3D Game Texturing: Comparative Analysis Between Hand-painted and PBR pipelines

Abstract

Textures are 2D images projected on 3D models. Throughout the years many pipelines and workflows have been invented to create the appealing game art and further develop the technology of textures. Thus, game texturing has evolved into different pipelines representing different aesthetics and needs.

This thesis aimed to understand the similarities and differences between the hand-painted diffuse only texturing pipeline and the PBR pipeline. To conduct the study the theory of texturing was researched through a literature review and the results were further studied by conducting a case study.

First, this paper explained texturing, a brief history, and how optimization plays a big role in game textures. As well development blogs and interview articles from established studios were analyzed.

The theory was then tested by texturing both hand-painted and PBR pipelines on the same asset set to further see the difference in both workflows. Texturing was done utilizing programs called Substance Painter, Substance Designer and Photoshop.

Lastly, the results were analyzed based on the literature review and case study and conclusions were made as a comparative analysis.