Friday, May 1, 2009

"Deadeye" - Unreal Tournament 3 character

Okay, so after modeling a few game characters, I decided it was time to actually model a character that can be imported into the Unreal Tournament 3 game engine. It turns out this is a bit more complicated than simply modeling a low poly character. First, as always, the process begins with concept art. Instead of the usual UT3/Gears of War character, which is covered in a thick layer of plate armor akin to football pads on steroids, I opted to design a lightly armored character that actually wears more cloth than armor. The idea was to create a reconnaissance/sniper character suitable for desert, jungle or forest environments wearing: a simple pauldron, cloth wrappings, a light backpack and utility kilt. His equipment includes: an advanced thermo/night vision/sonar combo goggles system, an electromagnetic gauntlet calibrated to steady his aim, and hydraulic boots that enhance his speed and leaping! Basically it's a cross between a Tuskan Raider and an elite Cobra unit. (insert "Coooobraaaa!!!" scream now) Oh, and the head is based on my favorite Lost character: John Locke (a seasoned tracker and survivor).

Here is my initial finalized concept sketch...

To model the character, I had to use an existing Male IronGuard UT3 skeleton as a template and model around the skeleton. To aid in this, I created orthographic sketches of the front and side views of the character, drawn over screenshots of the UT3 skeletons to ensure that my concept art utilized the exact proportions of the UT3 skeleton. In addition, I divided the parts of my character as the UT3 models were created: boots, thighs, torso, arms, head, helmet, facemask and goggles (i.e., so these parts could be interchanged within the UT3 Customize Character screen). After ensuring that all parts of my model were "capped off" and unwrapping the UVs according to the rigid zones that UT3 demands, I was able to begin the ZBrush work to create my Normal maps, Photoshop work to create my Diffuse maps and Crazybump work to create my Specular maps. Here is a screenshot of the basic low-poly model with wireframe displayed...

...and here's a shot of the same model with Diffuse maps, Normal maps and Specular maps! These really enhance the look of the model and make it look like it contains a much higher polycount!


Creating alpha maps for use in ZBrush, allow you to create some nice texture detail, like: scratches, stubble, pores and fabric patterns. This allows the model detail to hold up even under close inspection...

...even for extreme closeups! "I'm ready for my closeup, Mr. DeMille!"

After the model was completed, the model was bound to the UT3 skeleton. Painting of weights was used to fix any errors in mesh deformation during joint bends--well, I tried at any rate. The upper cloak and utility kilt continued to plague me by clipping through the arms and legs (respectively) during extreme bends. I eventually gave up when it was "close enough." The Actor X plug-in tool for Maya was utilized to export each of the parts of the model for UT3 (generating the associated .psk and .txt files). After some scripting and importing, the character was ready to play in UT3. Here's Deadeye at the UT3 Customize Character screen...

Here he is without his helmet, facemask and goggles...

Here's a UT3 screenshot in which I am playing as Deadeye in third person view...

Here I am fighting Deadeye in first person view...

...and again...

...and again!

15 comments:

Yusuke Sato said...

The guy came out really nice aaron. Now u gotta build the robot!

Selachimorpha said...

I hope you're doing well
Bandar Judi Slot Joker338
Agen Slot Online Joker338
Bermain Slot Game di Joker338
Judi Slot Online di Agen Joker338
Tembak Ikan di Agen Joker338

Selachimorpha said...

I hope you're having a great week
Judi Ikan di Situs Play338
Agen Slot Online Serverbola
Agen Joker123
Bermain Slot Joker123
Slot Joker123

Selachimorpha said...

I hope you're having a wonderful day
Tembak Ikan Joker123
Joker123
Jadwalbola.info
Tumbuhanberkhasiat.web.id
Slot Joker338 Online

Selachimorpha said...

Thank you for the update
Tembak Ikan Play338
Game Slot Online
Agen Joker338 Online
Game Slot Agen Joker123
Situs Play338 Online

Odobenus rosmarus said...

Thank you for the update
Main Slot di Agen Joker338
Situs Joker123
Tembak Ikan Joker123
Judi Slot Joker123
Joker123 Situs Game Ikan

Odobenus rosmarus said...

I hope you're having a wonderful day
Joker123 Situs Slot Game
Slot Joker123 Terpopuler
Game Slot Joker123
Game Ikan Joker123
Jackpot Slot Online

Odobenus rosmarus said...

I hope you enjoyed your weekend
Agen Joker123 di Indonesia
Game Joker123
Judi Slot Joker338
Slot Play338 Online
Judi Tembak Ikan Joker338

Odobenus rosmarus said...

Thank you for the update
Judi Slot Play338
Tembak Ikan Play338
Permainan Slot Joker338 Online
Judi Ikan Arenagaming88
Agen Tembak Ikan Joker338

culicidae said...

Hope this email finds you well
Jackpot Slot Joker338
Slot Arenagaming88 Online
Agen Joker123
Situs Joker123 Terpopuler
Situs Tembak Ikan

culicidae said...

It's great to hear from you
Joker123 Situs Game Ikan
Judi Slot Joker123
Tembak Ikan Joker123
Situs Judi Slot Terpopuler
Slot Joker123

culicidae said...

I hope you're having a great week
Joker123
Tembak Ikan Joker123
Judi Slot Joker123
Agen Joker Gaming
Agent Joker338

Diptera said...

I'm eager to get your advice on...
Joker388 Judi Ikan
tembak ikan joker123
daftar joker123
Slot Joker123
Joker123

Diptera said...

Thank you for the update
Sejarah Slot Joker123
Slot Joker123 Game
Agen Slot Joker123
Joker123 Sloting Online
Bermain Slot Joker123

Diptera said...

Hope this email finds you well
Joker123 Sloting Online
Bermain Slot Joker123