting. Much care must be taken when exporting a mesh to another
application, errors that are not resolved before exportation will end up causing bigger
problems in Sculpting software, in this case Zbrush. The mesh must be checked for
double edges, open edges, unwelded verts and any non quad polygons. Once this has
been done, the next stage was exporting from 3D Studio Max, using the OBJ file format,
(fig. 3.2.1) the options were changed so that it would correctly in Zbrush. Texture Coordinates was turned off, because they were not needed at this stage, because this was
not the final mesh, rotate model was checked, and group by object, through trial and
error these were the settings that were found to work best.
The mesh that was created in Zbrush required less tweaking, there was only 3 settings
that needed to be checked and adjusted, the irez, msmth, they fundamentally control
how smooth the model will be, whether it will maintain sharper forms or be
predominately smooth and round. Once these were tweaked to the required setting the
mesh could be converted into a skin, which is a normal mesh without the Zsphere rig.
26
The next stage was creating a base sculpt inside Zbrush (Mudbox)
- Creating the Sculpt
After the base mesh was created, the base that was created in 3D Studio Max was
imported in to Zbrush (Mudbox) through the import button found in the tool palette and
drawn on the canvas ready to be manipulated.
In the other circumstance the mesh was already selected after converted into a
polymesh 3d ready to be manipulated.
At this stage the goal was to generally define the shape of the overall mass and form of
the concept, the move tool, standard draw tool and inflate draw tool with low intensity
was used to sculpt and move the forms into positions that looked correct.
The process used and discovered through practice was to make the model look as close
as possible to the concept on each level of detail and only subdivide when nothing else
could be done. Subdividing the mesh multiplied the polygon count by a factor of four,
which produced more vertices to work with, which made defining forms easier on each
level.
The workflow used during this project employed a three tier system to creating mesh
detail, the initial level was mass and large forms, the secondary level was muscles and
other surface shapes and structures; and finally, the tertiary level involved sculpting in
the small details and features such as facial features and veins etc.
The sculpt was still kept relatively loose, because the next stage involved re-projecting
the details from the high resolution mesh back onto a new topologically correct
organized mesh.
- Creating an Organised Mesh *
This process differs according to the intended use for the model, if the model is going to
be used for Animation, Film or FMV then the organized mesh creation would occur at
this stage to ensure that mesh information sculpted so far, would be able to be
27
transferred accurately to the re-topologised mesh with as little errors and distortion as
possible. If the model is going to be used as a game asset normal map source, then the
organized mesh stage would not occur until the end stage after all sculpting and
detailing have occurred
-
Exporting a mid, deleting one half and setting up in view
-
Using Polygonal Modeling Techniques and Software to create a topologically
correct model, aligning perfectly with the hi rez mesh
-
Using symmetry to create opposite side, merging and exporting back out
- Re-Projecting to Organised mesh
-
Creating a displacement map to capture the difference between the two different
meshes
-
Subdividing the Mesh to an equal polygonal count and using the displacement
map to re-project details and mesh information on to the organised mesh
- Detailing Mesh; high frequency details
-
Using high poly sculpting techniques, brushes and masks to create surface detail
-
Using Alpha images and maps to create high level details on mesh
There are two stages to the detailing stage, firstly, going through the whole mesh with a
smaller brush and cutting and sculpting further detail into the forms and shapes, the next
stage is using alpha textures/brushes, to deform the mesh based on the alpha image.
For example, using a photograph of animal skin, manipulating the image to extract the
alpha information, and then using this to project these details on to the high rez mesh.
28
- Creating UV’s
- Using an automatic UV Mapping algorithm or a manually created UV Set to be able to
paint maps to use as textures
- Creating and Painting Texture Maps
- Using photo editing/painting software to create colour, spec, bump and any other map
type
- Shaders:
-
Importing the low rez optimised mesh into rendering software
-
Applying all maps and materials to objects
- LOD’s
- Using optimize and Polygon Cruncher to create different low poly resolution models
- Using NVIDIA developer tools to create different low resolution versions of the textures
- Rendering and Lighting:
-
Create a Lighting Setup to render out previews to see if all is working
-
Constructing and Putting Together in Software
29
Chapter 5 Conclusion
5.1 Project Success
Overall the project was a success. Three characters were designed and built form the ground up
using the designed pipeline. Industry standard techniques were used and displayed correctly;
normal mapping, specular mapping, rigging & skinning and many others were discussed.
The execution of this project achieved a good, practical understanding and usage of the
processes involved in using an asset pipeline and designing and creating, and normal mapping
characters to use in a game environment.
The techniques and process used and learned during this project can be applied to all characters
built from now on.
Although initially a major part of this project was the production of finished character assets, the
focus shifted during the implementation and testing stage, the decision was made to focus more
on the workflow and pipeline process of modeling the high and low assets, and normal mapping
instead, and ultimately made the project a lot more useful in terms of learning, even though, the
artifacts are not as finished as was originally intended, the amount of models and quality of
models increased because of constant testing and implementation which proved to be more
valuable than a few static complete models. The project displayed and proved the major impact
and difference a normal map makes in the next generation character creation pipeline and
games.
