Beginning 3D Game Assets Development Pipeline: Learn to Integrate from Maya to Unity

Table of Contents
About the Author
About the Contributor
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: What Is the 3D Production Pipeline and Why Is It Important?
	Who This Book Is Intended For
	About the 3D Pipeline and How It Fits in the Game Design Process
		3D Modeling
		3D Texturing
		Wait! What About Rigging and Animation?
		Textures Before Rigging or the Other Way?
		3D Animation
	The Game Development Workflow
		Working with a Team
		How to Use This Book
	Nonlinear Game Development
	Embracing and Utilizing Computer Shortcuts
	Using the Right Tools
		What Is Maya?
		What Is Substance Painter?
		What Is Unity?
		Pricing
	Getting Started
		The Importance of Using References
		Gathering References
	Summary
Chapter 2: Starting with Maya
	Installing and Opening Maya
	Overview of the Interface
		Menu Sets
		The Top Menu
		Shelves
		The Channel Box
		Quick Layout/Outliner Buttons
		The Time Slider
		The Range Slider
		Playback Controls
		The View Panel
	Creating Primitives
	Translating, Rotating, and Scaling
	Navigating
	Duplicating Objects
	Deleting Objects
	Adding Edge Loops
	Pivoting
	Mirroring
	Using Object Mode
	Editing Faces, Vertexes, and Edges
		Selecting Objects
		Deleting Faces, Vertices, and Edges
		Transforming Faces, Vertices, and Edges
		Scaling Faces
		Rotating Edges and Faces
		Duplicating Faces
	Before Continuing
	Maya Shortcuts
	Setting Up the Project
		Setting Up the Mech Project
	Summary
Chapter 3: Creating a Base Mesh
	Creating a Base Mesh
		Exception to the Rule
		Topology
		N-gons
		Concave Faces
		Metrics
	Image Plane Reference
	Switching Between Panel Views
	Starting to Model
		Symmetry
			Deselecting and Inverting Components
			Using the Channel Box for Transformation
			Using Duplicates to Speed Up Modeling
		Display Modes
			X-Ray Mode
		Modeling the Leg Connectors
			Duplicating the Shapes of the Leg Connectors
		Modeling the Foot Stabilizers
		Modeling Armor for the Motor Units
		Building the Body
			Adding Details to the Body
	Building the Head
	Shaping the Head
	Adding Thickness to the Head
		Modeling the Head Details
		Adding the Neck Model
		Positioning the Leg
	Instancing the Leg
	Summary
Chapter 4: Preparing the Asset for the Next Phase
	Adopting Best Practices
	Pipeline Requirements
	What Is the Outliner and Why Do You Use It?
	Using the Outliner for Clean Up
		What Is Construction History?
		Cleaning Up the History
		Starting to Use the Outliner
	Combining, Naming, and Freezing Meshes
		Resetting Transformations
		Freezing Transformations
	Pivot Locations
		Using Instancing for Fast Prototyping
	Grouping the Asset
	Summary
Chapter 5: UV Mapping
	What Are UVs?
		The Different Ways You Can UV Map
		UV Map Optimization
	What Is the UV Editor?
		Clean Up for UV Mapping
	Setting Up and Using the UV Editor
		Creating a Basic UV Map for the Mech
		Automatic Mapping
		Interacting with UV Components in the UV Editor
	UVing Multiple Meshes Simultaneously
	Deleting History of the UVed Meshes
	Optimizing the Mesh UVs
		Cutting and Sewing Seams
		Unfolding UV Shells
	Handling a Real-Life UV Pipeline Scenario
	Optimizing and Arranging UVs
		Texel Density
		Moving, Arranging, and Packing UVs
		It Always Depends
		Final Arrangement and Layout
	Summary
Chapter 6: Creating a High Poly Model
	What Is a High Poly Model?
	Why Create the Illusion of Depth in Games?
	The Different Approaches to End Up with a Low and High Poly
		Using Smooth Mesh Preview Display Modes
	Setting Up for the High Poly
	What Is the Difference Between a Low and High Poly Model?
	Creating the High Poly Model
		Adding Details and Edge Definition to the Body
		Modeling in a Non-Destructive Way
		Adding Details to the Feet
		Adding the Rest of the Mech’s Details
	Summary
Chapter 7: Texturing
	Using Floaters to Add Texture Details
	Getting Your Maya Files Ready
		Working with Multiple Textures on a Single Model
		Exporting the FBX Model
	Installing and Opening Substance 3D Painter
	Overview of the Substance 3D Painter Interface
		The Top Menu
		The Toolbar
		The Layers Panel
		The Properties Panel
		The Viewport
		The Texture Set List
		The Assets Panel
		The Display Settings Panel
	Preparing to Texture
		Baking the Model
	Creating Textures Using a PBR Pipeline
		Starting to Texture
		Masking
			Working with Smart Masks
			Working with Multiple Materials
		Adding Sticker Decals
	Exporting the Textures
	Configuring Custom Output Texture Maps
	Summary
Chapter 8: Rigging the Mech
	What Is Rigging?
	Understanding Mesh Animation
		What Are Joints?
			Working with Joints
			Creating Joints
			Arranging Joints
			Moving Joints
			Mirroring Joints
		Working with Control Curves
			Creating a Control Curve
			Editing a Curve’s Control Vertices
			Curve’s Object Mode
			Creating Feet Controls
			Creating Knee Controls
	Using Kinematics for Movement
		Creating IKs for the Legs
		Connecting Vector Poles for the Knees
	What Are Constraints?
		The Importance of Using Constraints
		Creating Groups
			Setting Up the Head Control
			Setting Up the Body Control
			Setting Up the Left and Right Femur
			Setting Up the Left and Right Tibia
			Setting Up the Feet
	Creating a Grouping System
	Summary
Chapter 9: Bringing the Asset to Life
	Iterative Design
	Animating the Mech
		Animation States
		Setting Up the Scene for Animation
		Creating the Idle Animation
			Adding Keyframes to the Mech
			Deleting Keyframes
			Exporting the Animated Mech
	Installing and Opening Unity
	Overview of Unity
		Creating a New Project
		Navigating in the Scene View
		Understanding the Interface
			The Project Window
			The Package Manager
	Working with Assets in Unity
		Using the Hierarchy
		Using the Inspector
	Adding Textures to the Mech
		Changing Shaders and Linking Textures to the Map Slots
		Assigning the Materials to the Mech Asset
	Working with Level of Details
	Playing the Scene
	What About Other Assets?
	Summary
	Wrapping It All Up
	Where Do You Go From Here?
	Staying Inspired
Index