Gatlin International

Description

This 3D game design course offers high quality courseware and instruction with the convenience and affordability of online learning.

Tiling textures is the design of repeated textures for 3D environments. The process is an essential part of any 3D game designer's job.  Any designer who is new on the field of 3D game design is likely to spend a large precentage of his or her time creating tiling textures.

Our 3D gae design course on tiling textures is a hands-on 6-lesson class focued on developing tiling textures for 3D environments.

Over the course of the program, students use reference photos as references for the creation of texture tiles and texture sets.

They also explore how to create the most appropriate tile formats and resolutions for 3D game engines, how to remove distracting detail and how to test their work, how to address the specific requirements of organic and geometric textures, perspective, and lighting, and the different maps used to deploy tiling textures.

Completing this 3D game design course will give you a deep understanding of the various game texture scenarios used in professional game environments.

Ongoing feedback from our expert instructor will help you create professional-quality tiling textures for your portfolio.

This 3D game design course is 100% online and is ideal for both full-time students and professional game designers alike.

Outline

LESSON 1 Intro to Tiling Textures. Lesson One starts off by the addressing the foundation of any texture artist's job: the natural world. You'll learn how to take reference photos and observe textures in the world around you, or use stock source material. You'll explore how tile design fits into the game development process and how textures are typically displayed and deployed in environments. You'll also learn how to select and create a texture tile and prepare it for tiling in Photoshop.
 
LESSON 2 Maintaining the Illusion. Lesson Two explores the technical fundamentals of file size and resolution: what you need to know to have your tiles work in most standard game engines. You'll examine different ways of recognizing and removing the conspicuous detail that can destroy the illlusion of tiling. Finally, you'll learn different approaches to testing your tiles in your 3D program as you work.
 
LESSON 3 Geometric Patterns. Not all game textures are non-repeating patterns. Game artists are often asked to create geometric patterns such as architectural detail. Lesson Three looks at the challenges of making a tiling texture with geometric patterns, addressing how to correct for perspective and create a contrast between man-made and organic textures.
  
LESSON 4 Basic Texture Sets. Convincing textures are created not by individual tiles but by texture sets: groups of tiles that can be interchanged to create an apparently endless variation. Here you'll look at specific ways to add realism and interest to your textures. You'll address how to create specific variations that occur in the physical world, such as end grain in wood, and begin to build a vocabulary for describing the types of textures in your sets.
 
LESSON 5 Advanced Texture Sets. To do an outstanding job in your tiling textures, you'll need to work closely with game designers to figure out how your textures will be applied to the 3D shapes within your game environment. Lesson Five focuses on those advanced topics, examining the requirements for a complete texture set, exploring the advantages of making separate tiles for different details, and mixing and matching your texture set for great variety and flexibility. You'll also explore how to create tiling trim textures and learn how lighting is applied to textures within a game.
 
LESSON 6 Advanced Mapping. Texture maps are a key ingredient of most modern games, and a large part of many a game artist's job. Lesson Six wraps up the course by exploring how texture maps work and looking at the various other types of maps that can be used in games: transparency maps, bump maps, light maps, environment maps, and specularity maps.

Additional Info

Languages

English

Course Length

60.00 hours

Duration of Access

Enrolled students have access to the class for six months. During this period, questions or assignments may be submitted at any time to the instructor. Each course lesson requires an average of 10 hours of study time.

Instructor

Todd Gantzler is a game artist, educator, and writer. Todd has worked as a 3D artist on such games such as Gex 3D, Cyberia, and Akuji the Heartless and specialized in game design work and character animation. Todd has served as Program Leader for game development degree programs at the Media Design School in New Zealand and at the University of Salford in England. He has been designing and teaching game art and design classes since 2000. Todd's first book Game Development Essentials: Video Game Art was published by Thomson Delmar Learning in July 2004. Todd moved into games from work in graphics and animation for TV and film; his film credits include The Pagemaster (1994).

Prerequisites/Audience

Courses are designed for adult learners interested in building skills and portfolio for a design career. To take the course, students simply require a computer (PC or Mac), an Internet connection (56 Kbps modem or faster), and any required software. For courses with software requirements, computers must meet software manufacturers' system requirements.

Requirements/Materials Included

To take this course you'll need Autodesk Maya and basic experience in Maya, Adobe Photoshop and basic experience in Photoshop, and a computer that meets the Autodesk Maya system requirements. Three button mouse required for PC users, recommended for Mac users.

Certification

3 CEU

Sessions College is accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC). Certificate programs are accredited by the Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools.