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I have always been very much a right handed person. So when I design a game asset, I always end up in Blender extruding and dragging out a shape or a design. When I start I have an idea of what it is I want to make, but it almost never ends up looking like what I expected in my minds eye...

Sometimes I will start with a pencil sketch, but my pencil drawing abilities have suffered serious degeneration in this digital age.

I lack the formal art school training so doing realistic renderings is simply out for me...

My favorite art program tool is symmetry modifiers.

Anyhow, what do you guys do?

I'm not a very good 3D modeler but can come up with stuff that's not too bad. Often, I'll use a reference image, a photograph, a drawing, whatever I need. Depending on the type of model the method will change. Often I'll choose a couple of views and trace an outline by placing vertices at key locations and link them together. I'll extrude or spin the edges how I need, then do some final shaping vert by vert for as long as my patience lasts.

Mirroring comes in real handy.


Schools are good for technique and in the 3D world for learning to use modeling programs well. But ability, creativity, generally don't come from a school. Something that may help is to get hold of some modeling clay. Play with it, shape your imagined 3D objects with it. Look at it. See how the light hits it. See where shadows are and aren't. Look at the different angles.

If you become very visually aware of the physical 3D clay object and fairly dexterous at manipulating the clay (this doesn't mean you have to be good at sculpting), it may help you gain insight on what you want to see in your digital 3D world and improve your renderings.

I start with thinking about how the shapes will link together. A human body requires arms, legs, a head. The Icosahedron has the right placements for those joints. Or a Roman structure might have pillars leading to a flat surface. So You start with the pillars as cylinders, extrude the cylinder, and flatten the extrusion in X/Z, and merge those flat faces to create cylinders attached to a flat surface. It's not art, it's more like a 3D jigsaw. You plan all of the joints before you start building anything.

two ways here...

Procrastinate>Do some thinking>Play a game or three>Produce asset

Procrastinate>Rethink the process>Think what the end result is>Make it

I do most of my environments at the moment in 3D World Studio however keen to jump into something more solid like MAX... [the money is not my main concern its more the learning curve...]

most other assets currently are stock media and textures custom created...

I am considering buying the Dark Matter packs as I only have DM1 at the moment...

Evolution - Revision
(Posted Previously)



I will think something up, and just build it. Sometimes things come together and it's great. Sometimes it sucks. I've learned to come back later with fresh eyes and improve and facelift things. People get tunnel vision. You come back later and notice proportions are wrong, textures are poor, or the whole thing sucks.



After a while you get better at doing things, or have better ideas. At least bad "game assets" can stand in for replacements while you design the game.

It's also good to get ideas from other people, like you are doing now.

I absolutely SUCK at making 3D characters in every way. I usually contact someone who is capable when I need to.

TheComet