5.2 Improvements to the Project
This project could have been improved in many ways. Near completion, it was observed that
more could have been done to the characters to make them look more complete. The final
models themselves looked a little lacking and a possible solution to this would have been to
create and implement textures to really make them feel “real”. Although there were 3 fully
completed characters, they were taken to the same level of finish and not further, perhaps, one of
them could have been taken through the entire process to illustrate the possibilities that could be
achieved.
30
The Froad Boss character suffered from a lack of finishing, although the model was completed to
a high standard, the lack of accessories meant it did not feel as imposing and alive as it was
originally intended to be. Clothes and accessories could have helped to further communicate and
create a sense of personality that seems to be lacking from the final renders. Again textures no
doubt would have helped to sell the fact that it was loosely based of a frog and a toad, bridging
that gap between intended look and interpretation.
Leaving the characters in a static pose also takes away from the illusion of these being game
characters, because when we play games, our characters are always performing some kind of
movement
5.3 Taking the Project Further
A list that presents numerous ways in which the project could be improved and developed further;
the text highlighted in yellow shows subtle improvements that could be made without too much
effort, the text highlighted in green explains ways to really push the boundaries of the project and
make it a far more finished and competent work. The Knowledge gained from the research and
implementation of this project will enable future work of similar nature to be executed simply in a
logical organized manner, the level of finish of characters can also be increased as more focus
will be put into the other stages, and possibly spawn another project focusing on the other areas
this production pipeline did not focus on as much.
- Texture all models
- Implemented into a game *
- User Manual or training DVD explaining and demonstrating steps*
- Better Renders
- Better Poses
* Marks features that are considered most important for the development of the project, the other
two are more for aesthetic reasons
31
5.4 Overall
Overall, the project has been a success. There was much valuable knowledge gained from the
project, most importantly the processes involved from taking a character from a concept to model
through to completion have been fully explored and understood, making this … These skills will
be very beneficial when approaching character design and creation from this point on. Research
helped to keep the project up to date with new industry standards and emerging technologies
ensuring relevance and understanding when applying and working for games companies. Skill set
and quality of skills have both expanded and areas of weakness have also been noticed and will
be resolved and worked on as a result of this project. The work produced will be a good basis for
portfolio and job application and the process undertaken is good preparation for working in the
games industry.
32
References
Ahearn, L. (2006) 3D Game Textures: Create Professional Game Art using Adobe Photoshop. Oxford:
Elsevier.
Bethesda Game Studios (2006) The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. New York: 2K Games.
Bioware, Neverwinter Nights. http://nwn.bioware.com
Blizzard Entertainment (2005) World of Warcraft. Vivendi Universal.
Blizzard Entertainment, Gamespot.
http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/all/real_time/screens/warcraft1.jpg
Blizzard Entertainment, Warcraft II Battle.net edition. http://www.blizzard.com/war2bne/ss02.shtml
Crytek Crytek Games: Crysis. http://www.crytek.com/games/index.php?s=xsis
Eberly, D.H. (2007) 3D Game Engine Design. 2nd ed. San Francisco: Elsevier.
Friedrich, H. et al. (2006) Exploring the use of ray tracing for future games. Acm Siggraph Video Game
Symposium, Massachusetts. ACM Press, 41-50.
Linde, R. (2005) Game Art: Creation, Direction and Careers. Massachusetts: Charles River Media.
Lionhead Studios (2004) Fable. Microsoft Game Studios.
Nvidia 3D Tools. http://developer.nvidia.com/page/tools.html
Tatarchuk, N. (2006) Practical Parallax Occlusion Mapping with Approximate Soft Shadows for Detailed
Surface Rendering. International Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, Boston.
ACM Press, 81-112.
Watt, A. and Policarpo, F. (2003) 3D Games Animation and Advanced Real-Time Rendering. Harlow:
Pearson Education Limited.
Watt, A. and Policarpo, F. (2001) 3-D Games Real-Time Rendering and Software Technology. Harlow:
Pearson Education Limited.
