If you plan to learn something new this year then why not get started in game development or 3D art. To help those that don’t know where to start here is a breakdown of different software packages you can use to get started.Some of the packages are expensive but don’t forget to check for non commercial license if you are learning as a hobby. These can be discounted by a large amount or even free. I hope you enjoy this article and find it helpful. Stay tuned to the game art blog for more helpful guides and how to get started as a 3d artist.
Modelling Packages:
3ds Max:
Price:
Student: Free
Monthly: £204
1 Year: £1,644.00
Pros:
+Industry Standard
+Non Destructive workflow with modifiers
+Top of the range modifiers
Cons:
-Price
-Intuitive workflow
Overview:
3DS Max is a great program for creating awesome content, especially if you want the software skills to break into the animation or games industry. The price is a huge drawback however students can get the software for free to use for non-commercial use and a free trial is available for those who want to test it out. Again, for non commercial use.
Maya:
Price:
Student: Free
Monthly: £204
1 Year: £1,644.00
Pros:
+Industry standard
+Intuitive/ easy to use controls
+Excellent for animation
Cons:
-Price
-Workflow can be quite destructive
Overview:
Autodesk Maya is my go to software for creating 3d models and uv mapping. I love tools available to create awesome art. If find the controls are much easy to pick up for beginners compared to other modelling packages. The price is a major downside to this product along with some limitations when it comes to controlling modifiers. A cheaper alternative to maya is maya lt which is aimed at video game artists. It lack some tools found in maya and does not support rendering from the software itself but worth looking into for them game artists on a budget who love maya.
Blender:
Price:
Free
Pros:
+Free
+Extensive node editor
+Large and helpful community
+Cycle renderer
+Built-in game engine
Cons:
-Not used by many studios
-Controls
Overview:
Blender is an amazing software package especially considering the price. The community is extremely helpful and the engine can produce some amazing renders with the built in cycle renderer. Unfortunately the engine can be hard to get the hang of at first with the tedious controls. The program also falls flat when it comes to industry work. It’s great for freelancers but many companies have not adopted the software.
Texturing:
Photoshop:
Price:
1 Year: £119.21
Pros:
+Widely used
+Multiple uses
+Plethora of tools
+Supported plug-ins
Cons:
-Lack of pbr support
-Overwhelming for beginners
Overview:
Photoshop is an amazing program and at a reasonable price. It has a large amount of tools to get your work looking how you want but the huge selection can be very overwhelming to new users. Although photoshop can be used for much more than textures, it is becoming quite obsolete in the texturing scene as the use of PBR is becoming more prominent.
Substance Suite:
Price:
1 Year: $239 (Latest updates, includes: B2M & Substance Source)
Forever: $300
Pros:
+Widely used
+The future of texturing
+Produce a number of pbr maps
+Produces amazing results
Cons:
-Can be very technical
-Sole purpose of creating textures/ Materials
Overview:
The substance suite is an amazing package for creating texture and materials. Direct integration with game engines such as UE4 and Unity make for a pleasant experience. The use of pbr maps is becoming a large part of the gaming industry and makes material look believable and gives the game engine information that is not possible with a regular diffuse map. If you are really new to creating 3d art I would hold off on pbr programs such as the substance suite at first as it can be very overwhelming. Start off with basic diffuse map using created textures or simple textures from online. After you know some of the basics of texturing and are ready to step up your game, it may be a good idea to start looking into pbr. It is becoming increasingly important in the industry. It can be very hard at first to understand, especially substance designer. This is because it is very technical compared to photoshop. If you are familiar with node coding such as Unreal Engines blueprints then you may find substance designers interface quite easy compared to someone starting off.
Quixel suite:
Price:
Forever: $139 (+ Photoshop cost)
Pros:
+Uses photoshop tools
+Large library of materials
+Ndo normal map painter
Cons:
-Requires photoshop
-Clunky controls
-Slow performance
Overview:
Quixel suite is a good alternative to the substance suite and is used by many great artists however I know of little instances where the quixel suite is used in a AAA studio. The combination of quixel and photoshop is a blessing and a curse. It has the benefits of all the photoshop tools and the use of your custom brushes and provides a familiar interface however it also means that you are required to have photoshop as well as the quixel suite. Although you have the familiar interface of photoshop I found some of the controls to be quite clunky and photoshop often crashes when using the quixel suite.
Gimp:
Price:
Free
Pros:
+Price
+Layers
+Healing tool
Cons:
-Lack of tools
-Clunky interface
Overview:
Gimp is a image manipulation and drawing package. It’s similar to photoshop without the pricetag. Gimp is a great piece of software to get you by. It has the basics to help you with what you need to do without the complexity of photoshop. If you are starting out in the industry and don’t want to put a dent in your wallet, gimp is a great program. It can be clunky at times and lacking features if you’re coming from a program such as photoshop but if you are starting out I highly recommend it for creating and editing textures.
Game Engines:
Unreal Engine:
Price:
Free (Royalties must be paid after you reach an income threshold)
Pros:
+Blueprints (with the ability to use c++)
+Materials/ shader creation
+Lighting Tools
+Templates
+Community
Cons:
-Blueprints can be a bit limiting
Overview:
UE4 is currently my go to game engine, especially for presenting my art. I find their visual scripting editor a pleasure to work with. It is a very useful tool to have control of the materials you create. As far as coding other elements such as interaction, the visual scripting system can be quite limiting and inefficient at times. Fortunately the engine has the ability to use c++ for advanced users. If you are starting out I highly recommend UE4 and even if you have experience in other engines UE4 is definitely still an amazing contender and one of the best game engines available out there.
Unity:
Price:
Free (Royalties must be paid after you reach an income threshold)
Pros:
+Price
+Community
+JavaScript
Cons:
-No visual scripting
-Creating shaders can be very complex
-Lacks a lot of control over material parameters
Overview:
Unity is the first 3D game engine I every used. It is an amazing piece of software and has a great community that will answer any questions you have on the forums. They also have a large amount of documentation to help with using the software and coding basic elements. When I was creating my own games I loved unity however as an artist the program can be quite limiting. For art showcases I wouldn’t really recommend unit as it lacks material and shader control unlike unreal engine 4. If you plan on making a game however I would definitely consider unity because of the helpful community and the ability to code in JavaScript or C#.
Tools I use:
Autodesk Maya
Photoshop
Substance Suite
Unreal Engine
As I final note I suggest trying out every piece of software you can and find out what works for you. Any software experience you can add to improve your workflow is great. Also, don’t forget most pieces of software provide free trials or non - commercial license for those just doing this as a hobby or wanting to break into the industry. I use student versions of both maya and substance as I’m currently a college student. If I’m doing paid commission work on the odd occasion I use blender but for portfolio pieces or assignments I use the softwares stated in the list above for the most part. As I said before feel free to use what fits you. Of course many options are available but for beginners I would recommend maya as it is very intuitive for beginners but if you plan on working on commercial projects as soon as possible blender may be a better bet. The interface is challenging at first but the community is great and with the help of the internet you should be up and running in not time. Good luck with future projects and keep up to date with the game art blog for more helpful insight.
Thanks for your time
~Ross~
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