Insider Tips for Game Character Artists
By Eddie Christian
Game and film characters are always different each time. In game characters you have the added issues of keeping your characters light on their polygon counts while still delivering a pleasing look for the character. Another factor is the creative itself. Does the project call for characters that are hyper-realistic or very stylized? It is a need that changes with each project; sometimes it shifts back and forth within the same project.
In a big way it matters how prepared your client is. Do they know what they want? Do they know what the character would wear, its personality, what weapons it may use?
In a perfect world, the writers and concept artists should have all this information for you before you start. But as budgets shrink, directors and producers are making the character artist do more of this. This is where Reallusion shines. Being able to make changes to characters and their wardrobe helps you get ideas to the client quickly. Without these tools you could waste hundreds of hours getting an idea the client likes.
GOZ for Reallusion’s Character Creator 3 (CC3) is a huge time-saver. At any time I can press a single button and see how the character will look with materials, clothing or props. And you can keep using this ability to transfer the mesh all through the sculpting process. I go back and forth constantly tweaking sculpts in ZBrush and doing test renders with Iray in CC3. It allows me to see the final product as I work.