Wynters, E.L. (2007) 3D video games: no programming required. Journal of Computing Sciences in
Colleges, 22 (3), Available at:
http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1181875&coll=Portal&dl=GUIDE&CFID=20663941&CFTOKEN=946200
08, 105-111
33
CGportfolio - Jinwoo Lee ~ http://jjcoolio.cgsociety.org/gallery/356208/
CGPortfolio – Steven Hagg-Stahlberg ~ http://stahlberg.cgsociety.org/gallery/
CGPortfolio - Alvaro Buendia ~ http://buendiacg.cgsociety.org/gallery/
Steven Chen ~ http://www.stevenchen3d.com/
Pedro Toledo - Custom Portfolio ~ http://www.pedrotoledo.com.br/portfolio/home.htm
Jw Illust ~ http://www.jwillust.com/
Doug Chiang Studio ~ http://www.dchiang.com/dchiang_flash.html
Linda Bergkvist ~ http://www.furiae.com/
BROM ~ http://www.bromart.com/
Natascha Roeoesli ~ http://www.tascha.ch/
Tychoi ~ http://www.tychoi.com/
Hiko Online Portfolio ~ http://hiko.3dvf.net/www/engine.php3
Area 56 ~ http://www.area-56.de/
Soa Lee's Soanala ~ http://www.soanala.com/
Puddnhead ~ http://www.puddnhead.com/
Pixologic Makers of ZBrush ~ http://www.pixologic.com/zbrush/home/home.php
Mudbox ~ http://www.mudbox3d.com/
ConceptArt.org ~ www.conceptart.org
DeviantArt.com ~ www.deviantart.com
CGSociety ~ www.cgtalk.com
Digic Pictures ~ http://www.digicpictures.com/
Industrial Light & Magic – The Show: Pirates of the Caribbean 2 ~
http://features.cgsociety.org/story_custom.php?story_id=3889
Tippett Studios ~ http://www.tippett.com/
Massive Black, Inc. ~ http://massiveblack.com/mbNew/frontpage.html
Hellgate London ~ http://massiveblack.com/mbNew/html/hellgate.shtml
Death Fall ~ http://www.deathfall.com/contest.php
War Productions Miguel Ortega Creature FX ~ http://www.warproductions.com/
Gametrailers.com ~ http://www.gametrailers.com/
Feng Zhu Design ~ http://www.fengzhudesign.com/
Caroline Delen ~ http://www.carolinedelen.com/
Xcloud ~ http://www.xcloud.net/
34
Kolby Jukes ~ http://www.kolbyjukes.com/
Vitality Naymushin Portfolio ~ http://www.t3h-v.com/folio/corum.html
CGPortfolio - Skan Srisuwan ~ http://fiduciose.cgsociety.org/gallery/234866/
CGPortfolio - Sze Jones ~ http://szejones.cgsociety.org/gallery/
More Than Just A Pretty Map Creating Next-Generation Materials for Lair
http://worch.com/articles/gdc/!GDC2007_mworch.pdf
A Quick Guide to Normal Mapping in 3ds max 7
http://www.msmiami.com/custom/downloads/3Ds7_Mapping.pdf
Digital Production Pipelines: Examining Structures And Methods In The Computer Effects Industry
http://txspace.tamu.edu/bitstream/1969.1/2406/1/etd-tamu-2005A-VIZA-Bettis.pdf
Softimage Face Robot
http://www.softimage.com/products/face_robot/pdfs/FR_v15_brochure.pdf
Game Production Process
http://ludocraft.oulu.fi/elias/dokumentit/game_production_process.pdf
Getting Into Character: Building Performances for Next-Generation Productions
www.softimage.com/about_us/pdf/getting_into_character.pdf
High Quality Normal Maps Compression
http://graphics.cs.lth.se/research/papers/normals2006/normals_tc.pdf
Normal Mapping for Precomputed Radiance Transfer
http://www.ppsloan.org/publications/NMPRT.pdf
Real-time rendering of normal maps with discontinuities
http://www.cs.nyu.edu/~parilov/pubs/trep/report.pdf
Real-Time Reflection Mapping with Parallax
http://groups.csail.mit.edu/graphics/pubs/i3d05_realtime_reflection.pdf
Real-time, Photo-realistic, Physically Based Rendering of Fine Scale Human Skin Structure
ftp://ftp.cc.gatech.edu/pub/gvu/tr/2001/01-11.pdf
Real-time Rendering of Fur
http://www.gamasutra.com/education/theses/20051028/sheppard.pdf
Mixed Reality and Experiential Movie Trailers: Combining Emotions and Immersion to Innovate
Entertainment Marketing
http://www.cs.ucf.edu/~ceh/Publications/Papers/Content/SIMCHI05StapletonHughes.pdf
Taming the Complexity of Digital Productions
http://temerity.us/products/pipeline/docs/TamingComplexity.pdf
The Real Time Art Production Pipeline: An Examination Of Modeling For Surfacing As Used By
Professionals From Electronic Arts Tiburon
http://accad.osu.edu/~jharmon/thesis%20work/thesis.pdf
Digital Clones and Virtual Celebrities Facial Tracking, Gesture Recognition and Animation for the Movie
Industry
http://www.quantumworks.com/papers/ICCV99.pdf
Exploring A Byzantine Crypt Through A High-Resolution Texture Mapped 3D Model: Combining Range Data
And Photogrammetry
http://siba3.unile.it/ctle/3ddb/ISPRS2002/ISPRS2002_paper.pdf
35
Appendix A Specification
Character Production and Normal Mapping for Games
The problem at hand is to create a series of characters that would be suitable for use in modern
computer games in the hopes that the experience, research and knowledge gained from the
process will allow for the design of a successful pipeline for character creation that could be used
in future projects. The characters will be varied, and will be designed to fit into a successful game
in a defined game genre. The emphasis will be on the workflow used and the modeling of the 3d
assets and the detail extraction stage. The characters will be built with modern modeling and
detailing tools to ensure a visually feasible quality for use in a game.
To be able to create characters that would be feasible for use in modern games research will be
carried out to define what are the suitable limits for the polygon count, texture sizes and any other
issues that ascertain to creating characters for game development.
An emphasis will be made on the process of modeling high resolution models, low resolution
models and the process of extracting the high resolution model data for use on the low polygon
model. This is because Normal Mapping and its variants are a fairly new technology and as a
result will need to be investigated further to get a better understanding of its uses and
methodology for getting optimum results. Texture Mapping, rigging and skinning have existed
since the advent of 3d games and therefore will not be covered in great detail.
