Environment Modeling

About modeling levels and environments in games.

Environment Modeling Tutorials

Environment Art Blog - by Richard 'pipes' Piper and Rogelio 'rogelio' Olguin, also see the Polycount Forum thread.
Blade & Soul Environments Polycount forum thread, plus info on large terrains in UE3 (Unreal Engine 3).
How to make terrains for games - by 'choco'
Erosion Terrain Tutorial - by 'choco'
Gears2 Environment Art - by Kevin Johnstone
UT3 & Gears Environment Art - by Kevin Johnstone
UT3 & Gears Environment Art - Step By Step - by Kevin Johnstone
File:Rorshach scifi supportbeam.pdf - by Kevin Johnstone
Environment tutorials - by Chris 'cholden' Holden
Environment modeling basics Polycount forum thread
Environment Modeling FAQ & Resources Polycount forum thread
De-Constructing "DemonThrone" – A Video Series - by Jason Lavoie
Integrating rubble into a path - by Joshua Stubbles

Normal Map Modeling

Normal maps for mechanical/constructed items are often done with subdivision surface modeling. See SubdivisionSurfaceModeling#Hard_Surfaces. To add some organic wear and tear, artists bring their finished sub-d models into Zbrush or Mudbox or 3DCoat for a quick sculpt pass. Some artists do all their mechanical work in a sculpting app, but it seems to be a bit harder to get clean results. See CharacterSculpting#Hard-Surface_Sculpting.

Normal maps for organic/natural assets are usually made entirely in your 3D sculpting tool, but some people use procedural tools. See EnvironmentSculpting.

Sometimes you can shortcut the sculpting/baking process by using a 2D normal mapping tool like nDo or Crazy Bump. This can save a lot of time, but can cause seams if you're not careful.

More Information

Environment Modeling