Pre-Production and 3D Modelling

Pre-Production is the phase where the direction and scope of the project first takes form. Concepts for art style, look, sets, characters and much more are determined to help everyone and everything make it through the pipeline. This is where the concept artists are making all the base  drawings to expand upon, and to give the team a visual representation of their goal.

The next step is modelling. The initial assets are modelled from scratch using a variety of techniques to meet project requirements. The modelling stage takes all of the concepts from pre-production and starts bringing them to life. Assets are usually modelled in the style (like cartoony, realistic, 8-bit) or concepts set forth in the pre-production phase. The modelling is where the project starts to be built upon, and is usually the longest phase due to having to make most of the assets from scratch and make them in the style of the concept art.

Modellers often start with a completely empty 3D scene and build up the 3D geometry to look like anything from simple props, or environments, to complex characters. A 3D model is made up of a series of points called vertices that are connected to form a mesh. These vertices have all been meticulously placed by a 3D modeller. It’s one of the first and most important steps in the 3D pipeline because it is essentially the creation of the assets that all of the other steps in the 3D pipeline will use and build upon.