Last time, I mentioned I had started modelling the base 3D characters for my game. Well, I took it a step further and modelled my first in-game character: Celes! She’s a pixie mage; yep, that’s all I’m going to reveal right now!
I started adapting the pixie base model and it was relatively quick to do, once I had designed her armour, style etc. that is.
Her skin was UV unwrapped too, so I just had to do the same for the clothes and hair. Then I painted the maps and took the above render. I’m really happy with the painted/ hand-drawn feel it has; it matches the aesthetic of the rest of the game perfectly, but prepare for a sad ending to this story. I haven’t talked about rigging yet!
In a nutshell, rigging became a timely process that made me wonder what the heck I was doing. Of course, I am new to Blender so I’m still learning and working rather slowly, but rigging is an especially time-consuming part of the process that’s difficult to get right; even more so when I weigh up how the 3D characters are actually going to be displayed in a visual novel i.e. as still images. Unfortunately, I do not have time or budget to put actual 3D models in my game, so if modelling and UV mapping weren’t already a lengthy procedure, rigging tips the scale to make the whole 3D process seem worthless. It’s a shame, but I think I’ll drop the 3D rendered in-game characters. I mean, I knew the artwork would take longer to do this way, but rigging in Blender seems much harder to me than in 3DSMax. Even with the short cuts I made with modelling and mapping, this whole process has taken too long, and rigging really isn’t a process you can short cut either! There are a lot more characters to make besides Celes too (damn my over ambitious project!). It’s alright though, I reckon I can achieve a similar look via 2D artwork; you’ll see.
I started adapting the pixie base model and it was relatively quick to do, once I had designed her armour, style etc. that is.
Her skin was UV unwrapped too, so I just had to do the same for the clothes and hair. Then I painted the maps and took the above render. I’m really happy with the painted/ hand-drawn feel it has; it matches the aesthetic of the rest of the game perfectly, but prepare for a sad ending to this story. I haven’t talked about rigging yet!
In a nutshell, rigging became a timely process that made me wonder what the heck I was doing. Of course, I am new to Blender so I’m still learning and working rather slowly, but rigging is an especially time-consuming part of the process that’s difficult to get right; even more so when I weigh up how the 3D characters are actually going to be displayed in a visual novel i.e. as still images. Unfortunately, I do not have time or budget to put actual 3D models in my game, so if modelling and UV mapping weren’t already a lengthy procedure, rigging tips the scale to make the whole 3D process seem worthless. It’s a shame, but I think I’ll drop the 3D rendered in-game characters. I mean, I knew the artwork would take longer to do this way, but rigging in Blender seems much harder to me than in 3DSMax. Even with the short cuts I made with modelling and mapping, this whole process has taken too long, and rigging really isn’t a process you can short cut either! There are a lot more characters to make besides Celes too (damn my over ambitious project!). It’s alright though, I reckon I can achieve a similar look via 2D artwork; you’ll see.
To make it all seem worthwhile, though, I made this little test gif. In an ideal world, my game would look something like this, but yeah, time and money!
If my game takes becomes a huge success (haha) then perhaps this is something I will add later via Indiegogo, Kickstarter or Patreon. We’ll see. My hope for real 3D models hasn’t truly sunk yet!
And yes, I still need a title for my game…
If my game takes becomes a huge success (haha) then perhaps this is something I will add later via Indiegogo, Kickstarter or Patreon. We’ll see. My hope for real 3D models hasn’t truly sunk yet!
And yes, I still need a title for my game…