Going out on a limb (Rigging)

Optimization I really had to bring down the detail of the mesh to allow for a more stable geometry base for rigging. A lot of models with really high polys are just show pieces for demo reels and have no real deformable geometry, this won't do.

Completed Box

Next Generation is really about pushing textures into the area of realism. Here is the finished box rendered with scanline, normal, specular and diffuse maps in 3DS Max it looks OK and should maintain the same look in most game engines. I might work on it at a later date.

Good Wood and a Good Box is Hard to Find

Well the truth of next gen texturing is in the details with this one side you can see that the use of baking in AO (ambient occlusion) is the key. Later I will add dirt and dust layers a normal map and specular map and lighting to bring this out to the next level. I really love the idea of the create it has been around in games film and generally everything in between. The iconic box gets a revamp with Next Generation Texturing , hopefully designers find even better usages for this faithful and unsung hero of gaming history.

Next Generation Texturing

Next Gen textures will by far be one of those things that help to pull in the casual and hardcore gaming crowd, as much as game play is the fundamental draw the second is how good the game looks. I have seen lots of well textured crates but many of them forget to chamfer the edges. To pick up subtleties of light the edges can not be hard they have to be well constructed before you even begin to texture. Here is a crate that I started with a chamfered box in 3Ds Max many people think of some of the prefabricated elements in Max as a cheat, but they allow you the opportunity to create realistic geometry without a lot of work. Here is a crate with a test pattern applied to start the proper work-flow prior to texturing a crate, the crate also has the appropriate areas chamfered. The wood base was created by duplicating the original image and changing the blending modes and tweaking the image itself to give it a richer look.