Page 32 - 3D World - October 2017

FEATURE
Game changer

work than say hire two or three character art team, we can decide diVErsE ModEls A close-up of an
juniors to do the same amount of whether we like it, if we don’t From the ripped, stone-like archon, which was
work. Also as BioWare didn’t have we can fix or replace it. After the appearance of the Kett, which is rendered in Keyshot
a lot of concept artists at that time, blocking, once it’s approved by our one of Mass Effect: Andromeda’s
we had a lot more back and forth art director, we start the hi-res new races of alien alongside the
between the 3D art and the 2D art model, which is done in ZBrush. Angara, to the return of the doe-
departments, so basically 2D would We [use] ZModeler to do base eyed, amphibian-esque Salarians,
put less time on the concept and shapes, we use a lot of masking, Christopher and his team were
we would help out and fill in the polygrouping and panel looping to responsible for generating several
blanks. In the end it worked out do extractions for volume. At the races of alien for the sci-fi game,
pretty good.” end when everything is modelled as well as for creating the human
Charged with creating humans out we subdivide, we add detail contingent. “I love Mass Effect
and aliens, Christopher says each with brushes and when that’s because of these opportunities.
model would typically take around done we render it out. Usually we One month you’ll be making a
five to seven weeks to create. “We use KeyShot to do a hi-res render
start with the 2D concept and pick and then we send it off to the art
up ZBrush to do a quick blocking, director for approval and if there’s WE STArT WITh ThE
so a quick pass on proportions and no changes, we start doing the
on main features for a character game model. For that, most of us 2D CONCEpT AND pICK
we’re working on, to create a quick use 3ds Max to do a low-res model
glance as to what we’ll see in- and UVs, and we do textures in Up ZBrUSh TO DO A qUICK
game later on because doing the Quixel Suite. Then we import
whole character process takes a everything in to Frostbite and BlOCKING, SO A qUICK pASS
few weeks. If you can get an idea make sure that everything looks
of your end result in a few hours great and ready to send off to the ON prOpOrTIONS
it really helps visualise the art next stage, which is skinning,
direction, and see if it works or rigging and animation, and that’s a
not. Through the blocking, as the whole other department.” Christopher Cao, senior character artist, BioWare

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