3D game art

since the release of the Atari 2600 in 1982 video games and game art has move forward in leaps and bounds taking monumental steps from black an white low res pixels in a 2D space to fully Realtime rendered 3D environments and characters and with the release of Unreal 5 we find ourselves on the cusp of another giant leap. One that I am truly excited for not only as a artist but as a gamer.

Unreal 5 will bring with it ne technologies that will not only hasten the workflow of game artist but also allow for better looking higher fidelity assets.

perhaps the greatest improvement for asset artists in 'nanite virtualized micropolygon geometry frees artist to create as much geometric detail as the eye can see'.

higher polycount means more detail per asset even to the point of allowing assets to be imported directly from sculpting programs such as Zbrush with claims from Unreal that these assets will at times have less packaging size than a similar low poly model with a 4k normal map. However the likely hood of bringing assets directly from Zbush seems somewhat slim as characters and certain asset will require rigging and animations in other softwares which will require retopology and rigging.

Aswell the introduction of lumen a 'fully dynamic global illumination system' will ensure dynamic interactive lighting for games and the assets within to really show the detail and beauty of the assets and game worlds. Yet another aspect I am very excited for as lighting has proven to be something that I have experience difficulties with in the past. Lumen coupled with nanite will allow artist to create photorealistic worlds and assets for use in both games and film.

New technologies will continue to improve 3D based artwork for years to come and as artist we need to stay at the forefront of these advancements in order to ensure not only employability and relevance but also to enable us to create the best possible works

APA referencing.

Unreal Engine | Features. (n.d.). Unreal Engine. Retrieved September 29, 2021, from https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/features

Unreal Engine 5 - Raining in Jungle. (2021, June 24). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4FILn7nEgk