Say hi to the Engineer!

The Engineers are here to fix your stuff. You need it done? They can do it! Confident, strong and full of energy, they will take care of the heavy work so you can focus on enjoying a nice cup of coffee with carrot cake.

Right click the video and hit "Play" if the animations don't auto-play for you.

To create the engineer model, I had to learn a whole new character modelling workflow. I used to directly a low-poly mesh, but this time I got myself a digital pen tablet and started with a high-res sculpt, which I afterwards retopologised.

But before I worked on the final version you see here, I spent a couple of weeks learning the workflow with a more generic-looking model, also in a more realistic style. Here's how he looks after the whole process and throwing it into Mixamo :)

After this first model, I realised I'd need something more stylised if it's going to fit whithin the general art-style of the game, so I worked on a more cartoonish design.

When designing a character, it is very important to have some references. I set up the basic PureRef scene you can see below:

As you can see, I took inspiration from a few videogame characters, and several real-life images of construction worker equipment. There's also a very simple design I drew in krita, which kinda resembles the final 3D version, but I didn't treat it as something set in stone. Rather, I evolved my design over time to see what looked better.

Here's some nice highlights of the work-in-progress of the high-res mesh. Notably, I created boy and girl versions of the character, and ended up staying with the girl, although this will be an in-game choice for the player at some point. For now I'm keeping just one version.

I think this is all for today. Next up I'm going to work on the wood materials, the next step to my minimal prototype. Until next time!