Tempus was an AAA game developed on Unreal 5 for PC and consoles, which featured action-adventure gameplay with a strong focus on combat and exploration, along with multiple classes to choose from and player character creation. Unfortunately the game was canceled earlier part of 2023.
As Lead Character Artist at Amazon Game Studios, I had several key responsibilities, including:
- Collaborating with the Art Director to establish the look and style of all characters, ensuring a cohesive style.
- Setting a high standard for character quality and providing clear documentation for vendors.
- Working with engineers and designers to develop a 3D character avatar pipeline.
- Art directing, overseeing, and implementing external vendor's assets into Unreal 5.
- Creating initial prototypes of character heads and general materials to establish a solid foundation for the development of all character assets.
1. Hands on Work
During my time working on Tempus, I was involved in a variety of hands-on tasks. My primary focus was on heads and faces, which was particularly important as the face is often the most significant feature of a character. All textured images are rendered in Unreal 4 or 5.
Early on I also experimented with sculpted hairs and hair cards. Below is the sculpted version.
Some various misc tasks I worked on.
Some various misc tasks I worked on.
After a year in pre-production, we decided to pivot the art direction to achieve a more highly detailed look for the characters. While I began with the usual focus on heads and faces, our vendors started building out the outfits with my input. We labeled these Version 2.0.
2. Outsourced Characters
These characters were created through outsourcing studios under my guidance, with a focus on providing visual feedback, documentation, and best practices.
Characters 1.0
Characters 2.0
3. Shader/Master Materials
I created roughly 4 - 5 master materials that provided a range of options for texture and color customization. Below are a few examples.
The primary material used PBR and included 4 color tinting slots, each with controls for desaturation, lightness, roughness, and metallic properties. Additionally, the emissive component offered color and intensity adjustments. Lastly I incorporated decals with fading controls.
Textures: albedo, normal, MRAO (metallic/roughness/AO/opacity), emissive, mask, and decal.
The hair material underwent multiple revisions after we switched from sculpted hairs to cards. Nonetheless, the requirements remained the same: the hair should be capable of changing colors, highlights and ombres. Additionally, I incorporated some extra features to enhance its overall functionality.
4. Outsource Feedbacks and Documentations
Here are some examples of my documents and feedback. For feedbacks, I typically provided paintovers with detailed explanations to help clarify my suggestions. Additionally, when needed, I've also started incorporating video feedbacks.
4. Outsource Feedbacks and Documentations
Here are some examples of my documents and feedback. For feedbacks, I typically provided paintovers with detailed explanations to help clarify my suggestions. Additionally, when needed, I've also started incorporating video feedbacks.
Examples of feedbacks for external vendors:
Sample images from documentations: