Necessity of Sculpting

[dermaeher88]

Hey guys,

Just a question that's been rolling around in my noggin. How prominent is digital sculpting in the games industry? I can see how it's probably widely used for characters and terrain, but in regard to other environmental assets, or "props" if you will, how often is it used in an actual production environment?

The reason I ask is because I've yet to delve into Zbrush or Mudbox and am wondering if it would be a deal breaker when attempting to get hired as an environment/prop artist. Of course I would love to learn Zbrush or Mudbox, they are both amazing pieces of software. I just don't know if I want to try to learn digital sculpting while trying to assemble a presentable portfolio and look for work.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[ZeRobert]

I would say no... its not necessary to find work, or to do good work. In the end your work will always speak for itself. I haven't seen too many jobs list it as a requirement, but more so as a plus.

However... I think looking towards the future it will definitely be worth learning as it becomes more, and more a standard. And it just makes the texture creating process much more intuitive, creative, and faster to have more control over the aesthetics directly, in a way you wouldn't with the traditional methods, imo.

[Kinrove]

I agree with Zerobert, I but I tend to think It's rather important to know these softwares, even as environment artist, I guess It's really a big plus to master digital sculpting.

It greatly speeds up your workflow in some situation and you can achieve results I'm sure you won't get by using only a 3D application and Photoshop, the amount of details you can put is amazing.

Look at the eat3D pillar for exemple, they use Mudbox to add some extra and fine details.

Finally I think, nowadays It's great to use at least the bases of digital sculpting, you are in this way more polyvalent and I'm sure employers like it, even If I don't work in the game Industry, but sounds logical to me...

[Talon]

Not being able to sculpt as an environment artist likely won't be a dealbreaker. I wouldn't worry about that so long as your SDS modelling and texturing is solid.

Sculpting is a really useful skillset to have, though. Once you know it, you can start to use it everywhere.

I recommend you have a play with it and get used to how it works, takes a little bit of practice to get your head around - even if you don't use anything you've sculpted in your folio.

[dermaeher88]

thanks guys. I plan to get some practice with it in the future. Just have more important priorities at the moment and wanted to get some more insight into the medium.

[Talon]

Btw, if you're wanting a handle on sculpting just as a method, check out Mudbox. It's much more immediate than ZBrush for just getting stuck in.

ZBrush takes a bit of getting used to - it's more powerful in the end, and now I'm used to it I prefer it over Mudbox, but the interface is a right ball-ache and it'll likely just put you off if you're only skimming the surface of sculpting.

[Kinrove]

Originally Posted by Talon

Btw, if you're wanting a handle on sculpting just as a method, check out Mudbox. It's much more immediate than ZBrush for just getting stuck in.

True, but if you have the chance to check the tutorials of EAT3D "Zbrush introduction" If I remember well it well help you to find the application easier.

[sprunghunt]

The more detailed game environments become the more necessary it is to use sculpting apps to create them. I would at least have a poke around. Many jobs list zbrush/mudbox as a plus and getting a job is all about having that extra edge over your competition.

[kanga]

If you look at the most kick ass stuff it usually incorporates a sculpting app that helps you extract surface maps. Mudbox will probably be more akin to what you are used to modelling wise. Zbrush is very different. Mudbox requires a better comp and I think it is more expensive. So far if you buy a zb license all updates are free. I bought my copy in 2004 so I have had 6 years of free development. Zbrush is faster.

If you look at buildings/ props that are worn or intricate they are very organic. I was on the beta team that tested the last version: ZB4. To my surprise I was doing hard surface stuff I always did in max but in a new way, so I got new shapes out of it. Working with alphas and the huge amount of brushes is fun. There were quite a few artists on the team that were developing architectural models, and of course weapons, stuff you wouldn't think possible in a sculpting app.

A good guide would be to pick out artists you admire and see how they work. Mostly there is a lot of information available on what tools they are using.