The Gnomon Workshop – Building a Stylized Environment with Martin Teichmann

Includes:

VOLUME 1 - Ideation to Creation: Blockmesh, Bridge, Castle

Description

In this series, Martin Teichmann, Environment Modeler at Naughty Dog, takes you through his complete production workflow to build a stylized game ready environment; a process that requires not only technical and artistic knowledge, but also insight into the mechanics of game play in order to deliver the best experience for the player. In this first volume of a three part series, Martin guides you through his ideation process, reference gathering and the initial stages of development for a large environment. He creates a meaningful block mesh in 3dsMax which can then be turned into modules to split the environment creation process into small tasks. Using the example of an arch module, Martin demonstrates the asset’s creation through low-poly modeling and texturing in 3dsMax, hi-poly sculpting in ZBrush and texture generation in Substance Designer. Basic software knowledge is required as the workshop primarily focuses on workflow and the development of a unique art style. At the end, students will have a thorough understanding of the layout and early production process for game environments, and be ready for volume two where Martin moves on to the terrain, rocks and foliage.

Duration: 304 Minutes
Format: HD 1920x1080

http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/tutorials/building-a-stylized-environment-volume-1

VOLUME 2 - Ideation to Creation: Terrain, Rocks and Foliage

Description

In this series, Martin Teichmann, Environment Modeler at Naughty Dog, takes you through his complete production workflow to build a stylized game ready environment; a process that requires not only technical and artistic knowledge, but also insight into the mechanics of game play in order to deliver the best experience for the player. In this second volume of the series, Martin guides you through the creation of the rock and vegetation assets needed for a detailed game environment based off the references and block meshes created in Volume One. He covers the modeling process for high-poly rocks in ZBrush, how to create the low-poly using 3dsMax, then creates the rock textures using Substance Designer. Assets are imported into Unreal where material creation is addressed as well as Rock LODs. Martin creates the stylized trees in Photoshop and 3dsMax, imports them into Unreal and demonstrates the technical setup for animated foliage using vertex animation. At the end of this volume, you should have a good understanding of organic asset creation and be ready to move on to Volume Three where Martin discusses final scene assembly in the Unreal Engine.

Duration: 161 Minutes
Format: HD 1920x1080

http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/tutorials/building-a-stylized-environment-volume-2

VOLUME 3 - Ideation to Creation: Assembling the Scene in Unreal Engine

Description

In this series, Martin Teichmann, Environment Modeler at Naughty Dog, takes you through his complete production workflow to build a stylized game ready environment; a process that requires not only technical and artistic knowledge, but also insight into the mechanics of game play in order to deliver the best experience for the player. In this final volume of a three-part series, Martin guides you through the process of assembling the scene in Unreal Engine 4. He starts by setting up the Unreal project and dresses the scene by placing all the main elements that were created in Volume Two. From there, he covers the first lighting pass by importing an HDR image to be used as a material for the Sky Sphere in Unreal. Martin then places the mid-elements and castle details, followed by the first bake. Additional assets are added, and the rock and stone materials are set up and painted to the 3D mesh using vertex painting. Scene lighting now gets updated along with a final material polish pass while taking care of the gameplay adjustments and optimizations needed for a smooth game experience. For those looking to develop their environment art workflow, this title concludes the series with techniques derived from Martin’s in-depth industry experience, providing the student with the necessary knowledge to create a game ready environment with Unreal.

Duration: 264 Minutes
Format: HD 1920x1080

http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/tutorials/building-a-stylized-environment-volume-3

Project files included