View source for Modular environments

Modular means pieces are made to fit together according to a common pattern, so just a few pieces can be reused multiple times to create a bunch of variety.

== Modular Design & Workflow ==
How to plan out the development of modular environment pieces, and the workflow for creating them. The design of modular pieces is closely linked to game design; see [[:Category:GameDesign]] for more.


[[Image:ThiagoKlafke_boundingboxes1.jpg|150px|link=http://polycount.com/discussion/170819/modelling-buildings-with-interior-question]] [http://polycount.com/discussion/170819/modelling-buildings-with-interior-question Modelling Buildings with Interior (Question)] Polycount Forum thread with advice on creating buildings.

[[Image:JacobNorris_UDKModularBuildingSetBreakdown.jpg|150px|link=http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=144838]] [http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=144838 UE4 Modular Building Set Breakdown] - by [http://www.purepolygons.com/ Jacob "jacob07777" Norris]. Gritty urban city modular system. [[file:JacobNorris_Building_Breakdown.pdf]] (1.5 MB)

[[Image:PaulMandegarian_GearsofWarInspiredEnvironment.jpg|150px|link=http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=130848]] [http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=130848 UDK Gears of War Inspired Environment - Modular] - by [http://www.paulmandegarian.com/ Paul "Ahniketos" Mandegarian]. Gears of War themed modular palace environment. Latest art is [http://www.paulmandegarian.com/projects here on his website].

[[Image:TorFrick_UDKModularMasterclass.jpg|150px|link=https://trinity3d.com/udk-modular-masterclass.html]] [https://trinity3d.com/udk-modular-masterclass.html UDK Modular Masterclass - Efficiently Creating and Entire Scene with Tor Frick] - ($) a tutorial by [http://www.torfrick.com/ Tor "snefer" Frick]. Abandoned warehouse modular workflow in UDK, using Modo and Photoshop.

[[Image:HelderPinto_PostApocSceneBreakdown.jpg|150px|link=http://www.helderpinto.com/post-apoc-scene-breakdown/]] [http://www.helderpinto.com/post-apoc-scene-breakdown/ Post apoc scene Breakdown] - by [http://www.helderpinto.com/|Helder "HP" Pinto]. Details about the creation of a modular abandoned warehouse.

[[Image:Halo4_Article.jpg|150px|link=http://polycount.com/discussion/159954/the-environment-art-of-halo-4/p1]] [http://polycount.com/discussion/159954/the-environment-art-of-halo-4/p1 Polycount Article: The Environment Art of Halo 4]. Modular workflow for Halo 4.

[[Image:TylerWinlass_ModularBuildingWorkflow.jpg|150px|link=http://3dmotive.com/series/modular-building-with-udk.html]] [http://3dmotive.com/series/modular-building-with-udk.html Modular Building with UDK] - ($) a 3dmotive tutorial by [https://www.linkedin.com/in/twanlass Tyler Wanlass]. Covers planning and workflow for modular buildings using Photoshop, 3ds Max, and UDK.

[[Image:JoelBurgess_SkyrimsModularApproachtoLevelDesign.jpg|150px|link=http://blog.joelburgess.com/2013/04/skyrims-modular-level-design-gdc-2013.html]] [http://blog.joelburgess.com/2013/04/skyrims-modular-level-design-gdc-2013.html Skyrim’s Modular Approach to Level Design] - Transcript from GDC 2013 talk on Skyrim"s Modular Level Design. An excellent in-depth article on Bethesda"s environment art system.

[[Image:KevinJohnstone_ModularEnvironmentDesign.jpg|150px|link=http://www.kevinjohnstone.com/Help/Modular%20Environment%20Design.rar]] [http://www.kevinjohnstone.com/Help/Modular%20Environment%20Design.rar Modular Environment Design.rar] (12 MB) and [https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/16abxRhcd-dbV5M4t8SRpJc8rmepBMXPYpRlewo0ZYDM/edit?usp=sharing Google Sheets conversion] - by [http://www.kevinjohnstone.com/ Kevin Johnstone]. East Coast Game Conference 2011 slides of the talk "Modular Environment Design, Or how I learned to stop worrying and love the grid". More workflow explained in the threads [http://polycount.com/discussion/comment/678052/#Comment_678052 Lack of Environment Artists], [http://polycount.com/discussion/comment/924231/#Comment_924231 Gears2 Environment Art] and [http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?69232-Gears2-Environment-Art-%28step-by-step-page-5%29&p=552991&viewfull=1#post552991 Gears2 Environment Art Step by Step (ZBrush Central)].

[[image:TorFrick_SciFiLab.jpg|150px|link=http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=89682]] [http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=89682 An exercise in modular textures - Scifi lab UDK] - by [http://www.torfrick.com/ Tor 'Snefer' Frick]. Extreme [[Texture atlas]]ing and [[ChannelPacking]].

[[Image:ScottJones_InvestigationIntoModularDesignWithinComputerGames.jpg|150px|link=file:Investigation_into_modular_design_within_computer_games_v1.0.pdf]] [[file:Investigation_into_modular_design_within_computer_games_v1.0.pdf|Investigation into Modular Design within Computer Games]] (8.6MB PDF) - by [http://www.polycount.com/forum/member.php?u=37149 Scott Jones]. Research paper on modular workflow. Definition, benefits, history of modularity, usage, methods, case studies, UDK and 3ds Max. See the Polycount forum thread [http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=78444 Modular design within games].

