Why StemCell?

I’m an Associate Producer at TurboSquid, and one of my roles is as a resource for artists looking to branch into Real-Time. I never appreciated how different models made for Film and Television (referred to as a DCC workflow) is from making models for Real-Time applications like games. Traditionally, artists start and master one type of workflow, and the nuances involved in switching workflows can mean relearning and rethinking how to do even basic techniques.

Recently, the company introduced a new modeling standard called StemCell , that aims to satisfy both audiences. As an artist trying to relay workflow concepts to other artists, I feel that actually putting myself through the paces of what I’m explaining to others is critical to doing my job well. Although the standard is a straightforward extension of good modeling and texturing practices most people will be familiar with, you can’t get a full appreciation for a spec like this until you actually follow it yourself.

Coming from a gamedev modeling background, these are the bullet-point changes in workflow from a normal model:

The final model must turbosmooth. This is the biggest challenge, both in change of thought process and in a literal sense. Leaving in control loops and keeping poly flow intact to hold its shape with turbosmooth means that the polycount is going to be high for the final shape.

The model needs spec/gloss and PBR Metalness workflow textures. Right now, this means texturing it twice. For this project, I used the Quixel Suite to author my metalness maps and manually converted to spec/gloss.

(For now) the model can’t have any rigging or skinning. As long as I keep things descriptively named and in a hierarchy, this isn’t that much of a problem.

A full list of line by line specifications can be found on the TurboSquid training site here.

So with that out of the way, let’s dig in!

The Concept

When it comes to 3D I do in my free time, I’m more on the side of making things that don’t exist, since so many artists seem to have that whole ‘recreating things that do exist’ covered and mastered. With the broad ‘make a thing that doesn’t exist’ mandate, I dug in.

Have you played Robo Recall ? It’s an awesome game. It has awesome art. The guns in particular feel solid both in 3D and VR, and have a nice but not overstated Sci-Fi feel to them. I really want to make art at that level, so this project is a bit of a moonshot with those as a visual target.

The NAC-22, as a design, actually has roots in a much different game. Due Process (the game I’m doing environment art on) is going to have a wide assortment of excellent grounded cyberpunk firearms. In testing, one of my favorites is the NAC-11, a play on the MAC-10/11 line, which is a full auto recoil monster of a machine pistol. When the random crate drops generate one of those babies, I make sure to grab it.

One of my coworkers did a couple dozen thumbnail silhouettes that were eventually whittled down to the NAC-11. With permission, I asked to use a mishmash of a few to make its slightly more sci-fi big brother, the NAC-22.