Normal Maps are able to be displayed on direct x 9 enabled graphics card and applications, so
the testing stage will be fairly straight forward; displaying of the models in a real time environment
such as the direct x 9 enabled 3d studio max viewport essentially emulates the same visualization
that would occur in a game thus proving suitability for in game usage.
As there are multiple methods and software available for creating normal maps, and creating the
assets to get the normals info from, research and careful consideration must go into these
selections so as to create an efficient and successful workflow that could be used as a pipeline
for future projects and developments, that supports scaling up with new techniques, software and
technology.
36
The schedule for this project will be as follows: Research in to technology, software and
techniques being used in games, the specification for characters assets used in the game genre
decided on and suitable workflows for creating a pipeline for these processes.
The research stage also involves a lot of testing and development of methodology, because even
after choosing a particular technique it may not be feasible after it has been tested on 3d assets.
After this initial research and development, the design stage will be next. This will include
designing of the characters and designing of the methodology to use in order to create a
production pipeline for use during the project, it will be updated during the project and for future
projects. After the design stage is complete, I will then move on to the implementation stage and
start building the assets, in the case of this project; modeling the high and low models for each
character as well as creating various pieces to test and demonstrate workflow, these will be
including in the annex. Due the nature of this project, the content will continuously be modified
through the analysis of testing, and research will continue for better ways to do things as well as
including any new techniques etc such as normal/parallax mapping with assets I have created
over that period of time. This process is estimated to take up round 3 months and should be
complete by early January.
From this period on I will move forward in the production process, and start testing out different
normal map creation methods, and comparing the results to try and get the most detail from the
high rez mesh on to the low rez mesh. If time permits, I will then experiment and find the best
method to create textures for the characters, as this is a supplementary goal it is not as important
if it not fully implemented. And finally I will be testing the results inside an environment which is
able to display normal maps in real time, if possible implement the characters into a game engine,
but this is not as important as processes that came before it. Project progress will be recorded in
the form of a series of diaries updated throughout the duration of the project; this will contain the
processes used throughout the project.
37
Appendix B Renders and Screenshots
Renders and screenshots from the project, a mixture of renders from 3D Studio Max, direct x 9
Viewport and zbrush.
Full textured High Rez Head Mode, Created using Film Techniques
38
Early Normal Mapping Pipeline demonstration using a variation of the zodd
character
39
Film Resolution Model of the Creature Boss Character
Game Resolution Model, with normal map generated from the hi rez version
40
Hi Resolution Source Mesh inside Mudbox
41
Low polygon mesh without normal map approx 10,000 triangles
Low polygon mesh with normal map applied approx 10,000 triangles
42
Low polygon mesh smooth shaded without normal map, approx 10,000 triangles
Low polygon mesh smooth shaded with normal map, approx 10,000 triangles
43
Unreal Barbarian:
44
45
46
Hi Resolution Source Head for Unreal Barbarian Character
47
Low Poly Unreal Barbarian Normal Mapped and accessories Approx. 5000
Triangles
48
49
Hi Resolution Zodd Character Mesh Textured
On Page Above, Unreal Barbarian Normal Mapped Game Model, Rendered with
Ambient Occlusion.
On Page Below, Various concepts made for the Froad Boss
50
51
Unreal Barbarian Concept Sketch
52
Close Detail Shot of Unreal Barbarians normal mapped accessories and another
character made for the project
53
54
Basic Zsphere Model, testing mesh creation
Skin Rendering Test
55
References - Report Reference List
[1]
Simone Movie
Simone movie poster, S1m0ne 2002
http://www.sineport.com/poster/2002/simone.jpg
[2]
Simone Movie
Simone screen shot, S1m0ne 2002
http://www.allmoviephoto.com/photo/2002_simone_014.html
[3]
Simone Movie
Simone screen shot, S1m0ne 2002
http://www.allmoviephoto.com/photo/2002_simone_013.html
[4]
Death Note Live Acton Movie
Death Note movie poster, Desu noto, 2006
http://bbg.ebloggy.com/img3/DeathNote.jpg
[5]
Death Note, Ryuk, 3D Stills and film stills, Desu noto, 2006
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b191/kikoyo/pcgames0616deathnote17_thumb.jpg
[6]
Death Note, Ryuk screen shot, Desu noto, 2006
http://www.cinegenre.net/img/deathnote_big2.jpg
[7]
Death Note screen shot, Desu noto, 2006
http://www.scifijapan.com/Death%20Note/14.jpg
[8]
http://www.scifijapan.com/Death%20Note/15.jpg
[9]
http://otaku1990.ot.funpic.de/wb/media/retro%20v/deathnote_moviepic.jpg
[10]
Face Robot
Kitty Hunting
http://features.cgsociety.org/gallerycrits/55075/55075_1143860388_large.jpg
[11]
Face Robot
Actress and Kitty Hunting
http://www.schrankmonster.de/content/binary/hunting.jpg
[12]
Face Robot
Kitty forgetful
http://www.softimage.com/products/face_robot/media/Kitty_forgetful.jpg
[13]
Face Robot
Kitty half smiling
http://www.softimage.com/products/face_robot/media/Kitty_semismile.jpg
56
[14]
Face Robot
Rock Falcon astounded
http://www.softimage.com/Products/face_robot/media/facerobot_rockfalcon_astounded_render.jp
g
[15]
Face Robot
Rock Falcon smiling, wireframe
http://www.softimage.com/Products/face_robot/media/facerobot_rockfalcon_smiling_wire.jpg
[16]
Face Robot
Rock Falcon puffing cheeks
http://www.softimage.com/Products/face_robot/media/facerobot_rockfalcon_puffing_cheeks_wire.
