3ds Max Basics for Modeling Video Game Assets: Volume 2

As a textbook for learning the fundamentals of modeling, rigging and animating 3D-modeled characters for use in video games, this step-by-step lesson book builds on the reader's modeling skills acquired from reading Volume I. The reader will model characters for the Castle Environment created in Volume I, which will be rigged using the Character Animation Toolkit (CAT) in 3ds Max and animated with game moves. The Skin Modifier is used for associating the meshes to the rigs and the characters are then exported to the Unity game engine and integrated into the Castle Scene with a Third Person Character camera. As the text introduces new modeling skills, it additionally calls on the reader to perform repetitive tasks, reinforcing skills learned in the process. The content is presented as if the reader is in a working video game studio, being responsible for researching asset design and providing the team with placeholder assets and final model assets that are unwrapped and custom textured using both box mapping and the 3ds Max Quick Peel tool. Although the text uses Autodesk 3ds Max for the modeling program, the principles are transferable to other major modeling programs.