3D Art

3D art covers the modelled side of a game: characters, environments, props and vehicles, from blockout and sculpt through retopology and UVs to a textured asset running in engine.

The skill is the common ground under several specialised jobs. Whatever the subject, the pipeline looks similar: establish the shapes, build the detail, rebuild it as geometry the engine can afford, lay out UVs, texture, and check the result under the game's own lighting. Modelling packages and a sculpting tool are the daily software.

Judgement separates competent work from good work. Silhouette reads before detail does, a polygon budget forces decisions about where detail is worth spending, and an asset has to hold up at the distance and angle players actually see it from.

Concept Art decides what a thing should look like. Character Design, Environment Art and Prop Art are the specialisms that build it. 3D art is the craft all of them share.