Some Zbrush and Max Work

[metalman123456123]

Here is some of the stuff I got to work on during Halo 4 which was fun. More work coming...eventually lol

I didn't light these seens. On the rescue mission some assets where kit bashed.








Over the course of Halo our deadlines where very tight. I've been using Zbrush for almost 6 years now and it was integral to creating the cave environment shown above. All asset creation was handled using zbrush, this also included UV'ing of the organic assets as well.





Utilizing the insert mesh function along with DynaMesh I was able to rapidly create shapes and experiment without any concern to the traditional constraints of poly modeling.







Spotlight helped me to utilize photo reference I found through multiple sources to create kits and multiple assets that could be pieced together to make complex shapes. With simple alteration to the in-game base cage I could turn one sculpt into three or four assets without creating extra re-work.






The constraint of in game compared to Pre-Rendered CG is at the most basic level the assets, shots and characters needing to be rendered almost instantly. Using decimation master I was able to take the hi resolution sculpts and very quickly get meshes down to the point where I could use them directly in game. Typically I found the more organic the shapes where the better decimation master did in getting me something I could use. ZBrush has a very solid normal and displacement map generator as well which was nice to have.

[metalman123456123]

Here is a video of some the mission work I got to work on!!!!

[MealeaYing]

This is great! I love the cave objects especially Halo4A.jpg for some reason. I wish I could see this game, and with out all the actual game stuff of trying not to get killed, its hard not to die in games like this when you are looking at all the artwork that went into it. I want very much to learn how to put things I make into these game engines mainly so I can run around in them. your work is a gigantic inspiration for that so thank you! Cheers! Mealea

[Philuxius]

Great work.

[metalman123456123]

Cool thanks guys. I'm trying to get a write up together over-viewing using zbrush for this stuff

[3mm]

impressive works on Halo!

[nickz]

Congrats! The art for Halo 4 turned out amazing! Can't wait to see what that studio does with the next generation of hardware!

[Interu2x]

Nice to see Halo joinig ZB

[RyanWatkins]

awesome stuff man

[Subtle 1rony]

metalman, you totally inspire me with your work. And like the guy above said, I found myself getting killed while playing through the game and trying to take in all the awesome environments. I usually stop and inspect models in game and try to figure out what the artist did, or how they were made. Awesome stuff. Your work is at that level that I'm currently trying to achieve(or get close to).

[Brojay]

Question sir! So am I understanding you correctly that you used the mesh generated by decimation master directly in Halo 4? No clean up or remesh necessary? I can see how that may be cool to do on environments . but is it something that's done one human/organic meshes as well? Animation concerns, clean topology.. etc...

[micahmcneely]

I assumed you retopo the meshes but, did you use Decimation master? I am curious as well

[metalman123456123]

I know right, sounds weird. The fact of the matter is characters and environments are different. It can be insanely costly to retopo enviro art when it is not needed. As long as the poly count, runtime object run well and look good, I'll use the decimated mesh. Decimation master is fast and there a lot of times in production where there's a trade off. Is it more important to get it done or to save a few extra polys? Times, coding, and production needs are very different from even five years ago. Personally I think as an industry in particular games, we need to find ways to be faster a cheaper. Once coasts are more then profit it's bad for the workers. Saving time saves money IMO.

[micahmcneely]

I know right, sounds weird. The fact of the matter is characters and environments are different. It can be insanely costly to retopo enviro art when it is not needed. As long as the poly count, runtime object run well and look good, I'll use the decimated mesh. Decimation master is fast and there a lot of times in production where there's a trade off. Is it more important to get it done or to save a few extra polys? Times, coding, and production needs are very different from even five years ago. Personally I think as an industry in particular games, we need to find ways to be faster a cheaper. Once coasts are more then profit it's bad for the workers. Saving time saves money IMO.

Very Interesting! I would agree totally with your statement does it work, why retopo and as you said when time isn't a luxury! Very Nice work BTW, and I unfortunately do not have Halo 4 yet but, by the looks of things this could be the one I must have! Thank you for the info and I look forward to seeing more work!

[carlobarley]

I know right, sounds weird. The fact of the matter is characters and environments are different. It can be insanely costly to retopo enviro art when it is not needed. As long as the poly count, runtime object run well and look good, I'll use the decimated mesh. Decimation master is fast and there a lot of times in production where there's a trade off. Is it more important to get it done or to save a few extra polys? Times, coding, and production needs are very different from even five years ago. Personally I think as an industry in particular games, we need to find ways to be faster a cheaper. Once coasts are more then profit it's bad for the workers. Saving time saves money IMO.

Hi david im a fan!
Is it safe to say that for the stalagmite cave rocks you were doing the same workflow you did for "http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/news/2012/03/environment-sculpting-with-david-lesperance/" where

1. Dynamesh+kitbash rocks
2. Remesh/Decimate in Zbrush
3. Polygon reduction in Softimage
4. UV then Cast normals

You continue to serve as an inspiration woohoo!