__necessaryDetails is a series about the questionably important elements of game art for detailed assets, more specifically those used in first-person. I want to document some techniques and thought processes I regularly use and talk about some traps people fall into. There is still loads to learn for me, so feel free to disagree or discuss.

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Different manufacturing processes have different requirements and impacts on the form of the product; some leave evidence behind in unintended/undesired forms. While many of us are not entirely conscious of these differences we have all seen these manufacturing artifacts/imperfections and have some understanding of what doesn't make sense. Again we can take advantage of this to give the viewer a sense of tactility and "depth" these are tertiary forms and details. In the physical world the original designer usually tries to hide these but for us, as 3D artists, it can be beneficial to show these off, exaggerate them or even add them to designs with the intention of heightening believably.

Macro Photograph of an injection molded Lens Cap.

Learning and recreating these imperfections can increase an objects feeling of "realness" through reminding the viewer of the subtle elements they subconsciously expect to exist on a real world object. This is often a minor yet effective way to cement tangible and physical understanding of the object your are presenting in your work without the viewer needing to do anything more than observe an image. It is important however to reference and keep these subtle. If you are heavy handed, just like the other topics of __necessaryDetails, it is possible to ruin a good model by giving these details too much visual presence.

Macro Photograph of a blow molded bottle.

These small, subtle forms play a crucial role in pushing an asset to that next level that we're aiming for. They are only important after the large forms and medium forms are cemented and they are only important if the base materials are already believable. These details enhance what is already believable and well crafted.

The photo references in this blog are macro photographs taken by me. I upload similar types of images regularly on my Instagram if you are interested in seeing more.

__necessaryDetails is a series about the questionably important elements of game art for detailed assets, more specifically those used in first-person. I want to document some techniques and thought processes I regularly use and talk about some traps people fall into. There is still loads to learn for me, so feel free to disagree or discuss.

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In all types of representational art Form is one of the key fundamentals, using our knowledge of form we are trying to convince the viewer that what they see is in fact the object it represents. To this end edges and contours are absolutely key to convincing the viewer that this isn't just a representation this is the object.

Macro Photograph of an airsoft Beretta 92

Convincing edges can describe more than simply the form of the object they can present the material and the process used in its creation. This can give the viewer a sort of "empathetic tactile response" in as much as the viewer isn't able to actually touch or hold the object but you can convince them that they know what it would be like to touch or hold the object. When you look at a photo often you can feel what it would be like to be in that space, or touch that object, our goal is to give the viewer a real sense that they could reach out and hold the object we are making. It is incredible that this is possible and so we should aim to use this to our advantage and make our objects seem as tactile as possible.

Macro Photograph of a Ti2 Parabiner - Machined Titanium

To do this one of the main things to bare in mind is how the object is made in the real world. Different components should be separate components in your model too, they should be separated in the same way. That is to say, you shouldn't have one manifold mesh with plastic metal and wood, in the real world those components would have to have been fastened together somehow so make sure you understand how and follow the same principles.

After this you should then be looking at how you can make an effective visual separation between the components in the modelling stage, so that the viewer can interpret visually what they would normally interpret via touch. This often comes down to edge widths. As an example having a contrast between a tight edge and a soft edge can show the difference between two components or having the same edge width can show that there is a separation but they are made of the same material using the same process.

Left - High poly of AUG A3 for Rainbow Six|Siege

What edge width should I use where?
This comes primarily down to "how was this edge created?" this question is more than simply "what material is this component?" because the same material can be manipulated in numerous ways and within the same component different processes can create different edge widths. If industrial processes were involved there can be different reasons for the way that different edges are formed. There is value in learning and understanding these differences and my next blog post will be specifically looking at manufacturing processes and how they affect us as 3D artists.

Reference is everything when it comes to what edge widths however I've found to get a good representation of the contrast of materials you can loosely categorise them.

Due to the nature of digital art (for the moment) we are limited in numerous different ways from texture compression, texture size, tri-count, screen resolution...etc, these limitations require us to take some liberties in order to maintain the artistic quality and tactile readability. On a technical level it can be good to exaggerate your sharpest edge so that it bakes well and catches the light in the way you want. This means you know the "minimum edge width" for the in game viewing distance of the object and then create your wider edges relative to that edge. Perhaps not being exact to real world forms but you are being consistent within your own model. This should result in a model that has clear separation of materials when looking at a clay render and whose edges will hold up to being baked. Furthermore this helps with texture size/compression where you can often get artifacts or "game-y edges" from not having enough space on the texture to sufficiently represent the curve of the edge.

Checklist:

• Minimum edge width
• Consistency within piece
• Consistency of material/manufacturing types
• Visible material separation

Some really nice examples of edge widths showing material definition can be seen in Pedro Amorim's work here.

The photo references in this blog are macro photographs taken by me. I upload similar types of images regularly on my Instagram if you are interested in seeing more.

__necessaryDetails is a series about the questionably important elements of game art for detailed assets, more specifically those used in first-person. I want to document some techniques and thought processes I regularly use and talk about some traps people fall into. There is still loads to learn for me, so feel free to disagree or discuss.

_____________________________|||_____________________________

Any object that is used in first person for a game is likely to be handled bare-handed in real life at some point. This means that doing a pass of fingerprints can be exciting and enticing however understanding why, when and how fingerprints will end up on an object is vital for this. With the understanding of how and where to place the fingerprints, they can become a beneficial tool to create that believability and storytelling that we aiming for.

Fingerprints themselves are normally a by-product of grease, sweat, liquid or dirt whether on the object already or from the hands interacting with the object, because of this we can't really talk about fingerprints without talking about grease and grime. As an example firearms being mechanical means that they are greased/lubricated as part of their maintenance, they are used in grimy environments and are used during times of exertion; grease, grime and sweat are all likely to be present on a firearm in active use.

Before you jump in and plaster fingerprints everywhere there are multiple traps that artists fall into which should be avoided to achieve these details.

- Which area's would be greased on purpose?
If the object would be lubricated then look into and research where needs to be lubricated. This means you can choose to add some excess, maybe the user accidentally over greased the part or the grease has been moved around from the mechanical nature of the object.

- Full finger prints
Its VERY rare to have a full finger print anywhere on an object that is regularly handled. Smudges and partial finger prints are much more likely combine this with clustered fingerprints to achieve something much more realistic.

- Tiny or Massive fingers
Scale of fingerprints should be consistent to the object and hand size of the user. Maybe a toy would have a variety of sizes (within reason)

- Would you handle that bit?
This is a bit more complex, sometimes areas that are least handled will keep larger more recognisable fingerprints better because they are less commonly handled, other times having a fingerprint somewhere is just completely illogical. This requires some observation and judgement which you will only learn by thinking and trying.

- I think I recognise that finger print!
Creating some variation to the prints is important so it doesn't just look like the same stamp everywhere, this kind of fits into the "Full finger prints" point but is slightly different.

- Consistent covering
Finger prints can be dense and sparse. The fingerprints are not the inherent texture of the material, they are a result of being used and therefore should tell that story.

- Gloss/Roughness
The gloss/roughness of the fingerprints should have some basis in reality. Whether it's oil/gun grease (quite glossy) or dirt (more matte) or hand grease (mildly glossy).

- Have you gone too far?
Quite possibly, having the end viewing situation (First Person Camera position) in mind is important to knowing if you went too far or if you've not gone far enough. It's nice to have some recognisable mark that the player can see which makes the weapon look more interesting and personal. However the prints should never be the focal point, they should be subtle.

-Do you need fingerprints?
Not really nah... Often focus on fingerprints can actually be detrimental to your texturing, I know that I have created work that falls into some of these traps myself.

Here are a couple of works from skilled artists that show efficient use of grease and fingerprints to enhance a piece.

Eugene Petrov: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/mqm1qE 

Alex Khaliman: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/Y2GYd 

The photo references in this blog are macro photographs of airsoft replicas taken by me. I upload similar types of images regularly on my instagram if you are interested in seeing more.