Page 40 - 3D Artist 110 - 2017 UK

REBUILDING HISTORY: WORLD OF WARSHIPS

“Most people don’t realise the amount of time it to make the ships as longer. “For the carriers, cruisers and battleships it
actually takes to build one of our ships, what it is more like six to eight months. you can imagine
takes for them to be so historically accurate – or accurate as possible, we that research time can take anywhere from one
even all the research and the background work have to get the materials month to a year as well.”
that must be completed before our artists can it doesn’t matter whether you are preparing
even begin work,” Artur Plociennik, the executive irst-hand a render for a university assignment or getting
producer responsible for bridging the gap between Vladimir Gremitskiy, ready to build a ship for what could indeed be
the art and design teams, tells 3D Artist. but that’s Head of art the most pedantic player base in videogames:
why we’re here: to get a sense of the research, research is one of the most important aspects of
time and passion that is poured into each and the production pipeline. With artists responsible
every one of these historically accurate 20th- for taking charge of both modelling and texturing
century vessels. “you could argue that anybody and understanding over basic production tools these vessels from start to inish, the devil is
could make a replica model of a ship – and take such as Maya, Photoshop and Quixel – but years certainly in the details. From the shape of the hull
their sweet time doing it,” says Plociennik, “but of a life. “there’s basically one artist assigned to to the implementation of the ire-control and
to actually have the expertise so that it turns out work on each ship,” says Anatoliy nepochatov, weapon systems, right down to the placement
to be believable and viable? that’s something a senior 3d artist at the studio with over a dozen of chains on the deck and areas of rusting on the
really unique to this team.” warships in his portfolio. “they will come to know exterior, the artist must know and understand
And you know what, he isn’t wrong. one that ship better than any other; they will put all of these intricacies before they can even begin
thing becomes immediately apparent as we begin a piece of their soul into its design.” getting their hands dirty in Maya.
touring the studio and speaking with the staff: “one of our destroyers, the smallest type of “to make the ships as accurate as possible, we
there’s more to this project than mere historical ship class that we have and also the least detailed, have to get the materials irst-hand,” head of art
re-creation. What’s impressive is that each ship is around two months of production time in terms Vladimir gremitskiy tells us. “the best way for
completed and made live on the World Of of man hours,” Plociennik conirms, noting that the us to get the best reference for our ships is
Warships servers isn’t just another job well larger ships – some of which can range anywhere archives. We have to visit or contact national
done – representing an impressive proiciency from 100 to 150 metres in size – will take far archives in the countries of the ships that we are

After the ship has been
assembled, a UV map needs
to be created, with Wargaming
using UVLayout for this

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