Beginning 3D Game Assets Development Pipeline

This project-based tutorial covers the creation of 3D assets in a game engine, from concept to implementation. You will learn the 3D pipeline using Maya and Substance Painter, which are industry-standard programs used for content creation in game development. You also will know how to add them and work with them in Unity.

The book begins with an overall look at the production of game development and the different roles in creating assets. Then, starting with Maya, you learn how to start with a concept and take it through the entire production pipeline: base mesh, UV mapping, high poly, texturing, rigging, and animation. You will be working on one asset project throughout the entire book to understand how one phase leads to the next one. Lastly, you will cover asset placement and integration into Unity.

What You Will Learn

• Build a thorough knowledge of the 3D game asset production workflow
• Understand how each phase leads up to the next one
• Know how 3D assets are implemented into Unity
• Texture, rig, and animate the 3D model
• Export and import the 3D asset or model
• Understand the iterative design process

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: What Is the 3D Production Pipeline and Why Is It Important? 

Chapter 2: Starting with Maya 

Chapter 3: Creating a Base Mesh 

Chapter 4: Preparing the Asset for the Next Phase

Chapter 5: UV Mapping 

Chapter 6: Creating a High Poly Model 

Chapter 7: Texturing 

Chapter 8: Rigging the Mech 

Chapter 9: Bringing the Asset to Life 

About the Author

Nova Villanueva is Professor of Game Design at Pratt Institute, New York, USA. She has taught game development for more than five years at Pratt, Parsons, and New York’s College of Technology, and is an independent game developer working on The Mills game. She live streams her game development process at twitch.tv/novavillan. Nova has previously worked as a 3D artist for Animatic Media, a 2D artist for the Webby award-winning Mafia Wars game developed by Zynga, and is a published artist featured in the Photoshop Creative magazine. She has an MFA degree in game design from the NYU Game Center in New York and a BS degree in media arts and animation from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.