General Surfacing

Here we can find tips on Getting Started, FAQs, and ATEC Pipeline specific help for all things Surfacing.

Getting Started
You're given a model! Ask: With this information, you are ready to start planning! Ask yourself: IMPORTANT NOTE: Be sure you know if you are working with primarily procedural shaders, or if you are going to be painting everything. It very well could be that you are painting things that don't need to be painted.
 * 1) How was this built in real life? When these things are made in real life, are they machined? Sculpted? Pieced together from multiple smaller things? Are they made by a person whose main intention is to get it done fast, or was it built slowly over time? Was it even built at all, or is it a product of nature?
 * 2) What materials is this made of? Is this a block of wood or ice? Is this cup made of plastic or glass?
 * 3) How old is this?  Is it brand new, right out of the package or is it a family heirloom?  Was it sitting in a closet for the past sixty years, or was it found washed up on a beach somewhere?
 * 4) How close to the camera will this get?  Is this a hero model, or is it a background piece?
 * 1) How many materials is this?  What pieces can use the same material?
 * 2) What texture sizes should I be working with?  What resolution will this project be rendered in?
 * 3) Where should I make my maps?  Should I be painting things out in a program like Photoshop, or one like Mudbox?  Should I even be painting maps at all?

FAQs
Q. What attributes make up a shader?

A. Every shader is different, but there are a few attributes that are common to basically every one:
 * 1) Diffuse: This is your color map.  Note that there should not be any shadow or highlight information in this image.  It may be helpful to think of how your object would look if it were to be completely flattened out under uniform lighting.
 * 2) Bump: This map controls small variance in the topology of your object.  Bump maps are grayscale, with white sections being raised off of the surface, and black sections being pushed in.  For example, a golf ball would have a bump map that is mostly 50% gray (not being pushed in or out), but has black dots patterned across it.
 * 3) Specular: This map controls the level of reflectivity of your material.  Spec maps are grayscale, with white sections being shiny and black sections being matte.