[[Image:EpicGames_UsingWorkflowTechniquesAndModularity.jpg|150px|link=http://udn.epicgames.com/Two/WorkflowAndModularity.html]] [http://udn.epicgames.com/Two/WorkflowAndModularity.html Workflow techniques and modularity with Unreal game technology] - by [http://www.epicgames.com Epic Games]. A guide to setting up your art-to-level-design pipeline and designing modularly.

[[Image:BenHale_ModularEnvironmentArtAppliedFromPlasterTabletopSets.jpg|150px|link=http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=116526]] [http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=116526 Modular Environment Art applied from plaster tabletop sets] - by [http://www.polycount.com/forum/member.php?u=14498 Ben "Makkon" Hale]. Polycount forum thread with great visual breakdowns of modular tabeltop models.

[[Image:ChristopherAlbeluhn_VisuallyAppealingBuildingGuide.jpg|150px|link=https://www.chrisalbeluhn.com/visually-appealing-building-guide]] [https://www.chrisalbeluhn.com/visually-appealing-building-guide Visually Appealing Building Guide] - by [http://www.chrisalbeluhn.com Christopher Albeluhn]. An excellent breakdown of how to create visual interest with game buildings. [https://www.chrisalbeluhn.com/tutorials/ Additional tutorials here].

[[Image:ThiagoKlafke_CreatingModularEnvironmentsInUDK.jpg|150px|link=http://www.thiagoklafke.com/modularenvironments.html]] [http://www.thiagoklafke.com/modularenvironments.html Creating Modular Environments in UDK] - a tutorial by [http://www.thiagoklafke.com/index.html/ Thiago "Minotaur0" Klafke]. Covers the techniques used to make [http://www.thiagoklafke.com/zestfoundation.html Zest Foundation.]

[[Image:ModularMountAndBlade.jpg|150px|link=ModularMountAndBlade]] [[ModularMountAndBlade|Modular Mount & Blade]] - by [http://wypierpapier.blogspot.com/ "gutekfiutek"]. Modular workflow for the mod "Polished Buildings" for the game Mount & Blade.

[[Image:GlynnSmith_ModularBrickWallTiling.jpg|150px|link=http://polycount.com/discussion/comment/1101338/#Comment_1101338]] [http://polycount.com/discussion/comment/1101338/#Comment_1101338 Modular brick wall tiling] - by [http://iamglynnsmith.com/ Glynn Smith]. Tips and screenshots for sculpting modular brick walls.

[[Image:BramEulaers_GenericWallTutorial.jpg|150px|link=http://www.brameulaers.net/tutorials/generic_wall_tutorial/generic_wall_tutorial.html]] [http://www.brameulaers.net/tutorials/generic_wall_tutorial/generic_wall_tutorial.html Generic wall tutorial] - by [http://www.brameulaers.net Bram "Peris" Eulaers]. Using 3ds Max and Mudbox to sculpt tilable modular sections for a stone wall.

[[Image:OwenShepherd_CreatingPerfectlyTilingMeshes.jpg|150px|link=http://osart3d.wordpress.com/home-page/tutorial-creating-perfectly-tiling-meshes-in-zbrush-for-use-in-videogame-environments]] [http://osart3d.wordpress.com/home-page/tutorial-creating-perfectly-tiling-meshes-in-zbrush-for-use-in-videogame-environments/ Creating Perfectly Tiling Meshes in Zbrush for use in Videogame Environments] - by [http://osart3d.wordpress.com/ Owen "SHEPEIRO" Shepherd]. Using ZBrush"s 2.5D canvas to tile stamped meshes, then using Maya to model tilable geometry.

[[Image:PhilipKlevestav_WorkingWithModularSets.jpg|150px|link=http://www.philipk.net/tutorials/modular_sets/modular_sets.html]] [http://www.philipk.net/tutorials/modular_sets/modular_sets.html  Working with Modular Sets] - by [http://www.philipk.net Philip "PhilipK" Klevestav]. How to design and texture modular sci-fi wall panels.

[[Image:PhilipKlevestav_ModularRocksTutorial.jpg|150px|link=http://www.philipk.net/tutorials/modular_rocks/modular_rocks.html]] [http://www.philipk.net/tutorials/modular_rocks/modular_rocks.html  Working with Modular Rocks] - by [http://www.philipk.net Philip "PhilipK" Klevestav]. How to design, model, and texture modular rock assets, using Crazy Bump, Photoshop, and 3ds Max.

[[Image:AidyBurrows_ModularityAndOddAnglesOnBlendersGrid.jpg|150px|link=http://www.cgmasters.net/free-tutorials/gamedev-4-modularity-odd-angles-on-blenders-grid/]] [http://www.cgmasters.net/free-tutorials/gamedev-4-modularity-odd-angles-on-blenders-grid/ Modularity & Odd Angles on Blender’s Grid] - by [http://www.cgmasters.net/cg-masters-artist-galleries/aidy-burrows/ Aidy Burrows @ CG Masters]. Getting more natural-looking angles in your modular kit.

== More Information ==

* [[ChannelPacking]]
* [[:Category:EnvironmentModeling]]
* [[:Category:EnvironmentModularity]]
* [[:Category:EnvironmentTexturing]] 
* [[:Category:GameDesign]]
* [[Level Design]]
* [[MultiTexture]]
* [[Texture atlas]]
* [[Units]]

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[[Category:Environment]] [[Category:EnvironmentModeling]] [[Category:EnvironmentModularity]] [[Category:EnvironmentTexturing]]