Artists Guide: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 12:56, 18 August 2015

There are three main areas where artists can contribute: Modelling 3D objects and the texturing thereof, which requires different skills and doesn't need to be done by the same person. Most of our modellers use Blender, however which modeller you use is not important as long as it can export meshes to the OGRE format. For creating scenario backgrounds, textures for models, scenario decoration and stuff, we actually need people who are good with Photoshop, GIMP or any other image manipulation software. Also, we are in desperate need for people who are talented at creating sounds and/or music.

Have a look in the art workshop.

Modelling

We got rid of the old graphics from Clonk Rage which were so tiny that it was already hard to play the game in a proper resolution. (The character you control smaller than a mouse cursor? Come on!) For OpenClonk, the graphics are about three times as big and detailed as in the old Clonk series.

Unlike in previous clonk titles, most objects are actually models that are rendered in game. The file format we use for this is the OGRE format as it is a format designed to be used in games plus all important modellers can export into this format. However, we do exchange of the models in their native format (mostly .blend).

Now, for creating models that are to be rendered ingame (in OpenClonk), there are a few additional things that have to be considered if you are used to creating models that are rendered before the start of the game. Apart from the polygon count, for each model we only use one UV-mapped texture rather than zillion materials with different colors/googled textures. More guidelines on how to create a real time model for OpenClonk can be read here: Modelling Workflow.

You might ask yourself if there is a guideline of how many polygons a model should max have. Yes, there is one: So many, that the object looks both good ingame with a 3x zoom and on it's picture graphic (whichever is bigger). Also, unanimated inventory items like materials don't need to be rendered ingame. As sprites, the polygon count doesn't matter.

Also, if you want to contribute a model, please always include the 3D-model when you attach a rendering of the same to your post. Otherwise, if you somehow lose your model, all the work was in vain.

Textures

We use the CC-by licence for OpenClonk and ask you to license your contributions under the same license. As many textures in texture archives have licenses which are not compatible with CC-by, we will have to create many textures on our own. But don't worry, it's quite easy and there are some really good tutorials on how to create quality textures from photos.

Here is a list of bigger texture archives and it's licenses which is a good source for resources: Texture Archives

My experience is that textures for 3D-models which are based on actual photos always turn out better then textures which where painted by oneself.

You might also ask yourself if there is a guideline of how big the texture for one 3D-model should be. Right: So big that it doesn't look blurred ingame with a 3x zoom and on it's picture graphic (whichever is bigger).

For material textures, we need seamless textures. Regarding this, there are different methods to create seamless textures from (a set of) photos, here is how I do it: Tutorial: Creating Seamless Textures. For GIMP, there are two filters which can do this automatically: The plugin Texturize and the filter Resynthesise. Both work good with textures with small random patterns like gravel, plaster, sand or ground. However, they don't produce quite as convincing results for bigger regular patterns like (roofing) tiles, bricks, wickerwork, pavements etc. The manual method that I proposed always produces better results and if you are experienced in this, it's a thing of five minutes.

Exporting Meshes

There is currently only a guide for exporting Blender models for OpenClonk.

Sounds & Music

Any game is only half as good without proper sounds and music. If you played the titles of the old Clonk series, you will probably still suffer from the memories of the midi music from the last millenium, like "Pizza strings" or "On a razor blade". Anyway. So we need both people who are good at creating, editing (and searching) sound effects and talented people who can make music for OpenClonk. There are some sound archives out there which have CC-licensed sound effects, also it can't hurt to ask the authors of one of the many many mods for commercial games if we are allowed to use their sounds under the terms of a CC-license (preferably CC-by).

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-There are two main areas where we artists can contribute. We need 3D models and textures for the same and the landscape.
+There are three main areas where artists can contribute: Modelling 3D objects and the texturing thereof, which requires different skills and doesn't need to be done by the same person. Most of our modellers use Blender, however which modeller you use is not important as long as it can export meshes to the OGRE format.
+For creating scenario backgrounds, textures for models, scenario decoration and stuff, we actually need people who are good with Photoshop, GIMP or any other image manipulation software.
+Also, we are in desperate need for people who are talented at creating sounds and/or music.
+Have a look in the [http://forum.openclonk.org/board_show.pl?bid=2 art workshop].
+__TOC__
+== Modelling ==
+[[File:Foundry_mesh.png|200px|thumb|right|The mesh of the foundry]] We got rid of the old graphics from Clonk Rage which were so tiny that it was already hard to play the game in a proper resolution. (The character you control smaller than a mouse cursor? Come on!) For OpenClonk, the graphics are about three times as big and detailed as in the old Clonk series.
+Unlike in previous clonk titles, most objects are actually models that are rendered in game. The file format we use for this is the [http://www.ogre3d.org/ OGRE] format as it is a format designed to be used in games plus all important modellers can export into this format. However, we do exchange of the models in their native format (mostly .blend).
+Now, for creating models that are to be rendered ingame (in OpenClonk), there are a few additional things that have to be considered if you are used to creating models that are rendered before the start of the game. Apart from the polygon count, for each model we only use one UV-mapped texture rather than zillion materials with different colors/googled textures. More guidelines on how to create a real time model for OpenClonk can be read here: [[Modelling Workflow]].
+You might ask yourself if there is a guideline of how many polygons a model should max have. Yes, there is one: So many, that the object looks both good ingame with a 3x zoom and on it's picture graphic (whichever is bigger). Also, unanimated inventory items like materials don't need to be rendered ingame. As sprites, the polygon count doesn't matter.
+Also, if you want to contribute a model, please always include the 3D-model when you attach a rendering of the same to your post. Otherwise, if you somehow lose your model, all the work was in vain.
 == Textures ==
+[[File:Foundry_texture.png|200px|thumb|left|UV mapped texture of the foundry]]
+[[File:Foundry_render.png|200px|thumb|right|Foundry with mesh and texture]]
 We use the [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ CC-by] licence for OpenClonk and ask you to license your contributions under the same license. As many textures in texture archives have licenses which are not compatible with CC-by, we will have to create many textures on our own. But don't worry, it's quite easy and there are some really good tutorials on how to create quality textures from photos.
-There is a list of bigger texture archives and it's licenses which is a good source for ressources: [[Texture Archives]]
+Here is a list of bigger texture archives and it's licenses which is a good source for resources: [[Texture Archives]]
-=== How to create seamless textures ===
+My experience is that textures for 3D-models which are based on actual photos always turn out better then textures which where painted by oneself.
-Especially for material textures, we need seamless textures. There are different methods to create seamless textures from (a set of) photos, here is how I do it: [[Tutorial: Creating Seamless Textures]].
+You might also ask yourself if there is a guideline of how big the texture for one 3D-model should be. Right: So big that it doesn't look blurred ingame with a 3x zoom and on it's picture graphic (whichever is bigger).
+For material textures, we need seamless textures. Regarding this, there are different methods to create seamless textures from (a set of) photos, here is how I do it: [[Tutorial: Creating Seamless Textures]].
 For GIMP, there are two filters which can do this automatically: The plugin ''[http://gimp-texturize.sourceforge.net/ Texturize]'' and the filter ''Resynthesise''. Both work good with textures with small random patterns like gravel, plaster, sand or ground. However, they don't produce quite as convincing results for bigger regular patterns like (roofing) tiles, bricks, wickerwork, pavements etc. The manual method that I proposed always produces better results and if you are experienced in this, it's a thing of five minutes.
-=== How to create normal maps for textures ===
+== Exporting Meshes ==
-If materials or models get normal maps or not is still in question. However, here are two good tutorials how to create normal maps from photos.
+There is currently only a guide for [[Exporting_Blender_Models|exporting '''Blender''' models for OpenClonk]].
-* [http://www.katsbits.com/htm/tutorials/photographs_images_normal_maps.htm From photograph to normal map, how to...] - Excellent tutorial including tips how to photograph right
-* [http://cs.elderscrolls.com/constwiki/index.php/Creating_detailed_Normal_Maps Creating Normalmaps] - Very practical but little background information
-== Modelling ==
-The size in which the graphics are displayed will be about 3x as big as that of Clonk Rage. Additionally, it is planned to directly render the bigger models in game (real time rendering), most probably with [http://www.ogre3d.org/ OGRE].
-=== Models for real time rendering ===
+== Sounds & Music ==
-Now, if you are used to create models to render them afterwards, you need to take into account a few additional things:
+Any game is only half as good without proper sounds and music. If you played the titles of the old Clonk series, you will probably still suffer from the memories of the midi music from the last millenium, like "Pizza strings" or "On a razor blade". Anyway. So we need both people who are good at creating, editing (and searching) sound effects and talented people who can make music for OpenClonk.
-* The models need to have a '''low polygon count'''. Details like e.g. rivets which you perhaps used to model before are drawn in the texture. The texture is a very important part of the model. Thus, creating a very '''good and clear UV map''' for your model is a necessity ([http://www.blender.org/documentation/htmlI/x5336.html Tutorial for blender]). It not only affects the quality of the texture map, but also of any other maps like normal maps or reflection maps.
+There are some sound archives out there which have CC-licensed sound effects, also it can't hurt to ask the authors of one of the many many mods for commercial games if we are allowed to use their sounds under the terms of a CC-license (preferably CC-by).
-* The guideline on how low-poly the model should be is: The model with texture still needs to look good when displayed 3x the size as in Clonk Rage - there is no fixed number on how many polygons are good since it depends strongly on the model.
-* You should '''delete the faces that are not visible''' from where the model is looked at in the game. These include faces that are just not visible from any direction because they are inside other objects but also faces which will never be visible in the game. For example the backside of a house or the bottom of most models will never be visible. However, this process is very fast when you do it when you are done with the model - just before you create the UV map. So don't worry about it while modelling and also don't overdo it - A few polygons on the back of the house do not matter so much.
-* Always''' start with the low-poly model''', it's much easier to start of with a low-poly model then to first create a high-poly model and then get it down to a low-poly count. You can always add details later, either in the texture or in a high-poly model. In Blender, there is a option called "multires" which allows you to create several models in different detail levels based on one low-poly model and it's geometry. Baking normal maps ([http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?t=138194 Tutorial for blender]) with a high- and a low-poly model only works if both have the same geometry.
-* Creating normal maps for models only makes sense for those which have organic, round parts where too much polygons would need to be used. So, for buildings it's normally not necessary - more for living creatures with one ([http://www.blender.org/development/release-logs/blender-246/render-baking/ Blender: example]) enclosing mesh.