jpg
[17]
Face Robot
Rock Falcon animation controls
http://www.softimage.com/Products/face_robot/media/facerobot_rockfalcon_controls.jpg
[18]
Face Robot
Rock Falcon skin stress
http://www.softimage.com/Products/face_robot/media/facerobot_rockfalcon_stress.jpg
[19]
Face Robot
Old Kitty with blonde hair
http://206.145.80.239/zbc/attachment.php?attachmentid=29891
[20]
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, 2007
Concept art
http://www.livedigitally.com/wp-content/wowburningcrusade.jpg
[21]
Concept art
http://www.tech2.com/media/images/img_3088_burningcrusade2.jpg
[22]
Character design
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a338/erlem2000/burninglegion.jpg
[23]
FMV cinematic
http://photo4.yupoo.com/20061216/193045_1440361385.jpg
[24]
Character model; Illidan
http://wizarduniverse.com/_images_/002935/inc_Illidan1.jpg
[25]
Character model; Dranaei
http://wizarduniverse.com/_images_/002935/inc_Dranaei.jpg
[26]
Onimusha 3, 2004
FMV cinematic
http://features.cgsociety.org/stories/2004_12/cg_retrospective/onimusha_1.jpg
[27]
Warhammer: Mark of Chaos, 2006
57
Character model sheet
http://images.gamedev.net/features/art/warhammer/developmentchaos.jpg
[28]
Boss
http://warhammer.deepsilver.com/shared/intropics/boss.jpg
[29]
FMV cinematic
http://www.criticalgamers.com/archives/pictures/MarkOfChaos.8.7.06.jpg
[30]
Artwork
http://i.play.tm/s/8458/p/s.jpg
[31]
Gameplay
http://img.hexus.net/v2/gaming/screenshots_pc/warhammer/hammer1_large.jpg
[32]
FMV cinematic
http://www.overclockers.ru/images/lab/2006/05/22/1big.jpg
[33]
FMV cinematic
http://cg-india.com/images/DP_warhammer.jpg
[34]
FMV cinematic
http://mag.awn.com/issue11.05/11.05images/22_19Digic-Warhammer-320.jpg
[35]
FMV cinematic
http://files.myopera.com/noisewar/blog/warhammer.jpg
[36]
FMV cinematic
http://img.aktualne.centrum.cz/49/12/491279-warhammer-mark-of-chaos.jpg
[37]
FMV cinematic
http://www.cinergi-interactive.com/CI%20new%20web/images/screenshot_WH_teaser_01.jpg
[38]
Powered by Unreal Technology, 2004
Unreal engine 3 technology demo; Beast
http://www.unrealtechnology.com/screens/p_beast.jpg
[39]
Unreal engine 3 technology demo; Soldier
http://www.unrealtechnology.com/screens/p_soldier.jpg
[40]
Unreal engine 3 technology demo; Bezerker
http://www.unrealtechnology.com/screens/p_bezerker.jpg
58
[41]
Unreal engine 3 technology demo; soldier character creation
http://www.unrealtechnology.com/screens/character_creation1.jpg
[42]
[43]
[44]
Normal mapping
http://www.nwn2-esp.com/files/images/normalmapping.jpg
[45]
Hellgate London
Wallpaper
http://www.overclockers.ru/images/soft/2005/11/21/hellgate/tm_matte_1280x800-b.jpg
[46]
3D Frog, 2006
A model of a frog
http://static.highend3d.com/tutorialimages/307/tutorial16.jpg
[47]
3D Frog
A model of a frog
http://static.highend3d.com/tutorialimages/307/tutorial4.jpg
[48]
3D Frog
A model of a frog
http://douglaswalsh.net/Pics/froggie03.jpg
[49]
Frog Man
Concept art
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f54/cakeye/FrogManBack2.jpg
[50]
Frog
A design of a frog
http://www.groonk.net/blog/images/frog1.jpg
[51]
3D Frog
A model of a frog
http://www.evermotion.org/excluziv/realsoft3d/frog.jpg
[52]
3D Frog
A model of a frog
http://www.shapesandlines.com/art/Updates/FudoKaeruLarge2.jpg
[53]
Frog illustration
An illustration of a frog girl
http://www.infernalbbq.com/images/frog_girl.jpg
[54]
3D Model
A frog connection
59
http://206.145.80.239/zbc/attachment.php?attachmentid=1225
[55]
Gears of War
The main characters (left to right): Baird, Cole, Marcus, and Dom
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Gow-cogs.jpg
[56]
Prey
A fodder, one of the various alien species from Prey
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:198340_20050510_screen008.jpg
[57]
Crysis 3D face
A screenshot showing details in facial design
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Crysisface3d.jpg
[58]
Blade 2
Screenshots
http://www.tippett.com/index.php?bc=12&pt=3&tt=3&sc=0&fs=4
[59]
Hollow Man
Screenshots
[60]
Constantine
Screenshots
[61]
Hellboy
Screenshots
[62]
Hellgate London
Creature; 3d model, wireframe, textured and finished
http://massiveblack.com/mbNew/html/hellgate.shtml
[63]
Hellgate London
Creature 1; 3d model, wireframe, textured and finished
