Beetle Blade
The objective of this project was to create a single game-ready asset from start to finish, diving into the nitty-gritty of the game-art pipeline. This includes proper geometry structure, UV unwrapping, baking, and hand-painted texturing.
I learned a handful of tricks to optimize assets during this project, such as baking in small surface details that have no effect on silhouette. Another way I saved on polycount was to 3 flat alpha cards to mimic the orange fluff seen on Hercules beetles, rather than having actual geometry for every piece.
Another skill I picked up was creating proper UVs and geometry flow to ensure no stretching when hand-painting textures. I learned where to cut seams and how to hide them when texturing.
This project was completed during my mentorship with Adam Serhane, and has been the foundation of my understanding of the full game art pipeline. It was a huge stepping stone for me in terms of improvement!
Polycount: 1,671
Programs used: Maya, Zbrush, Substance Painter, Unreal Engine 5, Photoshop.
Concept by: https://monschi.artstation.com/
Research
A big hurdle that I had to cross was figuring out how to blend a hard surface object like a blade, to an organic one such as a beetle head. Additionally, since only a side view was available in the concept, I began researching the anatomy of beetles and how to make this transition look natural in 3D form.
I pulled a few references that showed the anatomy of Hercules beetle faces, and was looking for the placement of their mandibles and other antennas.
Another area I referenced was the shape of the thoracic horn (top and most prominent horn) and wanted to emulate the flare when it gets closer to its lower body.
After researching, I began sculpting so the piece is anatomically correct while still balancing a consistent style.
Concept by: monschi