Book Description
The key word here is art: the dynamic 3D art that defines the world of computer games. This book teaches you everything you need to know about the planning, modeling, texturing, lighting, effects creation, and interface design that go into creating today's most advanced and stunning video games. You'll be learning from a master-veteran 3D artist and instructor Matthew Omernick-as you progress through the carefully chosen, software-agnostic tutorials that make up this beautiful, full-color volume. The end result will be skills you can apply to whatever 3D tool you choose and whatever wildly imaginative game you can think up. Through a unique combination of explanation, tutorials, and real world documentation-including discussions of the creative process entailed in some of today's most popular games augmented by screen captures and descriptions--you'll quickly come to understand the workflow, tools, and techniques required to be a successful game artist. In addition to learning the ropes of game art, you'll also find in depth tutorials and techniques that apply to all aspects of 3D graphics. Whether you are using Photoshop, 3ds max, Maya, or any other computer graphics software, you'll find a wealth of information that you can continue to come back to time and time again.
About the Author
Matthew Omernick currently works as a lead artist for LucasArts Entertainment Company near San Francisco, CA. With a B.F.A from The Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, FL, Matt has more than seven years of industry experience as a 3D artist and animator. Matt has also taught college-level 3D graphics for four years at Cal State Fullerton and the Academy of Art College in downtown San Francisco. He has worked for companies such as DreamWorks, Day 1 Studios, and Electronic Arts. He began his career working for various film and broadcast studios in Florida and Chicago, then branched into creating 3D art for video games. Some of Matt's credited titles include the Medal of Honor series, RTX Red Rock, and Secret Weapons Over Normandy. He is currently working on several cutting edge projects for multiple platforms.
Creating the Art of the Game FROM THE PUBLISHER
If you have some experience with Maya or 3ds max and some knowledge of Photoshop or Painter, Creating the Art of the Game will take you through the process and the associated responsibilities of making a videogame -- from an artist's point of view. Learning the ins and outs of particular software packages and playing the latest games won't make you a dynamic game artist: They'll make you a great technician. To make the jump to being a professional game artist, you need to adapt your traditional art skills to the digital media. Matthew uses artwork from a variety of popular games to illustrate and apply traditional art concepts and skills and how to build and populate game worlds. The accompanying discussions make it easy to apply concepts to art for use in virtually any game genre.