Creature 2; character model sheet, textured and finished model
http://massiveblack.com/mbNew/html/hellgate.shtml
[64]
3ds Max
3D character
http://www.pconline.com.cn/pcedu/sj/media/3dsmax/0608/pic/060802maxmayaautodesk02.jpg
[65]
Zbrush Images
Displacement map
http://209.132.69.82/zbrush/zbrush2/images/displacement/displacementphone.jpg
[66]
Mudbox Gallery
Artist: Pascal Raimbault
http://www.mudbox3d.com/gallery/pages/Pascal.html
[67]
Mudbox Gallery
Artist: Jacques Defontaine
http://www.mudbox3d.com/gallery/pages/HellBoy_WIP_007.html
[68]
Mudbox Gallery
60
Artist: Dave Cardwell
http://www.mudbox3d.com/gallery/pages/fistImage08.html
[69]
Mudbox Gallery
http://www.mudbox3d.com/gallery/pages/HK_mud.html
[70]
Polycount Challenge
Artist: Alex Munn
Character sheet; Colour, normal and spec map
http://www.alexmunn.com/images/dhalsim_final.jpg
[71]
Normal Mapping
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_mapping
[72]
Parrallax Mapping
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parrallax_mapping
[73]
Displacement Mapping
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Displacement_mapping
[74]
Relief Mapping
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relief_mapping
Research
Pixologic :: Gentle Giant Interview
http://www.pixologic.com/zbrush/community/interviews/gentlegiant/interview.php
Lights, camera, video games | CNET News.com
http://news.com.com/Lights,+camera,+video+games/2100-1025_3-6113481.html
12. International Conference on Animation, Effects, Realtime and Content
http://www.fmx.de/E.223.html
Aurora Borealis Software LLC &mdash 1st International Symposium on ...
http://www.aurorasoft.net/symposiums/ics06/panel.php
Great Expectations
http://digitalcontentproducer.com/mag/video_great_expectations/
3D computer graphics software - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_computer_graphics_software
Face Robot
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_Robot
covert creations » MMORPGs, Security, and the Grand Promise of ...
http://covertcreations.com/blog/2006/10/06/mmorpgs-security-and-the-grand-promise-ofmiddleware/
Section 11: Production companies
http://accad.osu.edu/~waynec/history/lesson11.html
SOFTIMAGE::Products::SOFTIMAGE|FACE ROBOT
http://www.softimage.com/products/face_robot/default.aspx
61
SOFTIMAGE|FACE ROBOT Image Gallery
http://www.softimage.com/products/face_robot/image_gallery/default.aspx
SOFTIMAGE|FACE ROBOT - Face to Game Export
http://www.softimage.com/products/face_robot/game_export/default.aspx
SOFTIMAGE|FACE ROBOT - Game Export - Shading
http://www.softimage.com/products/face_robot/game_export/acting_to_game/shading/default.asp
x
SOFTIMAGE|FACE ROBOT Video Gallery
http://www.softimage.com/products/face_robot/video_gallery/
Powered by Unreal Technology
http://www.unrealtechnology.com/html/technology/ue30.shtml
ZBrushCentral - “Wik” Main character for a video game
http://206.145.80.239/zbc/showthread.php?t=20998&page=1&pp=15
Mudbox - Feature Highlights
http://www.mudbox3d.com/featurehighlights.html
Skymatter’s Mudbox http://digitalproducer.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=106658
VFXWorld / Feature Articles Mudbox Review: ‘Freedom to Choose’ for Digital Sculptors
http://www.vfxworld.com/?sa=adv&code=319b255d&atype=articles&id=3085&page=1
Untitled Page
http://www.ghostscape.com/barrel.html
3D Tutorials & CG Tutorials “Revolution” by Zhang Yang
http://www.3dtutorials.sk/index.php?id=200&page=1
Normal mapping - Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_mapping
Half-Life 2 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half_Life_2
Gears of War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gears_of_War
Lair (video game) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lair_%28video_game%29
Parallax mapping - Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallax_mapping
Displacement mapping - Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Displacement_mapping
3D Buzz - Normal Maps like in Unreal Engine 3
http://sv3.3dbuzz.com/vbforum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=77037
62
The Chronicles of Riddick: Normal Mapping Overview - Xbox
http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/6086/The-Chronicles-of-Riddick-Normal-Mapping-Overview/
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay Movie (Xbox)
http://xboxmovies.teamxbox.com/xbox/841/The-Chronicles-of-Riddick-Normal-MappingTechnology-Overview
Game Information The Chronicles of Riddick Escape From Butcher Bay
http://www.sierra.com/en/home/games/game_info.prodL2NvbnRlbnQvc2llcnJhL2VuL3Byb2R1Y3RzL2Nocm9uaWNsZXNfb2ZfcmlkZGljaw==.platformglobal.html
Game Developers Ireland - View topic - Normal Mapping
http://www.gamedevelopers.ie/forums/viewtopic.php?p=31583
Feature Focus: Normal Mapping | HaloDev
http://main.halodev.org/articles/feature-focus-normal-mapping
GDC 2007: More Than Just A Pretty Map - Creating Next-Generation Materials for LAIR
http://worch.com/articles/articles.html
creating bumpmaps from images pt. 1: Quake3Bits Tutorials
http://www.quake3bits.com/htm/tutorials/creating_bumpmaps_from_images.htm
LoTR: BFME II - Rise of the Witch-King > Maps Levels Missions > Online Normal Maps
http://browse.files.filefront.com/LoTR+BFMEII+Rise+of+the+Witch+King+Maps+Levels+Missions
+Online+Normal+Maps/;1892214;/browsefiles.html
Mod DB - Play something different
http://moddb.com/
CGTalk - Normal Mapping in 3ds max
http://forums.cgsociety.org/archive/index.php/t-87991.html
The SnarkPit - Half-Life 2 Tutorials
http://www.snarkpit.net/editing.php?page=tutorials&game=HL2&id=186
Santy’s blog
http://santyhammer.blogspot.com/
Ben Cloward - Character Animator | Resources - Shaders
http://www.bencloward.com/resources_shaders.shtml
Ionization
http://www.ionization.net/tutsnorm1.htm
blender.org - Normal Maps
http://www.blender.org/development/release-logs/blender-236/normal-maps/
Texturing - modwiki
http://www.modwiki.net/wiki/Texturing
ZbrushCentral - Exporting normal maps for ZBrush
63
http://www.zbrushcentral.com/zbc/showthread.php?t=002575
Displacement and Normal Maps Made Easy
http://209.132.69.82/zbrush/zbrush2/displacement.html
Bump, Displacement, and Normal Maps - ZbrushInfo
http://www.zbrush.info/site/index.php/Bump,_Displacement,_and_Normal_Maps
Lair PS3 Game, Lair Playstation 3
http://www.1up.com/do/gameOverview?cId=3143795
Object Space Normal Mapping Tutorial
http://www.3dkingdoms.com/tutorial.htm
VFXWorld / Feature Articles Oddworld’s ‘Real’ Reel World
http://vfxworld.com/?sa=adv&code=57c5ed8a&atype=articles&id=2203
Big Huge Games
http://www.bighugegames.com/engine.shtml
Zygote Media Group, Inc.
http://www.zygote.com/film_main.php
Autodesk - 3ds Max used to create believable buildings
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?siteID=123112&id=5943857&linkID=5572501
Peter Konig - 3D Modeler
http://www.animationarena.com/3d-modeler.html
Death Fall | Underworld: Evolution ¼ The technical evolution of Luma Pictures
http://www.deathfall.com/feature.php?op=showcontent&id=58
Underworld: Evolution render passes video clip
http://www.deathfall.com/download/video/wwf_contactSheet.mov
Death Fall | The VFX of Frostbiten ¼ An Interview with Janak Thakker
Death Fall | Silent Hill ¼ An Interview with Evan Jacobs
CgSociety - Blizzard’s Warcraft - The Night Elf
CGSociety - Mark of Chaos
CGSociety - Rise of Legends
CGSociety - Oh Strange Horrors
CGSoceity - Massive Talent
CGSociety - Zack Petroc
64
CGSociety - Style Guide
CGSociety - Burn Cycle
CGSociety - A-mazing
Pixologic :: ILM Interview
http://www.pixologic.com/zbrush/community/interviews/ilm-pirates/interview.php
CGSociety - Shades of Davy Jones
CGSociety - Art Booty
CGSociety - A Treasure Chest of Techniques
Pixologic :: Luma Pictures Interview
http://www.pixologic.com/zbrush/community/interviews/luma-pictures/interview.php
CGSociety - Underworld:Evolution
Luma Pictures Hits New Heights with Underworld: Evolution – VFXTalk.com
http://www.vfxtalk.com/forum/luma-pictures-hits-new-heights-t4696.html?threadid=4696
CGSociety - CGS Artist Profile - Linda Tso
CGSociety - Peeking into Paraworld with the Artists of Pendulum: Part 1
CGSociety - The Pipeline of Paraworld
CGSociety - Peeking into Paraworld
CGSociety - Act3animation
Pixologic :: ILM Interview
Pixologic :: Luma Pictures Interview
Pixologic :: Digic Interview
http://www.pixologic.com/zbrush/community/interviews/digic/interview.php
Pixologic :: Weta Digital Interview
http://www.pixologic.com/zbrush/community/interviews/weta/interview.php
65
Bibliography
More Than Just A Pretty Map Creating Next-Generation Materials for Lair
