Advice for a Beginner

[TheknightofRand]

Hi,

 

I have been messing around with autodesk and 3D art for a couple of months now but couldn't find time to put in serious work due to school. However I have recently graduated and would like to try my hand at making an armor mod for Skyrim. Just one to start out, nothing too ambitious. If it is successful I would like to do several more.

 

I loved Kingdoms of Amalur and although the armor styles in that game are not entirely lore friendly I would like to recreate an armor from KOA for Skyrim. To this end I was hoping for some beginner advice.

 

I have been using Nightasy's tutorials on youtube and have worked through about half of the video series. What other tips would you offer to a first timer?

 

Thank you for any and all advice.

[JobVanDam]

I don't know much about meshing and rigging and whatnot if it's similar to modding in general I think it would be best to start small. Don't start with a full armor set but rather a misc item that doesn't require rigging or 4 separate pieces.

 

Is their an item in the game you think looks awful?

For instance, recently bad boy Saerileth made a replacer for the White Phial and it was very popular. I think because not only was it high quality but it's something everyone can use.

 

Look around at the current items ingame and if one jumps out at you and you say to yourself "I can do that much better" or "I got a cool idea for this" start with that.

Their is a very intelligent mesher on these boards too Matth(something) the guy is self taught and super smart so if you need help with meshing ask him. If he's busy and you need help with modding in general I could help you out.

 

If you need help with anything else or just want some suggestions where to start cause your not too familiar with Skyrim just let us know.

[TheknightofRand]

Thank you for your advice. I will certainly take into consideration what you have said. From humble beginnings and all of that.

 

Side Note- I love your OBIS mod. Thanks for all the hard work you did making it.

[JobVanDam]

Word?! Hey thanks man!

 

Keep us abreast of anything your working on, the Nexus needs more random meshers.

[Matth85]

- Have you any experience with character creation, anatomy and/or design?

 

If yes: It's just a matter of using that with the "limitation" of the engine. Nothing fancy.

If no: Another question

 

- Do you got any experience making game art in general?

 

If yes: Dependant on where you are, you need to start checking out a couple of concepts.

1) Believably. KoA is a different game, set in a different world. You might need to change a few things to make the design fit.

2) Anatomy. CHaracters in KoA are bulky. Characters in Skyrim are more realistic.

3) Clipping. Some shoulders might force clipping. This is a adjustement thing.

4) Rigging. It can be a pain, but isn't overly complicated. Watch some tutorials on youtube. I nothing else, copy existing bone structure from other armor sets.

 

If no: Start small! As previously said, start with something usefull. What I did, back in Oblivion, was that I would play the vanilla game and constantly look out for things. A sign was low ress? I made a new one from scratch. A sword not fitting my liking? I made a new one.

Also remember the polygon count. A unique set of armor cn easily pass 10k polygons. That said, optimize! The majority of players will never zoom in too much on your piece of work, so you don't need to sweat the surface, as long as the silhouette is fine.

 

Other general tips I can give you:

 

1) When making a piece of armor, you should have a good base to use. One could use the in-game base and work from, but they are triangulated from the game engine. Personally I make myself a base mesh in 5 minute, very blocky, spend some minute in Zbrush to define bigger muscle groups, then I export back to 3ds max. From there you just build around the model. I also like using Zbrush, where I start with primitives and mask + extract shapes.

2) A set of armor takes time. Unless you are an experienced character artist, you can easily spend weeks on it. Trust me, my first armor ( you can see it in my imageshack. God that hing is hideous!) Took me 2 weeks. I encountered problems everywhere.

3) Remember deforming! Add extra loops where the armor will deform. If you miss this step, you get weird and unrealistic bending, which will kill the look of it.

4) Remember layers! A piece of armor is never a single layer. You got the under-layer, which is usully a kind of shirt. Check out real armors. From there it can be another set of light fabric and metal, or chanmail. Then on top is the big pieces of metal.

5) Defining materials is super important! In simple objects, you usually only got a few materials. Like metal + wood for a sword, or metal + leather. However, when you make a set of armor, you can end up with a 3-set-layered-armor containing multiple different materials. They must be clear enough, in form, shape and reflection, that it can't be mistaken.

6) With all of the above, aim for realistic! Non modeller doesn't know what is wrong, but they will spot when something is wrong. I something bends that shouldn't, like a plate of pure metal, they will go "huh".

7) Don't be afraid to ask :)

 

Best of luck!

Matth