Making of the Steam Master - Next-Gen Game Headby Sorin Lupu


The specular maps are built using the color maps as base. I start by de-saturating the image to get a better view of the grey shades. For the shiny areas, I enhance the lightness, sometimes to near white. For some materials (metals for example) the specular looks best if its color is complementary to that of the color map. I know that having too much contrast on the specular map can make the character look unrealistic from up-close but actually this effect is preferred because it enhances the look of the character when viewed from a medium distance, as most game characters are meant to be viewed. To give the specular map variation I used “dirt” maps that unlike the dirt maps used in the color texture to add small details, add variation on a larger scale. Also, I try to vary the specular as often as possible, for example I defined the hood as being made from two different materials by giving it two distinct areas with different specular color.



Here’s the final Maya scene viewed in High Quality Mode. Final poly-count: 4400 polygons.





Final Words

Making a realistic head requires a lot of anatomically correct references. The best ones are pictures of normal, everyday people. The character’s expression has to be natural so a lot of attention has to go into detailing the face. As I mentioned at the beginning of this tutorial, a strong silhouette will also add to the quality of the final result. As this head is intended for use in a game, the edge loops are very important, as correct and natural looking deformations will give the animation a more natural, believable look.

At first the entire process might seem long and complicated, but by splitting the work into different phases, everything is going to be much easier to follow. The last couple of years have brought a tremendous leap in what can be done with ingame characters by allowing the artist to use more polygons and textures to accomplish his work. This means we can do we could only dream of before Next Gen games. I hope you enjoyed reading this tutorial.

Thank You


About the Author - Sorin Lupu is Lead Character Artist at AMC Studio since 2001. He has a degree in Painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts, a part of the National University of Arts in Bucharest, Romania. He. His team have done character work for such games as Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends, Mercenaries 2, Saboteur and a couple of other yet to be announced titles.

Related Link www.amc.ro/shares