http://worch.com/articles/gdc/!GDC2007_mworch.pdf
A Quick Guide to Normal Mapping in 3ds max 7
http://www.msmiami.com/custom/downloads/3Ds7_Mapping.pdf
Digital Production Pipelines: Examining Structures And Methods In The Computer Effects
Industry
http://txspace.tamu.edu/bitstream/1969.1/2406/1/etd-tamu-2005A-VIZA-Bettis.pdf
Softimage Face Robot
http://www.softimage.com/products/face_robot/pdfs/FR_v15_brochure.pdf
Game Production Process
http://ludocraft.oulu.fi/elias/dokumentit/game_production_process.pdf
Getting Into Character: Building Performances for Next-Generation Productions
www.softimage.com/about_us/pdf/getting_into_character.pdf
High Quality Normal Maps Compression
http://graphics.cs.lth.se/research/papers/normals2006/normals_tc.pdf
Normal Mapping for Precomputed Radiance Transfer
http://www.ppsloan.org/publications/NMPRT.pdf
Real-time rendering of normal maps with discontinuities
http://www.cs.nyu.edu/~parilov/pubs/trep/report.pdf
Real-Time Reflection Mapping with Parallax
http://groups.csail.mit.edu/graphics/pubs/i3d05_realtime_reflection.pdf
Real-time, Photo-realistic, Physically Based Rendering of Fine Scale Human Skin Structure
ftp://ftp.cc.gatech.edu/pub/gvu/tr/2001/01-11.pdf
Real-time Rendering of Fur
http://www.gamasutra.com/education/theses/20051028/sheppard.pdf
Mixed Reality and Experiential Movie Trailers: Combining Emotions and Immersion to Innovate
Entertainment Marketing
http://www.cs.ucf.edu/~ceh/Publications/Papers/Content/SIMCHI05StapletonHughes.pdf
Taming the Complexity of Digital Productions
http://temerity.us/products/pipeline/docs/TamingComplexity.pdf
The Real Time Art Production Pipeline: An Examination Of Modeling For Surfacing As Used By
Professionals From Electronic Arts Tiburon
http://accad.osu.edu/~jharmon/thesis%20work/thesis.pdf
Digital Clones and Virtual Celebrities Facial Tracking, Gesture Recognition and Animation for the
Movie Industry
http://www.quantumworks.com/papers/ICCV99.pdf
66
Exploring A Byzantine Crypt Through A High-Resolution Texture Mapped 3D Model: Combining
Range Data And Photogrammetry
http://siba3.unile.it/ctle/3ddb/ISPRS2002/ISPRS2002_paper.pdf
3D / Artist / Game websites
Pixologic Makers of ZBrush ~ http://www.pixologic.com/zbrush/home/home.php
Mudbox ~ http://www.mudbox3d.com/
ConceptArt.org ~ www.conceptart.org
DeviantArt.com ~ www.deviantart.com
CGSociety ~ www.cgtalk.com
Digic Pictures ~ http://www.digicpictures.com/
Industrial Light & Magic – The Show: Pirates of the Caribbean 2 ~
Tippett Studios ~ http://www.tippett.com/
Massive Black, Inc. ~ http://massiveblack.com/mbNew/frontpage.html
Hellgate London ~ http://massiveblack.com/mbNew/html/hellgate.shtml
Death Fall ~ http://www.deathfall.com/contest.php
War Productions Miguel Ortega Creature FX ~ http://www.warproductions.com/
Gametrailers.com ~ http://www.gametrailers.com/
Feng Zhu Design ~ http://www.fengzhudesign.com/
Caroline Delen ~ http://www.carolinedelen.com/
Xcloud ~ http://www.xcloud.net/
Kolby Jukes ~ http://www.kolbyjukes.com/
Ben Mathis - Freelance Artist ~ http://www.poopinmymouth.com/
Vitality Naymushin Portfolio ~ http://www.t3h-v.com/folio/corum.html
Ghostscape 3.0 - The Portfolio of Michael Patrick Clark, Game Artist ~
http://www.ghostscape.com/
CGPortfolio - Skan Srisuwan ~ http://fiduciose.cgsociety.org/gallery/234866/
CGPortfolio - Sze Jones ~ http://szejones.cgsociety.org/gallery/
CGportfolio - Jinwoo Lee ~ http://jjcoolio.cgsociety.org/gallery/356208/
CGPortfolio – Steven Hagg-Stahlberg ~ http://stahlberg.cgsociety.org/gallery/
67
CGPortfolio - Alvaro Buendia ~ http://buendiacg.cgsociety.org/gallery/
Steven Chen ~ http://www.stevenchen3d.com/
Pedro Toledo - Custom Portfolio ~ http://www.pedrotoledo.com.br/portfolio/home.htm
Jw Illust ~ http://www.jwillust.com/
Doug Chiang Studio ~ http://www.dchiang.com/dchiang_flash.html
Linda Bergkvist ~ http://www.furiae.com/
BROM ~ http://www.bromart.com/
Natascha Roeoesli ~ http://www.tascha.ch/
Tychoi ~ http://www.tychoi.com/
Hiko Online Portfolio ~ http://hiko.3dvf.net/www/engine.php3
Area 56 ~ http://www.area-56.de/
Soa Lee's Soanala ~ http://www.soanala.com/
Puddnhead ~ http://www.puddnhead.com/
68

Normal Mapping, Characters, Next Gen, Pipeline

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