Creative Flow

So recently I have been learning the process of bringing something from an idea to a full fleshed out 3D model.  It seems most people start with a series of sketches and then make a high polygon count block model from the sketch.  However, since I am still getting adjusted to digital drawing - I have had a tablet for a little while now, but have not really had much of an excuse to use it - I have modified the process slightly and will describe it below.

Concept Block Out
This is an extremely low poly version of the models I want to make.  The real purpose of these models is to figure out what are the main pieces I want in the model and what proportion each piece should have to the others.  These look like a lot of my early work since they are primarily primitives and are nothing to show, unfortunately.

High Poly Concept
Once the block out is finished and I feel there are no other major pieces of the model to add, I will set it aside for when I start this modeling phase.  Here is when I take the hideous sets of cubes and cylinders I am calling models and turning them into showing I can show.  Most items will be blocked out as separate objects.  Minor details will be omitted, but I will probably share these images, if not the full turntable.

High Poly Model
At this point I go through and start examining the model's topology.  In addition to topology fixes, and final tweaking to the model will be done.  Once everything is where I want it, I will add in details like bolt and the like, giving the model its final looks.

Textured Model
Once everything is set in just the right place and every bolt is where it belongs, I will texture the model.  This process includes the diffuse, specular and occlusion maps.This process is likely to start with piece by piece texturing and then baking each piece onto a final UV map.

Low Poly Model
With everything set and the model looking exactly how it will in game, hopefully, the process of removing extra baggage starts.  The goal at this stage is to get the model to have as few polygons as possible while retaining the basic shape.Once set, the high polygon model will have it's normals baked on to the low poly model.  The model will then be rigged, a series of animations sequences created and exported for used in whatever engine I have selected at the time.

Hopefully, this will shed some light on what I will be doing in the upcoming weeks.  My goal is to get four tanks for my initial release to demonstrate the weapon selection screen.  Until next time,
~gunnah