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Skills Expanded

Creating Game Weapons in 3ds Max and Mudbox

by Justin Marshall

In this course, we will use Mudbox and 3ds Max to build and detail a bladed weapon. Software required: Mudbox 2009 and up, 3ds Max 2010 and up.

What you'll learn

In this course, we will use Mudbox and 3ds Max to build and detail a bladed weapon. While 3ds Max is great at creating models very quickly and efficiently, Mudbox excels at interactively sculpting complex detail. By using these two packages in conjunction, we can leverage their respective strengths to quickly create a cohesive digital asset. After building our base geometry of our sample project, a bladed weapon, and adding UVs in 3ds Max, we'll take the geometry into Mudbox to begin sculpting. We'll add a variety of detail, as well as using Channel painting to create textures for the color and specularity of the models. We'll also output normal maps and ambient occlusion maps. Finally, we'll put everything back together in 3ds Max. Upon completion, you be able to create your own weapons or props using these two powerful programs. Software required: Mudbox 2009 and up, 3ds Max 2010 and up.

About the author

Justin thrives as a lead modeling author at Pluralsight. Growing up, Justin found a deep interest for the computer graphics industry after watching movies like Jurassic Park, Toy Story, and The Abyss. His ambition would lead him to work at Sony Imageworks in Los Angeles on movies like Monster House and Surf's Up. Justin has also had numerous articles, tutorials, and images published in 3D World and 3D Artist. As an author, Justin enjoys collaborating with fellow authors, especially on project... more

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