Game 3D Model Design

Core Workflow

1. Identify the model purpose, target engine, camera distance, animation/deformation needs, platform budget, and art style.
2. Start with silhouette and primary forms before topology detail. The model should read in untextured clay or flat color.
3. Choose a modeling route: direct low-poly, high-poly to retopo, sculpt to retopo, CAD/scan cleanup, kitbash cleanup, or procedural base plus manual finish.
4. Build topology to support the next task: shading, UVs, baking, rigging, deformation, destruction, customization, or modular reuse.
5. UV with visible seams, texel density, texture reuse, baking needs, and material boundaries in mind.
6. Validate normals, smoothing, triangulation, scale, transforms, nonmanifold geometry, hidden faces, overlapping surfaces, and export/import behavior.

Modeling Priorities