In our last blog post, we went over some of the early concepts we worked on when designing the cop character. Since then, we've done a lot of work realizing it as a 3D model. I'm going to walk through the steps we've been taking since you last saw the cop, and then show you the what he looks like now.
Early on we created a first iteration of the model. We began by scalping a high detail version of the model out in Zbrush.
We decided early on that since we were using the old school pixel art style texturing, we'd also use old school modeling techniques. We reduced the Zbrush sculpt to a very low poly version, and as old games like Metal Gear Solid and did, we broke the limbs into separate objects, rather than keeping them together as the same mesh.
This was our first iteration of the cop model. We quickly realized however, that this model wouldn't do. It had lost some of the iconic features from the original concept. Not enough detail was put into the silhouette so this model didn't allow for the breadth of customization we intended to include.
We decided to give it another shot.
Our character artists Frank and Jesse took a second pass at concepting starting with the cop's unarmored basic body. We wanted to give him a strong, imposing physique, with broad shoulders and a strong chest.
This would be emphasized even more once the armor started to go on him.
We settled on a design not too dissimilar to our original concept, but with a greater focus on detail, silhouette, and overall badassery.
We had to take a different approach to modeling the cop as well. We wanted armor to be interchangeable, so we needed the armor pieces to stay separate from the body. Frank created a sculpt of the cop's body and used that to create a low poly base mesh.
He then used box modeling techniques to create the armor as separate pieces.
While Frank was modeling, our Art Director, Valdis, drafted a number of possible color palettes for the cop to use once texturing began.
Using number 8 as reference, Jesse and Valdis textured the model, bringing the model to life. This is our fully realized cop model. There's still a lot of work we have to do getting him into the game, but we're really happy to show him to you guys for the first time.