Detailed Development of Visuals - Game Design Essentials - page 128

When your sketch is completed and you're ready to begin modeling, you may
want to start with a basic, or primitive shape, like a cube, which has six faces. By
using the tools in the program— extrude (pulls new faces from existing faces);
tessellate (also known as tiling : repeats a shape covering a plane without gaps or
overlapping); and bevel (cuts off the corner where two shapes meet, creating a new
face and giving a slightly rounded appearance along the corners of a model)—the
modeler expands the faces of the cube, pushing and pulling to add more polygons
and flesh out the form. This process is referred to as box-modeling , but there are
also other methods you can use.
Some artists prefer to work with existing basic human forms or import their
drawing into the program on image planes to see front and side views and then
model from that.

Rigging

Finished characters, props, and vehicles that need to move in-game or be animated
for introductions and trailers require a rig for the animators to use to make the
form move. The concept is similar to moving a puppet, except the mechanics are
buried inside the model. You can shop at a variety of websites for completed models
that are rigged and ready to animate, including www.turbosquid.com ; or you can
find free ones at www.blendswap.com . Rigs can be added to models after they have
been sculpted in a 3D program if you're creating your own, unique figure.

Cel shading
Also known as toon shading (short for cartoon shading ), cel shading allows the
designer to create a character or prop in a 3D program but render it like a 2D
graphic. Toon shading is a stylistic choice that takes advantage of being able to
animate directly out of the software or place the camera to meet the needs of
how a figure needs to be posed or moving.
An excellent example of this technique can be found in the game Gravity,
from Vita, as shown in Figure 5.11. The look is reminiscent of comic books or
graphic novels. For games that originate from or emulate those sources, this
approach is ideal.
In order to create a toon-shaded object, you essentially turn off the lighting
for the model, thereby creating a flat look for the art. Figure 5.12 shows primi-
tives rendered out of 3ds Max.

Primitive is a com-
monly accepted term
for a simple geomet-
ric shape generated
in a 3d program.