Creating Low Resolution Environments in Maya and Photoshop

Maya 2011, Photoshop CS3

In this series of lessons, we'll go through the process of building and texturing a disused sci-fi environment. Creating believable environments comes from an efficient combination of 3d models and textures. Depending on the purpose of the set, detail can be created through the use of actual geometry, or we can add detail strictly through texture maps. For this project, we'll build a disused sci-fi environment. We'll start the process by building the geometry for the environment using a variety of modeling tools. Once the geometry is completed, we'll create uv layouts for the different pieces that will allow us to minimize the number of texture maps needed. Once the UVs are complete, we'll look at a number of ways we can create different textures in Photoshop. Although you can follow along with the project, there will be a number of opportunities for you to really customize your environment and once we're done, you'll be able to apply what you've learned to your own work.