How I create… a planetary playground

1 From paper to Unity

We produce all our assets in 3D using a variety of tools and then assemble them in Unity. I tend to start on paper, though, exploring different ideas until I’m ready to move into 3D. I’ll start by working in Unity using an asset called ProBuilder to whitebox a space and get a feel for how it works as a navigable level, the scale of everything and how it silhouettes from different angles.

2 Produce and test assets

Once I’ve made the first whitebox iteration I’ll set up the ProBuilder object as a linked prefab between Unity and Maya, and export it as an FBX file. This now means I can update the model and see the changes in the project instantly. This is crucial for our art style, because the post-processing we use isn’t replicable in Maya – so I never know how an asset will look until it’s in-engine.

3 Composition requirements

Once everything is textured and modelled the process becomes about composition, meeting ImagineFX’s requirements for their cover. I use Procreate to hand draw the line-work and do colouring before bringing it into Photoshop for cleanup. The brushes I use are basic gel pens or fine tips with Smoothing enabled to emulate the way the game is rendered in-engine.