Advanced Character and Environmental Design and Modeling

26-3089-01 Advanced Character & Environment Design

This course continues to refine and advance the design and technical abilities needed to model 3-D characters and non-character 3-D objects. Using Maya for 3D modeling and Z-Brush for advanced texture-mapping, students will design and build either characters or environments based on industry standards. This process will also allow the students to contribute models in the Game Engine chosen for the subsequent courses in the Game Major: Game Project (36-3997) & Game Studio (36-3998).

Pre-requisites: 26-3086 Character Design and Modeling 1 or 26-3082 Environmental Design & Modeling 1

Learning Objectives:

• To learn to create models that display the design and modeling abilities present in advanced 3-D characters and non-character 3-D objects

• To create characters or environments models that display and understanding of industry standards.

• To learn how to create and apply advanced texture maps for either characters or environments using stand-alone software.

• To create models that display the ability to reduce the polygon and texture Level-of-Detail of the High resolution models created in class.

• To create models that display an ability to export to the Game Engine chosen for the subsequent courses in the Game Major: Game Project (36-3997) & Game Studio (36-3998).

• To produce finished renders of class models that show an industry-level of ability.

Revised learning objectives

• Building upon basic skills, to create complex polygonal characters and non-character objects

• To create characters and environments that display an understanding of industry standards such as:

      *	Low polygon count
      *	Surface consistency across joints
      *	Model details and lighting created through texture mapping 
      *	Procedural textures

• To create and apply advanced texture maps for characters or environments using stand-alone software

• To create high resolution models that can undergo polygon reduction without degradation.

• To export models to the Game Engine chosen for the subsequent courses in the Game Major: Game Project (36-3997) & Game Studio (36-3998).

• To produce high quality, finished renders in the game engine.

• Create Inverse Kinematics skeletons and rig character models

• Using scripting languages, create animation loops that repeat and that can be blended and triggered