Creating the Art of the Game Book

	Foreword: Making Games	xv
	Turning Lead into Gold, Plastic, Wood, etc.	xvi
	Embrace the Constraints	xvi
	Introduction	xxi
	Who Should Read This Book?	xxii
	A True Artist First	xxii
	What to Expect from This Book	xxiii
	What This Book Covers	xxiii
	Making the Game	xxiv
	Themes	xxvi
1	Preparing to Create	3
	How and Where to Collect Reference	4
	Seek the Best	5
	Concept Art	6
	Setting the Quality Bar	9
	Blocking Out Your Scene	10
	Conclusion	14
2	Modeling Theory	17
	Primitives	18
	Components	20
	Transformation Tools	20
	Polygons and Memory	21
	Polygon Limits	24
	Displaying Polygon Count	25
	Normals	25
	Backface Culling	27
	Polygon Reduction	28
	Modeling Techniques	33
	Extrude	34
	The Line Tool	37
	Common Mistakes	39
	Overlapping Faces	39
	T-Junctions	40
	Stray Vertices	40
	Star-Like Faces	42
	Conclusion	43
3	Introduction to Texturing	45
	Game Texturing Theory	46
	Detail in Texture	47
	How to Choose and Create Textures	48
	File Formats	50
	Color Depth	51
	Resolution (Texture Size)	51
	What Is Resolution?	52
	Photoshop	52
	Image Resizing	53
	Where Do I Use My Pixels?	54
	Changing Color Depth	56
	More About Color	58
	Digital Photography	59
	Digital Photos for Reference	59
	Digital Photos for Textures	60
	Making a Texture Tilable	61
	Actions	65
	Conclusion	66
4	Advanced Texturing	69
	The Power of Layers	70
	Creating Layers	73
	Photoshop Tools	75
	Image Menu	75
	Layer Menu	76
	Filters	78
	Alpha Channels	81
	What Is an Alpha Channel?	82
	What Can Alpha Do?	84
	How Do We Bring the Alpha Channel into the 3D Package?	94
	How to Make Alpha Channels	97
	Game Engines and Alpha	101
	Conclusion	102
5	Applying Textures	105
	Assigning Materials	105
	Maya's Hypershade	106
	3ds max Material Editor	111
	What Are UVs?	115
	Projection Mapping	116
	Editing UVs	120
	Composite Textures and UVs	121
	Assigning UVs	122
	Multiple UV Sets	123
	Tiling	125
	How Do You Tile?	127
	Conclusion	128
6	Advanced Modeling	131
	Organic Versus Inorganic Models	132
	Organic Modeling Methods	132
	Smoothing	132
	The Sculpt Polygons Tool	136
	Soft Selection	139
	Subdivision Surfaces	142
	Vertex Normals and Smoothing Groups	146
	Modeling with Triangles	148
	Cleaning Up Your Geometry	151
	Delete History	151
	Freeze Transformations	152
	Center Pivot	152
	Merging or Welding Vertices	154
	Maya's Cleanup Tool	154
	Conclusion	154
7	Lighting Principles	157
	Color	158
	Target Audience	158
	Balancing Color	159
	Mood	160
	Traditional Lighting Setup	162
	Working with 3D Lights	166
	Directional Light	166
	Ambient Light	166
	Spotlights	167
	Point or Omni Lights	167
	Global Illumination	168
	Falloff	168
	Effective Lighting Practices	170
	Pools of Light	170
	Be Creative	172
	Experiment	172
	Conclusion	172
8	In-Game Lighting	175
	Vertex Lighting	176
	Vertex Color	176
	Vertex Alpha	181
	Hiding Repetition	182
	Reusing Textures	183
	Understanding Vertex Lighting	184
	Things to Watch Out For	188
	Soft and Hard Edges	190
	Lightmaps	191
	Per-Pixel Lighting	194
	Normal Maps	195
	Dynamic Lighting	202
	Troubleshooting	202
	Black or Invisible Faces on Geometry	202
	Inconsistency	202
	Blown Out or Overexposed Lighting	203
	Conclusion	203
9	Effects	205
	Particle Effects	206
	Textures for Effects	208
	Billboards	212
	Fog	213
	Water	214
	Clouds	216
	Decals	217
	Conclusion	218
10	Tips and Tricks	221
	The Metal Box	222
	Trees and Vegetation	227
	Reflection	235
	Placed Shadows	236
	The Importance of Shadow	236
	Conclusion	244
11	User Interface Design and Creation	247
	The Shell	248
	In-Game User Interface	249
	Heads-Up Display	251
	Composition	253
	Plan, Plan, Plan	254
	Localization	254
	Hardware Approval	255
	Building the UI	256
	Conclusion	256
12	Wrapping It Up	259
	Source Control	260
	Collision Geometry	261
	Skydomes	263
	Light Volumes	266
	Tagging Materials	266
	Bug Fixing	268
	Collision Issues	268
	Z-Fighting and Problem Normals	268
	Just Plain Ugly Art	269
	Polishing	269
	Major Milestones	269
	Alpha	270
	Beta	271
	Gold	271
	Conclusion	272
	Index	275